Build Your Own BBQ Website
What? You Don’t have your own website for your BBQ Team, restaurant or catering service?
Don’t worry… it’s easy to get one up and running that’s 100% yours. You own it. You control it. And it will cost you less than $25 to get up and running.
Building Your Own Blog or Website
I’ve been building websites and blogs for a long time, so when I decided to start the BBQ Smoker Site, I pretty much knew how to go about it. However, I come across loads of competitive BBQ cook teams here in Florida and across the country that either have no website at all, or are struggling by with something that they either don’t like or don’t know how to make better.
If you have a BBQ Cook Team, BBQ Restaurant, or BBQ Product, and you’re still without a decent website or blog, it’s time to get one started now. I mean, what’s keeping you? It’s a lot easier than you think to build a clean, well-organized website designed to sell your team or product.
Here’s what this page shows you how to do:
- Reserve your very own Brand or Team name website
- Pay less than $4.00/month for “rock solid” website hosting
- Design your website easily using FREE software
- Have full control over how your site looks, feels, and functions
Reserve Your Brand Name Website Domain
The first thing you should do is head over to one of many domain name registration companies on the web and secure your website domain (the URL or Address of your Website). I’ve used both Godaddy.com and NameCheap.com with great results. Often you can register your own branded domain name for less than $8.00/year.
Important: Don’t buy your domain and hosting from the same source. You always want to keep them separate in case you want to switch hosting later.
Find and Pay for Your Web Hosting
So easy. There really is only one web hosting company that I trust to keep my site up and running, and that’s HostGator.com. What’s great about these folks is that if you are already on a free WordPress.com site somewhere, HostGator will transfer your stuff over for you for FREE! Yup, we like Free.
What’s more, they give you your own “self hosted” WordPress site with unlimited bandwidth and storage space for under $4.00/month!
What’s the difference between a self-hosted WordPress.org vs. a regular WordPress.com site?
Let’s take a look…
Simple. You do not have full control over your site with a WordPress.com hosted site. It’s free, but that’s pretty much where the benefits end.
With a self-hosted site, you have the freedom to install cool stuff like:
- Commerce buttons (Paypal, Google checkout, etc.)
- Search Engine Optimization plugins (to help you rank higher on the Web!)
- Affiliate (money earner) buttons, links, and more.
AND… Because BBQ is all about sharing the love… HostGator has also allowed me to offer you a total of 25% off your package price if you use the code: bbqsmokers when you check out.
Are there other web hosting companies out there?
Absolutely. You can check out sites like HostMonster.com and DreamHost.com, but HostGator is the one I use and the one I feel most comfortable recommending. They offer the best pricing, one-click WordPress.org installation, full online, phone, and chat support, 99.9% uptime guarantee, and unlimited space/bandwidth.
Great… So I get my domain name, web hosting, and WordPress.org set up running, then what?
Well, now you get to have some fun!
The way your blog or website actually looks on WordPress is controlled by a “Theme.” Think of themes like skins. Some look modern, others plain, and some are in between. The great thing about WordPress is that there are tons of great and FREE themes to choose from.
Many of the Free themes available to you are going to be installed for you by HostGator when they do their “one click” install. You can also check out these Free WordPress Theme sites:
But what if I want a cool, custom WordPress theme? No problem. There are sites and themes like the Thesis Theme for WordPress, one of the StudioPress Themes, or the very popular and easy to customize Headway Theme.
Tools to Help You Get Some Traffic to Your Site
A good buddy of mine is really knowledgeable about Search Engine Optimization (SEO). He is a great resource for finding great WordPress themes and plugins, and I really count on his input a lot for my own stuff.
He’s developed a site called The Newbie Helper that provides loads of useful information for folks just starting out managing their own blogs and sites using WordPress. Check out these links, watch the videos you find, and I guarantee you’ll get something useful out of it.
- Semiologic Reloaded Theme – This is one of the two main themes Paul uses, and it’s the theme that the BBQ Smoker Site is based on. I find it really SEO friendly. You might, too!
- Installing and Using WordPress Plugins - Plugins are capabilities you upload to your self-hosted WordPress site to add functionality. This link takes you to a great video “How To” where working with plugins are concerned.
- Resize Your Images Before You Use Them – Follow the tips in this tutorial to learn how to best size up your photos before uploading them to WordPress.
- Getting Indexed Shouldn’t Be Hard Work – When Google, or Yahoo, or Bing lists a page on your site, it’s called indexing. The process of getting your entire site indexed for the search terms you want people to use to find you can be challenging. Here are some tips to make it easier.
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