WordPress and learning new media
Getting a WordPress blog is a great way to add new media skills and to experiment with Web development.
I suggested yesterday that j-school students and journalists who want to learn how to use a content management system sign up for a free blog at WordPress.com, but there is a better solution for people who really want to learn as much as possible.
The only way to be able to fully customize a WordPress blog and be able to experiment to the max is by having your own blog on your own server. The blog is still free, but the server space is not. Many of you either don’t have a lot of money or don’t really want to spend it on a server.
For $5 a month you can run several Web sites off a Web server at A Small Orange. I use A Small Orange for my hosting, and it has been reliable and easy to use. You can install a WordPress blog in minutes.
The plan I recommend for those who want to experiment is $5 a month, but if you need more space or bandwidth, you can always upgrade to a bigger plan with a few clicks. With your own server, you can run your own domains, with your own e-mail, with blogs and databases. You can also experiment with coding by hand once you learn (X)HTML and CSS.
You can experiment and learn in ways that having a free blog hosted at a place like WordPress.org would never allow you to. If you make the plunge and get a server, here are a few places I recommend for would-be WordPressers:
Here is a great resource center to start with.
Choose from a thousands of themes to make your blog unique.
Add additional plugins to extend your blog. You can get plugins to run polls on your site and others to track stats, for instance. There are thousands of plugins to choose from, and maybe one day you can write your own.
If you want to really customize your blog, consider creating your own design.
The process of setting up a blog, installing plugins and messing around with the CSS of your blog will be an incredible learning experience. The best way to learn is just by doing, and WordPress.org has lots of docs and people who can help you experiment and learn.
Then you can use your blog to post written content, photos, videos, etc. Your blog can be a platform to show off your other journalism skills, be a digital resume and a place to connect with people. No matter what you make your blog into, it will be an incredible learning experience.
September 15th, 2007 at 8:47 am
The advice is good — but please back up your work very, very scrupulously if you are using a cheap hosting service. Paul Conley explains why — his hosting company vanished overnight and left him without a Web site!
September 15th, 2007 at 12:17 pm
Mindy, I agree that backing up a site is a must. It’s a good idea, no matter how expensive the hosting. I’ve had A Small Orange for a few years, and some of my friends a few more years before that. I’ve never had a major issue with them.
The up time isn’t quite as good as my much more expensive hosting at Pair.com that I used to use was, but otherwise it has been great. They respond back quickly to my support issues and even create back ups of my Word Press blog for me automatically each time I upgrade to the latest version. Their back up saved my blog when the update broke my theme.
Hosting has come down in price over the years too. You can get a plan from Pair.com for $17.95 a month that will do just about anything you want, and I never once had any downtime problems with them.
I’d still back up even if I want back to them. I think I am going to back up my site right now.