Week 1: Buy a domain and install WordPress

This post is the first in a weekly series that will take journalists through how to set up a professional-looking portfolio Web site. Check back next week for more.

First things first: If you know anything about me and how-to guides, you know that I’m a bit of a screen cap nut. I’m a big believer in showing you what you should click, so apologies if this post looks a bit gargantuan. Also, some of the screen caps were too wide to fit on my blog at their full size. If you’re having problem seeing what they say, click them and they should pop up in full size so you can read what they say.

Also, I promise this isn’t too hard. This is a huge post, but only because I’m just trying to make sure I don’t leave any steps out.

Step 1: Choose a domain

You need to get a domain. You can register a domain through tons of Web sites. (I use GoDaddy and have few complaints, so that’s what I will use to walk you through things. If you want to use another host, go right ahead.)

(Update: Check the comment section for some suggestions for alternative hosts.)

One you think of a domain you like, go ahead and do a search on GoDaddy’s home page to see if it’s available.

I’d recommend you a .com domain that is derived from your name. EmilyIngram.com wasn’t taken when I set mine up. If your FirstnameLastname.com domain is taken, just stick to something professional sounding that you’ll be happy to keep for many years to come.

Some alternatives for you to consider:

• www.byJohnDoe.com – Joey Baker’s www.byjoeybaker.com is one example of this.
• www.DoeReporter.com or www.DoeDesign.com or www.DoePhotography.com – Andrew Dunn’s www.dunnreporter.com is one that comes to mind.
• www.JohnADoe.com – See Andy Boyle’s www.andymboyle.com.

Find one you like that no one else has laid claim to? Awesome.

Step 2: Buy it before someone else does

(I already have a GoDaddy account, so I hope that my instructions here are the same if you don’t have one. That said, if GoDaddy is trying to get you to add on anything I don’t mention here, you probably don’t need it.)

So you’ve found a domain you want and it’s available. Now, it’s time to buy it. GoDaddy will try to get you to buy all sorts of additional domains, such as the .net and .biz alternatives of what you picked. You don’t need them.

(Update: Adam made a good point in the comments below. Though you certainly don’t need to buy the .net or .info or .biz versions of your domain, you can buy them if you want to block other people from doing so. It’s definitely not a bad idea, but it’s up to you.)

Click the orange “Proceed to Checkout” button.

This next screen will likely be another attempt by GoDaddy to get you to buy more domains that you don’t need. Just click “No thanks.”

Now you’ll need to put in your personal information to create an account with GoDaddy. Then click “Continue.”

On this next screen, you’ll want to choose how long you want to register your domain for. (I go on a year-to-year basis, and GoDaddy will call you when you’re near the end of that year so you know you need to renew.)

You’ll also want to check the button that says “Economy Hosting.” (It’s in that first yellow column. One year of hosting will run you about $55.)

Now scroll to the bottom of the screen and you’ll see two lines of text. One of them will say something about customizing your order. The other says “No, proceed to checkout.” (Or something to that effect.) Click that one and go to the next screen.

This, I think, will get you to your actually checkout. (GoDaddy may give you more options to buy stuff. Like I said, you probably don’t need it.)

Your domain plus one year of hosting will run a hair less than $60.

Because I’m a big fan of coupon codes when shopping online, here’s a way to save about $11: Enter “BTPS7″ (without the quote marks) to save 20% on any order of $50 or more.

(I don’t know when that one expires, so as a backup you can try “Rev6″ (again, no quote marks), which should get you 20% off your hosting plan. That’s basically the same deal, and that code will likely not expire for a while.)

You’ll have to select how you want to pay. (Again, because I already have an account, you may need to enter extra information that I already have stored in their system.)

Agree to their terms of service by checking the two checkboxes.

Click “Checkout Now” and you should be all done.

Do a little happy dance.

Step 3: Install WordPress

On the green navigation bar, scroll over Hosting and select the last option on the list, “GoDaddy Hosting Connection.”

Because GoDaddy’s site design is a little screwy sometimes, it may treat you like you’re not logged in even if you are. Just click the “Log in to your account to get started” line, and you’ll be good to go.

This screen should show your newly purchased domain. Click “Manage Account” next to it.

This will bring up a new screen. You want to click on the gray horizontal bar that says “Content.” Now you want to click on the last button that says “GoDaddy Hosting Connection.”

(Yes, GoDaddy makes it difficult to get to this page. I know. I wish they didn’t.)

On this screen, you’ll see along the left hand side a bunch of options. Click “Blogs.” That will present you with a bunch of other options. Click “WordPress.”

A new screen will open and you should see a gold “Install Now” button. Click it.

You might need to select which domain you want to install WordPress on. (That’s easy as you only bought one.) And you’ll need to choose a username and password.

That should be all you need to do. (I’m not 100% sure as I don’t want to click the button now and risk overwriting any of my installs already on my domains.)

The installation process takes a little while. (Something like up to 24 hours, if I remember right. You can see the status of the installation in the upper right hand part of that page. It’ll say WordPress and then undernearth it something like “Installation Pending.”)

When it is done, you should be able to go to www.YourDomain.com/wp-admin/ and see a login screen like this:

Enter your username and password that you chose earlier, and you should be golden. That means WordPress is installed and you’ll be ready for next week’s task.

Did you run into a problem? Did I leave out something by accident? Leave a comment and I’ll look into it.

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