It has been my experience that bloggers rarely think of maintaining routine back-ups until something goes awry - or in most cases, all is lost. I’ve received a number of emails in the last three months begging me to help restore what was long gone. I’ve been called I am many things, but I’m not a miracle worker.

Here’s the thing…

Servers? They crash.
They just do.
Not always, and God help us, not constantly, but it happens.

Servers are computers - and computers have a life span. If you’re with a great web hosting company, then this isn’t an issue because they administer their own 24 hour backups, but still…you are foolish to not backup your own blog.

Yes, I said foolish.
What I really meant to say was “stupid” - I’m just trying to be nice today.

Why Backup Your WordPress Blog?

Your WordPress blog stores a LOT of data:

• First, there is the WordPress database that holds every post, comment, link, etc…you have ever keyed into the blog. If you lose this database, you lose all of the above.
• Next, you have the WordPress Core Install (automatically installed if you use cPanel and Fantastico’s Auto-Installer), the foundation of your blog.
• Then, there is your WordPress Theme files. If you have invested in a custom Wordpress theme, this back-up is absolutely essential. DO NOT EXPECT your web designer to maintain a copy of your custom theme. I keep my client files for about a year - sometimes longer, but it isn’t part of my service (or any designer’s service that I know of) to keep a copy of client themes into infinity and beyond.
• Finally, there are plugin directories and files, image directories and files, scripts you or your designer have added, custom templates for static web pages, and/or post and page templates, and anything else you have uploaded.

A LOT OF STUFF!

Most of us have spent hours upon hours writing whatever it is we write. Our drivel is important to us or we wouldn’t write and publish it. So here’s a measure for whether or not you need backups: if irretrievably losing your blog would bring you to rent your garments and pour burning coals upon your head, then start doing backups; if not, and you don’t mind wearing gunnysacks…don’t.

How to Backup Your WordPress Blog Database

WordPress’ Codex has detailed instructions (imagine that) for WordPress Backups, including a helpful list of Backup Resources.

What I will blog today is how to backup your WordPress Database; because that is truly the MEAT AND POTATOES of your blog.

Got your fork? Let’s dig in.

1. First, download the .zip file of the latest version of WP-DB-Backup in the WordPress Plugin Directory.

That’s right, a pre-written, automated, “you’re gonna love it”, PLUGIN! Whoohoo! Someone else did all the work!

I like to keep original versions of all my plugins in a /plugins/ directory on my hard drive. I talk more about how I organize blog /directories/ and files on my hard drive in my It’s Wise To Organize post.

2. Once downloaded, you need to decompress/unzip/extract (geez…pick your term) the files from the zipped folder before anything can be uploaded to the server. If you are not familiar with how to do this, I have written detailed instructions (with screenshots, mind you) on how to unzip files using a PC. If you are on a Mac…

Download wp-db-backup.2.2.2.zip to your desktop

Ctrl click, scroll to “Open With”, and then over to the default “Archive Utility” to extract the zipped file. You’ll notice I also have Stuffit Expander loaded on my Mac. It is a free download; give it a try if you like.

Once extracted, you will have the wp-db-backup /directory/ next to the zipped file on your desktop.

3. Open (double click) the wp-db-backup /directory/ and scroll until you see the wp-db-backup.php file. This is the file you will upload to your theme’s /plugins/ directory via FTP. If you do not know how to FTP a file to a directory on your server, there are instructions in this post. The path to this /plugins/ directory will be:

http://www.domainname.com/wp-content/plugins/

4. Log into your WordPress Blog, scroll down the menu in the left sidebar until you find the text link for “Plugins” and click through to your blog’s “Manage Plugins” page. Scroll to nearly the bottom of the page and find the subheader, “Inactive Plugins”. Beneath “Inactive Plugins” you should see “WordPress Database Backup” - the plugin you want to activate.

To the right of the plugin is a blue text-link, “Activate”. Click on it and your WordPress Database Backup plugin will be activated. This will move the plugin from the “Inactive Plugins” area to the “Active Plugins” area above.

5. This plugin will try to create a /wp-content/backup-*/ directory inside your WordPress directory. You may need to TEMPORARILY set your /wp-content/ directory to 777 to allow for this. If you are unsure of how to set permissions to a file or /directory/ on the server, I demonstrated it in this post. Though that post is related to changing permissions to an .htaccess file, the same process is used in this instance with the /wp-content/ directory.

