WordPress requires a relational database. Before you get WordPress up and running, you have to set up a MySQL database on your hosting account. Sure, this sounds complicated but it’s not. If you can make a new folder in Windows, you can create a database for WordPress. Here’s how it’s done. Pictures following are from a cPanel demo site. Yours may differ somewhat.
1. Head over to your hosting account, log in and take a close look at your dashboard or control panel. What you are looking for is ‘MySQL Database(s)’:
This is what you are looking for.
2. Click on the MySql Database Icon. This is what you should see:
Add a new database here, create a password and add a user.
3. Use this menu to create a database, create a password and add a user. You need these three pieces of information BEFORE you get WordPress up and running. When you are installing WordPress you add this information to it’s config file once. WordPress uses this database from then on. I would use the password generator but you can make up any name for the database and any user. You can name them both the same, if you want.
TIP: If your host has limited your account to only a few databases, mine has not, you can still run multiple installations of WordPress from the same database. I will show you how to do that later. I have 12 sites on the same account but I only have about 5 databases.
4. This is what the MySql menu looks like on my hosting account. Yours may be the same. :
Same concept, different look. The button on the top left is the one you want to create a new database.
This is the only preliminary work you have to do before installing WordPress. You’ve already created the folder in your root directory, right? We did that in this POST. Once you have done these two steps, it’s OK to download WordPress, unzip it and wait for my next post.
Before I describe the steps to install WordPress, I thought I would take a few minutes to explain what it’s all about. Here we go.
In the early days of the Internet, HTML was king. Every website was based in this text-based language which used tags to hide the inner workings of a web page. Adding < > with some text inside, <html> for example, turned a normal text file into a file that could be viewed in a browser, without the <html> being shown. This was fine for a while but as pages became more complicated and websites became larger, HTML moved out of the range of the average person. Thankfully, WordPress came along in 2003 to save the day.
Any HTML site had to be updated, changed and designed in an editor. Sweeping changes could take days or weeks. WordPress solved this problem. Using a browser, anyone could update, change or design their site without knowing anything about HTML. Sure, it’s handy to know a bit of HTML but that isn’t 100% necessary. WordPress can handle a simple blog or a massively complicated website all on its own, thank you very much!
This blog post is being written in Google Chrome from my SOHO office. Tomorrow, I could write another post from my tiny netbook while I sip a cuppa in a coffee shop. Theoretically, I could update this blog from the other side of the world while sitting in an Internet cafe. I don’t need anything other than a password and a browser to log-in to WordPress and update this blog. There are some news sites around the world that use WordPress for their correspondents who update their input from all corners of the world. Here is a list of spectacular and well-known WordPress sites: WordPress-Showcase.
WordPress can have a simple, clean layout or it can be tuned to do pretty much anything you can think of. In order to use it, all you have to do is be able to use a password and a keyboard. In order to use it well, you have to search, read and experiment before you can create something better than the standard WordPress site. The beauty of WordPress is that it can be pretty much what you want it to be, it’s all up to you and how deeply you want to get into it.
All of the changes you make in WordPress are made inside your browser of choice. I use Chrome but you could use Safari or Firefox, whatever you want. The interface is really no different from the Word interface, with all of the controls across the top and links on either side to adjust other settings. Sure, initially this all looks very confusing but, trust me, after a while it feels like home. Images are uploaded right from the browser, not FTP. (Not that FTP is difficult but it’s an impediment to creativity sometimes, another step before you get to where you want to be.)
WordPress can be changed with dozens and dozens of themes , many of them free, which tinker with the look and feel of your final output. Plugins add other types of functionality, making WordPress do different things behind the scenes. None of this is rocket science. Some parts are confusing, certainly, but if you get stumped on something, there is always Google and a wealth of information available from other WordPress users.
One of the caveats to WordPress that I should explain is its slowness. Many people say that WordPress slows down your site. It does, but there are ways around that. I will discuss these in future posts but don’t consider this an impediment. Use my previous posts to set up your website and come back tomorrow to find out how to install it. Right now, check out the WordPress Showcase above, look for some free themes and decide what style and color combination that you prefer.
