tagged: Make Own Blog, moving to China, Start Blog

How to Set Up Your Own Blog (Or Let Me Develop Yours for Free)!

Posted by Mike in China Living, Finances, Food & Drink, Guest Bloggers, Health, Languages, My Life, Shopping, Travel, Work

For those of you looking at this website and wondering “how did you do it?”, this post is perfect for you! Not only will I give you a step-by-step guide to getting you started with your own blog, but I will give you the ability to hire me to do all the work of setting your website up for you FOR FREE! And, if you don’t like the default blog set up I make for you, you can hire me to do graphical work or set up additional templates for you for only $5 USD.

You just need to promise me that you won’t compete with me directly :).

Let’s get started.

4 Steps to Starting Your Own Website

1. An idea (why make a website if you don’t have anything to write about?)
2. A domain (the name of your website — www.movingtochinablog.com for example)
3. A hosting plan (metaphorically speaking, the house that will “host” your websites)
4. A programmed website (getting tired yet?)

Fortunately, I can help you out with step 4. Just take care of steps 1-3 using the direct instructions below.

Step 1: The Idea (Why You Are Blogging in the First Place)

There are many valid reasons to start a blog, such as the following:

• you have specialized knowledge on a topic and want to share value and knowledge with others
• you want to document a special experience in your life
• you want to connect with new and existing friends
• you would like to have an online presence
• you want to make money online

The reasons above are generally the top reasons for building a blog. Most blogs end up being a combination of more than one factor. Admittedly, all five reasons are why I built this blog.

Once you have your reason for making a blog figured out, it is time to get started with choosing your name.

Step 2: Getting Your Domain (Your Name)

The domain of my website is www.movingtochinablog.com. The reason that I chose this name is that I wanted to tailor my website to those who were moving to China. Because it was a blog, I figured that movingtochinablog made sense. It was easy to remember and it was logical. I’m not a big fan of making things fancy and complicated, so it worked for me. Another benefit is that having “moving to china” in my domain name has allowed me to rank well in google for the term “moving to china”. I will discuss this benefit in a later post when I get into my SEO rant.

For now though, I want you to think of a name that suits what you will write about.

Are you building a blog on baking cakes? Is your name Susie? How about SusieBakesCakes.com? You can even get abstract by going with a brandable, but short name (Nike, Exxon, etc.).

Once you have some ideas for domain names figured out, head on over to namecheap to register your domain. I currently own over 70 domains on one of my Namecheap accounts (in the event that you question my loyalty to Namecheap, you will see this confirmed in the videos).

To get the lowest prices on a domain name using Namecheap, click the banner below (will open up in a new window) and watch the video under the banner where I show you the exact instructions to getting your domain purchased along with a discount.

CLICK BANNER BELOW OR THIS LINK TO GET STARTED

CLICK BANNER ABOVE OR CLICK THIS LINK TO GET STARTED

Namecheap Video:

As you can see, getting a domain name isn’t as hard as some may make it out to be. At around $9 USD / year, you really don’t have to worry about the expenses of purchasing your own domain name. Just don’t get addicted to this like I am :).

Step 3: Getting Hosting (Where You Will Keep Your Website)

Hosting is where a lot of people waste a lot of money in setting up their website. I’ve heard people spending over $100 USD on a monthly hosting plan when this is absolutely overkill. Instead, I’m going to suggest you a way to get started for about $7 USD / month. If you want to have multiple websites hosted under the same plan, you can spend less than $8 / month with incredible service and unlimited space (you can have 1000 websites if you want). I sell some of my websites, so I have reasons for having multiple hosts, but for the benefit of simplicity, let’s say that you should only be purchasing one hosting plan.

Whether you are located in the USA, China, Canada or wherever, I recommend that you use Hostgator for your hosting services. I use it myself and I know a lot of non-Americans who also use it. This website is hosted on Hostgator and Hostgator is the only host that I plan to ever use because of their outstanding customer service and low prices.

Hostgator offers two plans that will likely be relevant to you — a baby plan and a hachling plan. I would opt for the baby plan if I were you since it isn’t much more expensive than the Baby plan and it allows you to add multiple domains to it for not additional cost. Trust me, once you start building one website, it will grow to 2 and then 5 and then 50 and then…

NOTE: IF YOU WANT ME TO SET UP YOUR WEBSITE FOR YOU FOR FREE, I WILL NEED YOU TO USE ON THE LINKS BELOW TO SET UP YOUR HOSTING ACCOUNT WITH HOSTGATOR. YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED AN ADDITIONAL FEE FOR USING MY LINK! By using my link, Hostgator will send me a small commission for your sale that I will use to pay myself to set up your blog up for you. This way, you are essentially getting Hostgator to pay me for your website development while you just sit back and relax. At the same time, the cost you pay for hosting will be just the same if you use my link or don’t. So — you get a free blog programmed and set up for you and you get to support this website. Not bad, huh?