6. Now that your WordPress Database Backup plugin has been activated, you need to manage your settings for it. You’ll notice in the description of the plugin it says, “On-demand backup of your WordPress database. Navigate to Tools → Backup to get started…”

Easy enough, right? Just click on the text link “Tools → Backup” to get started. If you don’t see this text link, go to your left menu and scroll to Tools > Backup to get to the same place.

The first settings are for “Tables”. It is all pretty self-explanatory, but you’ll note that you have an option to “Exclude Spam Comments” and “Exclude Post Revisions” on the left. It is my preference to exclude spam comments from my backups, but I do NOT want to exclude post revisions - because I make a lot of these.

I haven’t checked any of the tables on the right, because some of those have been inactive a while and I’m unconcerned about them.

The next settings are for “Backup Options”. This needs little clarification - it just asks you what you want WordPress to do with the backup file it creates. This is for immediate, RIGHT NOW backups. Because it coincides with the “Tables” area above. When you make those settings and click the button “Backup Now!” beneath “Backup Options” it does an immediate backup.

In other words, any time you want an IMMEDIATE backup, you can set your “Tables” and “Backup Options” for what you want and then click “Backup now!” to implement an immediate database backup.

Finally, and perhaps the most lovely setting of all is “Scheduled Backup” at the very bottom of this plugin page. I have backups scheduled weekly. If I posted daily, I would probably have backups “Once Daily”. All of my backups are emailed to me. I keep a backup file on my hard drive and on my external hard drive that backups each evening. This gives me two copies. I only keep the most recent copy on my hard drive, but my external hard drive backups have all of them.

To the right you’ll note I have included ALL the tables, but since then I’ve changed it to not include any of them. I’m not using the Democracy plugin anymore (that was more for my personal blog), don’t use twitter on this blog either, etc…so these aren’t really relevant and I don’t need them.

Once you get all the options set under “Scheduled Backup”, click on the button “Schedule Backup” to begin your regular WordPress Database Backups.

Before I Close Out…

I have said it once, but it is worth saying again, that this plugin ONLY backs up your WordPress Database; not independent server files like your WordPress installation /directories/ and files, theme files, images, plugin files, etc…

Those are important too and you can either refer to the backup resources I noted above, or wait for next week’s tutorial on “How to Backup WordPress Server Files & Directories”. For information about how to restore a WordPress Database from a backup, backups that stop or hang up without completing, or questions regarding files within the backup /directory/ please refer to the WordPress WP-DB-Backup FAQ or the plugin’s homepage.

Now, send this post to 10 of your friends before the cock crows or you may experience a re-occurrence of teenage acne, become mute, develop an allergy to dust mites (or if you already have an allergy to dust mites, genital herpes), and be forced to listen to a CD of Fran Drescher’s laugh on repeat for a relentless 72 hours. Lord help you.

Subject: PW just won best design
“You iz deeee best.”

I stopped everything.
Sat down.
Gasped.
I teared up a little…okay, a lot.
I screamed.
Oh yes, I did.
Then I called the three people that understand how much that means to me.
And finally, I resumed packing (reality is a killer, is it not?).

Later, when I reached my packing limit - the point where I almost fall on my face, but not quite - I sat down with a cup of bold coffee and checked twitter for the chatter.

Herman? Huh? I thought REE won Best Web Design!??

Of course, if I had kept up with my blog reading for the past year today, I would have been prepared for Ree’s “HERMAN” comment. I would have seen where she wrote…

“…if I do happen to squeak through and win any award myself, I will simply type the name “Herman.” I’m sorry, but I have some issues I need to work through.”

And that would have saved me from Googling weird combinations or phrases including “SXSW“, “2009 Bloggies”, and “HERMAN.”

There was certainly much ado about HERMAN.

The Pioneer Woman’s blog not only won Best-Designed Weblog, but also Best Photography and Weblog of the Year.

WEBLOG OF THE YEAR
oh.my.stinkin.heck.

What an outstanding achievement for a fabulous woman. Truly a joy to work with for the past two years, Ree is a client, but she’s also a friend and an inspiration.

