When I began making plans for the creation of RickRouse.com, I knew that a blog would be the best vehicle for accomplishing what I wanted to do with it. After all, I primarily wanted a fast and easy way to write down my thoughts about various subjects and upload an occasional photograph, and a blog platform is just perfect for that.
After registering the domain name and setting aside the server space, I began checking out the various blog platforms that I had read about. First, I created a Blogger account and took it for a test drive. I found the user interface and control panel easy to use, but there were several quirks that really bugged me and had me wondering if I really wanted to deal with them on a regular basis.
Next, I tried Movable Type, and although my first impression was very favorable, the more deeply I got into the customization process the less favorable that impression became. It seemed like I had to jump through hoops to complete simple tasks that should have been super fast and easy. It was time to move on again…
This time I tried WordPress, and in no time at all I knew I had found the holy grail of the blogging software world. My web host’s control panel has a nifty utility called “Fantastico” which is basically a set of automated scripts that can install a number of popular third-party add-on scripts for your website. One of the scripts supported is WordPress, so I clicked the link, then sat back and watched as Fantastico worked its magic and created a flawless WordPress installation on my server. In about 10 seconds my WordPress blog was up and running on www.rickrouse.com.
I wasn’t crazy about the way the site looked “right out of the box”, but I already knew that I probably wouldn’t be. I had planned to spiff it up with a little coding work, but when I logged into my WordPress control panel (called the “Dashboard”) I saw a link that said “Change your site’s look or theme”. I clicked on it and discovered that there are hundreds if not thousands of WordPress “themes” in various colors and styles already written, and the best part is most of them are completely free!
After browsing through a bunch of themes, I picked one out, then downloaded and installed it (all I had to do was upload the files to the designated folder on the server). Then I visited the site, and there was my shiny new “Fog 10″ theme in action! There were still a few things that I wanted to change, but thanks to WordPress’ modular architecture making a site-wide change turned out to be as simple as modifying one of a handful of template files. In less than an hour, I had my blog up and running and looking great! I decided right then and there that I’ll be using WordPress to power each and every blog I create.
I soon found out that I’m not alone in my preference for WordPress over its rivals, and for good reason. WordPress’ ease of installation, an abundance of powerful plug-ins and themes, and its “search engine friendly” page structure have helped create a following that is huge, and getting larger all the time.
If you’re planning to start a blog of your own, do yourself a favor and follow these steps:
1 – Register your own domain name.
2 – Open a web hosting account with a company that offers automated WordPress installation via Fantastico.
3 – Let Fantastico install the WordPress software and then log into the dashboard and select the theme of your choosing.
I have now created a total of five blogs using WordPress, and I can tell you that barring a complete meltdown of the platform, I’ll never use anything else!