How to set up your own site
First up, you need to get a domain. You can register a domain through tons of Web sites. (I use GoDaddy and have few complaints.)
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.
Buy hosting space
You most likely won’t need much space. Go for the cheapest option that GoDaddy or your hosting service offers, and don’t get any of the add-ons that they’ll try to throw at you. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve never run into a situation where I would’ve needed any of their extra bells and whistles.
Just keep clicking “No thanks” until you get to the checkout.
Install WordPress
WordPress is a great content management system that you can use to create your site.
(FYI: A content management system is essentially the back-end system that makes your site run. It’s not something that a person visiting your site will see, but it’s what you’ll use to edit your site.)
Basically, WordPress does some of the technical work for you.
Follow “How to install WordPress on a GoDaddy hosting account” and you’ll be golden. A few clicks and you should be up and running with little hassle.
Find a theme
A WordPress theme is a package of files that make your site work and provide its design. WordPress will automatically come with a couple themes included. Those are fine to use while you get the hang of things.
If you want to find a new theme, a simple Google search for “best WordPress themes” turns up list after list of suggestions to use for your site. Read a few of those lists and you’ll get a good idea about what options are out there.
My only suggestions for which themes are good and which aren’t:
- At this stage of the game, you should be fine with a free theme. At some point, you may want a more robust theme that costs a few bucks. Not yet, though. Don’t waste your money.
- Think about how you’ll be using your site. If you’re using it mainly to host your portfolio and resume and not using its blogging features much, make sure you choose a theme that doesn’t plays up the links to various pages of the site. (Sometimes you’ll see those links across the top where they pop. Other times you’ll see them kind of hidden on a sidebar.)
- Keep it simple. You can easily switch to a new theme after you get the hang of things. Don’t feel like you need to make everything look perfect right away.
Pick one and download it. You’ll need to upload it to your hosting space via FTP.
(FYI: FTP, or file transfer protocol, basically points to a file, like an image, on your computer’s desktop and tells it to copy itself onto your server space. Once it’s on there, you can have it appear on your Web site.)
Post, post, post …
Start loading up your site with content. Some things to consider putting on there:
- Resume, with links to relevant employer’s Web sites
- Portfolio of articles, multimedia packages, ads, etc. you created
- About page with basic information about who you are
- Links to your profiles on social networks like LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr, etc.
To create a new blog post, you’ll want to click “Add New” under the “Posts” header. To create a new page (for your resume, for instance), click “Add New” under the “Links” header.
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