(No, this is not a hair club for men commercial.)

Amazing what can happen when two women get in a taxi and start talking about web design, eh Ree?

I’ll let Ree tell her own version of what it feels like to be the underdog.

I know, I know, I’m totally MIA. Before you organize a team of professional sniffers to seek me out know this…

• We’ve put our house on the market.
• We sold our home in 7 days.
• We’re packing to move out by the 22nd.
• I’m workin’ to pay bills.
• Homes are expensive.
• We found one to buy.
• We like it a lot.
• It has access to DSL - thank the Lord.
• Dogs have to pee entirely too much.
• I’m sick of the rain.
• Yesterday I lost internet connection for 6 hours and cried.

Graph inspiration comes from one of my favorite bloggers, Nick Cernis. If you haven’t read (viewed?) his post, Stick a Chart in it, you need to…now. If you want to burn ditch your Franklin Covey planner, get Nick’s e-book, Todoodlist, and you’ll doodle yourself to heightened levels of productivity (you think I’m joking, don’t you?). He has other sites too; seriously funny, yet succinct.

“I’ll be back.”
- Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Terminator

No really, it is.
And that is exactly why I’m giving it to you for FREE.
I’m good like that.

Before you think otherwise, The B.O.R.E. Method is anything but a bore, in fact, if done right, it will make your online presence even more enjoyable.

What’s that? Fun at the office? Ya don’t say?!

B.O.R.E. stands for Building Online Relationships Everyday.

Simple, yet effective. If you’re not doing it, you might as well pack up your fancy-dancy USB hub* and call it a day because YOU’RE NOT WORTHY **.

One Step, Two Steps, Three Steps…B.O.R.E.

I’m pretty evangelical about The B.O.R.E. Method. Try it out and you will be too. Just like a solid, 3-point sermon, The B.O.R.E. Method is succinct and easy-to-follow.

Here we go:

1. Be attentive to, and timely in, your correspondence. I’ll write more about proper netiquette (internet etiquette) later, but for now, KNOW THIS…the downfall of any online site owner is a lack of timely replies to emails or, if a personal blog, ignoring direct questions posted within comments.

   When you own a public website it is equivalent to an open, non-verbal invitation for others to come, see, and interact. If they have questions about your services, product(s), you, or your blog material, timely responses say, “I care about your business or correspondence.”

   If you don’t care? Get off-line or make your site private.

   Seriously. It’s rude.

2. Don’t forget there’s give in the take. I’ve been working online for nearly a decade and I’ve watched a lot of companies, and eventually, blogs, come and go. It doesn’t take a trained eye to see the emergent pattern; up-and-coming companies are quickly down-and-out when they fail to engage, contribute and/or give to their niche community.

   If you sell a service or product, there are several ways to balance your give and take: maybe offer a Q&A Session one day a week; volunteer to moderate an online forum that relates to your service or product; write thorough, educational columns or blog posts pertaining to your service or product; if not too costly, host a contest where one winner gets a free trial of your product or service; write a DIY tutorial to educate and equip others who might not be able to afford your service or product. There are many options available, but you can also get creative and start your own venue.

   Obviously, there is an end to how far you can stretch yourself in any given area, but by giving back to your community, you become an integral part of it. You become the “go to” person. You are building online relationships everyday. And while you might start this practice as an effort to attract site visitors, you’ll end up continuing it because it personalizes what can otherwise be a very sterile, distant, online working environment.

3. Check your pride. The only thing pride serves up effectively is a big plateful of self - and since you aren’t selling your services or products to yourself, well…pride truly isn’t an ingredient in your success recipe, now is it?

   It is true you need a healthy belief in yourself to take a crack at the online world of business or blogging, but be careful; when your confidence becomes a love-fest, you will stop stretching, learning, and growing.

   Look around you, there is always someone with more experience, doing what you’re doing. Watch and learn. In the meantime, be transparent; definitely make it a point to highlight your rockin’ mojo and skill set on your website or blog, but at the same time, don’t be afraid to point out what you can’t do - don’t do - won’t do. Be real. Be straightforward. Be humble. Your site visitors will appreciate your honesty, you will be more approachable, and as a result, you will build relationships.

