We are going to use a hosting service for this class, which means we are going to rent space on a company's servers where we can keep all of the media we create this semester. Once you get more advanced, you may want to have a server at your house so you can do all of this by yourself.

Me, I rent space. It's easier in the long run unless you really know what you're doing. 

The most important piece of advice I can give you: write down every username, password or key that you receive during this process. You will NOT remember all of this information and if you lose it, you will have to find time outside of class to meet with me. I can't take class time to help you recover something that you lost.

This is good advice for all technology. Always -- ALWAYS -- write down the information you receive and create a folder in your email client to store important information.

Register Your URL:

1. Go to http://www.lamphost.net

2. Additional Services

3. Click on Domain Name

4. Click on Register Your Name

5. Search for the Domain Name (put www)

6. Then Pick Your Plan (I generally do 1 year)

7. Select the Shared Hosting Plan

8. Select the Web Presence

9. Select Your Payment Schedule

10. Then You Check Out

Once you have registered your domain, you'll need to do a couple more things before you get started with your blog. These are simple housekeeping items that will take a few minutes.

Setting Up FTP Access For Your Site:

Note: You will need the email address and the password you create in this section to FTP your files. Please make a note of this.

1. Go to http://www.lamphost.net
2. In the Control Panel Login at the top of the page, sign in with the username and password you created when you completed Register Your URL above
3. Once you are in, click on the Site Manager tab across the top
4. In the "Select a Site to Manage" section, click on your website URL
5. Along the left side of the screen, you will see a list of functions. Click on "Email & FTP"
6. Click on "Add Email/FTP Account"
7. Create a new email address (me@yourdomain.com) and a password
8. Click on the Enable FTP Access box
9. Click "Submit Form"

For now, you'll want to forward all the email from your new URL to the email client you use most often. We'll set that up next.

Forwarding Your Domain Email:

1. Complete steps 1-5 from Setting Up FTP Access For Your Site (you may already be there)
2. Click on "Forwards"
3. Click "Add Email Forwards"
4. In the "Email Account" field, type the email you created in the Setting Up FTP Access For Your Site
5. In the "Forwards To" field, type the email that you use most often
6. Click "Submit Form"

To test that this is successful, open up your email client and send an email to the address you created in the Setting Up FTP Access For Your Site. In a few minutes, that should get forwarded to the account you specificed in Step 5. If it doesn't show up, please check ALL your junk and spam folders and make sure you have put the correct address in that field.

The last thing you need to do is send an email to Support, letting them know you will be setting up a WordPress blog on the server and you'll need the database information. This usually takes about an hour to get.

Requesting Database Server Information:

1. Go to http://www.lamphost.net
2. In the Control Panel Login at the top of the page, sign in with the username and password you created when you completed Register Your URL above
3. Once you are in, click on the Support tab across the top.
4. You will see a submission form. Please send this note to support (and check to make sure the email address in your form is correct. This is where your answer will come):

**Hello. I recently registered a domain name with Lamphost and I'm getting ready to install my WordPress software. However, I need the database information for the site. Could you please send that to me. Thank you.**

You will receive a reply within the hour most times. Please keep this information in your files. This is extremely important. If you lose it, you can retrieve it from the Support group; however, it's best not to lose it.

Please proceed to: Downloading the WordPress Blog