Self hosting question

[Kaie]

I had someone set up my WP self hosted site for me, he is hosting me. I really want to host myself for various reasons, and also am looking into a new site and don't have him to go to.


What steps should I take? I know this is a simple question, but I am still learning all of this, am used to having help.

[Lil Chris]

What's your budget?

You can start with a shared server, like host gator or many others... It's not as complicated as you may think. You can ask your questions here, there are many people willing to help get you going...

[VinceG]

Host yourself, as in running your own web server on your own hardware, or buying hosting and administering it yourself? The latter is easy and fairly cheap, the former is free but pretty difficult, and if you don't have hardware that is switched on 24/7, your blog won't be up 24/7.

[Kaie]

My budget is not huge, I may not have to switch over just yet, so I have time. So by hosting myself, is that through something like Host Gator?

[Lil Chris]

It depends on your definition of hosting yourself. Most people start at renting server space from a hosting company like hostgator. This gives you access to your "server" which is really shared space.

With that said, you are the administrator of your "space". You control your wordpress and have access to some functions on the server using a control panel, you can get away with not having to mess with the server end too much until you learn to use it or you can give access to someone you've hired to do the work for you if you so choose (your decision). You can also set up a user for the server for web work you hire out, then turn off when job is complete. Host gator will run you about 5-15 dollars a month.

The next step would be called a VPS (this is what I run) It stands for virtual private server, which segments off space for you so there are less people on your "box". I also sell space to clients who need web design. I'm thinking this is not what you are referring to when you say server. This will run you close to 100.00 month +. If you just run a website, you want the above option.

The step after that is called a dedicated box or this is in the truest sense your own server. This will run you more, but you are the only one on that server (unless you give access to that machine. This is beyond your scope, i believe.

What is your current url? to get a "sence of where you're at"...

[GraemeMcA]

I'd say go for a hosted solution.. The market is wildly competitive these days and running a web server is a major task. If you're after a learning experience then by all means go ahead but remember website production is a big field inhabited by content authors, SEO specialists, programmers, graphic designers and network admins.

It's fine to be a specialist and not know everything about those other areas.

It's only a solution when you're doing the things that you're good at and enjoy. If your spending time on something that you're struggling with and your project is suffering.. Outsource, outsource, outsource!!

[Kaie]

Originally Posted by Lil Chris

What is your current url? to get a "sence of where you're at"...

My current sites are basically brochure sites that I have yet to monetize. I am also working on an SBI site, I am in content building stage. I am getting ready for a new venture, related to my current vocation/ area of study.

This is an example of my brochure site (I am not sure if it even possible to monetize it, I am open to ideas, I have lots of experience in this field.)

I may lose the help of the guy who is kindly hosting me, we were bartering, and are not any longer. I will probably need to move my sites, hopefully later rather than sooner. I want to learn how to do it myself. I will look into host gator, that sounds like the best option for me.

I will probably be asking for help once I am into the transition, and the new start up.

[GraemeMcA]

Hi

A few ideas.. I don't like the first photo on your home page - the one on your about page is so much more professional - go with it as the first to be seen.

Also there are no prices!! People need to know how much the haircuts cost before going ahead. Oh just realised they're in the menu section - perhaps you should rename this price list?

Could you rename your contact page to "booking" and put a day and a time field in there?

Also what about BIG links to that booking/contact page throughout the site?

How about a more unique font on the "Goddess of Hair" and a dash of colour in the layout - it's a clean site but it could use a wee tiny lift.

Not a bad start though.

[Kaie]

Originally Posted by GraemeMcA

Hi

A few ideas.. I don't like the first photo on your home page - the one on your about page is so much more professional - go with it as the first to be seen.

Also there are no prices!! People need to know how much the haircuts cost before going ahead. Oh just realised they're in the menu section - perhaps you should rename this price list?

Could you rename your contact page to "booking" and put a day and a time field in there?

Also what about BIG links to that booking/contact page throughout the site?

How about a more unique font on the "Goddess of Hair" and a dash of colour in the layout - it's a clean site but it could use a wee tiny lift.

Not a bad start though.

Thank you, G

That is some great feedback. I will make some changes, especially changing 'contact me' to 'booking,' and inserting more links.

As far as changing the font, I will have to play around with that.

As for the picture, the one on the 'About' page is of me, and it doesn't show the hair much. I will try that to see how it looks. I have a few more pics from that shoot, the hair is pretty awesome, I will look for one that shows it off more.

I wish I could tighten it up and find a way to monetize it a bit.

ETA, I went in and added new links to the contact page. I like it much better.

[GraemeMcA]

Looking good- Do you want to monetize the site or promote your hair dressing business - they're two very different goals!!

In terms of promoting the business - how about a youtube video of you with a client? Also the site could use some "meta tags". These are basically hidden tags that tell Google what your site is about so you come up in searches.

The key to getting visitors is to be specific - "hairdressing" would be a very competitive term meaning it would be nigh on impossible for the site to get on the first page but "hairdressing, colour specialist, California (or wherever you are located)" would be far less competitive and much more likely to get to your target audience.

Also I realised you have a very big blogging section with bags of content! You should try and make that more prominent in the site because you have obviously worked very hard on it. It also makes a statement of “I’m a professional, I know what I’m talking about and you can trust me.”

