The All In One SEO plugin will help optimize your blog for the search engines.

To start log into your dashboard.

Then hold your mouse over the plug in icon and a drop down menu will appear.

Then you want to click on Add New.

In the Search box type in All-In-One SEO and click Search Plugins.

It should be the first plugin on the list. You now want to click on Install on the right.

A pop up box will appear where you need to click on install again. I have already installed it so mine is worded a little differently. Where mine says Latest Version Installed it will actually say Install Now.

Next you want to click on Activate Plugin.

Now that you have installed the All In One SEO plugin you need to configure it by filling out a few boxes.

Hold your mouse over the setting icon and click on All In One SEO.

Be sure that you have Enabled checked at the top.

Your Home Title is what will show in the search engines as the name of your site. If you want to add an additional description you can put it here. See how mine is below. The name of my blog is HeidiPassey.com, but when you find it in the search engine it actually says “HeidiPassey.com – Learning Internet Marking”.

The second box to fill in is your Home Description. This is what will show up when someone comes across your website  in a search engine. This is the text listed underneath your website. You want this description to catch peoples attention and draw them in. The more interesting your description the more people that will click on your website over other search results.

As you can see above my description text really isn’t too catchy, so that is something I need to work on.

The last box that you should fill in is the Home Keywords. This doesn’t carry as much push as it used to, but it will help with some search engines. You want to list all the keywords you feel your site is about. These are words that you would want your site to show up when someone searches for them.

You can leave the rest of the boxes as they are. Scroll to the bottom and click on Update Options and you are done.

If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment.

Now that you have Wordpress installed you probably want to change the theme to something more interesting and pleasing to the eye. When you first install Wordpress it defaults to a pretty plain blue theme.

One of the nice things about Wordpress is that there are literally 1000’s of themes out there that you can choose from and many of them are free. There are all kinds of free themes available in a variety of formats and colors. You can find themes specific to cars, dogs, planes and so much more. What theme you choose ultimately depends on what kind of feel you want your blog to have. Is it personal or is it for business?

You can install a free theme, a premium theme or a customized theme. You will pay a fee for a premium theme, but the advantage is that not as many other bloggers will be using your theme and you may have access to more support than you would if you just used a free theme.

Customized themes are unique to you. You can pay to have a theme customized exactly how you want it to look and no one else will have the exact same theme.

If you aren’t sure now, don’t worry. You can always change your theme down the road. Your theme is not set in stone so don’t spend too much time trying to decide.

To get started lets look at the free themes that are already available through Wordpress.

First, log into you dashboard and hold your mouse over Appearance.  A drop down menu will then open up.

Click on Add New Themes.

A search menu will pull up where you can select the colors you looking for, you can choose if you want a 2 column, 3 column or 4 column blog and other options as well.

Let’s choose orange and 2 column for this search. Here are a couple of the themes that pull up.

You can click on Preview to see how it will look before you install it. Once you decide on the theme you want click on Install.

This will bring up a pop up. Click on Install Now to install the theme into your Wordpress blog.

You now have your new theme installed, but it isn’t active yet on your blog. If you go to your blog you will still see the original plain blue theme. To finish, you need to click on Activate.

That’s all there is to it.  Now that you have your new theme installed you can start adding different widgets and plug ins. I’ll talk about what these are in upcoming posts.

Again, don’t worry about picking the perfect theme right away. You could spend hours searching for the right theme. Pick a theme you like and start blogging. You want to get your blog going and start building your content. Then down the road you can spend more time searching for the perfect theme. I spent way too much time trying to pick my theme and I wish I had just picked one and started blogging.

Thanks again for reading!

Time to learn how to install Wordpress. As I thought about writing this post yesterday I was thinking it was going to be a long one. I think of the word “install” and I immediately think “complicated”. It’s funny though, because I went through the steps and it literally took me 2 minutes, if that, to write it all down. It really is simple.

Now, I’m going to go through the steps of installing Wordpress through Cpanel. You can install Wordpress manually, but Cpanel really makes it easy.

I actually tried that initially, installing it manually, because I wasn’t sure what I was doing. I didn’t know that you could quickly do it through cPanel. I ended up totally confused, but that’s just me. Using Filezilla is a learning curve I still need to get through. Once I learned I could use cPanel I was up and running in no time at all.

