Three Easy Steps to Start a Practice Web Site in the New Year

Creating your own Web site or blog is easy. As the New Year is fast approaching, make a resolution to get started. Here are three easy ways to do so. You might want to try a personal site before launching a more serious site for your practice. No matter which way you choose, you can’t spend a lot.

Creating a blog on Wordpress.com is free. Simply visit wordpress.com and follow the easy set up directions; you can be up in minutes. There is a 10-step process to guide you through everything you need to know.

Wordpress.com is not the same as Wordpress.org. There are some subtle differences starting with the choice of URLs. First, you don’t own a URL at the .com version. Also, “wordpress” will be part of your URL.

It’s a great place to start though to get used to the many features of the Wordpress world. Wordpress has the largest selection of themes and templates from which to choose and the plugins are mini “apps” to add different functions to your Web site.

It’s a great and fully functional place to go with absolutely no cost and no risk. There is a ton of online support.

Similar to Wordpress.com is Blogger.com, owned and operated by Google. Here, too, there is no charge, but there are similar limitations.

The URL will contain “blogspot” as part of the URL. As with Wordpress.com, you won’t own any of your articles, the URL, or anything else you post on your site. You will, however, be able to learn to how manage site stats and manage the layout of your site. Blogger is integrated with your other Google accounts and staying touch with other “Blogspots” and friends is a snap.

When you are ready, buy your own URL and manage your own blog! There are simply three steps to getting started. While it is not free, it probably won’t cost any more than $10/month.

GETTING STARTED
Step 1 - Buy your own URL. This can be your practice name, something similar, or, as I recommend, a combination of words that explains the services you provide. For instance, RetinaEyeDoctor.com was my choice for my blog. Can you guess what I do?

Step 2 - Your URL, also known as your domain, must be hosted. Your Web site or blog must reside on a computer, or server...somewhere in cyberspace. I like either GoDaddy.com or BlueHost.com. Hosting is pretty cheap.

The URL should run you no more than $10 for the year. Hosting costs about $6-$10/month, which is the bulk of the costs, but that’s really about it!

Step 3 - Once you have established a hosting account, install/configure Wordpress.org onto your account.

Unlike WordPress.com or Blogger.com, there are really no constraints. You’ll own all your copyrighted material and you can configure your site any way you want! You’ll have endless free templates and themes from which to choose. If you want to get fancy, there are thousands of third-party products from which to choose! Lastly, Wordpress.com/.org is the largest blog community, thus, there is the largest pool of support.

Get started! Meet your patients on the Internet by creating a web presence for your practice. Let me know if you need help! Have a great holiday.