In order to be able to load files up to your web space you are going to need an FTP program which stands for File Transfer Protocol. While there are many programs available out there some are overly-complicated and some are trial versions with a limited time and loads of advertising built in.

When I transfer files to my web space or server, I want it to be easy-to-use, fast, and advertising-free so that’s why I use FireFtP. It also has the added bonus of integrating right into two of my favorite web browsers, Firefox and Flock. Once FireFTP is installed in Firefox or Flock you will be able to use it right there in your web browser with a click on the toolbar icon.

Here’s how to Install FireFTP in Firefox and Flock browsers:

If you don’t have Firefox yet you can download it here:

If you would like to try the Flock browser you can download it here:

Step 1 – Open Firefox or Flock browser and download FireFTP from here and let it auto-install. Restart your browser when prompted to do so.

That’s it…FireFTP is now installed in your Firefox and Flock web browsers..pretty simple hey? Now that you’re rockin, let’s set it up!

Here’s how to setup your website FTP using FireFTP and Firefox or Flock:

Step 1 – Once your browser restarts you should now see an icon of a purple seahorse in your toolbar, if you don’t see it, you can always access FireFTP by clicking on “Tools” and FireFTP will be in your drop-down list so click on it.

Step 2 – You will now see a new browser window that looks like an application with a set of two windows on the left with a listing of your computer’s files and folders. The two windows on the right side of the screen will be blank as they are your web server file listings but we haven’t set up or connected to it yet.

You can view a screenshot here

Step 3 – Consult your hosting company’s welcome email as it will have your FTP details listed in it. It should look something like:

FTP address: http://66.103.3.5
FTP username: the-username-you-signed-up-with
FTP password: something-secret-your-hosting-company-came-up-with

Step 4 – Now it’s time to create your FTP connection so you can upload your files to your web space. Have a look at the top bar of the FireFTP application, you should see “Create an Account” at the very top and that is what we will be doing so click on “Edit” beside it

Step 5 – An Account Manager window will open and the first piece of information you need to enter is in the Main Details. The cursor should already be in the Host field and you need to enter the FTP address your hosting company provided to you

You can view a screenshot here

Step 6 – Did you notice that when you typed in your FTP address that the Account Name was automatically filled out for you with the FTP address? You can leave it like that or you can name it something you like such as your actual domain name

Step 7 – Now you need to enter some information in the ID section of the Account Manager. For the The Login field enter the FTP username your hosting company provided to you and you also need to enter the FTP password provided to you by your hosting company. When you’re done click on the OK button at the bottom of the Account Manager window

Step 8 – You should now see the account you just made listed in the little drop-down window. Click on “Connect” and if everything went smoothly, it will take a few moments to check your username and password and your web server files should load into the two windows on the right side of the screen

Congratulations, you’ve just set up your FTP account in FireFTP for Firefox and Flock! Now you can upload and download files to your web server to your heart’s content…kudos to you![ad#post-top]

Once you’ve bought your domain name and purchased hosting for it, you need to be able to get your domain name and your hosting company talking to each other in a process called pointing your domain to your webhost or changing your domain nameservers. If you don’t take this crucial step then your web hosting and your domain name can never become one and you will wonder for the rest of your days why you typed in your domain name in your browser address bar and all you ever saw was an error message. Here’s how you do it:

Shortly after you bought your blog hosting they sent you a welcome email with important information regarding how to access your cPanel, your username and passwords, and some information about your nameservers that looks something like:

Keep that email on hand while you follow these steps to change your nameservers with Godaddy:

1. Log into your Godaddy account
2. Hover over the tab marked “Domains”
3. From the dropdown menu that appears select “My Domains”
4. From there you will be sent to the Godaddy domain manager interface
5. You will now see a listing of all the domain names you own with Godaddy
6. Click on the domain name that you would like to forward the nameservers for

7. Your nameservers are clickable links so click on them to change them
8. A menu drops down and there are three choices: Parked nameservers, Hosting nameservers, and Custom nameservers. Make sure that you select custom nameservers as you will be hosting your blog elsewhere.
9. Now you will see that two Nameserver fields have information in them but we are going to change both of them with the information you received regarding your nameservers from your new web host.
10. Enter your web host’s first and second nameservers in the appropriate fields and once you are done click the OK button

That’s it…you’re done!

Keep in mind though that while it took you two minutes to change your nameservers to your blog host servers, it can take a few hours for that change to take effect in a process known as “propagating”. You will know when it has finished propagating to your new blog host by typing in your domain name in your browser address bar. Once you see some sort of placeholder page from your web host then it is done and your website is now live on the Internet. It shouldn’t take more than 6 to 12 hours for that to happen.