Thanks for reading! If you need info or want to comment, just ask and write below this. Follow me on Twitter: @_BrianMahoney
An HTML placeholder is a small file that shows up when someone goes to your new domain name before you have a full-fledged website set up. Consider it a virtual ‘coat on the back of a chair’ at a party. You’re going to sit in the chair, just not yet. The placeholder lets everyone know that your site exists, it works but there isn’t anything there yet. It’s live in other words, just not fully filled out.
Putting up a placeholder is very easy. Here’s how you do it:
1. Open Notepad. Don’t use Word or Wordpad or anything else except a text editor. Notepad is free, comes with Windows and is in your Accessory folder.
2. Copy this text and paste it into Notepad :
<html><head><title>Welcome to suchandsuch.com</title></head><body><h1>Welcome!</h1>
This site is under construction. We'll be up and running as soon as possible. Bookmark this url and come back later. See ya!
</body></html>
3. Type in your domain name where I have ‘suchandsuch.com’ then save the file as an .html file NOT as a .txt. file. (Click on the tiny arrow to the right of .txt and choose ‘all files’.
4. If you accidentally save it as a text file, just rename it as an .html file, ending up with index.html on your desktop.
5. Double click this file to see what it looks like. It’s about as simple as it can be but it gets the message across. You can align the text in the centre, use colors or whatever you want but this is about the simplest .html file you can make.
6. Using FTP or your host’s File Manager, upload that file to the sub-directory that you created in my last post.
7. The index.html file should be the only file there. Once it’s up, open another browser window and type in your domain name and hit enter. There it is! Your placeholder. If you don’t see it, then the file is named incorrectly. Make sure that it is index.html (all in small letters, no caps and with the period before html, no spaces).
Once this page is up, you can relax for a while and figure out how to install WordPress. If you want to stick to html, fine but you’re on your own there. I have moved all of my sites to WordPress just because it’s so damn simple to update.
I’ve explained the WordPress installation in previous posts. Here is a link to the first one: WordPress Installation .
Over the next few posts I will revisit the WordPress installation for you but read the old ones for now. Good luck!
Thanks for reading! Follow me on Twitter: @_BrianMahoney
In my last post I described how to register a domain and set up a hosting account, preferably with two different companies. At this point you have a name and a host but you don’t have a website yet. Here’s how to direct ‘net traffic to your brand new site.
First, some basics. Every website is ‘served’ from a computer somewhere in the world. Although the actual mechanics of that are different from your computer’s setup, the basics are the same. When Windows starts a program, there is a path to that program on your computer. If you change the path, Windows can’t find the file that starts the program. Windows is smart but it’s not that smart.
This is the same with your website. If I want to go to abc123.com and there isn’t a path laid out, I won’t get to it. A ‘404’ page will come up that tells me that such and such a site can’t be found. Here’s how to set all of this up. We will work from the host out to the nameservers. Stay with me, it’s not rocket science.
1. On your hosting account, you have access to a root directory on one of the computers that serves your account. Everything that you upload that pertains to your site goes into a sub-folder in that directory, or a sub- directory in that directory. Folder and directory mean the same thing but you might be used to folder as opposed to directory because Windows uses that term. Root is the base, your files should be put into a sub- folder/sub-directory (f/d from now on) there. On your hosting account, go to the file manager. This is what you should see (different if you use C/Panel):
Everything you do with your hosting account works from here.
2. Click on the File Manager icon. On the left side is root f/d. Create a new f/d as shown here:
Create a new directory in the root directory.
3. Name the f/d something that relates to your site but not exactly the name of your site. Use short-forms or code, it’s not that critical as long as you and your host know what’s in it. Once you name it, it will show up on the right side of the window.
4. Now you have a f/d that will feed your site’s files out to the world. Right now, your host doesn’t know the path, right? Let’s tell them what that path is.
5. Go back to the main menu and choose Domain Central (or something similar). You’ll see something like this:
This is where you tell your host where to send requests for your site.
6. In this section, you are adding an existing domain (the one you registered) and you are putting it into a sub-directory. In the Pointer section, tell your host that you are putting the files in a sub-directory and tell them which one it is. (/sub-directory name/ is the format you would use). Enter the name of the sub-directory that you just created.
7. Click Save and you’re done. Right now, a request for your site isn’t going anywhere, however. You have one last thing to do.
8. Head over to your domain registration site and select your Domain Manager there. You’ll see a link to ‘Set Nameservers’. Like this:
My nameservers are already set but the link is on the right.
