Its been quite some time thinking about how to start a blog. Read lots of articles on Google (I find google as one of the best search engines). There is loads of information available BUT it confuses sometime. Actually well said that ‘eat that you can digest’. With so much of information it gives impression that setting of Blog takes lot of effort and any newbie can’t setup Blog without help from some professional.

Today I would like to share how I setup my blog and I would like to help those who are interested in setting up their own blog.

Step 1: First steps towards setting up blog is to make up mind that I have to start a blog and I will do/learn whatever it takes to set it up on my own. This is very important because we have to make our mind ready to do things alone without help. The moment we depend on friends/colleagues for help we loose focus.

Step 2: We have to be ready with small expenses involved in setting up the blog. Nothing comes free but definitely at small expense. Expenses like – Domain name cost (very minimal, will explain why it is required), Web hosting (monthly/yearly expense). I am assuming that you already have Laptop, Internet connection and TIME.

Step 3: Now we have to choose Domain Name. Let me explain what Domain Name means in web world. You can find  formal definition on Wikipedia – ‘A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of administrative autonomy, authority, or control on the Internet.’ But I would like to explain the way I see it-

Domain name is address of your website similar to address of your house. Your house address is unique and your friends find your house using the address. similarly if somebody wants to reach or identify your website then they use the domain name like www.homeworkhelpanytime.com. When my friends type this address in browser they are shown my website content. So you have to think of your site address and then register your domain name.

Step 4: There are lots of websites to help you register your domain name but personally I found Godaddy as cost effective and very professional. You can search the availability of the domain name you have decided and if it is available then register it. There will be minimum charges yearly for registering the Domain Name. In case the name is already used by somebody else then it will give you alternate addresses or you can decide on different name.

Step 5: Once you have registered name for you site, now we have to register for web host. You might be wondering what is Web Hosting. Actually when your friends enter the Domain Name (say www.homeworkhelpanytime.com) in browser then it will just show default page. The content which you want blog or write will not be shown to your friends and users. For the content to be displayed you have to buy server space where all these blog articles files can be placed. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center. You can get more details on Wikipedia.

Step 6: I would refer Godaddy for web hosting. I have taken webhosting plan and their support team was very helpful in setting up this blog for me. Its almost automatic.

Step 7: In case you have taken web host with Godaddy then you have to login to your account provided. Install wordpress to start your blog. It automatically installs Mysql DB, wordpress and configures it. With any other Web host you may have to download wordpress and then install it by on your own which is good if you are ready to take challenges and learn more things.

I hope newbies would have got some usefull information and confidence to setup the blog. I will write more on how and why setup wordpress with Godaddy in my next article. I would be more then happy to respond or help guys who want more information.