Now you will need to start the process of setting up your blogging platform so that the world will see your blog and not some hosting placeholder when they reach your domain…but that’s in the next lesson.

If you don’t have Godaddy as your domain name registrar then the instructions outlined above will be different depending on your registrar but should be the same general process using your domain manager to change your nameservers.

Guaranteed Uptime

Your blog host needs to be able to guarantee that your site will be available to your visitors 99% of the time barring any server upgrades.

Unlimited Bandwidth

Every bit of data that is transmitted from your site to your visitors is called bandwidth and if you have a limited monthly amount of bandwidth with your host then at least make sure it is high enough to support how many site visitors you expect to have every month. While someone just starting out a new blog may not need tons of bandwidth to get started, having unlimited bandwidth means you never have to worry that you’ve used up your monthly quota and your visitors won’t get an error message until the month changes over.

Host Unlimited Websites

While you may only ever want or need one blog or website, you may become bitten by the blog bug and want to open a second, third, fourth, or even fifteenth blog. But if you took the most basic hosting from your provider they may have restrictions on how many websites you can host with them unless you upgrade. Since the difference between getting 5 websites or unlimited websites with your web host is probably 2 or 3 dollars per month it just makes sense to choose the plan that offers unlimited website hosting.

cPanel

What is cPanel? Well it’s the interface that you will be able to log into to administrate your blog and it’s workings. In a previous post I mentioned that I like buying domains from Godaddy.com but they do not have a cPanel for their customers so I buy my hosting elsewhere. What is so hot about a cPanel? Well if you’re not too technically inclined then a cPanel will allow you to visually operate your blog behind the scenes with a nicely layed-out graphical interface. You will have access to setting up your blog email addresses, your MySql databases, add-on domains if you want to host more than one website on your account, and of course you will have access to many great scripts that allow you to set up your blog in under 5 minutes. Most cPanel hosts will have Fantastico scripts running in them and will offer several choices of blogging platforms in their blog hosting packages.

Options to Pay Monthly or Semi-Annually

When I first set out to get hosting a long time ago I didn’t know what I was doing and I took hosting with a company for a ridiculous charge that I was billed a year in advance for. It wasn’t until the dust settled that I realized that my host didn’t even have a cPanel for me to use and their service was shaky at best when I tried to access my site. When selecting a host look for the option to pay by Paypal as they should also allow you to pay monthly then in case you change your mind. Don’t get stuck with a host you can’t live with for a year or more depending on their hosting plans, so try to limit your upfront hosting costs to no more than 6 months in advance.

Money Back Guarantee

It’s always nice to get your money back if it turns out blogging wasn’t for you after all and while most companies offer a two week guarantee there are one or two hosts out there that offer 30 to 45 days money back should you change your mind.

So you’ve decided to start your own blog and now you need to register a domain name. There are many different ways to name your site and selecting a domain name can be as simple as personal preference or as complicated as an optimized name for SEO purposes (which we will cover in another post).

Public Or Private Domain Registration?

Whatever your decision concerning what to name your blog the most important thing you need to do in order to get your blog up and running is to register its domain name. While there are plenty of domain registrars out there charging various amounts for a year’s worth of service, my personal favorite is Godaddy. They are one of the few domain registrants to offer private domain services as an optional service to its customers. Do you need private registration for your blog? That’s really up to you but without it all the information you used to set up your domain is freely available to the public if they are so inclined to search for it. To check out the registration details of any website go to Whois and type in the website address. You can check the registration details of New Blog Help if you like and since my blog was privately registered with Godaddy, the information is blocked by Domains By Proxy the service that Godaddy uses. If the website you are looking up doesn’t use private registration you will be able to find the name, address, phone number and private email address of the owner all right there on public display for anyone to access.

Your information could potentially end up in the wrong hands or could provide email spammers with a way to send you hundreds of emails a day. In the end the decision of private or public registration is really up to you and if cost is a concern, the domain name itself alone is less than ten dollars with any registrar and the private registration is another ten dollars for a whole year. So when you break down the costs it’s about 83 cents a month for a whole year of owning your own domain and all your details available to anyone on the Internet or 1.66 a month for a whole year of owning your domain privately.

In this day and age of identity theft I prefer to have my confidential information for my eyes only and not gamble with the possibility that some weirdo out there may be calling my house because he saw my phone number in the domain name registry…but in the end it’s a matter of personal choice and now the choice is up to you…