Since you are reading this post I’m assuming you have already got your domain name, set up a hosting account and transferred your DNS to your host. If you haven’t you can learn how in these posts:

How To Register Your First Domain Name

How To Set Up Your Hosting With HostGator

How to Transfer Your DNS To Your Webhost

To begin, log into your cPanel by going to your new domain plus “cPanel”

It should look like this (but with your domain name)

http://www.heidipassey.com/cpanel

Then log in with your user name and password that you set up with your host.

This is what cPanel will look like after you log in.

There are all kinds of things you can with cPanel. There is also a section with special offers that you will want to check out, such as getting $25 free in Google Adwords.

Scroll down to Fantastico. It is the smiley face Icon. Click on Fantastico.

There will be a menu of options on the left hand side. Click on Wordpress.

I didn’t make a screen shot of the next screen. Just click on New Installation.

Now you will select your domain from the list where it says Install on Domain. If this is your first blog, your new domain name should be the only one there.

Go ahead and leave the directory blank.

Choose your administrator user name and password. This is what you will use to log in and post on your blog.

Choose a nickname.

Enter you blogs name and description. The description will show up under you blog name in the header.

Now click Install Wordpress.

That’s it. That didn’t take long at all did it? Now if you go to your website address you should see a very basic looking blog.

I’ll cover ways to spice up the look of your blog in upcoming posts. Feel free to log into your blog now and get familiar with your dashboard. To log in, just go to:

http://www.heidipassey.com/wp-admin (your domain name, of course)

Don’t feel like you have to get your blog looking exactly right before you start adding content. That is a mistake I made. I spent too much time trying to get my blog to look the way I wanted it to before I started blogging. As Alex teaches, “don’t get it perfect, just get it going”. You can always make changes to the look of your blog later.

Again, if you have any questions please leave a comment.

]]> http://www.heidipassey.com/wordpress101/how-to-install-wordpress-with-fantastico/feed/ 3 http://www.heidipassey.com/wordpress101/how-to-transfer-your-dns-to-your-webhost/ http://www.heidipassey.com/wordpress101/how-to-transfer-your-dns-to-your-webhost/#comments Mon, 10 Aug 2009 00:38:47 +0000 Heidi Passey http://www.heidipassey.com/?p=109

Before you install Wordpress and start blogging you need to transfer your domain name to your host. This is known as transferring your DNS to your hosting servers.

Open up the email you received from your host after you signed up for an account. This email should include 2 name servers that you need to enter into your NameCheap account.

They will look something like this:

Name Servers:
NS1566.HOSTGATOR.COM
NS1567.HOSTGATOR.COM

(I made these up so be sure to use the ones in your email)

Log back into your NameCheap account.

Click on Manage Domains.

Next you want to click on the domain name that you need to transfer.

Now on the left had side there will be a list of options. Click on Transfer DNS to Webhost.

Now you want to go back to your email and copy the first nameserver and enter it into box 1 and then copy the 2nd nameserver and copy it into box 2. Once you are finished click Save Changes at the bottom. Don’t worry about box 3 and 4. You only need the first 2 filled out.

It can take anywhere from 2 to 24 hours for NameCheap to find your host. Until that happens nothing will come up if you go to your domain name.

Now that you have transferred your DNS to your webhost, it’s time to go ahead and install Wordpress and start working on your new blog.

Let me know if you have any questions. In the next post I’ll cover how to Install Wordpress.

Thanks for visiting!

You have your domain name, so now you need to set up your hosting account. Signing up for hosting is a pretty quick step.

I actually have Bluehost.com for my hosting, but many of Alex Jeffrey’s students are using HostGator.com and I’ve heard nothing but good things about it.

I actually signed up for a hosting account a year ago when I first learned what internet marketing was. I thought I could jump in and set up a website first thing so I signed up for 2 years of hosting. Big mistake.

Anyhow, I ended up frustrated because I had no clue what I was doing at the time and my hosting account sat dormant for the last year up until now. Since I  have now learned how to set up my own Wordpress blog I’m finally using what I paid for …. at least what’s left of it.