9. Click on the link and this will come up:
Sett the nameservers here.
10. Back on your hosting site, there will be two nameservers listed, a 1 and a 2 designation. Some hosts might have three or four servers which shoot out the same stuff depending on which one is up and which ones are down. Never mind that now, you just want to tell your domain registrar where to send requests for your site. These nameservers are little domains on their own, hence the .com designation at the end. Once you enter them, as shown here, click OK.
11. The process from this point on is automatic but it takes time. Average time is about two hours before the main registry starts routing requests for your site to your host. Your host then routes that traffic to the sub-directory you just created in step 7.
OK, what now? If you type in your domain, after waiting a while, you’ll be sent to your sub-directory, right? Oh no! There is nothing there…yet. Every site is automatically based on two types of file, that I know of anyway. One file is named ‘index.html’ and the other is named ‘index.php’. If the host can’t find an ‘index.html’ file, it will look for an ‘index.php. file. Your job now is to put up a very simple ‘Under Construction’ index.html file that will be your placeholder. When someone types in your domain name, they will see your placeholder and know that you are working on your site. How do you do all of this? It’s easy. My next post will tell you all about it.
Thanks for reading. If you have questions, comments or ideas, please let me know. Follow me on Twitter: @_BrianMahoney
Did you know that for the price of a dozen lattes, you can set up your own website and .com name in a matter of minutes? Yup, for less than the price of a vanity plate for your car, you can carve a niche for yourself on the World Wide Web. Here’s how you can do it.
NOTE: I use GoDaddy and FatCow but I do not work for either company, neither am I being reimbursed for anything I say here. GoDaddy is pretty good but I’m sure you can find similar or better hosts than FatCow. Above all, read reviews of these services before you sign up.
1. The cheapest domain registration that I have found is at GoDaddy.com. Depending on the type of domain you choose, you can get a full year or two of registration for less than $20.00, less than $12.00 for a year. Head over and see what kind of cool name you can think of for your site. Contrary to popular belief, not all the good names have been taken. Additionally, some names have expired and are abailable to be picked up again. Give it a shot. Remember, shorter is better. I like .com names simply because everyone remembers them. I had to use .ca for this one but most of mine are .com sites.
TIP: Just because you use GoDaddy for your domain registration, don’t feel that you have to use their hosting services…they’re expensive!
2. Since this is your first site, shared hosting is fine. No need to pay for things you don’t need (such as speed), so once you get your domain registered, head over to a hosting company such as FatCow. If you wonder why my site is sometimes slow to load, it’s because I use FatCow. However, you can host your site for less than $4.00 a month and you can sign up for two years, making the total less than $100.00 for that amount of time. If you don’t know what your future holds, book it for one year and have some fun. Should you decide not to use their hosting once your time is up, you can still keep the domain over at GoDaddy.
TIP: In my opinion, it’s better NOT to have your domain registration and hosting with the same company. If the hosting company goes belly up, you’re pretty safe with GoDaddy as a registration spot.
3. Once you set up your domain, use it to set up your hosting. FatCow seems to require a domain name to get an account. Once you get the hosting account, there is no limit to the number of domains you can host. That’s why they call it shared hosting, right? I have twelve sites on my one account so FatCow’s no-limit hosting is real. The downside to that is that the sites are often very slow to load. Once I get things going a bit more, I will switch to a faster (and more expensive) hosting company.
4. After you get the hosting, go back to GoDaddy and set the nameservers to route traffic over to your site. The details of all of this are a bit much for this first post on creating a new site so I’ll end this here. Trust me, it’s not complicated, it’s not technical and much of it, believe it or not, makes perfect sense. If you can use Word or Excel or configure your router, you’re up to creating your own website.
That’s it! For about $50.00 a year, you’ve got your own site. ($12.00 for the domain for a year and about $38.00 for the hosting per year) Think of it! Your very own soapbox for almost nothing. Yay!
TIP: Almost all of my sites use WordPress. You don’t have to know anything about coding html or css to use WordPress and your blog posts are entered in your browser, easy as pie, not complicated at all. Installing WordPress isn’t difficult and there is a five-minute installation routine that will hold your hand the whole way through. As these posts proceed, I will write about installing WordPress myself.
Thanks for reading! Questions and comments are welcome.
a little bit of hi-tech, a little bit of common sense and a lot of fun
