Need Web Developer Help!!!

90+ Irishman

Ok, so I'm going to start work on the new blog-site so that any users can read it, and also not have to download my reviews. The question I have is this: which should I use, wordpress.com, wordpress.org, or is there a different site that I should use that is free??? Fast responses are best right now so that way I have more time to work on the site. Thank you brothers and sisters!!!

robbyras

Im using tumble.com... its not bad... and google blogspot is good too...

robbyras

Tumblr.com

90+ Irishman

Tumblr.com ok.... when it comes to website development I am a COMPLETE mental midget.... why would I want google blogspot or tumblr.com over wordpress.com or wordpress.org??? Basically it will be a picture gallery, review site, comment section, links to my brothers sites (robbyras, E, DennisKing, etc etc) and also important industry news as well... so for what I want the site to do which is the best option and WHY? Thanks guys!!!

ScottC

Tumblr is cool but is more of a closed blogging platform. I would stick to Wordpress (.com is hosted and .org is self hosted). If you do not want to deal with finding your own hosting company, I would suggest just signing up for wordpress.com. It is limited to what you can do compared to Wordpress.org but you can buy add-ons (.com domain name, premium templates etc...). If you do not buy the $17/yr domain you will have a www.yourname.wordpress.com URL.

Wordpress.org is cool bc you host it on your own and aren't really limited as much as wordpress.com...If you do not mind the work to set it up; go to a hosting company (www.hostgator.com), pick a domain and a hosting package, buy it, go to the c-panel and install wordpress. You don't really have to manually install it these days but if you want download it and install via FTP. In your case since you said you aren't used to this stuff, I'd install it with one click on your c-panel. It is pretty simple to install once you buy a hosting package. Once it is installed you can either use the standard template or add your own (I use themeforest.net to buy templates). Upload the new template via the Appearence tab in Wordpress. You can then customize the template once it is installed....you are then ready to blog.

90+ Irishman

ScottC:

Tumblr is cool but is more of a closed blogging platform. I would stick to Wordpress (.com is hosted and .org is self hosted). If you do not want to deal with finding your own hosting company, I would suggest just signing up for wordpress.com. It is limited to what you can do compared to Wordpress.org but you can buy add-ons (.com domain name, premium templates etc...). If you do not buy the $17/yr domain you will have a www.yourname.wordpress.com URL.

Wordpress.org is cool bc you host it on your own and aren't really limited as much as wordpress.com...If you do not mind the work to set it up; go to a hosting company (www.hostgator.com), pick a domain and a hosting package, buy it, go to the c-panel and install wordpress. You don't really have to manually install it these days but if you want download it and install via FTP. In your case since you said you aren't used to this stuff, I'd install it with one click on your c-panel. It is pretty simple to install once you buy a hosting package. Once it is installed you can either use the standard template or add your own (I use themeforest.net to buy templates). Upload the new template via the Appearence tab in Wordpress. You can then customize the template once it is installed....you are then ready to blog.

Thanks a TON Scott.... really helpful to hear from one of the Lords at Ccom on this as well, especially since you guys do everything online! Sounds like I will be going with wordpress then... looking right now at whether .com or .org is the way to go for me, but the input and simplification is really a big help and much appreciated!

ScottC

You'd want Wordpress over the others bc it is the blogging platform that is least limiting and it is used by all the top bloggers. You can add a picture gallery in many different styles, you can change your design, you can password protect certain content, manage content and have different pages for almost anything etc...

It is also very easy to use. Like I said Tumblr is somewhat closed in that it is a blogger social network. A lot of sharing within Tumblr but main blogs are not usually held on Tumblr. It would work but is not ideal. Blogspot is alright and my second choice as a blogging platform but it does not have the option to be self-hosted so you are limited. It will also get the job done and be very easy to use.

90+ Irishman

At this point in time, is it worth the price to host it myself ie buying into Blue Host of something along those lines, or is just going with an address such as irishmancigars.wordpress.com be professional and sufficient enough to act as a legitimate website that could help me grow into my career in cigars and tobacconists? Roughly, pony up and buy the domain name, or settle for the .com stuff for right now??

ScottC

If I were you, I'd just go to wordpress.com and start blogging that way using the irishmancigars.wordpress.com address. Eventually once it grows you will want to buy a domain name but you can do that within wordpress.com as an add on OR you can just transfer to a self-hosted blog. It would be over 100 bucks to get started with wordpress.org. I'd wait until you had some posts up and start getting traffic to justify the spend. Just my two cents. This is how a lot of bloggers start. And remember since the wordpress.com has a domain name add on for 17 bucks/yr you can still buy the domain name without buying the hosting. It would brand your blog and give you a .com but you wouldn't spend all the money on hosting.

camgfs

There are so many options, but if you want it to be 'professional', you really should get a .com name for yourself. They are pretty cheap, I think I pay about $12 a year for the .com names, and web hosting (with no advertising or banners) can be pretty cheap too. Only a few dollars a month to have your own site. With the website hosting options, you could install wordpress or even have some site building tools available from the hosting company. I know price might be an issue, but for $3.95/month you can have your own web space and some pretty good options for site building. Check out Web hosting Canada
I have a few accounts with them. Their beginner hosting package has a site building tool with over 900 templates. They are very professional and I've been using their services for several years with no issues. Includes Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla, phpBB and much more for you to use on your site.

Make sure to read the fine print on any hosting sites. The $3.95/month is on a 3 year term, it is more if yo go 1 year, but only by a couple dollars a month. Anyway, check it out and look for others, but make sure that you don't have the hosting company or the 'free hosting' putting advertising on your site....that makes it look very unprofessional, IMO.

90+ Irishman

Thanks for the input Cliff, sounds GREAT! And thank you for helping me on this journey to my career.... it really helps with the drive when you have so many great friends supporting your passion and aspirations!

robbyras

I bought my url and started with tumblr.com on the recommendation of a good friend... it's SUPER easy to upload text and photos... but i TOTALLY agree with Scot that it is really basic... it works for me now just because it's easy... once I get a little more established, I'll go to a different provider so I have more autonomy...

Buy the URL Brett... it's like $10 and that way you have it and don't have to worry and you can maintain your brand from the start... just my 2 cents

dennisking

I use google blogspot. super easy formatting, you can purchase your own url and it can be formatted for mobile