Blog Azeroth

Hey, my name is Fliptrick.

I'm looking to start my own blog but have no idea where to get started. Any suggestions?

Where should I host my site, and what blog services are out there that are any good?

Brand new to all of this, so I have no idea where to begin.

Any information will be much help.

Thanks a ton.

Welcome to the Blogosphere!

Check out this great post by Phae at http://www.Resto4Life.com - So You Think You Can Blog? You're Right!

Honestly that's a lot of information that you're needing, so what I'll do is tell you the steps you should consider, then link you to good articles about them.

1. Sign up for hosting (I use Hostgator and I really like them.) http://tinyurl.com/yh4emcs

2. Choose your platform. I use Worpress on my blog http://noobstation.com

3. Once you've chosen your blogging platform, if you used Hostgator, log in through your Cpanel (http://yoursite.com/cpanel) and install the platform automatically using fantastico (this is why hostgator rules).

4. Select a Theme or Template and Install it. (more info on that: http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress)

5. Start Blogging! Thanks and have a good day. If you've got any more questions, let me know.

Unfortunately, work does not allow me to see Phaelia's blog. I know she has some good tips in it, so make sure you check it out!

As for my 2 copper, you can blog for nothing but the cost of your time. Blogger is a decent host with lots of options available. They will host your images and small video files. Still, it would be helpful to make a Youtube channel and find a free image host like Photobucket or Flickr just in case you decide to change hosting. They also allow you to choose your own template and widgets with seemingly no restrictions(meaning I haven't found any yet). Wordpress also has free hosting, but I understand they are not as flexible in your choice of templates or options as a free user. There are many other free options out there that I haven't explored and that may be worth you finding, but I have to say I have been happy with Blogger, and unless my readership takes a huge jump, I'll probably stay!

If you want to throw a little money at it, there are cheap hosts out there. I use Fatcow for my guildsite, which is running Wordpress with (forgive me) i can't remember what kind of forums. I believe I found a deal that my hosting was about $50 a year, possibly even less. That, and the domain name was free. This is another low traffic blog/forum site, so I'm not sure how they handle under a load.

I hope what I've share has been helpful.