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Should you use www. or without www.?

August 26th, 2007 by Chris

Your blog can be accessed either through www.yourblog.com or yourblog.com, how convenient it is! However, it also means that your blog has two different PageRanks. Go to SmartPageRank.com and see it for yourself. Google and other search engines often regard www.yourblog.com and yourblog.com as two different blogs, and therefore, some of the inbound links may point to www.yourblog.com and others to yourblog.com.

Example:

  • www.rockyourvote.net has a PageRank of 4
  • rockyourvote.net has a PageRank of 2 is having PageRank 4 now

People don’t always link to your domain in the way you want them to. From an SEO perspective, this could hurt your hard earned search engine rankings and link popularity. How to solve this not-many-people-know issue?

The best solution to this situation is to signal to search engines that both domains are the same blog/site by implementing what is known as ‘301 redirect’ or ‘permanent redirect’ from one of your domains to the other. By correctly configuring a permanent 301 redirect, the search engine rankings might improve as all inbound links are correctly counted for the website, thus, your PageRank is theoretically redirected too. It also helps to redirect your visitors to the domain that you want as well as to clear up duplicate content in search engines.

Before implementing a 301 redirect, you should decide which version you want it to be, www. or non-www, then stick to it. In my case, I chose the www. version. A 301 redirect can be done in many ways, but I’m going to only show you two simplest methods that I recommend:

  1. Using a Wordpress plugin
  2. Using htaccess

1. Setting up a 301 redirect using a Wordpress plugin

If your blog is on a Wordpress platform, you’re lucky! Justin Shattuck came up with a wonderful plugin called WWW Redirect plugin. This easy-to-use Wordpress plugin allows you to set up a 301 redirect few clicks away. Go to the plugin page here, download the plugin, extract and upload the file to your plugins folder, activate it in your Wordpress admin control panel, go to the ‘Redirect Options’ on the sub menu of the plugins menu and update your preferences. That’s all, you’re done. Your domain is now redirected to the other domain from now on. You can check your redirect validity on Search Engine Friendly Redirect Checker

2. Setting up a 301 redirect using htaccess

For those on blogging platforms other than Wordpress, don’t be disappointed, you can still set up a 301 redirect using htaccess. Doing it using htaccess is highly recommended as it’s easier to manage – copy, paste and save. It’s also the safest method without having to worry about being penalized by search engines. In my case, by adding the redirect code to the .htaccess file on my server, I redirect my visitors to reach my blog at www.wiseblogging.com instead of wiseblogging.com, and below is how I did it.

The 301 permanent redirect code:

Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteEngine on
rewritecond %{http_host} ^yourblog.com [nc]
rewriterule ^(.*)$ http://www.yourblog.com/$1 [r=301,nc]

 

For Blue Host user

  1. Login to your Blue Host control panel
  2. Select ‘File Manager’ under ‘Files’ session
  3. Click on ‘.htaccess’ and select ‘Edit File’ and you will get the screen below
  4. Insert the redirect code into the field indicated, remember to replace ‘yourblog’ with your own domain and lastly save changes.
  5. Done. Your domain is redirected to the other domain from now on. You can check your redirect validity on Search Engine Friendly Redirect Checker

htaccess

 

For other web host user

If you are not a Blue Host user (advertisement : Reliable, Affordable Business Hosting from Bluehost.com.) , you should still be able to locate the same file ‘.htaccess’ on the root directory of your blog but if you can’t locate it, create one and name it ‘.htaccess’. Here’s how to do it:

  1. Open up your notepad or any text editor that you prefer
  2. Copy and paste the redirect code into the notepad, replace ‘yourblog’ with your own domain and lastly save it as ‘.htaccess’
  3. Upload it to the root directory of your blog and make sure the name remains as ‘.htaccess’
  4. Done. Your domain is redirected to the other domain from now on. You can check your redirect validity on Search Engine Friendly Redirect Checker

If you have a relatively large blog, you will likely not see the big shakeup overnight, as it takes time to move your rankings and pass your PageRank, however, implementing the 301 redirect is definitely going to benefit your blog in the long run.

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Sick and tired of comparing web hosting plans?

August 25th, 2007 by Chris

I used to be like every beginner - excitedly looking around for the best web hosting provider offering the most value-for-money web hosting plan. I hated it so much that I had to open up at least 5 screens to compare 5 different web hosting companies at the same time, it ain’t fun. It’s a hell of a job having to flip among the screens again and again. After hours of comparing, I still didn’t get my answer.