Just a few more ideas, in terms of monetizing the site you could advertise but it could make the site look tacky.. unless you set up blog entries on some of your favourite products describing why you like them and set up/join an affiliate marketing scheme with the manufacturer?

[Kaie]

I mainly want to promote the business, but there are products I recommend that I would love to promote. I also considered a newsletter, but am afraid I will run out of content, or not have enough to create a good one.

How do I add meta tags?

I like the idea of a youtube video

[GraemeMcA]

Originally Posted by Kaie

How do I add meta tags?

Shouldn't be difficult but I would need to know which service "wordpress, SBI etc." you used to set up the site.

Cheers

[Kaie]

Wordpress 3.2.1

[Kaie]

PS.

Thank you for your help

[GraemeMcA]

This plugin looks like it does the job automaticlly: WordPress › Add Meta Tags « WordPress Plugins

[Kaie]

Thank you, Graeme I will install that and I am sure will figure it out I hope I can drum up some more business.

I also wanted to add shopping. I have a few organic lines I want to sell, but want to add affiliate links. I'll look into that and see if it is even possible. Where I work, she doesn't carry products I like, so I want to send people to my website so they can shop.

I am also big into some natural wellness and beauty tips, I was thinking about an ebook. I would really love to utilize this web space.

Thank you for the ideas and help xo

[GraemeMcA]

Sounds like you're well on your way!! My work here is done.

All the best to you.

G

[Kaie]

Thanks again

[kobay]

Shared hosting. Just one thing try to find the nearest web hosting company to your visitors . If most of your visitors are from Germany then getting a host in Germany is better ( Faster access)

[chadcharlie]

If you're paying for hosting already, consider exporting all of it to Squarespace. I'm the sole cheerleader for them in here with all the WP and SBI noise ;p They're worth it though!

[Kaie]

Originally Posted by chadcharlie

If you're paying for hosting already, consider exporting all of it to Squarespace. I'm the sole cheerleader for them in here with all the WP and SBI noise ;p They're worth it though!

Right now, I am being hosted as a barter with a friend. I want to convert one of my WP.com sites that is not being hosted by my friend though as soon as I can and worry about the others later. I need to be able to add some plugins and a calendar of events. I really need to do this soon. What steps would I take? and how affordable is it?

xo

[Kaie]

I would also like to import the whole site. I know it's possible, but how tech savvy do you have to be? I am getting there very slowly, this would be a good opportunity to learn.

[iDreamCatcher]

Originally Posted by chadcharlie

If you're paying for hosting already, consider exporting all of it to Squarespace. I'm the sole cheerleader for them in here with all the WP and SBI noise ;p They're worth it though!

They're amazing platform, but $240 upfront cash requirement (for unlimited pages) naturally skews weighs toward WP.org

Gleb

[Kaie]

So, if i go with host gator and the 34. Or 39. A month plan, would that be the easiest?

I need to switch my tarotgoddess site over because I have classes coming up that will require prepayment. Will this be complicated? And if so, can someone help me?

[iDreamCatcher]

Originally Posted by Kaie

So, if i go with host gator and the 34. Or 39. A month plan, would that be the easiest?

I need to switch my tarotgoddess site over because I have classes coming up that will require prepayment. Will this be complicated? And if so, can someone help me?

Go with hostgator business - $12/mo. It's most expensive but you get dedicated IP which means no spammers with be sitting on the same computer where you are and you have no risk of being deranked by Google.

Gleb

[Kaie]

Are you talking about this business plan?

I am thinking about doing this now as I really need to set up a paypal plug in and have a couple of workshops coming up.

What do I do once I sign up? I really had a friend do the whole thing for me so I don't know. I can easily learn though. I want my site to be imported from .com to self hosted.

What are the steps I take? I want to know before I order the hostgator.

Thanks!!

[Kaie]

So, I am doing this. When it asks for my domain, do I put my domain that I have forwarded to the WP blog, or the address of the WP blog?

[iDreamCatcher]

I would do it this way:
- setup new hosting/business plan
- setup Aweber autoresponder account to handle future promotional emails and announcements
- connect domain to it (point nameservers)
- install wordpress
- import full content from wordpress.com location
- install membership management software to allow access to premium areas only for registered members and ability to create unlimited levels of membership.
- install gravity forms plugin with paypal addon and aweber addon.
- last two points will handle:
- paid registrations.
- optional free registrations with invitation codes.
- unlimited custom registration, signup, join forms.
- full database management for registered customers.
- automated registration notifications.
- automated additions of new registered members to Aweber system.
- build custom "register" form
- create join/subscribe page and embed custom form into it.

From that moment on - you'll be fully up and running.

Granted - that's my idea of maximum action plan (because I did it many times for customers). Maybe it's overkill for your needs, but some points are better to consider now - like autoresponder or flexible membership system - as they are difficult to change in a future once your business is running.

Gleb

[Kaie]

Thank you, iDreamCatcher. That all sounds a bit confusing, but I am taking it step by step. I can't afford to pay a huge amount of money though. I set up hostgator, and aWeber. Now I need to create a new WP.org (trying to figure that out)

I am taking it step by step.

[Kaie]

It is confusing to install WP, any tips? I downloaded, and got so many options to click on. Which should I do?