I am planning to set up another blog, so I think it’d be better to just write down the steps as a guideline for others and also for my future reference.

It’s easier to set up a blog in Blogger.com or Wordpress.com, we just need to register an account and follow the instructions. But I’d prefer to set up a Wordpress blog, as it’s easier to add in any plug-ins and easier to configure it. Also, we can always backup the database and files as we wish.

Step 1: Get a web hosting site.
As a newbie, I’d prefer not to invest any money yet, hence I am using the free web hosting site – 000webhost.

Step 2: Download latest Wordpress.
The current version is 2.9.1. You can download it here – Latest Wordpress version.

Step 3: Set up Wordpress blog in the web hosting site.
I have written an step-by-step guide on this, you can refer to it here – Set up Wordpress blog in 000webhost. Though I was writing it based on hosting in 000webhostt, you can also use the similar methods in other web hosting sites too.

Step 4: Get a blog template
It’s always said contents is the king. The look and feel of the blog also plays an important role, as it makes the readers feel more comfortable in visiting our blogs and also reading the articles. Hence, getting a nice and suitable theme is a must.
Again, I am looking for free templates. I am currently using this free Wordpress template from Design Disease.

Well, it’ll take me some time to complete the steps above. I’ll continue to share the following steps later. Do share with me if you have any good sites for free web hosting and blog templates, so that I can update my list. Thanks!

I am hosting my Wordpress blog in 000webhost, though there is a backup function provided, I always failed to generate the backup automatically. After a few attempts, I decided to use the manual method to backup my Wordpress database and files.

Below are the steps to backup Wordpress database and files in 000webhost. It should be similar to other web hosting sites, as long as you are using cPanel.

Backup Wordpress Database

1. Login to your 000webhost account, and click on the cPanel link for the domain you want to backup the files.

2. Click on phpMyAdmin icon under Software / Services category.

3. Here you will find a list of current databases, just click on Enter phpMyAdmin link to enter the phpMyAdmin for the database you want to backup.

4. Click on Export tab.

5. Set the options as below:
Export
Select all WordPress related files and click on SQL.

Structure
Select the following options:
- Add DROP TABLE / DROP VIEW
- Add AUTO_INCREMENT value
- Enclose table and field names with backquotes

Data
Select the following option:
- Complete inserts
- Use hexadecimal for BLOB
- Export type: INSERT

Save as file
- Leave the File name template as it as (i.e. __DB__)
- Compression: None

6. Click on Go button to proceed on backing up the database.
7. A db_name.sql file will be downloaded to your computer. Done! ^_^

Backup Wordpress files

1. Launch the FTP program.
(If you need to find a free FTP program, you can try out FileZilla.)
2. Enter your Host, Username and Password to connect to your web hosting site.
(In 000webhost, you can get your FTP information from FTP Details.)
3. Select all the Wordpress-related folders and copy them to your local computer. That’s it! ^_^

You can submit your blog to myLot, so that your blog will be exposed to the myLot members. Here are the steps to submit your blog to myLot:

1. Go to myLot blogs page.

2. Click on the “add your blog!” tab.

3. Fill in the information below, then click on “add blog” button.
- blog title, feed URL, viewing URL, upload avatar, polling frequency.

4. After adding your blog, you need to claim the blog and verify this is your blog.
There are two methods to claim your blog:
Method #1: Post Claim
i. write a new post in your blog, and copy the code provided, then paste it in the body of your new post with any title.
ii. publish the post on your blog.
iii. check to make sure your new post is live, then you can click on the “Claim Now” button.
Method 2: Embedded Claim
i. Add the code provided in your blog homepage template.
ii. Make sure the code is on your live blog, then you can click on the “Claim Now” button.

5. Then you’ll be seeing the following screen, and your blog is now awaiting final approval from the myLot Administrator.

That’s it! Now, just sit back and wait for the blog to be approved.

My myLot user profile

I just managed to install a plugin in my wordpress blog, just thought of sharing the steps with you all.

1. You can find many WordPress plugins from WordPress Plugin Directory.

2. Download the plugin you want.

3. There is always a “readme.txt” file inside the downloaded plugin folder, it is helpful for you to follow the instructions and install the plugin.

4. Upload the plugin folder to the wp-content/plugins folder in your WordPress directory online.

5. Login to your WordPress Administration Panel, and expand the Plugins section at the left pane.

6. Click on “Installed” link to view the list of installed plugins.

7. Click on “Activate” link to turn the plugin on.
You will be able to see the difference once you have activate the plugin.

I had this question when I wanted to set up this blog, with some helps from others and some trials-and-errors, I finally managed to set this up. So, I am just thinking it’d be good if I write down the steps on this topic.

1. Sign up 000webhost and get the free web hosting.
2. Download the latest release of WordPress. (The current latest version is 2.7)
3. Unzip the downloaded file to a folder on your hard drive.
4. Login to your 000webhost account, and you’ll see the list of your domains. Click on Go to cPanel link then you’ll see a list of tools/services available.

5. Click on MySQL icon.

6. Here you’ll need to create a new database for wordpress use. Enter the database name, database username and password, then click on “Create new database”. Remember these information and also the host name (which is mysql4.000webhost.com for new 000webhost users).

7. Go to the folder you’ve unzip the wordpress files, and rename the file "wp-config-sample.php" to "wp-config.php". Open this file and modify the following information accordingly.

define('DB_NAME', 'yourdatabasename');
define('DB_USER', 'yourdatabaseusername');
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'yourdatabasepassword');
define('DB_HOST', 'mysql4.000webhost.com');

8. Upload the WordPress files to your 000webhost. I’d recommend to use a FTP client which is easier to upload files, though 000webhost also provides web based file manager. Click on FTP details to get all the information you need to connect to the server through FTP, or click on File Manager to access the web based file manager.

Just upload all the WordPress files to the public_html folder.

9. After you have uploaded all the files, open a new web browser, and run the WordPress installation script, by entering http://yourdomainname.com/wp-admin/install.php in the address bar.

10. You’ll see the following page, just enter your blog title and email address, then click on “Install WordPress” button.

11. After you’ve successfully installed WordPress, you’ll be told your username and password. You can change your password later.
To login to your wordpress account, just visit this site:
http://yourdomainname.com/wp-login.php

12. That’s it! Now you can start blogging with Wordpress hosting in the free web host - 000webhost.

You can read the details guide to install WordPress here.

I just found a way to import and export our blogs in Blogger.

1. Go to the blog that you want to export.
2. Go to Settings tab, and click on Basic section.

3. Click on the “Export blog” link.
4. Then you’ll see the page below. Click on “Download Blog” button and a Xml file will be downloaded in your computer.

5. Go to the blog which you want to import from, go to Settings tab and Basic section, then click on “Import blog” link.
6. You’ll see the following page. Select the Xml file that you want to import to this blog, enter the verification code, then click on “Import Blog” button.

It’s said that the import posts will be merged with any current posts, sorted by date.

It’s done. It’s quite simple to import or export blog to or from Blogger. If other blog host also supports the import/export function, then you can easily import/export to another blog host too. ^_^