Using the wordpress platform can seem daunting. When I say using wordpress I’m talking about installing wordpress on a domain you own, that’s on your hosting account.
This platform can be used for so many different things; blogs, small niches sites, large niches sites, sales pages, membership sites, micro niche sites, oh… the possibilities are just about endless! The only thing that might hold you back is your imagination. 
When it comes to setting up a wordpress site the steps are the same, no matter what you plan to do with the site once wordpress is installed. Here are some tutorials that will help you get up and running with wordpress from the first step (be it choosing a niche and a domain name) to choosing the right plugins and themes.
Take what is relevant to the project you’re working on and ignore the rest. You may find the keyword research you’re doing is a little different than outlined in the tutorials ~ that’s ok. The installation process, and plugins will be the same for just about everyone.
If you have a question about a specific step feel free to ask in the comment section of that particular post. I read all the comments and will reply as quickly as I can.
Let’s get started!
1. Keyword research for a niche blog.
Whether you’re doing a large niche blog, a micro niche site or something in between your keyword research is the foundation of your site. It is very important. In this post you’ll learn about the two aspects of keyword research, the search volume and the competitoin.
2. Choosing and Registering a Domain name
Your domain name is another key element for your site. If you going to focus on getting traffic from the search engines the domain name you choose will be very important. This post will step by step you through the process of choosing and purchasing your domain name. (lots of images to show you the way)
Hosting is a service you purchase from a hosting company. It is where your sites sit so people can see them. It is a necessity if you are going to host your own sites on wordpress. I’d say it’s a must if you plan to create sites that will make money. It’s a small investment, but one that is the the cornerstone of your business.
Name servers are the things that point to your site so when someone types in your domain name they will see your site. You change your nameservers where you bought your domain. This post will walk you through the process with a domain bought at GoDaddy ~ but it’s very similar no matter where you purchased your domain.
5. How to add a site to your hosting account
Most hosting accounts will allow you to host more than one website. (install more than one instance of wordpress). You have to create an “add on” domain in your hosting account for your new domain name/website. This post will walk you through that process (it’s about half way down). This post was written a while ago ~ I currently am using hostgator and now Bluehost for my hosting accounts. I am no longer with Lunarpages as mentioned in the post.
Once you have hosting and a domain name purchased you’re ready to install wordpress. This is really very simple ~ in fact, it only takes a couple clicks on your part. This post will walk you through the entire process ~ lots of pictures
7. Choosing your blog settings and a theme
Once you’ve installed wordpress there are some settings that you need to change to help improve your search engine optimization. This post will walk you through the settings in wordpress and how I set them up. It will also take you through some of the things to consider when choosing a theme, and show you some places you can find some good themes.
8. Installing your theme and plugins
Once you’ve got your settings set and found a theme that you like you’ll need to upload the theme to your site. This post will show you exactly how to do that. Once your theme is installed you’ll want to upload some plugins as well. Plugins are little “add ons” that help wordpress function better/more. There are millions of plugins and you can find a wordpress plugin to do just about anything you want to do on your blog. We’re just going to go over the basics in this post though.
Once you’ve gotten your plugins uploaded there are some settings you’ll need to change to make them work best on your site. This post will take you by the hand and show you exactly how to configure the plugins you uploaded.
10. How to FTP files
WordPress has made things much easier in the most recent editions of the software. You can upload almost everything you need within your wordpress dashboard now ~ but it’s still good to know how to use FTP in case you need it. If you’re giving away a free report or something you’ll need to upload it to your hosting account using FTP. This post will walk you through setting up an FTP client and how to use it.
11. Keeping track of your site stats
Knowing how many people come to your site, how they get there and from where is really important. This post will show you a couple options for tracking your stats, and how to use each of them depending on what you choose.
12. Organizational tools to help you stay on track
Getting everything set up is really the easy part. Keeping yourself focused and on track is the tough part. This post will cover some great tools to help you stay on track.
13. Tips to creating a quality blog
Once you’ve got yourself ready to start publishing content there are some things you should think about before you start. You want to have some ideas in your head about who and what you’re doing before you get started. These are important elements for any content related business.
14. How to use the wordpress text editor
You’re ready to begin. You’ve hit the “add new” under posts and you’re confronted with a ton of little buttons and a blank “sheet” of paper. This is the wordpress text editor. It can do some amazing things, but it can seem overwhelming as a beginner. This post will walk you through each and every icon, what it does, and how/why you use it.
Now that you know how the text editor works let’s talk about writing your first post. You can write a post any way you want, but to get traffic from the search engines there are a few things you can do to make each post count.
16. Must have pages for your blog
Maybe you’ve written your first post, or maybe you’re still psyching yourself up. There are a few pages you will need to have on your blog. These pages give your blog more authority, make it easier for people to connect with you, and some of them are mandatory depending on how you plan to monetize.
Your post titles do a couple very important things for you. They get people to click open your post to read it, and they get the attention of the search engines so they can send you more readers. Here are a couple tips that will have you keeping everyone happy with your blog post titles.
18. Tips to monetize your posts
We all want to make some money from our blogs ~ that’s at least part of the reason we do it right! Well there are definitely some ways you can monetize that will be more effective than others. This post will walk you through some of my favorite monetization tips.
19. How to get people to read to the bottom of your post
Reading on the internet, on a screen, is very different than say, reading a book or magazine. Big blocks of text are VERY hard to read, and most people will just click off the page when they see a big block of text. Here’s some tips for formatting your posts that will have people reading your every last word.
Well these posts should give you a great start with your wordpress blog. Remember if you have any questions about the pieces of the puzzle feel free to ask in the comments section of any of the above posts.
If you’re ready to take your blog to the next level ~ get traffic, and create some profit you should grab my free report 2 Hour Blog Profit Blueprint. Just fill in your name and email address below. You will also continue to get updated posts from this blog.
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