How to Install WordPress For Your Niche Blog
Dec 14
- Image via Wikipedia
As promised today we’re going to install wordpress on your new domain. Let’s cover a couple points before we jump right into it though.
What is wordpress?
WordPress is a content management system (CMS). It is a type of software you install on your domain name that easily allows you to publish content ~ be it text, audio, video, images to the web. If you have ever filled in an ad on a free ad blog you’ve already used wordpress and just didn’t know it. 
Why can’t I just use wordpress.com?
While wordpress.com and wordpress.org (the one we’re going to install today) look exactly the same there are a few key differences.
1. wordpress.com is hosted for you. While it’s nice to not have to pay for hosting, there are certain rules to be followed when using wordpress.com and one of them is that you can’t make any money from your site, and another is you can’t use the site to help boost another site in the search engine rankings. (We run both of those kind of blogs which will lead to your account being deleted at wordpress and all your content/hard work/time GONE at their discretion, in a minute)
2. You don’t have the ability to add plugins to your site at wordpress.com which is part of what makes wp so fun when you host it yourself.
3. You can’t customize the site as easily or as much as you can with your own hosting.
4. Did I mention you don’t own your content and it can be deleted one morning when you wake up? (yes, it was pretty traumatic)
So ~ whether you choose to build a blog on a wordpress site you host yourself or you decide to go ahead and do it on a free platform I definitely recommend you do not use wordpress.com ~ go for blogger or tumblr, or even Bravenet.
Where am I going to put wordpress?
We are going to go into your hosting account and you are going to put wordpress on the domain you want it to show up on. We are going to put it on the “root domain” which just means when you go to www.mountainbikeforsale.net it will be right there. The other option is to put it in a directory so you would go to www.mountainbikeforsales.net/blog and it would show up when you went there instead. For our purposes of this niche blog we want it on the root domain ~ but I wanted you to understand the terminology.
If you used your niche blog domain for your hosting that’s fine. If you added on your domain that’s fine too. Either one will work, and you’ll see just how easy this is going to be.
Ok. let’s get started.
1. Login to your hosting account and go to your cpanel.
2. Scroll around until you find the fantastico button. It will be the happy smiley face. Your layout may look different than mine but the fantastico button will still look the same.
3. Click the fantastico button. You will find on the left hand side there are many programs you can install with fantastico. You want to find the link for wordpress and then click it.
You will see a bunch of information on the next page ~ well you probably won’t see as much information as I see lol, since I have a BUNCH of current installations. You want to look for the “new installation” link and click it.
The next page is where you choose where you want to put wordpress. It asks install on domain? Yes ~ that’s where you want to install it since we are installing on the root domain. There’s a drop down menu (if you have more than one domain name in your hosting account), click the drop down menu and choose the domain you want to install wordpress on.
The next step is to create your username and password. These are the things you are going to use to get into your blog to post etc. Make sure you make note of this information in whatever fashion you’ve chosen to keep track of your site usernames and passwords (for me it’s writing it in my rolodex).
Next you’re going to choose an admin name ~ this is the name that will show up when you post to your blog. Use whatever name you want to show up when you make new posts ~ it can be your own name (I usually just use Jackie) but if you are going to use a pen name this is where you would put that.
You are also going to enter an email address. This is the address wordpress will use to send you information from your blog ~ when you have a comment etc. So you can use your main address or you can create a new address that you plan to use for everything related to this blog ~ either way works. No one sees this, it’s just so you can get information from your blog.
You also want to put in the name of your site. The default is the url (on my hosting), but I like to change it to the name I want my site to actually have. This is what will show up in your header ~ as well as in the blue stripe at the top of the browser you’re using. This can be changed later ~ so don’t stress, just put something in.
You can also add a brief description in the next spot ~ but you can also leave it blank and do it later from inside the blog ~ either way will work.
All of these images and steps are all on the same page, one right under the next.
After you’ve filled in those pieces you’re going to hit “install wordpress”.
The next page will tell you the directory has been created. It will ask you again that you want to put it on the spot you told it and there’s nothing for you to do other than click “finish installation”.
Tada!!!
The next page says you have installed wordpress. It reminds you of the username and password you have chosen and tells you how to access the blog which is always www.yoururl.com/wp-admin. So for my mountain bike site it’s going to be www.mountainbikeforsale.net/wp-admin ~ then I’ll use the username and password to sign in.
That’s it. You’ve done it. You installed wordpress!! Congratulations. Go ahead and go to your site and log in. Take a look around. We’ll be going on a tour of wordpress for the next post. You can’t break anything ~ most everything can be undone, so go ahead, look around, get familiar with things and I’ll see you on Wed.
If you have questions about installing wordpress, please ask them below. If something has gone wrong ~ and sometimes it happens ask here, but your best bet may be to call your hosting company directly. They can see what’s going on with your site and can easily and quickly help you fix the problem. Me I could guess which of 10 things it could be, but since I can’t see what’s going on it would be faster and less frustrating to call them direct.
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Hey, man!
That post is a really scrupulous and really easy to understand and complete guide.
Thanks – I’ll surely try that method tomorrow!
yep, http:// is the default. You can go in your general settings in your dashboard and add the www. in both the wordpress address and the blog address fields. Make sure you save and it will work.
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Jackie,
I’m attempting to create a new WordPress site. This is my second one and I’m finding that when I set them up, they don’t begin with the “www” in the domain name. Have you experienced that?