I started to google some web hosting comparison and reviews, but they’re complicated still, too many facts and figures on the same little chart. I only wanted to know who gave me the best plan at the best price. I then decided to chart it on my own and I finally got my answer. To help those who are just about to venture into blogging and eagerly looking for the same answer, look no further, the table is right here for your reference.

There are hundreds of web hosting providers out there, so I’m not going to list down all of them. I’m going to only pick 7 of my favorite web hosting providers that I’m currently using, namely, BlueHost, HostMonster, StartLogic, Lunarpages, FatCow, HostGator and IXWebHosting. I’m having more than 20 domains hosted on all 5 of them. I do not mean that they are the best of the best, but they are simply the ones that I’m very satisfied with. The chart contains affiliate links, you may choose not to click on them, but clicking on them does no harm no foul to you.

I’m going to make the table permanent under the Hosting Plans session, you can always come back and check for latest updates. I’m going to update it on a very regular basis.

So, here you go - the “Web Hosting Plans at a glance” table, you can sort the column by clicking on the header. Tell me what you think about the table and whether it’s useful. Should I continue updating the table or should I just throw it away? Let me know.

Web Hosting Plans at a Glance

Click on the header to sort the column
*** Last updated on Aug 26, 2008 ***

Webhost Price/mo Disk Space Bandwidth Free Domain/s Host No. Domains
HostMonster $5.95 Unlimited Unlimited 1 Unlimited
Startlogic Windows Hosting $5.95 Unlimited Unlimited 1 Unlimited
Bluehost Web Hosting $6.95 $6.95 Unlimited Unlimited 1 Unlimited
Paying too much for web hosting? $4.95 1,500 GB 15,000 GB 1 Unlimited
Banner $4.95 Unlimited Unlimited 1 Unlimited
$7.95 600 GB 6,000 GB 0 Unlimited
FatCow Web Hosting: $99 Plan $7.33 1,500 GB 15,000 GB 0 Unlimited

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How to Create a Self-Hosted Blog

July 14th, 2007 by Chris

In my previous post “5 things to consider before starting your blog”, I suggested you to start off a free blog with Blogger, learn how blogging works, then only switch to a paid-posting blog running Wordpress. Therefore, I’m assuming you to have already created a free blog with Blogger and had some experience on blogging. Right now, I’m assuming that you already feel comfortable with blogging and ready to move on to the next level ie getting a domain name for your blog hosted with a web host company. In this post, I’m going to show you how you can create a blog using Wordpress and host it on your own domain, and you will also learn how to create a self-hosted blog with Blogger and host it on your own domain for as little as $8.88 per year.

Before showing you the steps, there are two things that you will need to do prior to creating the blog:

  1. Purchase a domain. First of all, you will need to purchase a domain before getting a web host. I know most web hosts offer free domain if you purchase their web host package, but it’s always advisable to purchase your own domain from a domain registrar, and then only host it with your preferred web host. Why? Because, you need to plan for the future. If you get the free domain given by any web hosts, the web host company will be the registrant of the domain, not YOU. If your domain becomes hot and popular one day, your web host can simply sell off your domain and make billions, you won’t get a single cent from it, because they are the legal registrant of the domain. Or, maybe one day, if Google is interested in acquiring your blog or website, you are not gonna get the million or billion dollars from Google, because you’re not the registered owner. Therefore, it is imperative to make sure that you are the legal registrant of your domain name, and the only way to do it is to buy it from a domain registrar. There are many established domain registrars on the market, but personally I prefer NameCheap. Not because they are selling cheap domains, but their service is satisfactory, and the user interface is brilliant. NameCheap offers a yearly rate of $8.88 for a .com or .net domain, I’m having more than 8 domains with them. So, go to a domain registrar of your choice, or simply go to NameCheap to purchase your preferred domain name, I’m not going into details about how to purchase a domain, as I believe you will be able to figure it out by following the instructions on the domain registrar’s web page, it’s pretty straightforward.

