Here’s my Mindmap for the ‘Getting Started’ module. Mindmaps help keep me more organised! A recap and ‘To Do’ list in one.

So this is a kind of snapshot of the Getting Started tutorials covering ideas on how to find the right domain for you and what works best, how to register your domain, find a hosting account (and why it can make sense to keep them separate). Yeah I know it’s starting to sound technical! IT’S NOT! We can do this!

Plus how to point your domain name at your hosting space and why the free FTP tool Filezilla will come in handy now and in the future.

I would say that this is the ONE area of getting yourself online that scares so many away – the process of buying your domain Name and setting up your hosting account. Once you’ve overcome these tiny hurdles you’ll be on a roll ( and they’re not really hurdles at all when done right, as you’ll quickly see in the video tutorials).

PS: Hover your cursor over the Mind map and hold down your left mouse button to drag the map around the screen or use the zoom in/out option to see all of it.

So, don’t procrastinate or put it off! Jump in and find out how to get that Domain Name right now!

So what’s in a Domain Name anyway? Let’s discuss ways to find a cool one! Is .com better than .biz? Yes it is, but why?

If you haven’t got a domain name yet there are a number of things to take into account and it kind of depends what you want your name to do. “Do?” you say. Yep, your domain name alone can have a significant bearing on your Search Engine results and therefore on how people find you online.

Questions to ask yourself:

• What looks better to you: www.how-to-catch-more-fish.com or www.joesanglingsupplies.com ? Are hyphens a good idea?
• If .com isn’t available should you buy .net or .biz or another domain extension? What’s the difference?
• Do you know what the main keyword phrase for your site is yet?
• Is a memorable name a better way forward? www.gonefishingbackatsix.com
• Are you promoting a business, yourself, or targeting a niche market? Or all three…
• Are there any free tools to help you find out what your options are?

These questions and more I will attempt to answer in my, as usual, rambling audio below- it’s a bit ‘train of thought’ I admit but please get used to it as I know no other way. What’s that you say? “Write a script?” Come ON!

PLUS check out what I really think is a v. cool free resource, in the video tutorial which will save you a bunch of time in finding a super domain name! Can you sense how enthused I am about this free service?

AUDIO

VIDEO
PS: Click on the ‘enlarge’ icon in the video controls for full screen version

Relevant links for this tutorial:

• BustaName.com

Glossary/Explanation of Techy Terms used in this tutorial:

• Domain Extension: i.e. .com, .co.uk, .net and dozens of others, all countries have multiple country specific suffixes/extensions too.
• Algorithm: What Google uses to rate your site. It’s a list of pluses and minuses ( possibly/probably hundreds) and they look at such things as domain extensions, age of the domain, backlinks etc. etc. to determine how they should rank your site. A lot of people spend a lot of time unsuccessfully trying to understand Google’s algorithm but it’s more secret than the recipe for Coca Cola!
• Prefixes/Suffixes: In the context of this tutorial refers to things you might put in front of or after a domain name (before the domain extension) such as an ‘i’ prefix as in www.ifishing.com or a ‘ter’ suffix as in www.fishter.com.

Got a question about any of the info above? Let us know in the Comments section below….

Who says we have to buy our hosting from the same company that we use to purchase our new domain name? Not us!

In fact it makes sound sense to keep them separate, especially if you think you may want to sell your site(s) in the future.

Somebody told me recently that in today’s financial climate it makes sense to have your credit card issued to you by a bank that is NOT the bank you use for your day to day financial business. The reasoning being that if it’s issued by YOUR bank and they want to call in the debt they can just access your account and simply help themselves to your cash!

I don’t know how much truth there is in that bank-wise but as regards hosting and domains you are more secure keeping the two separate in my opinion.

It’s only when I started selling sites at auction and privately that this became clear to me and I try and do it all the time now for new domains. If my hosting company goes belly up I haven’t lost my domain name ( and naturally I’ve backed up my site so I can transfer it to another host – more on that in later tutorials) if my domain name company give me grief I can transfer it to another registrar.

Don’t get scared now! That’s never happened to me or to anyone I know but I believe in hedging my bets when it comes to my business!

So this audio talks about that and introduces aspects that I haven’t mentioned in the How To Video Tutorial below. The audio also goes over some of the stuff we covered in our ‘What’s In A Domain Name‘ tutorial.

PS: Click on the ‘enlarge’ icon in the video control bar, below, for ‘full screen’ version

Relevant links for this tutorial:

• GoDaddy.com
• NameCheap.com

Glossary/Explanation of Techy Terms used in this tutorial:

• Domain Name: If your website is found at www.Thisisme.com then your Domain is Thisisme.com if your www address is www.Thisisme.co.uk that is another domain and there is not, necessarily, any connection between the two as they have different suffixes. Similarly Thisisme.com and This-is-me.com and This-isme.com etc. are ALL separate domains the hyphens make that so!
• Domain Suffix/Extension: i.e. .com, .co.uk, .net and dozens of others, all countries have multiple country specific suffixes/extensions too.
• Hosting/Hosting Company: Your web site or blog has to sit somewhere i.e. on a big specialised computer where it can be accessed when somebody types a www. address into a Browser address bar. Hosting companies rent you space on their big specialised computers (known as Servers).
• Upsell: When a company tries to get you to add more stuff to your order
• PayPal: The most popular payment portal on the web. You don’t need to have a PayPal account to use PayPal to process a credit card payment
• WhoIs: Kind of like a Yellow Pages where you can type in a domain name and see the details ( name address etc.) of who owns it, unless they’ve chosen to hide that in which case it will show the details of the domain name registrar only.
• DNS: Stands for Domain Name Server Settings. These tell your domain name registrar where to send anyone who types your address into a browser or clicks on it in Search Engine results. In other words DNS links your domain name to where your site is hosted. If you change your hosting company you simply change your DNS settings to point to the new host.
• Browser: e.g. Internet Explorer, Safari, Firefox, Opera. A Browser lets you search the web by typing addresses into the big white box (navigation bar) – everything else on offer is just bells and whistles, a browser is your portal to web content. All computers come with browsers built in. If you have Windows installed on your PC it will be Internet Explorer, on an Apple Mac it will be Safari. Later we’ll show you how you have a choice when it comes to Browsers – some are better than others

Got a question about any of the info above? Let us know in the Comments section below….

So you’ve bought a Domain Name, now you need to get hosting sorted out. You need somewhere to build your site right?.

Yep there are hundreds of hosting companies out there, thousands more like. Some obviously are better than others and, rather than tell you some horror stories about crappy hosting companies I’ve come across ( you know who you are you swine!) let’s concentrate on companies I’ve had nothing but good experiences with.

Good Support is paramount in my book. Hostgator in the US and Heart in Europe are top notch and that as it should be. Plus they have one click WordPress Blog install – more on that in later tutorials.

So here are some of the questions I try and answer in the Audio segment before the quick video tutorial on how to sign up with Hostgator:

• Which country should you host in and why?
• What am I looking for when it comes to ‘bells and whistles’ i.e. ‘extras’ ?
• Do I need a Reseller account or one domain type account only?

PS: Click on the ‘enlarge’ icon in the video control bar, below, for ‘full screen’ version.

Relevant links for this tutorial:

• Hostgator (PS: When asked if you have a coupon code type in hgc25 to get $10 off !)
• HeartInternet.co.uk (Coupon code to type in & get 10% off your annual hosting fee is BBSWHPC).

  P.S. Be sure to buy the WordPress enabled Home Pro option and not the cheapo ‘Starter’ version

Glossary/Explanation of Techy Terms used in this tutorial:

• Hosting/Hosting Company: Your web site or blog has to sit somewhere i.e. on a big specialised computer called a Server where it can be accessed when somebody types a www. address into a Browser address bar. Hosting companies rent you space on their storage computers (known as Servers).
• Dedicated Server: You and your web site(s) have sole use of a Server – otherwise it is shared with other web site owners. That is the norm and nothing to be worried about. A dedicated server will mean faster loading times but is only something to consider when you hit the Big Time.
• Reseller Account: Your Reseller hosting fee allows you to host multiple domains on the one account i.e. the only fee you’ll pay is the cost of purchasing the Domain Name ( via GoDaddy.com or wherever). Makes very good sense if you’re looking to have 3+ sites ( also if you choose to build sites to sell on). This is as opposed to a…
• Basic Hosting Account: hosting one domain on one hosting package – cheapest option, short term. Good for testing the waters ( and of course you can always upgrade your account later if you choose).
• PayPal: The most popular payment portal on the web. You don’t need to have a PayPal account to use PayPal to process a credit card payment.
• Nameservers: These tell your domain name registrar where to send anyone who types your address into a browser or clicks on it in Search Engine results. Every hosting company have there own Nameservers. If you change your hosting company you simply change your Nameserver settings to point to the new host.
• Bandwidth: The more people visit your site the more Bandwidth is used, hosting companies offer different amounts of bandwidth per month. Think of it like electricity, every time somebody comes to stay, for free, at your big house they turn lights and appliances on as they go. Some appliances such as washing machines ( i.e. watching a video on your site) use more electricity than a simple light bulb (i.e. seeing a static image).
• CPanel: Stands for Control Panel. This is the Admin area of your hosting account where you add a WordPress blog, for example, or set up your email addresses and so on. You need to have a good look around your CPanel to check out all the things you can do or add to your site ( visitor statistics maybe?).
• Linux: A type of hosting structure, the one that most hosting companies use and the one you need.

Got questions? Leave a comment below…

If you bought your domain from a domain registrar and not through your hosting company, you need to change your DNS settings.