I haven’t had any problems with Bluehost so far, but I’m going to show how to sign up with HostGator since so many people have been recommending them. They offer unlimited websites and unlimited disk space so you can set up as many blogs as you wish under one plan.

How To Set Up An Account With HostGator.com

First you want to go to HostGator.com. They offer a coupon on their homepage so be sure that you write that down. Right now it looks like the coupon code is “Beach” and it gives you 20% off your initial order.  Once you have the code written down click on Sign Up Now.

Since you already have your domain name you want to select “I will use My Existing Domain and update My Nameservers only.”

Then enter your domain name in the box
below and click Next.

Now you select your plan. With HostGator.com you can either sign up for the monthly plan at $9.95 per month or you can pay up front for 6 months, 1 year, 2 years or 3 years. The biggest savings is with the 3 year plan, but if you are just starting out I recommend just going monthly to begin with. Most people generally start with monthly plans.

Don’t forget to add in your coupon code here with will give you 20% off your first month. Then click Calculate Totals.

On this next page you will see your total order and how much you will pay for your
first month. Make sure you have “I am a new customer” checked and then click on Continue.

Now is the last page of the ordering process. Fill out all of your details and payment information and click Verify My Order at the bottom.

That’s it! You now have your own hosting with HostGator.com.

Next post we’ll talk about
transferring you domain name to your new host.

If you have any questions please feel free to leave a comment or
contact me directly.

Thanks again for visiting and I’ll see you at the next post!

So you’re ready to get started on your Wordpress blog. Where do you start? First, you need to get yourself your own domain name. This will be the address to your new Wordpress blog.

I apologize to those that are already familiar with this process. I am going to go into step by step detail in this post for those that have never signed up for a domain name before. I know when I’m learning something new, the more detail I have the better.

There are a variety of places you can purchase and register a new domain name at. If you plan on setting up more blogs or websites in the future I recommend that you try to stick to one company. I didn’t do this. I went to wherever each tutorial suggested so I now have domains registered at 3 different places.

From what I have read recently I see many people recommending NameCheap.com. This is where I set up my domain for this blog that your are reading right now. Another benefit to NameCheap is that there are coupon codes you can use to save you a little bit of money.

To get your coupon code go to NameCheapCoupon.com. They usually come out with a different coupon code each month so be sure you get the most current code. Copy this code and save it for later.

The domain name that you choose depends on what kind of blog you plan to set up. You may be setting up a blog in a certain niche, such as interior design. You can choose a domain name that has your main keywords in it. You might do something like InteriorDesignTips.com or InteriorDesignwithDave.com. I recommend that you stick with a .com rather than choosing .net, .info or .org.

Another route some choose to take is branding themselves by getting their own name as their domain name. This is what Alex Jeffreys has recommended his students do on our Wordpress blogs for his coaching course.

How To Set Up Your Domain Name With NameCheap.com.

Once you have some ideas of what you want for your domain go to NameCheap.com. Under step 1 enter the domain that you want into the box on the top right.

Select .com under step 2 and then click submit.

You will now be taken to a page with a list of domain name options.

Yours will be at the top and it will show whether it is available or not.

It will also show you other varieties using .net, .org, .us. If your selection is not available I recommend going back and trying another name rather than choosing one that isn’t a .com domain.

Once you have the domain you want make sure it is checked and then click Add to Cart at the bottom.

The next step is to add the coupon code that you found earlier.

Enter your coupon code and click Apply Coupon. This will adjust your checkout price.

Then you want to click Standard CheckOut.

You will now come to a page where it asks you to verify the registrant contact, administrative contact, technical contact and billing contact.

I didn’t include a screen shot of this page because you don’t need to change anything here. All of this should be the same as the information you just entered to set up your account. Just click Continue to Options at the bottom.

NameCheap offers free WhoisGuard. I recommend that you opt in for this.

When you register a domain name your name, phone number and address are public for anyone to see. WhoisGuard will keep you information private. Rather than showing all of your information they will list NameCheap’s information instead. Not all companys offer this so that is another benefit to using NameCheap when purchasing your domain names.

Click Enable to opt in for it, remember it is free. Then click Continue to Options.

On the next page it will ask you about Name Server Settings. Since you haven’t set up your hosting yet just leave it at the default which is Use Our Free Name Servers. We’ll come and change this later. Scroll down to the bottom and click on Continue to Checkout.