  2. Subscribe a web hosting plan. Next, after purchasing the domain, you need a web host for your domain. Again, there are hundreds of web hosts out there offering different web hosting packages at different prices. Established web hosts like BlueHost, HostGator, Lunarpages, DreamHost, HostMonster, Globat, StartLogic and IXWebHosting are highly recommended. I’ve been using BlueHost, and they are offering a standard one-year web host package at $7.95/month (about $95.40 a year). The server’s uptime is 100% so far, I am certainly a happy BlueHost’s customer. Frankly speaking, BlueHost is one of the best web hosts on the market and I will definitely recommend it to everyone. Of course, you can choose other web hosts too as long as they support Wordpress or Blogger blogging platform. Besides, make sure you are getting a Linux server if you are planning to use Wordpress, and Blogger can ride on both Windows and Linux server. Finding a web host is like finding your new house, you will need to choose carefully, don’t simply grab a web host, always buy from a well-known web host, you can Host Unlimited Domains on 1 BlueHost Account $6.95 Per Month. If you can’t afford that, then I will suggest you get one from IXWebHosting, the Top Rated Web Hosting - $3.95/mo.

By now, I believe you should have gotten yourself a domain and a web host. Now, let me show you how to create your blog using Wordpress and Blogger on your own domain.

For Wordpress users:

How to create a Wordpress blog on your own domain with paid hosting

WordpressplusNameCheapplusBlueHost

Step One - Point your domain to your web host
After purchasing the web hosting service, you will need to point your domain to the web host. For BlueHost and NameCheap user,
1. Login to your NameCheap account, select Manage domains and click on your domain
2. From the navigation bar on the left, select Transfer DNS to Webhost
3. Enter ns1.bluehost.com into the first field and ns2.bluehost.com into the 2nd field, and click Save Changes. *Note* (For non-BlueHost users, you can use your preferred web host’s ns1 & ns2 addresses, please check with your web host to get the correct ns1 & ns2 addresses)

Now your domain is pointed to your BlueHost web hosting account. It may take up to 24 hours for the domain to be hooked up to your BlueHost hosting, but normally the changes take effect within minutes. The longest that I experienced was only for 15 minutes.

Step Two - Install Wordpress on your domain
While waiting for the changes to take effect, you can take your sweet time to install Wordpress on your domain, follow the steps below:
1. Log into your BlueHost control panel
2. Select Fantastico De Luxe from Software / Services section
3. Select WordPress under Blogs — a WordPress info screen will load
4. Place your mouse over the bold text New Installation and click the link
5. Follow the prompts given by Fantastico, then complete the installation

Fantastico will populate the default files and databases for a brand new installation of WordPress in whatever location on any domain attached to your account which you specify. You can choose to install wordpress on http://yourblogname.com or http://www.yourblogname.com or http://www.yourblogname.com/blog etc whichever you like. But I will advise you to install it right on http://www.yourblogname.com , you will know why in my future posts.

You are done! Go to your blog at your domain http://www.yourblogname.com, and you can see your blog is up and running on Wordpress platform. Now you can start your blogging career by logging into your Wordpress account at http://www.yourblogname.com/wp-admin. Enjoy Wordpress’ing.

For Blogger users:

How to create a Blogger blog on your own domain for as little as $8.88 a year

BloggerplusNameCheapplusBlogger

For those who have limited funds or simply not willing to fork out a hundred bucks for web hosting service, you may choose to use Blogger on your own domain. As promised in my previous post, I’m going to show you how you can create a Blogger blog on your domain that you just purchased for $8.88 without paying additional charges for the web hosting.

Step One (The only step) - Point your domain to Blogger
Yes, instead of pointing your domain to a web host, you can point your domain to Blogger and Blogger will host your domain for FREE. For NameCheap user,
1. Login to your NameCheap account
2. Select Manage domains and click on your domain
3. From the navigation bar on the left, select All Host Records under Host Management
4. Enter ghs.google.com into the “www” field and change your “Record Type” to CNAME (Alias). This step is to point your blog url (with www) to your Blogger blog.
5. Enter http://yourblogname.com/ into the “@” field and change the “Record Type” to URL Redirect. This step is to redirect your blog url (without www) to http://www.yourblogname.com when people key in http://yourblogname.com.
6. Click Save Changes. It may take up to 24 hours for the domain to be hooked up to your Blogger blog, but normally the changes take effect within minutes. The longest that I experienced was only for 10 minutes.

*Note* For those who purchased domain from other domain registrars, you may refer to this self-explanatory instructions by Blogger.

Congratulations, you’re done! From now on, you can continue logging into your Blogger account via Blogger website as usual, but all your posts will be published to your domain, meaning that, your blog is now live on your own domain hosted by Blogger for FREE. You only pay $8.88 for the domain, and Blogger host it for you at no additional cost to you. Now go to your blog at http://www.yourblogname.com and check out the wonder.

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