Is it that easy? No. There are twists and turns along the way that will frustrate your efforts, but the cool thing is, if you follow The B.O.R.E. Method and are building relationships online everyday, you won’t have to deal with it alone.

* Oh my stinkin’ heck, is that not the coolest USB Hub ever? Just so you know, I have one coming my way. I could not resist. That whole store? I should be an affiliate; I spent my entire lunch hour there today.

** I was gonna say “You can’t handle the truth” in honor of Jack Nicholson’s birthday; except his birthday isn’t until April. Ain’t that a shame?

Here are a few suggestions to put function before funk in your web designs.

• Websites that auto-download video or sound, or rely heavily on blinking advertisements and flashy gimmicks are trashy. Yeah, I said it - TRASHY. Your website should not assault visitors at first glance; its purpose should be clear, the navigation should be concise, and graphics, for the most part, should be complimentary to the content, not the main attraction. If you want to make a strong first impression, present your site visitors with a clean, simple, design with minimal dynamic effects. Otherwise, your site will be the equivalent of applying a quality paint job to a home with cars still on cement blocks in the front yard.
• More is not mo’ better! Select two or three complementary colors to use across the entire site. This repetition of your chosen color scheme will create a sense of uniformity and professionalism.
• Don’t get tricky with background colors, images or patterns. White text may stand out against a black background, but before long your readers will want to dig their eyes out with a spoon. And? Any colored text against a patterned background is a lesson in endurance. A white background with black text is the absolute best choice, but if that contrast is stronger than you desire, be sure to use a dark text on a light colored, preferrably solid, background. There are no exceptions to this rule, in my opinion…no, not even digital scrapbooking sites.
• Save your readers’ time - reduce site visitor clickage. Think through the organization of your content. If your readers have to click more than 3 times to get to the information they need, re-think the navigation. If you don’t? They’ll click off.
• Make your logo point home. No matter where a site visitor is, they should be able to click on the logo and get back to the home page.
• Reduce Clutter. Whenever and wherever possible, reduce clutter. Everything should serve a purpose - if it doesn’t, leave it out. The less your readers’ eyes have to skim, the more likely they’ll see what it is you want them to see.

Sometimes you get ONE CHANCE to draw readers into your site; be honest, what response will your site or blog elicit?

Web Designers Design

This may be news to some, but web designers design. We try to draw out your vision in email correspondence, listen to your vision over the phone, and if you are a local client, we might even meet up to share your vision over a cup of coffee.

What web designers don’t do - shouldn’t do - can’t really successfully do - is build your vision.

You own your vision.
It is yours.

That is not to say a web designer can’t create an amazing web site within the realms of their own vision; we can. It won’t necessarily be your vision; it would be ours. It wouldn’t be sterile, but it would be full of “us” and not you. Your website or blog should be about YOU.

Maybe that’s what you want. Maybe you aren’t a visual person and you want a site or a blog, but don’t have any hopes or dreams for it. Fine, that can be done. But for the most part, most of the time, clients have something that inspires them, something they want to see happen on their site, something and somewhere they want to “go” with their website or blog.

And that? THAT is what you need to share with your web designer.

Invest in Your Web Design

A good web design is an investment, but not just of money, it is an investment of yourself; your time, your thoughts, and your energies should be focused on digging-out of yourself what you need and want from your site or blog.

I wouldn’t hand over a few hundred thousand to a builder and say “Build me a home. I don’t know what kind of home, not sure whether it should be brick or wood, don’t have any preferences for paint, or anything else. Just make it look nice.” Would you?

Of course not.
You shouldn’t do it with your web designer either.
In the end you will “live with” and “live in” the site you paid for; be invested in the process - make sure it is exactly what you want.

Fantastico’s automated processes make it easier to initially install a self-hosted Wordpress blog, as well as manage future upgrades (of which there are many).

In this entry, I will walk step-by-step through the process of upgrading my WordPress blog from 2.5.1 to 2.6.1**.

How do you know when a new WordPress Version is available?

The WordPress Dashboard is built with an auto-reminder script that posts a notice when an updated WordPress version is available. For the past several weeks I have seen the following notice when I log-in to write or manage my blog.

