Branding Your Blog Easier with WordPress.org than WordPress.com

p>I’ve been more than a bit frustrated by the time demands on me to get this blog, based on the downloadable version of WordPress from wordpress.org, up and running. So I have been interested in what seemed a comparative ease of use for the sister product, the hosted WordPress.com, which I’ve started to use for another blog of mine, My English Lab.

But a definite advantage of the downloadable version is that I can use my own domain name for it. All that was involved was using FTP to move the folder with the WordPress files into the main public folder on my website. Even I, with my limited technical skills, found that process a piece of cake.

I’ve just posted about this on My English Lab:

There is a related limitation in not having your own domain from the outset, when your domain name is tied to a third party web hosting service, such as yourname.hostingservice.com (or in the case of this blog coachdes.wordpress.com). That’s the problem of losing readers and search engine recognition. Darren Rowse has posted about that on his ProBlogger blog and the moral of that piece seems to be that the sooner you get your own domain and stick to it, the better.

One option for this site would be to use the downloadable version of WordPress and install it on my own server, then use my own domain name. I’ve been more than a bit frustrated about the challenges that offers to me as a non-technical person in setting up my deswalsh.com site, but I may be close to having figured out enough what needs to be done for this to be a realistic option for My English Lab. And the deal I’m on with my web hosting service, HostingBay, means that making that move will only cost me about AU$20 (US$15).

Des Walsh

Business coach and digital entrepreneur. With coach training from Coachville.com and its Graduate School of Coaching, and a founding member of the International Association of Coaching, Des has been coaching business owners and entrepreneurs for the past 20 years. Over the same period he has also been actively engaged in promoting the business opportunities of the digital economy. He is a certified Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) coach, and a certified specialist in social media strategy and affiliate marketing.