These are very basic instructions on how to install a plugin on your self-hosted WordPress blog or website.

Step 1: Click “Plugins”
Step 2: Click “Add New”
Step 3: Search for the plugin or kind of plugin you are looking for
Step 4: Look for a plugin with a good rating
Step 5: Click “Details” under the plugin you are looking at and read about the plugin
Step 6: Click “Install Now”
Step 7: Click “Ok” in the pop up prompt
Step 8: You may need to login to install the plugin*
Step 9: You will see the installation process run (can take a minute)
Step 10: Click “Activate Plugin”

*Login info you may need for installing:

Hostname (usually localhost)
FTP Username
FTP Password

You can get this information in your hosting control panel or contact your host.

Additional Setup

Some plugins will need additional setup once you have installed them. You can look through your side menu in your WordPress Control Panel for the plugin and you will find the additional setup. Most good plugins will walk you through this setup.

Questions?

Please add your questions in the comments! I will answer you in the comments or via email.

When you are starting the investigation for designing or redesigning of your site you can be faced with a lot of questions. One of the first questions you should ask is how much to invest into the design. You have four main options for choosing your design a free prefab theme, a premium prefab theme, a customized prefab theme, or a customized design. We will be exploring the pros and cons of each of these to help you decide how much your site is worth to you and how your investment will benefit you.

By mccheek

Free Prefab Theme

Just like a mobile home you can find a Free Theme where the colors and style may not match you and your style. Plus hundreds of the exact same home are out there due to it being pre-constructed. But you can live in it for a time until you run out of room and you are tired of that one cupboard that just won’t stay closed. Especially since it was offered to you free from a relative.

Pros:

• Free
• A free theme is better than a default theme
• You can find lots of free themes to choose from
• If you look long and hard enough you can find some free professional themes

Cons:

• Doesn’t really represent you and your brand
• You will not have as many options for customization
• Attempting to customize the theme yourself may make it look cheezy
• Your images and style may end up feeling mismatched and disjointed
• You may see other’s using the same theme
• The theme may not fit your needs exactly (ei. menus don’t fit, colors don’t match, etc)
• You can feel overwhelmed sifting through all the themes out there

Conclusion: A Free Theme doesn’t represent you and your brand but you can live with it.

ByMartin Pettitt

Premium Prefab Theme

Just like a manufactured home you can find a Premium Theme that is very inexpensive and you can choose the siding, the carpet and counter tops, but once you get it into the mobile home court you realize your home looks just like some of the neighbors homes. But you at least you have a home that has new appliances and keeps you dry. This may work for a time until you realize that you are tired of your friends getting lost every time they try and find your house and it becomes time to upgrade your fridge.

Pros:

• Very Low Cost
• You will find more features than a free theme
• Premium themes tend to have a more professional look
• You will have more options for customization

Cons:

• Doesn’t represent you and your brand
• You still may have troubles with customizing the theme beyond the basics
• Attempting to customize the theme yourself may make it loose it’s professionalism
• You may still run into other’s using the same theme
• You can still feel limited by the options

Conclusion: A Premium Theme doesn’t represent you and your brand but it functions.

My favorite company to purchase themes from is Woothemes. I am affiliated with them, but that is only because I love them. There themes are amazing and the control panels for their themes are easy to work with and well made.

By LancerE

Customized Prefab Theme

Just like a modern stick built home you can have a Customized Theme built for you.  A builder will give you multiple floor plans to choose from to create your new home. Then you get to pick the flooring, the wall color, the counter tops and the appliances. You get to have a home that really showcases your style and gives you some special functions you have been really wanting.

Even though you live in a house that may be the same floor plan as your neighbors your friends will still know which house is your house. Plus now you will not be embarrassed to invite your boss over for dinner.

Pros:

• Low Cost
• No one else will have the exact same design
• Represents you and your brand
• Professional customization makes your brand more recognizable
• A Professional does the customization so the images fit and coordinates
• Brands and readers can see that you have invested in your blog or site
• Professional help cleaning up your layout and making it easier for your readers to navigate
• You will have more options and functions that a professional can install

Cons:

• More of an investment
• You may have to wait on a waiting list for your design
• Still may feel cookie cutter as you see the same layouts at other sites
• May take some time to find a professional that you feel matches you and your style

Conclusion: A Customized Theme starts building brand recognition and makes your site more professional.

By Omaha Homes For Sale

Custom Design

Just like a custom built home you can invest in a Custom Design. Your imagination is the limit. You can have any flooring, walling, appliance, and more that you could possibly want. You can change the floor plan to fit better with your needs and wants. You could even have a swimming pool built into your dinning room for swim-dining!

