Website KingDumb.com Please HELP! 5 NP$

[Red Rock]

My Request:
Answer my Dumb questions,
to help me build a website from scratch.
Each answer "that I fully understand",
that "also gets me one step further in the progress
of my site", will get 5 $NP from me.


OK everyone,
I need your help!
I have went in a few different directions
since purchasing my first domain.
But the one thing, I haven't been able to do successfully...
is create a website from scratch.
I HAVE created a website thru the WebSite Tonight,
copy and paste program.
Not a site to compete with any of you,
but a site nonetheless.
I didnt need to know html, sql. css, c/panel, rss, php,
or any of that stuff (???), which was great for me.

So, I have been making strides towards creating my first one,
but I keep needing help.
I have had a few people try to explain thru pm's what to do.
I'm still lost!
It has become a little intimidating, to tell you the truth.
So, rather then becoming a pain in any ONE persons azz,
I figured I would bother all of my friends here!
LOL

My domain is...Website KingDumb.com
This is going to be a step by step blog site explaining in
the simplest of terms, where as, even someone like me,
(The very beginner who knows NOTHING)
will fully understand how to build a simple site.


What I will do is come here for all of my dumb questions,
and build a complete site thru NP members.
Every person that gives me an answer "that I can understand",
and "gets me 1 step further on my site", I will donate 5 $NP to.
This allows me to be able to come on, day or night and most likely
get a pretty quick answer.
And I don't have to feel like a Pain, because I will be paying out $NP.
So, It's a win-win situation!
I really appreciate any ones input, comments, or whatever.
Hey, if you wanna hop in my thread and throw a joke in here,
go for it!


Thank You,
Red Rock!

P.S.
I already know this much....
Buy Domain,
Find Hosting,
Change NameServers,
Find a free website template to download.
Most everyone recommends WordPress for cost, ease, and variety,
so Thats what I'm going to use.
I'll find a cool one tonight, then....
After that I have to install the template into my hosting or whatever.
That's where I'm lost.

 

[nuclearwerewolf]

Okay, to help you out a bit and to clarify;

(As stated on the WordPress website)

Short description: WordPress is a personal publishing tool with focus on aesthetics and featuring cross-blog tool, password protected posts, importing, typographical niceties, multiple authors, bookmarklets.
Homepage: http://wordpress.org/

-WordPress is not a template but yet, a Web Blog Application.

You can however download "Free" templates for this web application throughout the areas of Google, Yahoo, etc. Those are usually mass produced but get the job done, especially for the person that is just trying to learn; from step one.



Follow the steps once setup with Fantastico (You are currently using that software which is installed under cPanel)

When you log into your cPanel (url/cpanel)
go to Fantastico
You will see an area that says "Blogs"
Select "WordPress"
Select "New Installation"

from there you have a few options that you need to define.

If you have any questions on that, post them here; I will be glad to help you.


P.S. - This is a free bid of advice to get your thread started.
Hope it helps

 

[weblord]

do you have fantastico? if so you can install wordpress from fantastico in just 2 to 3 clicks.

here's step by step tutorial:
http://hubpages.com/hub/Installing-Wordpress-via-Cpanel-Fantastico

 

[Red Rock]

Hey Nuclearwerewolf,
Thx alot for your thorough explanation and a great start.
I am very glad you corrected me on Wordpress not being a template,
but rather a Blooging Application.
I need to learn the correct terms for all of this, so I appreciate that!
And, thank you for providing Hosting thru your company...
GodSpeed Technologies!
and to Weblord,
Thank You for visiting my thread,
I see you have helped out tons of people here at NP.
So, I really appreciate you stopping by to help me out.
And to answer your ques., do I have Fantastico?
I guess I do, since that's what Nuclearwerewolf said in the first post.

