Cassie Wallender // Firewallender » wordpress http://firewallender.com Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself. Tue, 10 Aug 2010 23:58:49 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 So you’d like to start a WordPress.org blog? http://firewallender.com/starting-a-wordpressorg-blog/ http://firewallender.com/starting-a-wordpressorg-blog/#comments Fri, 19 Dec 2008 08:55:19 +0000 cassie http://firewallender.com/?p=46 Step 1: Pick a domain and check if it’s free. Try to make it something easy to remember, that you don’t have to spell out to people.

Step 2: Buy a hosting package. I use 1&1 to host, and so far, they’ve been swell. All you’ll probably need is the beginners Linux hosting package, it comes with a domain, 10 MySQL databases, and 10 gigs of space. It’s $3.99 a month (but there’s always specials to be had). You can host elsewhere, just so long as you have a MySQL database and FTP access.

Step 3: Profit! Just kidding. Download the latest from WordPress.org. There’s a bunch of steps here, but rather than just plagiarize, I’m just going to point you in this direction for the general directions, and to here for directions using 1&1 hosting.

Step 4: Time to customize! You can find easy to install themes to make your blog look more “you”. I believe in crossposting, because not everyone is going to put your blog in their RSS Reader, or even use one. Here’s a handy MySpace Crossposter and a Live Journal Cross Poster. I also import my blog’s feed into my Facebook. You probably want to use something like Disqus or IntenseDebate to turn your comments into conversations (I use IntenseDebate and love it). If you make pages such as the ever popular “resume” or “about me” pages, you may want to checkout this post on removing the comments section from the bottom of a post. If you see any customization on my blog that you’re curious how I’ve done, let me know.

I’ll try to expand on this as I learn more myself, but for now this should definaely get you on the right track. Happy blogging!

[Update: I'd recommend reading 10 Things to do after Installing WordPress after this post. It's got additional tips, especially regarding search engine optimization.]

]]> http://firewallender.com/starting-a-wordpressorg-blog/feed/ 0 Hello, World: Moving my Blog http://firewallender.com/hello-world-moving-my-blog/ http://firewallender.com/hello-world-moving-my-blog/#comments Wed, 07 May 2008 00:05:39 +0000 cassie http://firewallender.com/?p=3 I have blogged on LiveJournal since January 26th, 2002 and have made over two thousand entries and both posted and received nearly ten thousand comments each. I’m very fond of LiveJournal. That being said, I’d like to move my data into my own control, and six plus years is, in the information age, an eternity.

So I’m moving on. I have many friends in the LiveJournal community still, so I’ll be using the LiveJournal Crossposter to continue posting on my old blog while simultaneously blogging here (special thanks to for pointing out this WordPress plugin, and also thanks to the LJ user ex plugin for allowing me to properly link LJ users). You can comment in either place, I’ll be notified either way. But Firewallender.com is the real enchilada.

If you are looking for entries previous to today’s date, May 6th, 2008, please look at my old blog archives at LiveJournal. I’ll eventually be backing them up here or elsewhere, but for now that’s the best place to access them.

Thanks for reading! First person to comment on my new Firewallender.com blog gets a cookie. :-)

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