You can create a place that is all about you and your style. Your friends will know your home instantly even on the first visit and you will be inviting you boss over for monthly dinners just so you can show off your beautiful home and brag.

Pros:

• The Design is all yours, you will not see anyone with the same design or layout
• It is obvious you are invested in your blog or site, so users and brands will invest in you
• You will find you will have unlimited customization and options
• Everything coordinates and functions just as you wish

Cons:

• Large investment
• Have to do some homework to find the right designer that fits your style
• Takes some time to create

Conclusion: A Complete Custom Design represents you with a unique layout and images and functioning.

I hope this gave you some things to consider as you are choosing the level of investment you want to make into your blog.

More Questions?

I’m always happy to help with questions so feel free and ask here in the comments or email me at (unicornbeauty (@) gmail.com)

WordPress is one of the largest self-hosted blogging systems out there. One of the best things about WordPress is the ability to personalize it. You can create a beautiful site with little HTML, CSS, and/or PHP knowledge. And if you have a little skill with these coding languages you can make an amazing site.

It’s amazing how many people think that it is hard or expensive to have a self-hosted wordpress blog. I had one person that said they didn’t want to get into the expense of paying for a host yet they already had a domain name they had purchased and were just redirecting to a blog site. (Domain names usually cost around $5-10/yr to give you an idea of overall cost.)

Hosting

Hosting doesn’t cost very much the company I use, ComfortHost, only charges $32 a year for a blogging account. I use them because I knew the lady who started the business, I know they are reliable, and they treat me well. I know that there is a current small company, VoNetwork, that is only charging $12 a year for a blogging account. Only $12!!!

Loading WordPress

But then you may say you don’t  know how to load wordpress onto the server or how to do any coding. What you may not realize is that a lot of places you may purchase your hosting have these amazing things that just load the code for you and you are ready to get started. It’s usually just a press of the button and fill in your name, email, and name of your blog and you are set. (I will let you know you can upload and install wp in 5 minutes with there step by step instructions also.)

Making WordPress Beautiful

Making your wordpress your own is not that hard. It is all setup for you to just log in and be able to load and change your themes (templates) straight from the control panel. You don’t need to know anything about coding or ftp. You just go into themes and browse till you find what you want tell it you want to install the theme and it does it for you. (You do  need to know your ft log in information which you can ask your host to help you are just email me and I can give you pretty easy step by step instructions.)

I have actually worked with both wordpress.com and blogger and I will tell you self-hosted wordpress is so much easier you would be amazed and probably fall in love with it.

Making WordPress Work for You

One of the other benefits of WordPress is two special items they have. Widgets and Plugins. Both of these can help you personalize your wordpress and make it do the most spectacular things.

Widgets are used to setup your sidebar. They have a widget for recent posts, categories, archives, pages, your own text, etc. You just drag and drop them into the places you want them on your sidebar and then customize them filling in a few fields to make them perfect just for you and your blog.

Plugins make wordpress work so hard for you you would be shocked at the things it can do. There are plugins for ads, comments, stats, images, new widgets, slideshows, spam, and so much more. Some of the plugins can make your wordpress work as a photolog, can make it work as a shopping cart, or even a vlog.

You can upload Plugins just like you do themes into your wordpress with just a click of a button and your ftp log in.

Why should I change?

You may be doing great with your blog on blogger, wordpress.com or blogspot or any of these, but I will let you know that you are loosing visitors by being on a non-self-hosted website. You have people who may be interested in what you would have to say but you have to remember that people will make an opinion about your blog within the first few seconds. And you will have people see that you are on blogger, wordpress.org, etc (even if you have your own domain it is obvious) and just leave.

I will admit half the time I just leave a blogger site because it is so annoying to leave a comment and try to link to my site it’s not worth my time to read the blog. And if you have it set up so that I can’t enter my name and URL then you will probably never see me again no matter how much I love your blog.

What if I run into a problem?

There are so many resources out there for wordpress blogs! Just google “help wordpress” and see how many hits you get (I got 196,000,000 when I did the search). If you run into a problem or are wanting wordpress to do something special for you just google wordpress _____ and you will most likely get a few tutorials on how to do it and/or a few articles on the subject.

Or if you need even more help you can visit wordpress’ forums and ask for help. The wordpress community is all about helping each other out and they love to help newbies. Plus you can just search the forums and find your answer most likely.

Or if you want more one on one help email me, I’m always happy to help someone out. I enjoy meeting new people and being a help to them so don’t be afraid to ask. And if you need some major help or are just afraid to get started or if you want a personalized design contact me. I try to make my prices reasonable and if you are in real need you can just let me know what you can spare and I will work with you. I always am happy to offer help and/or a discount to a fellow mommy blogger.

WordPress is What Works for Me, what do you think of WordPress now?