So,
Updating...
I have changed my nameservers.
and I found 2 free templates that I really like.
They are both COMPLETELY different but I still kinda like them both.
The one I like but it has a real estate theme.
There is a picture of a house up in te header.
I would like this template, but want to know if I would ever be able to change that "house" picture.
Here it is...http://www.wpskins.org/themes/2821/Real-Estate-Sleek/
If that header will not be able to be edited then I found another cool template with kindof a cool full screen picture of a Kingdom...
http://www.wpskins.org/themes/2527/Fantasy-Wordpress-Theme/
Any thoughts, I really like the first one but need to know if I can change pix, or if it is REAL difficult, and not worth the hassle for me, the rookie?

Now, with my first problem...
I tryed logging into WebsiteKingDumb.com/cpanel
and keep getting a couple of error reports, Unable to establish VPN
connection. and it keeps knocking me into "Work Offline" mode.
I have Windows Vista, and I think it's got something to do with the security settings but am really not sure.
So, I just need to get to that cpanel page, first.
Any ideas?

 

[nuclearwerewolf]

Once NameServers are Pointed; inform your Hosting company (in this case, us) to create an account for that domain name.

We have configured it for you. Access cPanel here:
http://websitekingdumb.com/cpanel
You will be informed of the Username and Password outside of this thread.

 

[Red Rock]

Once NameServers are Pointed; inform your Hosting company (in this case, us) to create an account for that domain name.

We have configured it for you. Access cPanel here:
http://websitekingdumb.com/cpanel
You will be informed of the Username and Password outside of this thread.

Oh,
ok gotcha.
I didnt know you had to inform the hosting company to create the account first.
LOL

Well I did download that first template,
(the real estate one).
Then I got in to cpanel,I followed the steps...
Click Fantastico,
Click Blog,
Click new installation,
then it took me to 2 more pages.
One was Admin username/password.
then admin email, looks like you set that up for me, thx.
email account username/password, etc.

So then maybe 2 more clicks, and it looks like it was done.
So I click on "visit", and it shows a very generic old template from some other name.
I never saw, where I was suppose to enter my newly downloades Wordpress template.
So I have one of the old ones on there.

What do I do now?

I barely started, and already messed up!
Man, this is gonna be a long ride, LOL.

 

[weblord]

so far so good
you can select your themes here:
http://themes.wordpress.net/

 

[Red Rock]

so far so good
you can select your themes here:
http://themes.wordpress.net/

Thx Weblord,
I already have one in mind,
I got it from another site.
If it doesn't work I will check out the site you gave me.
This is the theme I would like to install..
http://www.wpskins.org/themes/2821/Real-Estate-Sleek/
but it looks like when I went to my cpanel, to install...
it installed an old theme.
It is live right now, so you can see it.
That was from a previous site.
So, I think...
Well I'm not sure what to do next, to get that Real estaet theme up there instead of that ugly basic blue site, you see right now.
Oh, and by the way, on the theme that I want...
http://www.wpskins.org/themes/2821/Real-Estate-Sleek/
is that picture of the house removable?
I would like to eventually get my own logo up there.
Thank You!

 

[Lithium]

I dont have any wordpress demos handy for me to look at right now, but let's see if I can help.

http://www.optiniche.com/blog/view.php?v=install-theme&h=411&w=788 This video will give you a step by step look at how to install a theme. Basically, you need to upload the theme folder (named "realsleek" in your case that is located inside the folder you download, after it is unzipped) into the directory "wp-content/themes/" with the other folders you see. To do this you need an FTP program.

To use the file manager in CPanel to upload your theme easily, first zip the folder from your computer named "realsleek" with the theme inside it, and then upload it into the "wp-content/themes/" directory. Then find the zip file, and hit "extract all" on the right hand menu you see in the file browser.

Now you can go to the Admin Panel and select your new theme like the video shows.

To get the house off there, you're going to need to edit the files named "blan.jpg" and "header.jpg" in the "images" folder, found inside your "realsleek" folder, and then upload the files to your server again if you haven't done so.

