Affiliate Marketing Blog from Kandevil

So I’ve registered my domain name and I’m waiting for the domain name servers (DNS) to resolve. Next step, set up the site on my hosting. Now I have a cpanel setup, so I head in to WebHostManager, click “create a new account” and enter in my relevant information. The magic begins and I now have my FTP username and password. Now I need to login using the IP (unique number that every computer connected to the internet is assigned) of the site as the DNS hasn’t resolved yet. But what to use for FTP? I recommend if you are just starting out to try SmartFTP.

From their website: SmartFTP is an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client which allows you to transfer files between your local computer and a server on the Internet and it is free. Sounds just the ticket! You can download it here.

Now before I start to worry about content, I want to get the content management system (CMS) on the site, this is because with most CMS solutions nowadays they come with what are called themes. You can use these to style your site. Using this you’ll be able to design your site without having to use any software. Just download the theme you like and install it and you are away.

First we need to install the CMS though, personally I rate Wordpress as a great CMS and blogging tool, so I’m going to install that on this domain, plus it is free So we are still looking at just a cost of £5.58 + VAT, expensive this affiliate business isn’t it!

Head on over to Wordpress.org and download the latest release, which at the moment is 2.5. I’m not going to talk much about installing wordpress, just because there is such a wealth of information out there, I’ll point you in the right direction though if you need help and post a comment below if you need any more. Happy to oblige. There is a Wordpress for Dummies book available at Amazon or but I doubt that is really necessary, just read the documentation on wordpress.org or ask a question in their forums.

We should really get Wordpress installed now then! Ok, so first fire up SmartFTP, click file, then new remote browswer, you’ll get a pop up window wanting some info. Enter your host this is the IP address of your hosting server, something like 82.192.67.112. You can leave path blank as it will connect without anyway. Keep login type as it is and now enter your username and password which you will have got when setting up your hosting. Give it a name so you recognise it later in the Name box of Add to Favorites and then hit OK.

Ok all being well, you are connected, if you are having problems, drop me a comment below and I’ll try and help you out.

You should hopefully end up in a directory such as /var/www/html or /public_html/ if not you need to be in something like this as that is where you put the websites files for them to appear when someone visits your domain name. You can navigate around SmartFTP either by entering text into the box above the servers file system or by double clicking on folders. So hopefully you should be in the right place by now. See below for a screen shot of mine, I’ve edited the IP address for privacy for now.

Copy wordpress to your server and follow the wordpress install instructions.

Check back soon and we’ll talk about getting the site looking nice with a theme and content. Don’t forgot to back or bump the post below, the more backs, bumps and comments the more likely I am to continue with these posts!