Be aware a new WordPress version may be available for MANUAL upgrades before it is available for upgrades through cPanel’s Fantastico Auto-Installer.

Do yourself a favor and don’t lose any sleep over it; your blog will not self-destruct for the few days/weeks it takes for the automated upgrade to become available. Believe me, you don’t want to bypass the auto-process for a manual upgrade - I’ve been there and done that; it isn’t pretty.

Deactivating Plugins is your FIRST STEP!

The first thing you must do before upgrading your WordPress Blog is to deactivate all plugins. At times, plugins will be incompatable with newer versions of WordPress. When this happens, it can cause all sorts of issues across your WordPress blog. The absolute best way to remedy this - the only way, really - is to deactive ALL plugins BEFORE upgrading. Here’s how to do it.

Once in your WordPress Dashboard, Go To Plugins (orange link in top right corner).

Within ‘Plugin Management’, click the white square to the left of the word ‘Plugin’ (found in the dark grey horizontal table header right below the blue button that says ‘Deactivate All Plugins’) to auto-check ALL PLUGINS.

Then, click the blue button, ‘Deactivate All Plugins’.

This will deactive ALL your plugins immediately; your blog is now ready for a clean upgrade.

Upgrade using cPanel’s Fantastico Auto-Installer

Open a new tab in your browser window and log into your blog’s cPanel - typically found at yourblogname.com/cpanel. Depending on the version and/or skin of your cPanel, it may, or may not, look like mine below. Either way, find the link to Fantastico’s Auto Installer.

On my server it is called Fantastico Deluxe.

Click through the Fantastico Deluxe link and then, click on the radio button to the left of the ‘WordPress’ text link found in the left sidebar.

Once in the ‘WordPress’ window, your current version is displayed. As you can see, I was running 2.5.1 (*tsk*tsk*) and needed to ‘Upgrade to 2.6.1′**.

Click on the text link to Upgrade.

WordPress lets you know your current installation will be backed up. This means if it all goes debunk, you can get your ‘old’ blog back.

Click the ‘Upgrade’ button to begin the Upgrade.

As your blog upgrades, the status will show beneath ‘Upgrading…’. Once the Upgrade is finished, the text will read ‘Upgrade completed.’

Make sure to copy and save the information provided (see yellow highlighted area below). THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ‘JUST IN CASE’ KIND OF STEP necessary to retrieve the WordPress backup generated a couple of steps back in the upgrade.

I paste mine into a .txt file and name it something ominous like, ‘if-wordpress-upgrade-fails-09-24-08′. There will be no mistaking what this text file holds if I need to search for it later.

One more step and you’re outta here!

Go back into your WordPress Dashboard, and in the same Plugins Management window as before, click the white square to the left of the word ‘Plugin’ (found in the dark grey horizontal table header right below the blue button that says ‘Activate’) to auto-check ALL PLUGINS.

Then, click the blue ‘Activate’ button.

And that’s that!

Troubleshooting

On the rare occasion that something goes wrong when you click back to view your newly upgraded WordPress blog, it is PROBABLY one of your plugins. Go back and Deactivate your plugins again, activating them one by one and checking the face of your blog. Often times, this process of elimination will reveal the dirty little plugin that won’t play nice with the rest of the publishing software.

Check the plugin’s support page/site for upgrades, and if there isn’t one, do NOT click to Activate it again, but instead, contact the plugin’s programmer to request a fix to match the current version of WordPress.

The most popular plugins work to keep up with the most current WordPress version; when they don’t it is typically because the plugin function was integrated into the updated WordPress blogging platform.

** As of this post, the most recent version of WordPress is 2.6.2, but that version is not yet available for auto-upgrade through Fantastico on my server. I could manually install the newest version, but I prefer to wait for the auto-upgrade to offer the newest version to save me time and frustration.

Are you asleep yet?

Many of you are first-timers here and didn’t know that I used to write posts on Wednesdays pertaining to WordPress. Well, I do. I plan to continue, but first, there is a bit of clean-up to be endured. For some, the next few Wednesdays will be a repeat. For others, it will be brand stinkin’ new. And if you have never, ever read ANY of my WordPress Wednesday posts, PLEASE start by going through “Ditch Your Blogging Training Wheels”, because until you get past that point…everything else will be useless to you.

