This is a follow-up post to the question of what kind of site is this where you name is the URL? Thanks for the great questions Brittany!

Question: How did you create your site / how can I start my own?

Answer:  There are two good routes.

1. Free – Use WordPress.com and register a site as yourname.wordpress.com

Downsides: you don’t have as much control over adding other features (Plugins) or changing the appearance (themes). Looks less professional due to being a  .wordpress.com  domain. (Also, can’t put ads on it)

Upsides: Free, quick and easy to start. Some exposure benefit to being in the WordPress system. You can export posts to self-hosted if need be.

2. Self-hosted – This is the best option. You have the software on hosting you rent. Downloaded from WordPress.org – domain can be yourname.com

Downsides: This will cost $10 a year to buy the domain. And for good hosting $5-7/month. There are places that have WordPress specific hosting for $10/year! I wouldn’t use the $10 option if you plan on getting large amounts of traffic. (you can always switch hosts) It is also a bit of a learning curve to install. However most hosts offer “Fantastico” which allows pretty much 2 click install and configuring of WordPress.

Tubu.net – $10/year + domain registration.

HostGator.com – $5/month and up (aff link)

WordPress Hosting Recommendation

Upsides: You have complete control over WordPress. Change the appearance and functionality to your heart’s content. Can be at yourname.com You can usually create email addresses @yourname.com  You can have ads if you like. Can rank more easily for your name.

My site is self-hosted and that is the route I would recommend. I have started many WordPress sites and would be glad to answer questions about the process or help someone start their own.

I started a few sites on WordPress.com and regret it now as one of them gets over 3000 visits a day and I cannot monetize that without moving it to self-hosted (thus losing some of the SEO value it has built up).

Resources:

• WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
• Ultimate Guide To Using WordPress For A Portfolio
• WordPress Tips + Things You Can Do After Installing WordPress
• The 31 definite reasons why you should be self-hosting WordPress
• Understanding WordPress (Self Hosted WordPress vs WordPress.com)
• 10 Reasons to Self Host Your Own Blog

Thanks for reading. Start a Personal Resume/Portfolio Site, Here’s how. is a post from Blake Imeson

One hundred and seventy four. That is the number of feeds I currently read. Granted, quite a few of these are alerts or blogs that rarely post. Still that is a lot of content. Update: 1/06/09 221 feeds

In a typical day I “read” 175+ blog posts. I say “read” because with that much material I have to scan and only read that which is really relevant. If you held a gun to my head (please don’t) and told me to pick one blog to read, it wouldn’t take me two seconds. One…Tw..Seth Godin’s blog.

Seth is one of those people who has worked hard and achieved the coveted status of “guru”. Marketing is his game. He has the bestselling books and original buzzwords to prove it. Not only are his posts brilliantly creative, he writes in a way most people online have forgotten how…

Succinctly.

His posts are rarely much longer than this one. Why do I think his brevity is brilliant?

People scan, not read (online) The Internet is a noisy, information rich medium. People don’t have time nor desire to wade through mountains of text.

Occam’s Razor states basically “All other things being equal, the simplest solution is the best.” If you have a great insight to share online, make it as simple and succinct as possible. Trim the fat. Get to the point.  Some of the most profound truths are the simplest.

If you could only read one blog, which would you pick?

Thanks for reading. If You Could Only Read One Blog… Which One Makes the Cut? is a post from Blake Imeson