WordPress.com

1. jrdgoodman
   Member
   Jan 30, 2013, 3:59 PM

   Dear Word Press,

   Basically, I don't have - and never have had - a website, but need to have one. I don't blog - at least not yet. I hope that with your various bits of kit and the advice of more technically - and younger - members of the family I may end up with a website. I do a small amount of freelance work, ranging from voicing, to PR, to ELT Radio. At present I have no way of letting anyone know of my existence other than by phoning and emailing out to the world. Having a web site seems to me to be pretty crucial really! Years ago I acquired a domain name which I think I have now for another year or more.
   Could you now advise me on what steps I should now be taking towards the creation of a web site via Word Press?

   Many thanks

   John Goodman

2. rachelmcr
   Staff
   Jan 31, 2013, 3:37 PM

   As a fellow freelancer, I can confirm that having a website these days is incredibly helpful. I get a lot of new client inquiries through my self-hosted WordPress website.

   I recommend you start by deciding if you want to sign up for a WordPress.com hosted site or use WordPress.org to set up a self-hosted site. Here is some information about the difference: http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/

   In short, the WordPress.com option doesn't allow as much free customization, but it's much less hassle to set up and maintain. You might want to start by looking at the "Get Started" page: http://en.support.wordpress.com/get-started/

   You will also have the option of upgrading to use your own domain name with a WordPress.com site: http://support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/

   There is also this helpful guide for learning the basics of using WordPress.com: http://learn.wordpress.com/

   Let me know if you have any additional questions, and I'll see if I can help answer them!

3. jrdgoodman
   Member
   Feb 6, 2013, 3:54 PM

   Thank you Expattranslator & freelancer. As you suggested, I have had a look at the 'com' v 'org' conundrum. Maybe if I explained (briefly, don't worry, no epic coming up) what I'm hoping to achieve it may help. I have no 'company' or 'business' to speak of yet. I suppose I'm really only at the stage of needing a sort of 'e' business card to try and attact clients to my array of 'jack of all trades master of none' "portfolio (!)"
   ELT advice, guidance, PR/marketing, conversation is one facet. PR in general (both for those for whom English is a foreign language and those people living locally to me in the UK), production, writing and project managment in the field of educational audio are others and finally any kind of voicing (over and above what I may get via my agent_. Actually that is pretty epic - apologies!
   Any further thoughts most welcome!

4. rachelmcr
   Staff
   Feb 6, 2013, 4:40 PM

   Given your currents needs, I recommend that you create a free site here at WordPress.com. You can create a site here, and if you discover in the process that you need more flexibility or bells and whistles that aren't available here, you can always export your content and move it to a self-hosted WordPress.org website later on.

   Here are some pages I think you'll find useful in these early stages:

   • Start by registering a new blog: http://en.support.wordpress.com/register-a-blog/
   • You can set the blog to private if you want to keep it to yourself while you develop it: http://en.support.wordpress.com/settings/privacy-settings/
   • To make your site more like a normal website (not a blog) you can follow these directions to set the front page to a static page: http://en.support.wordpress.com/pages/front-page/#setting-up-a-static-front-page
   • Then you can go to town creating pages for the different pages of your site (e.g. front page, contact page, about yourself, about your services): http://en.support.wordpress.com/pages/#create-a-new-page

5. jrdgoodman
   Member
   Feb 6, 2013, 6:14 PM

   Thank you so much - once again! One quick question for now - it's to do with domain names. I already have a domain name. Would that make a difference to the course of action/procedure you suggest? I've had this for two or three years but only now am I finally doing something about using it! A lot seems to hinge on the whole domain name 'thing' so your further advice - if you could - would be greatly appreciated.

6. rachelmcr
   Staff
   Feb 6, 2013, 6:24 PM

   You can use the domain name either way.

   If you have a WordPress.com site, you can get an upgrade for just $13/year that lets you use your own domain: http://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/

   Alternately, you could use the domain with a WordPress.org site, but you'd have to pay for your own hosting.

   My advice is that you try developing the site with WordPress.com without worrying about the domain for now. If you're happy with the .com option once you get started, you can get the domain upgrade and start using your domain name. If you decide you would prefer a self-hosted .org site, then you can worry about getting hosting and connecting it to your domain name at that point.

7. jrdgoodman
   Member
   Feb 18, 2013, 5:01 PM

   Dear Freelancetranslator person,

   Do you have any thoughts or guidance on how to choose a theme? At this point I really want to merely test the water so to speak to see if anyone round the world might want me to assist in one of the following ways: voicing/presentation, ELT advice (possibly via Skype, with certain markets in mind) ) , PR (both aimed locally here in my area of the UK and at anyone outside the UK wanting representation or marketing advice. A pretty classic Jack of many trades, master of none. The web site needs to appeal to all these potential markets yet not look a muddle. With over 200 themes to choose from it is all slightly baffling. I thought something simple but not dull, minimalist but still striking.

   Any further thoughts on this?

   Yours with thanks

8. rachelmcr
   Staff
   Feb 20, 2013, 6:57 AM

   I am not a theme expert, but my approach is to think about the general layout or color scheme I want and go from there.

   If you go to the theme page (http://theme.wordpress.com/) and click the blue "Find a Theme" button at the top of the page, you will be able to search for a theme. You can narrow the search by color scheme, the number of columns on the page, the theme width, special features, or general subjects or styles. You could start by looking at the business-oriented themes (search under "subject" and click the box next to "business") and see if any of those appeal to you.

   A lot of the process of choosing a theme is personal, based on how you envision your site and what aesthetic appeals to you. You may want to try out a few themes that look interesting and see which one fits best with the content you want on your site. If you start working with a theme and have questions about how to customize it to suit you, let me know!

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