Remarkablogger

Can the average person set up a self-hosted WordPress blog? Should a professional be hired? I’m sure you’re expecting me to say you should hire a pro, but that’s not what I’m going to say. Bear in mind, though, the bar has been raised. You gotta start out as strong as possible for the best chance of success. How do you know if you’re making serious mistakes? Keep reading and you’ll find out.

Yes, the average person CAN set up a blog… but that’s not the real issue. The issue as I see it is this: will the blog be set up the best way possible? Unless you know the technical stuff and have experience, you could have a rocky road ahead of you.

Here are some mistakes that non-professionals make that we should be aware of:

1. Using a "one-click install" service from your web host

One-click installs seem worth it for convenience and for folks who don’t feel confident in their tech knowledge. But it’s often not the latest version, which is a security vulnerability. 

2. Not setting "pretty permalinks" for better post URLs

Using "ugly URLs" hurts your search optimization big time. This one’s pretty easy to deal with if your blog is already installed, but if something goes wrong, you need to have access to files on your web server via FTP in order to fix the problem.

3. Uploading the wp-config-sample.php file to the server

WordPress has a file which needs to be changed in order for the blog to be installed. This file has your database connection information. It’s called wp-config-sample.php. It must be uploaded to the server as wp-config.php, but people upload the original "sample" one, too, which is a security vulnerability.

4. Not deleting the default "admin" user

WordPress creates a default user with the user name of "admin". For security reasons, you should never use this user. Immediately create a new user with a unique user name and password for yourself.

5. Not using certain plugins

Certain plugins are incredibly beneficial, such as All-in-one SEO Pack or Subscribe to Comments. All my clients get the best plugins installed on their blogs for them, but you can install plugins yourself if you know how to use an FTP program (which isn’t all that hard).

6. Not using FeedBurner for RSS feed handling

FeedBurner redirects your blog’s RSS feeds through its own service, which gives you all manner of fantastic options if you know your way around FeedBurner. Every successful blog that I know of uses FeedBurner.

7. Not having posts written in advance of launch

For the best chance of success, you want content ready to go before your blog officially launches. You don’t want people coming to a nearly empty blog! In fact, before you launch, you have all the time in the world to write your best stuff, no hurry!

What’s Possible Isn’t Always What’s Best

Yes, you can do it yourself. It’s a very empowering feeling. We all have our areas of expertise. I would never pay anyone else to do what I can do for myself with websites, but I pay to have my car repaired, because that’s not my thing. I don’t want it to be my thing. You have to decide where your priorities and wants are. It might be totally worth it for you to hire a pro, but the learning experience of doing it yourself can be very valuable. It’s your choice. Nothing is right or wrong, but each carries different advantages and disadvantages.