Thanks.
Jolene
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Hi Jackie my great mentor,
Good post once again. Because of you things are picking up for me and doing things which i do not know previously and even my friends do not know.
Thank you Jackie
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If you are going to install wordpress.org you have to have somewhere to install it. This is called hosting.
It’s the place where your site will sit. Like lenses are hosted at Squidoo. Blogger blogs are hosted at blogspot.com Your wordpress.org site will be hosted on your own hosting account. You can get hosting through hostgator for about 10 dollars a month. Check out the baby account it should be more than enough. http://www.cheaphosting.internetmarketingformommies.com
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I have really enjoyed reading this and am going to install wordpress.org and hope I do not mess it up!
What do you mean host your own site? How much does it cost?
Dixie
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You can basically do anything on any level ~ it’s just a matter of where it will be found. If you install wp on the root people will just have to type in the actual url http://www.mountainbikeforsale.net to find it. If you install it on a subdomain they will have to type in the sub like: http://giantbike.mountainbikeforsale.net and if you put it in a directory they will have to type in that address: http://www.mountainbikeforsale.net/blog (those are just examples ~ I don’t have blogs on a sub or a directory for this url lol)
However ~ here’s a good example. http://www.itsawahmlife.com ~ I have my personal blog there (on the root domain). HOWEVER ~ when I was short money a while back I decided to use it to add some subdomain blogs to get started, so I have http://best7quartcrockpot.itsawahmlife.com http://easychickenrecipes.itsawahmlife.com ~ you can add as many subdomains as you want ~ and put a new wp install on each of them.
You can put anything you want, anywhere you want, it just depends on how you want people to be able to find your content.
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Congratulations on your Max Blog Press write-up. You deserve all the success in the world. I learn something new almost every time you post. Today I finally learned what is meant by a top level domain.
Could you write (or point me toward) info on the actual make-up of a domain and what can be done with different parts (top level, subs, etc.) Right now I am cutting my teeth on squidoo, but I realize that I will eventually need to host my own sites.
Great blog, I subscribed and will keep an eye on it!
Thanks again!
Hey Jackie!
Thanks sooo very much for posting this!
I have tried to do this before and let’s just say it didn’t work too well. It wasn’t pretty! I even asked a ‘friend’ for help, but he was way to busy with his own stuff to help me. Can’t say that I blame him because I was very thick (asking too many questions). So, now I can just refer to your post whenever I want to make a new site!
Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!!
Cindy
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No problem Pat ~ you can’t earn money from wordpress.com sites. You can most certainly make money from your own hosted wordpress.org sites (the ones you install on your own hosting). They are two very different things.
Follow me @momtohanna on Twitter!
I’m a little confused about what you said about wordpress. You said you can’t make any money from your wordpress site. If this platform can be used in a website don’t we want to make sales or how do we make sales with this? Sorry for being so confused all the time.
This post is so helpful! I’ve installed a few blogs in my day and the process is second nature now. But you should have seen me in the beginning. I talked to myself A LOT. I know lots of people will find this useful. I appreciate what you have going here on your blog and your willingness to help others.
The banners are probably more than you need ~ and you have to make sure you get an html one ~ most of their banners are animated and I don’t believe those will work on Squidoo. BTW ~ WOOHOO on your sale. Way to go!!
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Ok I need to start by saying I made my first sale yesterday with one of my lenses! I was so pumped I can’t even describe it!!! Thank you so much for all of your help, I can’t ever say that enough!!!!!
I was also wondering if there was a way to use the amazon banners they provide in the associates section in our squidoo lenses. I was trying to get one of the music banners to show up and I’m having problems… Any suggestions?? Thanks again!!!!
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Hi Jackie,
Great post as usual.
I would like to sign up for 30 minutes of 1 on 1 help but it would have to be for today because I’m off (otherwise it will be at the beginning of the year). Is today possible?
@Arlene WOO HOO!! I love to hear the stories, keep ‘em coming!!
@Cristina ~ no I have enough trouble keeping myself organized I could never keep pen names organized too lol. I’m sure that will be much like backup love ~ it will take me getting hit hard before I start doing pen names. Thus far ~ no I haven’t bothered. I do create new accounts for some things so everything isn’t all together but that’s about as far as I go.
You can only do one thing with your domain ~ it can either point to your blog or your product. If you are writing articles for eza you’ll need to have a top level domain for your links in your resource box, so you will probably have to get another domain for your blog.
If you’re NOT writing eza articles you can put your blog on the domain you have and then create a subdomain which you could then forward to your products. EZA will not accept subdomains ~ but you can use them other places. It’s totally up to you and dependent on what your plan is going to be.
@Dawn ~ thanks.
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Hey, big congrats on the Max Blog Press writeup! You’re a star!
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Oh!! And another question. I bought the domain name I want to use. However, I’m currently redirecting that link to my Clickbank link. What do I do about that when setting up my WP blog, and have to enter my domain name?
Thanks so much for giving these steps. I’m such a techno dolt and really appreciate the simple instructions (and pictures!!).
I have a question about protecting niches (something you said in one of your recent posts).
This may seem like a dumb question, but do you use a pen name for your niche sites, or do you use your real name??
Good post Jackie. Because of you things are picking up for me. I got my first check from clickbank Saturday and I sold a Cannon camera on amazon.com Sunday!!
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