Proper Blog Design Layout for Internet Small Business Website

As a blogger you will need blog software and the proper blog design layout. We will show you how to start a blog for your small business for free! Two of the options available are Wordpress and Movable Type. There are benefits and disadvantages to both but after researching a little information on each, we decided to use Wordpress. There are many free templates available for Wordpress to make site customization a breeze. Also, the admin control panel is easy to navigate, allows comment filtering, and makes site customization easy. We recommend Wordpress for your blog but you can compare both of these blog programs along with other programs to decide which one best meets your need. A blog is the easiest internet small business you can start. You can make your blog about anything that interests you. Then all you need is readers. We will cover how to drive traffic to your site in a later chapter. Here we will cover the basics on how to start a Wordpress or Moveable Type blog and how to give the site your own custom look. After you have chosen the software you want to use, click the link on WebPalPro under “Blog Platform” to download the files. Once the files have downloaded, log on to cPanel. You are now ready to add the blog script to your server. Simply click file manager and open your public_html folder. Now click the upload icon on your file manager, click browse to locate the zip file you just downloaded, and upload the file. This may take a few minutes as there are several files to be uploaded. Once the upload in complete, close the upload window and you should see the zip file in your file manager. Single click the file and click the unzip icon. Once the files are unzipped you will see a pop-up telling you the files have been unzipped. Proceed through the pop-up and you will now have a folder in your file manager with the same name as the zip file. Double click the folder to view all the files and folders uploaded. You now need to click the select all button to highlight all the files and folders. Now click the copy icon. A dialog box will pop-up asking where to copy the files. Enter /public_html/ and press copy. You now have all the files on your server and you are ready to install the software! Before you begin the install process, return to your cPanel and click on “MySQL Databases.” Here you will create the database your blog will use to store and organize your information. This is easy. All you have to do is follow the on screen instructions. First, name your database and click create. Then you will create a user. Finally, assign the user to the database you created. Now begin the install process. This is the link to the Movable Type installation instructions http://www.movabletype. org/documentation/installation/quick-start.html. You have already completed the first 3 steps so you should begin with step 4. This link will take you to the installation instructions for Wordpress http://www. YOURDOMAIN.com/readme.html. You have already completed steps 1 and 4. You need to rename the file as instructed by logging in to your file manager. You can find additional installation instructions in the support forum for the software you are using. Once you have completed the install you are ready to log in to your admin control panel and begin customizing the look of your blog. You will also start adding posts to your blog! We just want to give you the basics here on how to add the appropriate files to your server. You should use the support forums for these software programs to learn how to change your blog name, logo, colors, or template. Remember, using a template is completely acceptable as visitors come to your site for the content and stay on your site because it is easy to navigate and interesting! Wordpress has the most free templates and we have included a link to those on WebPalPro. Just click the “Wordpress Themes” link to download free themes to change the look of your site. Again, use the support forum and the installation instructions provided with the theme to add the appropriate files to your server. Movable Type also offers free themes; click the “Movable Type Themes” link to download them. *TIP* You can always modify the look of your site in the future. Right now, the most important thing is to start adding content to your blog. This will directly impact how many visitors come to your site and if they will return! We hope that this tutorial on how to start a blog for free has been helpful.