Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Email Forwarders

I really like email forwarders.

In January 2018, I wrote and posted an article titled "Domain Management: Email Forwarders" (the link will open in a new window. You can read it now, and then return to continue reading here).

Here is a way to create a plain text file that you can use to quickly import forwarders into cPanel.

This technique will facilitate creating all the forwarders you need and want, and then review them before actually implementing them!


Monday, January 21, 2019

SSL at ABCInc-Domains Hosting is now free

It is easy for customers to drop their paid SSL certificates and installed free ones on a site hosted at ABCInc-domains.com!!

Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Planning your WordPress Website ~ Steps [1] - [8]



Planning and Building your WordPress Web Site

We build and repair WordPress web sites (MyWordPressWordPage.com) at A Better Computer, Inc.

We start off with you choosing one of the following options:

  1. You do all the work. You research, read and watch YouTube videos to lean the skills you need. This series of articles will give you yet another perspective of "Best Practices."
  2. ABCInc does all the work. You tell us what you want to see on your website; we'll make it happen! Ivaca Delic wrote an article for FreelancersTools.com. It's titled "Ultimate Web Design Brief Questionnaire for clients," but I haven't found anything brief about it ~ Delic has identified almost 75 questions. They're all good, and should be addressed before beginning a WordPress project.
  3. You and ABCInc do the work together. In the early phases of your website, ABCInc will do most of the work, especially for those actions that are done only once. We'll be there as you complete the later phases. We'll start with a shortened version of Delic's questionnaire.

Regardless of who does the work, these next 10 posts describe what has to be done.

Read on!

Building a WordPress site ~ [1] Choosing & Registering a Domain Name

Choosing a domain name can be a challenge because it depends hits one of three levels:
  1. What you want ~
  2. What you need ~ 
  3. What you can get ~
There's two parts to this section

Building a WordPress site ~ [2] Google Integration

I believe in leveraging Google resources for your web work!

Did you know that Google maintains a blog for their services? Visit Blog.Google/Products.

Building a WordPress site ~ [3] Choose a Hosting Provider

This section is TAN-B2: Technical and Necessary, But Boring!

The frustrating part is that there are so many variations to consider.

  • Is this a new site being built from scratch?

Building a WordPress site ~ [4] cPanel (eMail)

I really like forwarders!

After you register your domain and arrange for hosting, it's time to create forwarders for your WordPress installation.

Building a WordPress site ~ [5] cPanel - Install Wordpress

You will need the following information before you install WordPress:

  • Site Name
  • Site Description ~ a tagline
  • Admin Username ~ you will use this to log into the site once you've created it
  • Admin Password ~ you will use this to log into the site once you've created it
  • Admin Email ~ I recommend you use the admin forwarder you created in the previous step; otherwise enter your personal email

Building a WordPress site ~ [6] WordPress Plugins

Time to log into your new WordPress site!

You should immediately install an anti-virus plugin to protect your site. I am currently using the free version of WordFence.

Then you will add plugins recommended by ABCInc.


Building a WordPress site ~ [7] WordPress Themes

Themes are the presentation piece of your Web Page. They display how your information is presented on the screen.

By default, WordPress comes with three free themes already installed. All three of these are "responsive," which means they adjust to what device is being used: PC, laptop, tablet, or phone! The installed themes are:
  • Twenty Nineteen
  • Twenty Seventeen
  • Twenty Sixteen
There are literally tens of thousands of themes available. Quality varies. (Discussion to follow)

Building a WordPress site ~ [8] Configure Wordpress

This is the last step before pouring in your content!

We have the plugins and themes installed and activated. There is one more menu choice. "Settings."