Setting up a website turned out easier than I had imaged, and you can also create your cyberspace foothold in a day or two.This is how I set up this website and had it operational in two days.
1. Register a domain name. Get a domain name from the registrars you like. Mine is godaddy. Don’t use the “free domain” of the web hosting companies, because you have more control over your domain with dedicated registrars.
2. Find a web hosting company to hose your site. Don’t just choose the one that advertises bigger space or more bandwidth.
- Use Google Blog search to find the personal account of the hosting companies. Avoid the promotional pages.
- Ask the opinions of the bloggers and let them recommend a company to you. I pinned down mine in this post. Wordpress site also has a list of the top five hosting companies, but I got conflicting reviews from the users of Dreamhost, which is listed as top.
- For bloggers in mainland China, use Google Blog search in Chinese to see if certain hosting companies are blocked or have a slow connection speed from the Mainland.
3. Contact the customer service of the hosting company. You need to know the quality of its service before you buy it. I chose Hostmonster because their live chat service operates even at small hours. My experience with their phone service is also good.
4. Direct your domain name to your website. In your registrar’s control panel, fill in the name servers of your hosting company. After this step, you can visit your site by typing your domain name in the browser.
5. Build your website. It is actually straightforward and easy. Many hosting company have c-panel which can help you setup a blog or other web service in a few clicks.
Some side notes:
- Hostmonster and Bluehost are actually one company.
- I opted for Wordpress to blog instead of b2evolution. People say Wordpress is simply the best blogging tool.
I agree Wordpress is a good Blog choice.