Although many search engine optimization “experts” would like you to believe that setting up a website and designing it to please the search engines is rocket science, in reality it can be very simple to get started. Everyone starts “somewhere,” and usually that “somewhere” is experimenting with uploading content to their site.

Website owners use a variety of methods to upload content to their sites, ranging from simple to complex, however the most commonly used method is FTP.

Installing Your FTP

Once you have your domain name and hosting account set up, you’ll need to setup your FTP (File Transfer Protocol) account. Your FTP account will let you upload content to your website with ease by using file directory located on your hard drive. If you do not yet have a hosting plan, you’ll need to get one and make sure it comes with Fantastico, which will let you setup WordPress quickly and easily. Once you have set up WordPress you’ll need your FTP software. Most people use FileZilla since it is free and effective. After you’ve downloaded the FTP client, you’ll need to configure the FTP client accordingly to make sure all of the settings are correct. After you’ve used it once all of the passwords and settings will be saved.

Setting Up Your FTP Account in WordPress

Once the FTP software is setup, simply go to your hosting account and look for the option that says “create and FTP account.” If you have not used the account yet then leave the directory information blank and fill in the username, password and other basic information. Set the quota to unlimited, and then click enter to complete the setup. After the setup is complete your login information will be presenting to you, at which time you should copy and paste this information into a document and save it for later reference.

SEO with FileZilla

Open Filezilla and then click on Site manager, then login to the site manager module using the information you saved to a document earlier. Enter Host as the FTP server, then set the logon type to normal, and enter your user name and password. Pick a name for the account that you can remember, and save all of this info to the same document. After you click on connect you’ll see four quadrants in the interface. Computer files, computer Folders, server files and server folders. These will bee the four main functions you’ll use. Here is where you will store your websites themes and other info.

To begin installing a theme, click on the quadrant in the top right called remote site, then scroll to where it says public html. Click to open the folder and then scroll down to public html, then click WP content, and then themes. The are under the server folders is where your server files are located. The default theme will be installed, but you will want to install the special theme you have downloaded by dragging and dropping it into the same area. Finally, activate your theme and you have begun building your website. Your search engine optimization campaign has begun.

In the past, building websites required advanced skills in internet technology and various programming languages. Webmasters needed to be well-versed in HTML, PHP, CSS, and other programming fields, in order to create even a relatively simple website. Many times website owners would have to pay web developers a hefty fee to set up their website for them, and in many cases this still happens today. However, as the the internet has become more user-friendly, and with the advent of web 2.0, website owners can now use what are called CMS (Content Management Systems) to build, organize and maintain their websites. Some of these content management system let users upload preset themes that can be customized easily within a user-friendly interface. One of the most popular content management systems available is WordPress.

What is WordPress?

Although WordPress is actually a blogging platform, it is commonly used to create static web pages and complete websites. WordPress is basically a website administrative interface that lets you control every aspect of the site using tools that even the most novice users can utilize. These tools let you post text, images and any other kind of media quickly and easily without having any programming knowledge whatsoever. WordPress is updated on a regular basis you don’t have to worry about it becoming obsolete at all. WordPress can be installed by a complete novice using tools provided by your web host such as Fantastico or Simple Script.

WordPress Plugins

One of the most appealing aspects of WordPress is it’s expandability. By using a vast array of plugins, users can do just about anything they desire with ease. New plugins are being created everyday, and they can be installed in less than one minute by even the most inexperienced webmaster. Once installed the plugin resides in the left side of the WordPress interface in the navigational bar, where you can easily adjust the plugin settings and control every aspect of your site’s functionality. Using plugins like the All-in-One SEO pack, you can even automatically optimize your site’s pages for the search engines.

Creating Static Web Pages with WordPress

Since WordPress was originally a blogging platform, creating a regular website can present some challenges to the novice user. The main problem is that the latest post will always be displayed at the top of the main page, which makes it hard to design a website as you would like it. Every time you add a new post, the order of your content will be disrupted since the latest post will be displayed at the top of the front page. This obviously is not desired if you want to have your content arranged a certain way. So how do you fix it? Well the answer is actually quite simple – use a plugin! There is a plugin called StickyOrderer that will let you organize your posts in the fashion want them, and you can do this on every page of your site! Using this plugin alone you can create well organized websites, instead of scattered blogs.

You may be familiar with the more commonly used software, such as control panels, and content management systems. However, many people don’t realize that these site management tools are expandable in a practically infinite nature. The functionality and features of both control panels and content management systems can be greatly enhanced with the use of web applications. Web applications let you modify an already fully functional site administration software, and transform it into a solution that is capable of carrying out brilliant automated tasks and improving the overall appearance and functionality of your website.

Using Web Applications to Improve Content

Perhaps the most basic advantage offered by web applications is the ability to automate or simplify content creation, uploading, organization and editing. There are a literally hundreds of content-oriented web applications available that can be installed to your control panel within a few short steps, especially if you have cPanel with Fantastico. By optimizing your site’s content automatically, you’ll be boosting the productivity of your online business and saving employee cost by cutting out unnecessary outsourcing. In fact, with the right web applications, you can manage literally hundreds of websites easily within the same user interface. If you did need to outsource work, it would be minimal, and you may only need to contract a developer temporarily to create a new web application that you can use to boost productivity even more!

Using Web Applications to Enhance Your Site’s Design

You can also use web applications to change, create, organize and find templates and themes for you web pages. In fact, you can even eliminate the need for a web designer altogether! Some web applications will remove the complex HTML editing that is usually associated with site design, and will let you complete the site customization process with an automated system that inputs HTML coding for you based on your preferences. You can even set up cron jobs and have the applications complete tasks automatically on a scheduled basis, which allows you to focus on more important aspects of your online business while the software works for you.

