Step 1. Log in to your Dreamhost account

Hopefully you remember your password.  Just login and you should be at the ‘Let’s Get Started!’ page with the toolbox and main menu on the left side.

Step 2. Install WordPress

Wordpress is my website builder of choice because it is fully customizable and has a very big support network.  There are countless plugins that can make your WordPress site do anything you’d like.  I use it for eCommerce, blogs (like this one you are reading), real estate and more.  It’s a bit robust if you’re just building a splash page or 2 page test site, so I’ll cover site’s like Weebly in a different post.

1. In the Toolbox Click ‘One-Click Installs’
2. Click on ‘Install new website software - Advanced mode‘
3. A list of icons pop up, select WordPress and
4. Below the icons is an ‘Install to:’ option.  Select your site from the drop down menu and leave the part after the / blank.
5. Click ‘Install it for me now!’

Dreamhost will now install the latest version of WordPress to your site for you.  If you did everything right you will receive an email from Dreamhost in the next few minutes with the title “Success installing WordPress on your site!”

Step 2. Create a WordPress Admin account

1. Click on the link in your Success email that should look like this:  http://www.yoursite.com/wp-admin/install.php
2. At the welcome screen add a Site Title (This is the ‘name’ of your site and can be changed later)
3.  Leave the Username as ‘admin’
4. Create a strong password that you can remember.
5. Enter your main free email account (so you can access password resets from anywhere).
6. Click on ‘Install WordPress’

If done right you will now be at a Success! screen.  Look how good you’re doing!

7.  Click ‘Log In’ and log in with your username and password you just created.

Step 3. Customize Your Site in Your Dashboard

1.  Click  ‘Settings’ in the left panel.  Usually the last option
2. Select ‘General’ in the sub menu
3. Change the Tagline.  By default it says ‘Just another WordPress site.  That’s not cool.  Be cool.
4. Change your time zone
5. Click ‘Save Changes’
6. Click ‘Permalinks’ in the left sub menu
7. Chose either ‘Day and Name’ or ‘Month and Name’ if this is going to be a blog.  This is much better for search engines and looks much better than having just a post number at the end of your URL for each post.
8. Click ‘Save Changes’
9. Click ‘Comments’ in the left Menu about half way up.  Delete the ‘Hi, this is a comment.’ comment by hovering over it and selecting ‘Trash’.
10. Select ‘Posts’ towards the top of the left menu and then ‘Posts’ again in the sub menu.  Delete the ‘Hello World’ post by hovering over it and selecting ‘Trash’.

You’ve now cleaned up your site so you can make it yours.  Your site is actually already live but we want to make it pretty.  It’s time to pick a theme.

Step 4. Chose and Install a Custom WordPress Theme

1. Click ‘Appearance’ in the left menu
2. Click ‘Themes’ in the sub menu
3. There are about 42 themes  installed for you already.  There are thousands more online, but you should be able to find one here that will fit your needs while you get started.  Browse the available themes and when you find one you like click ‘activate’.

That’s it, you’ve now updated and completely changed the look of your site in three easy clicks.

Step 5.  Add content

If you’re moving blogspot/blogger blog then this is easy.  You can simply import all of your previous posts and comments.

1. Select ‘Tools’ in the left menu
2. Select ‘Import’ from the sub menu
3. Blogger is the first option (log in to your google account in a different window first) Click ‘Blogger’
4. Click ‘Authorize’
5. Click ‘Grant Access’
6. Select which blog to import and click the magic button ‘Import’.
7. Since Blogger and Wordpress have different usernames, select the one on WordPress that you want to line up with your blogger account and click ‘Save Changes’.  At this point your blog will import itself.

Step 6. Add/Edit Pages

WordPress starts you off with an ‘About’ page.  I usually leave this page but edit it to actually be about the website I’m building.

1. Click ‘Pages’ from the left menu
2. Click ‘Pages’ from the sub menu
3. Hover over ‘About’ and click edit
4. Edit the content to be all about you or your site (add photos with the Upload/Insert option at the top)
5. Click ‘Update’ over on the right

Congratulations.  You have now entered the real world where you can run with the big dogs.  No more will your name be post scripted with some giant corporate entities greedy tagline.  You’re free and you’re ready to rule the world.

In Volume 3 we’ll add my must have plugins for WordPress and customize your site a bit more with a widget or two.  Isn’t this fun!?

Click here to go back to How To Set Up A Website – Volume 1

Getting your website host and domain.

Definitions:

Host – This is where the files, pictures, and actual website content is stored and accessed when people go to your website on their computer.  Sort of a digital warehouse where items are stored.

Domain – Also known as your URL or Uniform Resource Locater this is the website address that people will type in their browser to visit your site.  They cost about $10 per year for a .com domain, are as cheap as 89 cents for a .info domain and up to $45 for a .tv domain.  .com is the best and most used.

Step 1. Sign up for a hosting service

I use Dreamhost and am very happy with them.  It’s $97 per year for as many domains as you can store.  Click http://www.dreamhost.com/r.cgi?248559 and enter coupon code tylerjorgenson and you’ll get $17 off.  If you use the Dreamhost coupon codes provided here I get credit and am able to help you should you get stuck.  Please use coupon code tylerjorgenson

Step 2. Buy a domain

If you’ve already determined your domain name then you need to buy it right away so it doesn’t get purchased by somebody else.  If you are still brainstorming use sites like www.makewords.com or www.godaddy.com to brainstorm but do not buy the domain there.  It is much easier if you buy it through your dreamhost account.

