Things have changed.  Changed Dramatically.

In the old days, when the web was young, we all knew that creating a website and then making it appear on the Internet was a job for specialists.  A job for trained people who understood how to write using words in strange <brackets>.  People who knew about “FTP” and “DNS” and “Hyperlinks”.

But not anymore.  Now almost anyone can do it and do it well.

The tools for the job have got much, much easier so that now, if you can use Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word, you can be your own web designer.

How liberating is that?  No longer need you wait around for your web designer to find the time to make those urgent changes you requested last week.  No longer do you have to pay high hourly rates for the work.  You now have control, which is exactly how it should be.

So, how do you get yourself a new website, or blog, sorted out in 10 minutes?

1. Get yourself a Domain Name, such as www.yourcompany.co.uk.  The hosting company you setup with (see below) may provide this free, or if not will be able to register your domain for you for about the same cost as a month’s hosting.  Alternatively, I can recommend 123-Reg.
2. Sign-up with a hosting company that offers a “one-click” install of WordPress.  The hosting company provides you with space on their servers and makes the content you put there available to the World.  WordPress is the free software that will help you create and manage your web pages.  I use NativeSpace but there are many others around – such as BlueHost.  Monthly hosting should cost no more than about £10 / $7 per month.
3. Now that you have WordPress installed on your own hosting account, you need to find a design style that you like the look of, and one that will be suited to the type of content you intend to produce.  The great news is that there are hundreds of ready-made WordPress themes available, many at no cost, so you will really be spoilt for choice.  I use WooThemes but you can find others using this Google Search.
4. Once you have found your dream theme, login your WordPress admin area and upload the theme.  Then activate the theme and you’re done!

Of course, you will then need to spend some time adding pages and writing the words for the pages but, and this is the quiet revolution that has crept up on us, the content is now separate from the design.  You only need to worry about the words you want to say  – WordPress looks after the design for you.