JonesPC

If you were following my "how to start a blog" tutorial, you are probably waiting for the next step to setting up a wordpress blog. Following yesterdays blog post, you should have all you need to get started. You have a domain name, and a hosting plan now you have to make them work together.

When you signed up for your hosting plan, you shouldve gotten some type of notification listing nameservers. Nameservers are like the address to your hosting plan. What you have to do now is log into whatever registrar you used to buy your domain name and change the name servers. If you used Godaddy.com, its simple. Log into Godaddy, select domains, find the one you purchased (if there are more than one) then you’ll see the option to change the nameserver. There may already be a temporary nameserver listed, just delete it and put the nameserver that your hosting company told you about.

One last thing you have to do is set up a database. Wordpress uses mysql database to handle all your post and other parts of your blog. You usually have to create a database within your hosting account to get it started. Creating it is simple, usually consisting of clicking a "add database" link, picking Mysql as the type of database, giving it a name and password. Next you need to gather the following information, maybe write it down so you will have it handy when the time comes.

• Your host FTP ip, username and password (ussually FTP.yourdomain.com  username / password)

• Your database ip, username and password.

Now lets go to the wordpress framwork you downloaded. You need to prep the files before you upload it to your host server. Unzip the Wordpress download and open the newly created Wordpress folder. Look for a file named "wp-config-sample.PHP". Open that file in notepad and you will see a file that looks like this. (the image is just shows the top of the form).

Change the info on the file with your information. inputting all of the usernames and passwords you have. When you finish it should look like this. ( the highlighted parts show the changes you shouldve made).

Now rename that file. Change it from "wp-config-sample.PHP"  to "wp-config.PHP".

Time to upload Wordpress

Everything should be all set, now open your FTP program, connect to your host using your FTP address, usernam and password. Once logged in, upload the entire contents of the wordpress folder to your host server, including the file you changed and renamed.

Now you have to let Wordpress install itself. to do that, open your browser and go to this URL. "www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install". It should take you to the wordpress installation page, just follow the directions to the end. Once that finishes, you have wordpress installed. Now when you go to your domain, you should see the default wordpress blog.

Congrats, you are now ready to start blogging. There are still a few more steps so don’t start blogging yet. You still have to personalize your blog which I will go over in the next "set up a blog" edition.

Oh one last thing. Once you are finished with this section of setting up your blog, log into your server (FTP), find the wp-admin/install.PHP file and delete or rename it. You dont want anyone else using that file and you dont need it anymore.