Enough of the dribble…

Shall we begin? Yes, let’s.

I want to share a dirty, conniving secret with you. Okay, maybe not so dirty and/or conniving, but certainly a secret until now, obviously.

If you have ever had me go in and fix ANYTHING on your WordPress blog, I have turned-off one particularly dreadful setting. Why? Because I love you and want to spare you bloated markup and more problems than you could ever imagine in your worst WordPress nightmare.

Before I launch into my full detailed explanation there are a few questions I’d like to ask you first.

If I were to tell you that within your blog’s back-end there is an option that would:

• bloat your blog’s markup (make the underside as dirty as thrice-worn underwear)
• rape your opportunity to know html in a clean, pure, consuming passionate way
• stage war with many WordPress plugins that can make your blogging experience akin to riding a lift up a mountain instead of trudging up on your own two feet
• and finally, overwrite or kill your blog’s custom design or even freely downloaded theme until it looks no better than a two-bit hooker trying to catch a trick on Sesame Street

…would you not listen?

Good.

Then, follow me and we’ll clear this up right away.

Log into your WordPress blog. Once in your WordPress Dashboard, click on “Users”, which is the last of the three text links on the far-right side of your dashboard.

Here you can Manage Users across your blog. As you can see, I am the only user for my blog; I am the ‘admin’. Most likely you are your own ‘admin’ too. Click on the text link, ‘admin’.

This takes you to ‘Your Profile and Personal Options’ for the admin user.

Do you see the evil cretin now? To the far left? The checkbox? To the right of the light blue row for ‘Visual Editor’? Are you tired of my questions?

UNCHECK IT.
UNCHECK IT.
UNCHECK IT NOW or die a flaming blogger’s death.
I’m totally serious. Kinda.

Awwww. Don’t you feel better. The angels are singing. All is right in the world.

I feel that WordPress should have a more honest statement to the right of that particular checkbox. Something like this would work.

Now that you’ve UNCHECKED the box, be sure to scroll all the way to the very bottom of the page and click on the “Update Profile” button.

Believe it or not, you have just done a really powerful, POWERFUL thing for yourself and blogging. If I told you how many times people have broken their themes by using the Visual Editor you would send me your first child. No, seriously.

But wait…there’s more.

Now, from where you are, click on the text link ‘Settings’ (near where you clicked ‘Users’) - the first of the three text links on the upper, far-right side of your window.

Within the ‘Settings’ window, click on the second text link in the white horizontal menu (far left), ‘Writing’.

Now that you’re in the ‘Writing Settings’ window, find the ‘Formatting’ table and UNCHECK the box that says: “WordPress should correct invalidly nested XHTML automatically.” In some cases it might be unchecked already, but if it isn’t, DO IT.

Consider this the best type of peer pressure imaginable.

In fact, I also unchecked the box above it too because I don’t want the automated function of changing emoticons to graphics. But THAT isn’t a biggie…just a preference.

Don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom of the window and ‘Save Changes’.

Now why, oh why did I have you do all that? And how, oh how do I expect you to survive without the visual editor? Seriously - so easy. The major things are still there.

It just doesn’t hold your hand entirely. But people, there is some basic mark-up you need to know if you’re blogging, period. Remember, you’ve already taken the step to ditch your blogging training wheels, this is just part of the joy ride.

<b>This makes bold text.</b>
<strong>This makes strong text.</strong>
<em>This makes text in italics.</em>
<i>So does this.</i>
<strike>This puts a line through your text - as if you're marking-out.</strike>
<u>This underlines your text.</u>
<ins>So does this.</ins>
<blockquote>This sets off a blockquote.</blockquote>

So let’s put it into play.

This makes bold text.
This makes strong text.
This makes text in italics
So does this
This puts a line through your text - as if you’re marking-out.
This underlines your text.
So does this.

This sets off a blockquote. And this will vary considerably depending on how your CSS is written for blockquotes.

And all of those things can be done by typing, highlighting and pushing a button - even without the Visual Editor. See? I’m not trying to kill ya here.

Bulleted and/or Numbered lists aren’t something to be scared of either.

An ordered list is a list with numbers. You begin it with <ol> and end it with </ol>. The ol stands for “Ordered List.” Each item to be set off by numbers should be INSIDE the <ol></ol> tags and begin with <li> and end with </li>.