Using Web Applications to Generate Traffic

Of course, while the above to advantages of web applications will most definitely contribute to a busier website, you can also generate traffic with certain web application regardless of your site’s appearance or relevance! Perhaps the most beneficial use of web applications would be their ability to market to a wide audience through social networks and RSS feeds. There are web applications available that will actually submit every post on your website to multiple social bookmarking sites simultaneously. There are also applications that will post comments on related blogs and attract visitors in this fashion. With so many ways to generate traffic using web applications, it would be impossible to mention all of them.

Conclusion

Although it may take a little bit of experience to master all of the web applications at your disposal, usually the most novice website owners can learn the functions of these programs with ease. In fact, most web applications are designed specifically with the novice user in mind. If you are having trouble managing your website efficiently, you may want to consider installing a few useful web applications to help you out.

Having a good content management system is crucial to the success of any online business. With so many to choose from, it can be hard to decide which ones will live up to their promises. In fact, it can be difficult just to find the top three! Below we’ve given you an overview of the three best content management systems; Drupal, Joomla, and Mambo. The information below should aid you in conducting your own thorough investigation, based on your needs.

Drupal

Drupal has quickly become one of the most popular content management systems. It’s recent popularity boom is due to the fact that it is an open-source software, which means it can be improved by any developer with an interest in doing so. Drupal has been said to be a perfect solution for people who are building community-based websites such as forums. This is because one of it’s most notable features is it’s user permissions system. With it’s extensive administrative control, webmasters can control every aspect of their forum. Drupal is also preferred over Joomla in terms of development because it is easier to interact with and expand.

Joomla

Joomla has also gained popularity because of it’s powerful features and easy user interface. While Joomla also includes forum managing features, these features are not it’s strongest points. Among the more notable features of this CMS is it’s administrative functionality for image galleries, search engine optimization, shopping carts, and forum management. Some users choose Joomla over Drupal due to it’s user-friendly interface. Although there is some learning curve involved with Joomla it is often described as the easiest CMS around.

Mambo

The Mambo content management system was one of the first popular open source content managements systems. While it has been around for quite some time now, it still have a group of developers backing it that maintain it’s functionality and reliability. Even though it was one of the pioneer content management systems, it has fallen somewhat behind the newer CMS softwares available. The primary reason for it’s recently decreased popularity is it’s code incompatibility due to it’s age. For this reason many developers shy away from developing applications that can be used with Mambo. With each new advance in the consent management industry, Mambo becomes more obsolete.

Making the Decision

The first thing you’ll want to do when investigating your options, is go to the main site of each of the content management systems above. Make sure you review all of their features and ensure you’re going to be able to fulfill all of your needs by using the software. Even though one of the softwares may be more suitable for you it is still likely that you will need to install additional applications. It is very unlikely that you will find all of the desired features within one CMS, therefor you’ll want to do some research and find out which CMS has the compatible applications you need. Once you’ve made your decision, you can install the CMS of your choice simply with the Fantastico program.

cPanel and Plesk are easily the two most dominant control panels on the web hosting market.  Both have been dramatically improved over the years, which ultimately makes this battle even more tightly contested.  This article will help you choose between cPanel and Plesk by outlining the pros and cons of each control panel.

cPanel Pros

Fast Loading Times - The intuitive design of cPanel allows it to perform fast and efficiently on most servers.  This optimal performance is attributed to the fact that unlike some other control panels, it does not require the use of an external database for backend support.

Highly Functional – A web hosting package equipped with cPanel usually offers more features than one utilizing Plesk.  cPanel can be integrated with a number of add-on applications such as Fantastico, RV Skins and CFS firewall, thus providing end-users with a wide variety of functionality that cannot be obtained in the Plesk environment.

Superior Reseller Support – Until more recently, Plesk did not have any support for reseller hosting, an area in which cPanel thrives in.  Also offering WHM (Web Host Manager), cPanel provides a reseller with control over various aspects of their account, including the ability to create hosting packages, suspend or delete accounts, monitor resource usage and much more.

cPanel Cons

Platform-Specific – Though a Windows version is said to be in the works, cPanel is currently only available for Linux platforms.  This essentially restricts usage from customers who prefer a Windows-based hosting solution.

Tedious Maintenance – Ensuring that a cPanel server is properly configured and protected against malicious attacks can be a full time job.  In addition, this control panel requires frequent updates and patches to make sure the necessary fixes are applied.

Plesk Pros

Cluster Functionality – Plesk is a multi-server solution that allows you to maintain a multitude of servers from a single interface.  This means that the administer only has to log in to a single console and still have the power to effectively manage web, database and FTP servers.

Cross-Platform - Unlike cPanel, Plesk supports both Windows and Linux platforms.  This enables a web host to diversify their offerings and cater to a broader range of customers.  The end-users also benefit as they often have access to both Windows and Linux features.

Tight Windows Service Integration – One of the most unique aspects of Plesk is that integrates seamlessly with various Windows services and technologies such as Microsoft SQL Server.

Plesk Pros

Lack of Integration – In contrast to cPanel, Plesk does not integrate with many third-party applications outside of Microsoft products for added functionality.  For this reason, Plesk is not very popular as a Linux server even though it does support the platform.

Slower Load Times – The mere structure of Plesk makes it susceptible to slow and sluggish performance, particularly in the Linux environment.  This is not always the case, but Plesk has been known to lag on even some of the most powerful servers.

Summary

In closing, cPanel and Plesk are excellent control panels but neither are perfect.  cPanel is ideal for those who prefer Linux while Plesk tends to be the preferred option for Windows hosting.  Depending on your preference, both should suit your needs just fine.