You know you can get a free wordpress blog hosting on their server. You can also download the WordPress software for free as well. To use the software you’ll have to ftp it to your own domain, install a MySql database and install the software so as it links to your database.

Or you can install it using Fantastico. Fantastic tool!

For ease of use and peace of mind, I suggest that when you go from free blogs to your own site, you invest in a host with CPanel. Yes, you can get cheaper solutions, but honestly, you’ll lose your savings in wasted time.

Hostmonster hosts my sites. They have a fantastically cheap hosting solution including Cpanel and the use of addon domains. I’ll talk more about CPanel later, but for this post, I just wanted to say that the addition of fantastico to your toolbox, which comes with Cpanel is worth mega savings in time and convenience.

Fantastico will install a wordpress blog with a simple online form. Fill in the blanks, save a record of what you entered in a notepad file, start posting into your blog. Literally only a few more steps than a free blog. But here’s why, apart from this, fantastico is so fantastic…

WordPress updates its software regularly. Each time there is an update your fantastico panel will show there is an update available. To update, you just click on the update link for a specific blog and fantastico automatically backs up and updates your WordPress software.

That first option, to download and install the WordPress software, involving ftp down and up loading of the software to your domain – you’ll have to do that for each update and installation as well. It will be such a hassle, especially if you do have multiple blogs, that you will sometimes fail to do it and miss out on bug fixes and new features.

If you are just starting out, do yourself a favour and find a host with CPanel and Fantastico. Hostmonster has CPanel, Blue Host does, Hostgator does and many other more expensive hosts do. Just check their home page for details and make sure it says Cpanel and Fantastico are part of your deal.

For WordPress Blogging, having Fantastico is comparable to having a dropsaw, rather than a hand saw. Speed and efficiency. Fantastic!

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This entry was posted on Monday, December 24th, 2007 at 2:27 am and is filed under How Do I Start Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.