Can You Install WordPress on a Economy Hosting Plan from Godaddy?
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) available. Its popularity is mostly due to its simplicity and its ability to provide a free blogging platform for anyone who wants to try it. That said, anyone can install WordPress on a web server using any of the shared hosting plans available from a multitude of web hosts. In this article, we will discuss the steps required to install WordPress on a web server using the basic shared hosting plan from GoDaddy which offers a free domain with the plan. We will also cover the setup of a basic WordPress website as well as provide you with some tips on how to improve your blog and attract more readers.
Steps to Install WordPress on a Web Server Using GoDaddy
To begin with, log into your GoDaddy account and click on **Hosting**. You will see that the option to install WordPress is now available for you to select. Click on the **Install WordPress** button and proceed to fill out the form that appears on your screen. Make sure you save your form before continuing.
Saving the form will not submit it to GoDaddy. If you want to proceed anyway, click on the **Install WordPress** button. The next step will ask you to pick a name for your new blog. It is advisable to pick a unique and memorable blog name that will be easy for your readers to remember and connect with. Once you have picked a name, click on the **Install WordPress** button. This will start the process of installing WordPress onto your web server.
This step will take some time to complete. During this step, you will be required to confirm your email address a couple of times. Once the process is finished, you will be presented with a brand new website that is equipped with WordPress.
Setting Up a Basic WordPress Blog
After you have installed WordPress onto your server, it is time to set up your blog. The first step is to log into your WordPress dashboard and click on the **Settings** link. You will see a page that looks similar to the following:
You will need to enter a valid email address for the account and activate the account by clicking on the **Activate** button. After you have activated the account, you can click on the **Change Password** link to set a new password for the WordPress account. You should do this every time you set up a new WordPress blog to ensure that your accounts are always protected.
The next step is to head over to your DNS provider (usually GoDaddy) and set up the A record for your blog. The A record is a field in DNS that indicates the IP address that your website should resolve to. In this case, the IP address for WordPress is 198.51.100.10. Create a test blog on your server using WordPress or any other CMS and then use the **Host My Website** feature to point your blog’s A record to your server. Once your A record is configured, you can click on the **Host My Website** button to confirm your change and make your new blog live on the internet.
Making Your Blog Look Professional
The way your blog looks is one of the first things that people will notice about it. Before they even read your content, they will be able to tell whether or not this is a professional looking blog based on the following factors:
•The design of the blog itself
•The quality of the photos used
•The articles
To make your blog look more professional, you should invest in either a free WordPress theme or use a premium theme that offers a range of features.
If you want to use a free theme, the best option is the **TwentyTen** theme by WordPress. You can get this theme from WordPress’ themes repository. Once you have downloaded the theme to your computer, open it using a word processor and click on the **Install** button to install the theme. You can then log into your dashboard and switch the theme to the one you just installed. This is usually the cleanest and simplest way to change the look of your blog.
The Benefits of a Blog
Blogs are a great place to build a presence online and share your knowledge and expertise with the world. Moreover, blogs offer the unique opportunity to build relationships with potential customers and engage them into becoming regular visitors and eventually paying subscribers.
Since establishing a website involves a lot of technical work and can be rather expensive, many prefer to use blogs to build their presence on the internet and to attract potential customers to their website.
As the owner of a blog, you will most certainly appreciate the benefits that the platform provides. To that end, let’s discuss how you can use a blog to achieve greater success.
How to Use a Blog for Free
If you’re looking to use a blog to build your presence online or to attract potential customers to your website, you should keep in mind that the platform is free. This means you can launch a blog in no time at all and begin posting articles to build your audience.
While it is great to have a large following, earning money from blogging is not as easy as it seems. The fact that you can post free content means that you have little or no investment to make in order to become profitable. Moreover, earning money from a blog comes down to marketing and SEO (search engine optimization). To that end, you should make sure that you put in the time to learn how to do these things effectively. Once you’ve mastered these skills, establishing and running a profitable blog will be a piece of cake.
Where to Post Your Blog
One of the first things you’ll need to do to establish a blog is to choose a niche. This is the branch of knowledge that you’ll be focusing on. For example, if you’ve chosen fashion as your niche, you’ll want to write about fashion trends as well as style advice. As you think of potential post topics, consider the following:
•What is the main point you want to make in your post?
•Is this information something that will be unique and valuable to your readers?
If you can answer both of these questions with a resounding “yes!”, then you’re ready to post. If not, then consider whether or not this is a platform that you’ll be able to effectively use to promote your business.
How to Build a Following
To build a following on a blog, you should focus on posting regularly AND consistently. The more you post, the more you’ll attract potential and existing customers to your site. Moreover, you should make sure that your posts are of a good standard and that you put in the time to make them as professional as possible.
To get started, you can use various tools like Google Analytics to track the performance of your blog and use the data you collect to make small tweaks to improve your blog’s overall performance. For example, if you notice that your posts tend to get the most views when published on a Tuesday, you can use this information to schedule your posts to be published on Tuesdays.
Even if you’ve chosen a profitable niche and have a decent following already, still consider whether or not you should use a blog to promote your business or website. The investment required to establish and maintain a blog can be quite significant, and unless you have the time to devote to this activity, it may not be the best fit for your business. Moreover, earning money from a blog can be quite difficult, meaning that there is no guarantee that this is a stable source of income.
To help you decide whether or not a blog is right for your business, we’ve compiled a list of everything to consider before launching your own blog.