So you want to start a blog and become a blogger? I recommend you don’t use Blogger or another service that forces you to have a domain like yourblog.blogspot.com or yourblog.wordpress.com – but rather, strongly encourage you to buy your own domain and set up web hosting for your blog. I know this sounds complicated, but in the long run, it’s very affordable, around $10 per month – and you have complete control over your blog. I often get asked to set up blogs on client’s websites – and have run into some issues with different hosting companies – so this article will detail what to look for in a hosting company with blogging in mind.

First thing is to pick a blogging application. I highly, highly recommend WordPress. It’s what I use and the only blogging application I install and customize for my clients.

Second thing, is to know the particular technical requirements of your blogging application. For example, you can read about the requirements for WordPress here.

Third thing, is to make sure your hosting company supports those requirement. Don’t worry that you don’t know what they mean. PHP is the language that WordPress is written in, and MySQL is the database part – but just simply ask the hosting company if they support the specific versions – they’ll know what the terms mean.

The fourth thing, is to see if the hosting company has a “one-click-install” feature. You can see this often listed in the long list of web hosting company features. The one click install is super cool, because it makes installation literally a one-click process, no technical knowledge required.

The fifth thing, is to see if the one-click-install also does one-click-upgrades. WordPress frequently comes out with upgraded versions, and it’s super important to keep your blogging software current. Not only do you get to use the latest and greatest features, but you keep one step ahead of hackers who continually try to figure out ways to hack into your blog. Having a hosting company that supports one-click-upgrades means that whenever a new version of WordPress comes out (and WordPress will automatically notify you of this), you simply go to your hosting company’s control panel and upgrade your blog. Really easy to do – only takes a few minutes.

So that’s the summary of things to look for in a hosting company if you’re going to start a blog and become a blogger.

If you found this article helpful, please take a moment to share it with your friends, it will be much appreciated. Thanks! Jill