Finally you are at the checkout confirmation page. Double check that your coupon price is listed. Your WhoisGuard should show as $0.00. Choose Pay With Credit Card and then click Proceed to Secure Payment.

Now you are at the final page where you need to enter in your credit card information. Once you have filled in all the required fields click Charge and Process. There, you are done. You now have your own domain name.

I know this was a long post, but I didn’t want to leave any details out. In the next posts we’ll go through setting up your hosting account, transferring your domain name to your host, installing Wordpress and much more. You will have you own Wordpress blog set up in no time.

If you haven’t already go to NameCheap.com and grab your domain name.

Again, if you have any questions feel free to contact me or to leave a comment.

Before I get into why I think setting up a Wordpress blog with your own host is important I have to say I procrastinated getting online a little bit tonight.

I just had to watch the finale of “So You Think You Can Dance”. I’ve watched it all season long, I just couldn’t miss the finale. I know, I know, probably a good waste of a couple hours, but it is the only show I really get in to. Anyhow, Brandon gets my vote! I don’t know if any of my fellow Alex Jeffrey’s students watch the show, but I think Brandon is a on a level just higher than the rest. Don’t get me wrong, they are all great, I really like Jeanine too, but Brandon is by far my favorite. Ok, my votes in. On to business…

Anyone that is really serious about having an online business and making money online should host their own blog. I know there are all kinds of free services and blogging platforms out there, beleive me, I have set up a ton of them, but if you are serious about having a successful online business, your own blog is the way to go.

Why should you host your own Wordpress blog?

First, you have a lot more flexibility and control when you have your own Wordpress blog. You can customize it and make it look however you want it to. With free blogging platforms you have limited options in designs and limits to what you can and can’t change. Being able to customize the look and feel of your blog helps to create a more professional look. You don’t want your blog to look like all the rest.

I also want to mention all the plugin options. The plugins are endless. I’m still learning how to use many of them and I am reading about new ones everyday that other bloggers are using. If you don’t know what plugins are, don’t worry, I’ll cover that in detail in an upcoming post. I didn’t know what they were either until just a few weeks ago. They are features you can install that can totally change the look of your blog, how visitors comment, back up your files, and so much more. There are plugins that help with your blog with SEO (seach engine optimization), which will improve your rankings in search engines, meaning more traffic to your blog. You can totally customize your blog with plugins.

Last I feel is the most important benefit to hosting your own blog. It’s your site, not someone elses. You have total control over what you put on your site. With free blogging platforms you run the risk of them going out of business or locking your account because they don’t like the content. Trust me, I know!

When I first entered the internet marketing world I set up a free Wordpress blog and it was locked before I even got a chance to publish it. It flagged the system because I had too many links and had to be manually reviewed before they would let me publish. Luckily I had just started this one so there wasn’t that much time invested yet. Imagine if this happened to a blog that you had spent weeks or months on even? All that work, all that traffic you were starting to build … gone.

Same case with the recent changes at Squidoo. I probably have about 40 Squidoo pages. They locked blogs that were on subjects they decided they didn’t like anymore because there were too many of them and they locked lenses that they felt were overpromotional. Luckily, Squidoo did give everyone plenty of notice so that you could save all your content and move it somewhere else, or make changes to it so that it wouldn’t get locked. I had a couple pages that I knew would get locked, but I have about 10 that I put a lot of work into that I was a little nervous about. So far I have been in the clear, but I didn’t take the chance of losing all my work and copied it all to other places online. Not all websites will give you notice though. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

If you host your own wordpress blog you don’t have to worry about losing all your hard work. It is yours and you can do with it as you please!

I should have started my own Wordpress blog a long time ago, but I thought it was going to be too complicated for me to figure out. But you know what? It’s really not that difficult. Installing my Wordpress blog was so much easier than I thought it would be and I’m really glad that I have finally done it. Getting myself over that wall is a huge step for me and for my online business and I’m really excited to help you get over it too.  Seriously, if you host your own Wordpress blog you will be a step ahead of most bloggers trying to make money online.

Thanks so much for visiting. Please come back to learn more about setting up your own Wordpress blog. I will be posting everything you need to know to set up your own Wordpress blog from start to finish.