Posts Tagged ‘web technology’

29
Oct
2009

How do you setup a blog?

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One of the most common questions I get asked here on the site is a relatively simple one, how do you setup a blog?

First, let’s establish what a blog is and what it isn’t.

A blog is a running editorial, while it has a start date (the day you put it online) there is no end date. It’s not like sending a flyer to a printer, it’s more like a newsletter where you continuously update the content and newer posts (usually) appear at the top.

A blog gives you the ability to allow users to comment on your posts, but it is not a forum which allows general users to start conversations. Generally a blog is written from the perspective of a group of authors on a specific subject and read/responded to by the general public.

Excellent examples of blog usage would be for couples getting married who want to share their details with family and friends, travelers who are posting updates as they find accessible computers or companies who are sharing information about their events. More formal uses of blogs can be found in daily newspapers, online magazines and even support websites which post commonly asked questions and receive comments from users.

Blogging removes the need for complex software solutions and rarely requires more than a basic knowledge of computer use. Unlike publishing a website, blogs almost always feature a rich content editor similar to Word or other popular desktop publish packages.

To operate a blog of your own, you’ll need to setup some fairly basic web technology.

  1. You’ll need a domain name (this is your address on the web)
  2. You’ll need a web host (this is where your files are stored on the web)
  3. You’ll need to install a blogging package (this is what allows you to run a blog)

Luckily, to accomplish all these tasks there’s a wonderful, simple solution called BlueHost which offers a turn key blogging solutions for new businesses. Their introductory package offers free domain name registration as well as one year hosting and free installation of WordPress, the world’s most popular blogging package for just $6.95 per month.

When you’re ready, get started with your blog today!

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Posted in Business Advice

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17
Aug
2009

What’s Wrong with WordPress?

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There’s a giant pink elephant in the WordPress forum that nobody seems to be talking about and it’s been staring at my peanuts for the past few weeks, so let’s take a moment to ask ourselves how safe the platform really is.

WordPress, for those who don’t know is a blogging platform turned website manager which makes it fantastically easy to build, deploy and manage websites. It’s the best platform on the market for doing this, and it’s free. That’s a pretty powerful endorsement right? Well, it’s true … except … it the past few months the people who run WordPress and are responsible for it have been getting sloppy. Let’s take a look at some of the recent security holes.

Security Holes

The 2.8.4 release this weekend was due to a newly discovered hole in WordPress. In fact, the whole (which seems to have appeared in 2.8) was so big, it allows anybody with even a basic understanding of web technology to reset your admin password whenever they want. When 2.8.3 was released on the 3rd of August, it was to fix security flaws overlooked in the 2.8.2 release from July 20th. In fact, every release since 2.8 has been to fix major security flaws in the core WordPress application. Here’s how WordPress describes their 2.8.1 upgrade:

WordPress 2.8.1 fixes many bugs and tightens security for plugin administration pages. Core Security Technologies notified us that admin pages added by certain plugins could be viewed by unprivileged users, resulting in information being leaked [emphasis added]. Not all plugins are vulnerable to this problem, but we advise upgrading to 2.8.1 to be safe.

If you think I’m being tough on the people at WordPress, take a moment and read the release reports on WordPress.org, it shows nearly three months of security blunders by the world’s most popular package and if you think that you’re immune, think again. In March, Ashley Morgan who runs Upstart Blogger was the victim of a cyber attack, in June my website was hacked and trashed by somebody promoting links to flu vaccines and earlier that month we suffered hacks on both Tinker Priest Media and my partner’s website BavotaSan.

Ashley’s advice is strong, make sure you update your backups daily and always download the latest security updates from WordPress, especially when they’re released on weekends. Take my friend Chris’s advice and remove reference to your WordPress version, install some basic security on your WordPress blog and always remember that there are people out there who want to hack your site.

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Posted in Blogging, WordPress Help

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14
Jan
2009

What is a blog?

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As part of my ongoing series to help new WordPress users (and in fact those who are new to the web) here’s a quickie answer to the most dreaded question on the web today: 

What is a blog?

  • A blog is short for a weblog (web-log) and it’s designed to let even the least technology competent individual add content to a website quickly. No special training, no experience needed.
  • A blog is informal, it’s not as structured as traditional journalism.
  • A blog is not a website. Web sites are written to market a product, concept or service with no ability for the general public to add their input.
  • A blog is not a forum. Forums are similar to blogs but they allow any users to start a conversation and others to respond. A blog subject can only be started by the blog owner.
  • The word blog can be used as both a noun and a verb. You can blog about your blog or just about anything else.
  • A blog can be used to write about anything from web technology (like I do) to your products, family or tourism. If it’s a subject people would like to read about, it can be blogged about.

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Posted in Web Site Advice

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