1. Log in to your Dreamhost account
2. Click ‘Domains’ in the left toolbar
3. Click ‘Registrations’
4. Type your desired domain into the ‘Domain to Register’ box and click ‘Check Availability’
5. On the registration page select ‘Use DreamHost’s free WHOIS privacy service‘, fill out the info and click continue
6. Select # of years, click continue (Note: Search engines take this into account when ranking your site.  More years registered gets better results)
7. Enter Credit Card info and click continue
8. Congratulations – you now own a domain.

Step 3. Add your domain to your host

It will take a few minutes for this to show up since the registration is taking place behind the scenes.  Go get a slurpee and come back to your dreamhost control panel in about an hour.

1. Log in to your Dreamhost account
2. Click ‘Domains’ in the left toolbar
3. Click ‘Manage Domains’
4. Your domain should appear under ‘Registered domains without hosting’ , click ‘Add Hosting’
5. Leave everything as is, fill in the visual captcha and click ‘fully host this domain now’

Wham Bam! You have a domain and a host.  In our next series we’ll give you a few more action items to get a website actually set up.

Click here for How To Set Up A Website – Volume 2

I turned the pics from the blog into a video with some music.  It’s nothing fancy, I’m not a video editor by any means, but it’s a nice way to enjoy the pictures and let your mind run free wandering about the world without that pesky interruption of having to scroll down on a web page.

Here’s my hypothetical for today’s post.

You’ve just been granted 45 days paid leave from work and you have to leave the country since the local Cheese Makers Union is about to riot the Gouda factory.  You’ve got the money to travel, so budget isn’t an issue and your passport is up to date.  What country(ies) would you visit?

Later that afternoon my wife thought it would be a good idea to pile all the kids on the couch for quiet time.  She turned on a movie… Hannah Montana.  I wasn’t overly excited.  My wife was out cold pretty quickly with our 3 month old so I was left to maintain quiet time order with the other 3.  It worked out ok, and I had a chance to do my homework.

Most of the music in the movie is pretty bubble gum country pop but not as bad as I like to pretend.  One song affected me in a motivating and uplifting manner.  The Climb.  Video and lyrics are below but it’s about the general concept that life is a journey and not a destination.  Sometimes we’re so focused on where we want to be that we lose focus on the beauty all around us.  We just returned from a long drive (Southern California – Las Vegas, NV – Provo, UT – Capitola, CA – Southern California) and I was pretty worried about the longest leg of our journey from Utah through the Nevada high desert back into California as I heard it was a barren wasteland.  I did the drive once as a kid but slept the whole way.  I ended up really loving the drive and found great beauty in the different climates we drove through.  The song and the drive combined to remind me that a lot of life is about perspective.

The Climb lyrics
Songwriters: Alexander, J; Mabe, J;

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there’s a voice inside my head saying
“You’ll never reach it”

Every step I’m taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb

The struggles I’m facing
The chances I’m taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I’m not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I’m gonna remember most, yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

‘Cause there’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb, yeah!

There’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Somebody’s gonna have to lose

Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s the climb, yeah!

Keep on moving, keep climbing
Keep the faith, baby
It’s all about, it’s all about the climb
Keep the faith, keep your faith, whoa

What is your attitude about time?  Are you future oriented?

“I think you should see my socks.” I replied.

Most days I now wear socks like this.  They’re great quality and very comfortable and they serve two additional purposes.

1. They remind me to never take myself too seriously.  Life is to be enjoyed and is far too short to be lived in an uptight manner.  For me, these socks remind me to laugh, to live and to savor every moment of it all as my unique life experience.

2. They remind me that anything is possible.  Jonah Staw and a few friends started a company back in 2004 with the idea of answering the problem of the missing sock by selling 3 mis matched pairs to a pack.  Their target market usually doesn’t even have their own money, 8-12 year old girls.  Seth Godin mentioned that their annual sales are now over 40 Million USD.  Check out Little Miss Matched.

The interview went really well and the socks were just the extra touch I was hoping they would be.  I got my acceptance letter to the USC MBA program last week.  Time to come up with some $$ to pay for tuition.

Of the many bits of wisdom I got from the book one was to eliminate clutter and excess from our lives.  I talked about the concept of choice paralysis a while back.  I started in my closet and eliminated these 10 pairs of shoes.  Why did I have an extra 10 pairs of shoes?  Anybody wear a size 12 and need some gently worn kicks?

1. You stand up for your teammates. Your loyalty is to them. You protect them through good and bad, because they’d do the same for you. Yogi Berra

2. joshbladh@tylerjorgenson #Yogi also said “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else” #quote

3.  Eddie Torbati Your behavior & your beliefs are in your control. If you’re negative, you’re choosing negativity. That’s fine, just stay away from me.

4. It’s never a bad time to start a business unless you’re starting a mediocre business. #crushit

5. Alice: Oh, no, no. I was just wondering if you could help me find my way.
Cheshire Cat: Well that depends on where you want to get to.
Alice: Oh, it really doesn’t matter, as long as…
Cheshire Cat: Then it really doesn’t matter which way you go.

In summary: Be loyal, be positive, be remarkable and begin with the end in mind.

I’m sure I’ve put on some sympathy weight this pregnancy!  I’m going to have to start using that gym membership soon.  I wonder if I can find the card.