How to Easily Transfer Your WordPress Blog from Personal to Basic Hosting with Sonic.net
So you have decided to start a blog. Congrats! You’ve come to the right place. This article will tell you everything you need to know about transferring your WordPress blog from personal to basic hosting with the help of the experts at Sonic.net.
What Is Sonic.net?
If you’ve been reading our blog posts or checking out our websites, you’ll know that we’re big fans of Sonic.net. Sonic.net is an American company that provides managed WordPress hosting as a service. Their headquarters are in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. If you’ve ever used their WordPress-specific services, you know that they are incredibly reliable and offer a fantastic value for money. So let’s dig in and see how to easily transfer your blog from personal to basic hosting with the help of Sonic.
The Basics Of Setting Up A WordPress Blog
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMSs) in the world. It is a free and open-source CMS that can be easily installed and configured on your own web server. There are dozens of plugins available for it that make setting up a blog pretty easy. Here are the basics of setting up a WordPress blog:
- Choose a name for your blog
- Point your domain name to your server
- Set up your username and password
- Activate your blog
- Upload your favicon
- Fill out your about page
- Edit your header and footer
- Install the WordPress toolbar
Once you’ve followed these steps, you’ll be able to log in to your WordPress dashboard and begin creating content.
Step One: Set Up Your Domain Name And Point It To Your Server
Your domain name is the address of your website. Typically, it is the name of your company or your website’s category (e.g., “bestmattress.com” or “gourmetdishes.com”). In the case of a WordPress blog, you can use the free domain name service from Sonic.net (which is what we use). To set up your domain name with Sonic.net, click on the Get Started button and then on the Domain Management menu. Next, click on the Add Domain button and use the following information to set up your domain name:
- Your WordPress blog’s name
- Your choice of a TLD (Top Level Domain – e.g.,.com,.org, or.net)
- A brief description of your blog (100-150 words)
- Your email address
- Choose a password
- Confirm your password
You’ll then be asked to point your domain to your server. If you’re doing this for the first time, you’ll need to verify that your server is listed in the DNS (Domain Name System) of your country. You can use the instructions that come with your server to set up the DNS or follow these step-by-step instructions to point your domain name to your server.
Step Two: Install WordPress On Your Server
Now that your domain name is set up and pointed to your server, you’ll need to install WordPress on it. To do this, follow the instructions that come with your server. These instructions should walk you through the entire process of installing WordPress. If you run into problems, you’ll find plenty of help online. Just make sure that when you’re installing WordPress, you select the English language option.
Step Three: Configure WordPress
Once you’ve installed WordPress on your server, you’ll need to configure it. To do this, visit your WordPress dashboard and click on the Settings button in the upper right corner. Next, click on the General tab and make the following changes:
- Make sure that the home page is set to your blog’s name
- Check the boxes next to the categories and tags you want to appear on your blog’s menu
- Change the content from “No Content” to something more fitting (e.g., “Welcome to my blog! I hope you enjoy reading my posts. Feel free to leave a comment if you have any suggestions or ideas for content.”)
Then click on the Update button.
Step Four: Activate WordPress
Once your blog is set up and ready to go, you’ll need to activate it. To do this, return to your dashboard and click on the Activity button. Next, click on the Sites menu and create a new site (if you haven’t already) with the following information:
- A name for your site (e.g., “Danielle’s Kitchen Stories”)
- A short description of your site (100-150 words)
- Your blog’s URL
- A slogan (optional)
- Contact information
- Other social networks (optional)
Then, click on the Save Changes button.
Step Five: Fill Out Your About Page
Your about page is a short bio about your blog. It isn’t required, but it can provide lots of useful information to your readers. So, before you publish your first post, you’ll need to fill out your about page with the following information:
- Your name
- An email address (for notifications)
- A short bio about yourself
- Your blog’s URL
- The name of your blog (this will appear at the top of your blog)
- The address of your blog (e.g., http://yourblog.com)
- A short description of what readers can expect from your blog (e.g., “My blog will focus on helping people with culinary interests learn the basics of cooking. I’ll be using a step-by-step approach, providing clear instructions on how to accomplish certain tasks.”)
- Social media links (optional)
After you’ve filled out your about page, return to your dashboard and click on the Publish button to post your first content.
Step Six: Create Your Blog’s Posting Schedule
It’s now time to create your blog’s posting schedule. To do this, head back to your dashboard and click on the Posts menu. Then, on the left side of the page, you’ll see a calendar with the days of the week listed along with the corresponding dates. Clicking on any of these dates will take you to a page with that day’s blog posts listed along with a link back to your post.
You can also rearrange the order of your blog posts as you see fit by clicking on the Posts menu and then moving any of the circles (the blue circle with the white dot in the middle). By default, the days of the week are listed in the order: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. You can change this order by clicking on the arrows next to the days of the week and moving them around to the order you prefer.
You can also add more posts by clicking on the Add New link in the upper right corner of the calendar.
Now, it’s important to note that your blog’s posting schedule isn’t set in stone. You can change it at any time by clicking on the Posts menu and going back to the calendar. Just be sure that you don’t delete any posts that are already published. Otherwise, you’ll have to delete and re-post any content that was previously published.
Step Seven: Customize The Appearance Of Your Blog
Once your blog is set up and you’ve started posting, it’s time to customize its appearance. To do this, return to your dashboard and click on the Appearance tab. Next, you’ll see a menu of colors and text styles from which you can choose. You can also add a splash of color on your blog through the use of a banner. To add a banner, click on the Add New button at the top of the page.
A basic HTML code for a banner is provided, along with an example of a banner built with that code. You can modify the code as needed to fit your blog’s theme and colors.