Anyway, let’s get to the links and the video to help you get your hosting set up.

IF YOU WANT ME TO SET UP YOUR BLOG FOR YOU FOR FREE, CLICK BANNER BELOW OR CLICK THIS LINK TO GET STARTED

IF YOU WANT ME TO SET UP YOUR BLOG FOR FREE, CLICK BANNER ABOVE OR CLICK THIS LINK TO GET STARTED

Hostgator Video

As you can see in the video above, you will need a domain to link to your host as your primary domain. What you will need to do at this point is go back to your domain to complete the link to your host.

**NOTE: If you are registering from outside of the USA, you may need to verify your credit card and ID. Host Gator will send you an e-mail with instructions. Get your camera or scanner ready.

Linking Your Domain to Your Host

Let’s go back to our metaphors again to explain all of easily… You can think of your domain as yourself and your host as an apartment that you are renting. What you’ve done above by signing up for hosting is signing the lease for your apartment. The landlords have your name on the contract, but you haven’t physically moved in yet. To physically move in, you will need to go back to your domain and give it your host’s address. Let’s check out the video explaining exactly how to do this.

Linking Your Domain to Your Host Video

Now that you are done, you will typically have to wait about 24 hours before your domain is fully connected to your host. This process may take up to 48 hours if you are unlucky.

Step 4: A Programmed Website (Your Content)

Now is where the real hard work comes in :). If you’d like to take me up on my offer to set up a fully-functional programmed blog for your for free, you will need to send me the following through the information submission form below:

• the e-mail address you used to sign up for Host Gator hosting using my link above (so I can verify that you signed up using my link)
• your control panel link (found in the Host Gator E-Mail to you)
• Your control panel user name and control panel password (found in the Host Gator E-Mail to you)

Your hosting information will go to me and only to me. I will not share this information.

Initial Information Submission Form

Once I receive this message, I will get to work and will have the beginning stages of your first blog up and ready in less than 3 days. I will also send you instructions on how to get started with your blog (by substituting generic information with your own).

Your Blog’s Appearance / Theme

Your blog will look similar to the website shown below. Click the image for a live demo. It was the top free blog I was able to find. However, there are other options (read below) if this isn’t your cup of tea.

Alterations to Your Website, Custom Graphics and Other Templates

If you don’t like this website, I will give you instructions on how to quickly change the look and feel of your blog. If you are interested in a logo that isn’t text based, I can take care of that for you for $5 (you will need to hire me through a free freelance website). I am also available to set up custom blogs for you, including ones found on sites like WooThemes.com or Themeforest.net. Reach out to me using my information submission form above for more information. Prices for this will begin at $5 as well (you will need to hire me through a free freelance website). To begin this process, find a WordPress template using one of my two recommended sites below:

Frequently Asked Questions

1)      If you program my website for me, how long will it take you? Generally 1-2 days. I’ve built over 50 websites, so the process will be much easier for me than it will be for you. I figure I might as well do something productive with my knowledge :).

2)      How will my website be programmed? I will use Wordpress to program your website. Wordpress is far and away the most user-friendly website program you can use. What makes it even better is that it is quite easy to quickly adjust the look of your site.

3)      Are you available for additional consultation or services once my website is built? I’ll be happy to give you some pointers by chat. If you’d like any programming or graphical work done, we can chat about that also. As stated above, I have a way to put together a nice looking custom logo or website for you for only $5 USD (or a drink if you are in Shanghai :)).

4)      Are you willing to put together a free website based on a platform other than Wordpress? I am sorry, this won’t be possible.

5)      What about custom programming? I can work with you to adjust your website for pay. However, I am building your initial website for free.

6)      How do I make money with my website? If you’re interested, I can lead you into some interesting directions regarding how to make money with your website.  However, I’d prefer to only share my methods with those who take me up on the free website offer above.

7)      Can you make my website look like the Moving to China Blog? While I’d prefer to keep my website slightly unique, you will be able to find the template to my website on themeforest.net. I can help you set this up.

8)       Do I need to choose your standard theme or a theme from your two recommended sites? I can take on additional themes on a case-by-case basis. There are some not-so-good themes out there. I’d prefer to stay away from them as they can be programmed incorrectly and will lead to more trouble than it is worth for me.

Let’s get you started on the blogging path today!

Best regards,

Mike