So, it looks like this in code.

<ol>
<li>First thing on the numbered list.</li>
<li>Second thing on the numbered list.</li>
<li>Third thing on the numbered list.</li>
</ol>

And the bulleted list is the same, but instead of using <ol> and </ol>, you use <ul> and </ul>. Why? Because that stands for “Unordered List” - which is what a bulleted list is.

The only thing that trips up some people is the desire to SEE THE POST before they publish it. Hey, I suffer from the same ailment, but guess what? YOU CAN SEE it without the visual editor turned on. How? Save the post by clicking ‘Save’ to the right of the post box, but don’t publish it, and click the “View this Post” button, above ‘Publish Status’.

Yes, THAT easy.

I’m viewing something I just created using the Visual Editor and don’t see how it could be very helpful.

Check out what the Visual Editor says it is supposed to look like…

but then if I hit the “View” button in the top right corner it shows it really looks like this:

Which isn’t what I want either. And yea, I know it can be “toyed” with until the cows come home, but who has time for it?

The other thing that irritated me was the blockquote function. If you hit return, it automatically assigns a new set of these <p></p> … and you’ll be double spacing all the live long day. How this renders with blockquotes can be seen at left.

So, in the Visual Editor you cannot hard return within blockquotes - what a pain.

I could go on, but seriously, it is HARDER to learn how to finnagle this thing then it would be to hand code. The glorious thing is you don’t have to hand code with the Visual Editor turned off. You highlight and press a button, just like when the Visual Editor was on…it’s just a little less pretty.

Plus, a good number of helpful plugins won’t play nicely with it either.

So, TURN IT OFF.

Like, right now.

Yea, I’m waiting.

Good.

Now I can invite you to my imaginary snark party.

It has been nearly a year now (because obviously Jess wasn’t the only one that needed the break) and I’ve finally pulled out the old web files, cleaned them up, fixed broken links and out-dated screenshots, and worked them into my blog for you guys to use if needed and share with your friends.

The step-by-step tutorials below are for those of you (and future visitors) who are using free, web-hosted blogs like Blogger, Wordpress.com, LiveJournal, TypePad, etc…, but have been hankering to ditch the blogging training wheels and start riding with the bigger kids on the block. It isn’t for the faint of heart, but then again, there’s something special about investing in your ‘ride’, if you know what I mean.

If ya need’em, use ‘em.
If ya don’t, don’t.
Either way, they’re here.

Taking your Self-Hosted Blog to a New Level

Ditch Your Blogging Training Wheels.
A lab segment from Blogher 2007: Transitioning to a self-hosted blog (Intermediate)

• How to purchase your own domain name
• How to purchase web hosting
• Defining DNS, what is it and why do you need to know?
• Setting up WordPress using cPanel and Fantastico.
• Setting up Domain Re-Directs to your new weblog.

Next up? I re-code WordPress Wednesdays and get that going again. Are you ready for it?

However, if you’ve ever had an itch to do just a little more; perhaps you’ve made some modifications to your current template, added a blogroll, a few buttons, or even a flickr badge to your sidebar(s), then it might be time to move beyond free blogging tools to something you can fully customize.

Now is as good a time as ever to ditch your blogging training wheels and start riding with the bigger kids on the block.

At Blogher ‘07, Jessica and I walked several bloggers through the process of leaving their comfortable, but limited, web-hosted blogs during our lab segment, Taking your Blog to the Next Level. As Jessica said then, “Several of these bloggers walked away with a grown-up, shiny new blog at their own domain!” and we were really excited to watch those new blogs take off in the community and really gain speed.

Now, the same break-out session taught at Blogher ‘07 is available via the links below. If you are already using WordPress as your blogging platform, I write tutorials here and there for ways to detail your WordPress blog.

Taking your Self-Hosted Blog to a New Level

A lab segment from Blogher 2007: Transitioning to a self-hosted blog (Intermediate)

• How to purchase your own domain name
• How to purchase web hosting
• Defining DNS, what is it and why do you need to know?
• Setting up WordPress using cPanel and Fantastico.
• Setting up Domain Re-Directs to your new weblog.