This is what tells your domain name registrar where to send your visitors i.e. where to point/forward them to. Kind of like informing the Post Office when you move house.
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If you’ve decided to register your Domain Name with the same company that hosts your site then this won’t apply – but this video tutorial may come in handy in the future, as I explain in the brief audio below:

Relevant links for this tutorial:

• GoDaddy.com
• HeartInternet

Glossary/Explanation of Techy Terms used in this tutorial:

• Domain Name: If your website is found at www.Thisisme.com then your Domain is Thisisme.com if your www address is www.Thisisme.co.uk that is another domain and there is not, necessarily, any connection between the two as they have different suffixes. Similarly Thisisme.com and This-is-me.com and This-isme.com etc. are ALL separate domains the hyphens make that so!
• Hosting/Hosting Company: Your web site or blog has to sit somewhere i.e. on a big specialised computer where it can be accessed when somebody types a www. address into a Browser address bar. Hosting companies rent you space on their bid specialised computers (known as Servers).
• Domain Name Registrar: The company from which you purchase your domain name, in the examples above it’s GoDaddy.
• DNS: Stands for Domain Name Server Settings. These tell your domain name registrar where to send anyone who types your web site address into a browser or clicks on it in Search Engine results. In other words DNS links your domain name to where your site is hosted. If you change your hosting company you simply change your DNS settings with your domain name registrar to point to the new hosting company’s Nameservers.
• Nameservers: Every hosting company has their own Nameservers , which are kind of like their web postal address, and the details of which they’ll email you when you sign up for a hosting account. Normally something like: NS1.something.com and NS2.something.com

Got a question about any of the info above? Let us know in the Comments section below….

While the latest versions of WordPress allows you to install plugins and new themes without using FTP ( File Transfer Protocol) it’s still very handy to know how to do it yourself.

In fact I swear by it as I like to ‘see’ the files moving from my computer to my hosting company’s server!

Fortunately there’s a cool, and free, bit of software that makes it really easy.

You can also transfer files through your hosting CPanel, and via your WordPress dashboard (more on that later) but each to his own and Filezilla works just fine for me and will for you too. In the video tutorial below you’ll see how to download Filezilla and how to use it (don’t worry it’s easy!)

Relevant links for this tutorial:

• Filezilla

Glossary/Explanation of Techy Terms used in this tutorial:

• Filezilla: A free FTP program/application.
• FTP: Stands for File Transfer Protocol and is how you transfer files from your computer to your hosting company server.
• Web Server: The computer at your hosting company where your site sits.
• Firefox: Another type of Browser ( like Internet Explorer) – more on Firefox later – you don’t need it for this tutorial.
• Drag and drop: You can left click on a folder with your mouse and, keeping the left button held down, drag the folder around your computer screen and, by releasing the left button, drop it in an new location. In the same way you can drag and drop files from your computer to your server with Filezilla.

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N.B. Just be sure to drop it in some clear ‘white space’ and that no folders in your server’s window are highlighted or you might ‘drop’ the folder inside another plugin’s folder. Better yet use the ‘right click – upload option I mnetion in the video.

Got a question about any of the info above? Let us know in the Comments section below….

There’s simply no denying the power of Google as they continue to dominate not only the Search Engines but also to supply everything a web surfer, or marketer, needs.

But most people simply don’t realise how all encompassing the Big G is, or will be.

Essentially Google’s aim is to make Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter ( to name just three) redundant! So whether you believe Google to be the equivalent of the Terminator film’s SkyNet, the super computer that becomes self aware and attempts to destroy mankind, or the cyber equivalent of Yoda from Star Wars fighting to liberate us all from the tyranny of the Evil Empire (Microsoft!) it matters not!

The good news is that if the reason that you’ve been put off from building a presence on the WWW is because you feel you’ve left it too late and will never catch up with the technology you are wrong! The internet is changing rapidly and the way to get on top of the new web is to align yourself with Google.

The first way to do that is to go get a GMail email account which opens the doors to a mind boggling array of opportunities and applications:

• Google Adsense
• Google Adwords
• Google Analytics
• YouTube (owned by Google)
• Google Docs
• Feedburner
• Google Friend Connect
• Google Reader
• Google Profile
• Google Wave

Allow me to try and pull all this together for you in the video below:

PS: Click on the ‘full screen’ icon in the video control bar, below, for full online lusciousness!

Or, on the other hand…

Yep, unless we have a ‘Gravatar’, when we post a comment on a blog we will remain, forever, that ‘grey’ man icon… or, if we’re lucky, a randomly generated bit of nonsense. See that in action in the Comments below this post.

Gravatars are Globally Recognized Avatars. An avatar or gravatar is an icon, or representation, of a user in a shared virtual reality, such as a forum, chat, website, or any other form of online community in which the user(s) wish to have something to distinguish themselves from other users.

Created by Tom Werner, gravatars make it possible for a person to have one avatar across the entire web. Avatars are usually an 80px by 80px image that the user will create themselves.

Let’s start as we mean to go on, to be recognisable on the web. You’ll find that you start recognising people in forums and on blogs, and they you.

THIS IS A GOOD THING !

I personally don’t care if that’s a real photo, a caricature (in my case) or a company logo but once you’ve decided what it’s to be then stick with it. In Social Networks too it’s a must.

Mea Culpa: I admit that in the past I tried to create a separate image for every site/email I own i.e. different images for different email addresses – and that’s still true to a certain extent – but if starting from scratch with a blog today I’d want to stamp my image and profile on the web from day one!

Relevant links for this tutorial:

• Gravatar.com