 

[Red Rock]

To use the file manager in CPanel to upload your theme easily, first zip the folder from your computer named "realsleek" with the theme inside it, and then upload it into the "wp-content/themes/" directory. Then find the zip file, and hit "extract all" on the right hand menu you see in the file browser.

Lithium,
Thank you for visiting, and sharing your knowledge with me.
I started to watch that video, and got hung up at the first step...FTP program.
What is an FTP program???
So I looked it up in Google...

What is FTP program...

File Transfer Protocol - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are many existing FTP client and server programs.
FTP servers can be set up anywhere between game servers, voice servers, internet hosts, ..
OK, a file transfer protocol.
Where is it?
In the cpanel of Host account.
OK, So, now I got that far!

He says first zip the folder...???
How do I zip the folder?
My theme folder is on my hard drive, I know this much.
But what does zip the folder mean?
So, I google it.
Zip the folder...
so this is what comes up, a forum Q and A...
Conor05-24-2004, 07:47 PM
I need to send someone like 30 things and want to zip it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MstrBob05-24-2004, 07:56 PM
Use a Zip program, such as Winzip (http://www.winzip.com/downwzeval.htm) or Free Zip (http://members.ozemail.com.au/~nulifetv/freezip/)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sam05-24-2004, 08:18 PM
right click the folder -> add to zip (or add to archive if you've got winrar (http://rarlabs.com/)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conor05-24-2004, 08:30 PM
thanks sam that worked perfectly!

Now I have to see if I have a zip program.
I have a new laptop, and it has Windows Vista on it.
I assume I have a zip program.
I'm gonna check now!
Just checked in computer search...Nothing!
So, I guess I have to download it, or could it be in my cpanel???
I'm gonna check there, first!
OK, Nothing in cpanel that says zip program.
Darnit, Gotta download something else, now.
LOL
Right?
or can I just copy and paste the folder?

Sorry, but almost everything here is new to me.
I guess I have to take baby steps.
This is becoming frustrating, already.
But I am VERY thankful to everyone who stops by!
I will catch up with NP$ and reps as soon as I get my theme
up and running!

 

[Daryljames101]

I use http://www.powerarchiver.com/ it's very easy, reliable, and updates on a regular basis... good luck!

You may wanna check out www.drupal.org for future projects... it to is open source (free) and can do more than any other CMS I've found...

 

[weblord]

download it from your computer and then use any ftp client you're comfortable with, upload the whole folder into
/wp-content/themes/

Thx Weblord,
I already have one in mind,
I got it from another site.
If it doesn't work I will check out the site you gave me.
This is the theme I would like to install..
http://www.wpskins.org/themes/2821/Real-Estate-Sleek/
but it looks like when I went to my cpanel, to install...
it installed an old theme.
It is live right now, so you can see it.
That was from a previous site.
So, I think...
Well I'm not sure what to do next, to get that Real estaet theme up there instead of that ugly basic blue site, you see right now.
Oh, and by the way, on the theme that I want...
http://www.wpskins.org/themes/2821/Real-Estate-Sleek/
is that picture of the house removable?
I would like to eventually get my own logo up there.
Thank You!

 

[Red Rock]

DarylJames, and Weblord,
thx!
I just found and downloaded FileZilla as an FTP client.
Now how do I upload the wordpress file into FileZilla?
to even bring it over to the /wp-content/themes/?

I just opened Filezilla and I see the form.
I need the Host Address,
Username, Password, and port.
I will have to get that from my host.
I think I'm close!

 

[weblord]

I thought you just installed wp via fantastico?
if so, then just double click wp-content and then double click themes
upload a screenshot of what you see.
yes get those information from your hosting provider.

DarylJames, and Weblord,
thx!
I just found and downloaded FileZilla as an FTP client.
Now how do I upload the wordpress file into FileZilla?
to even bring it over to the /wp-content/themes/?

I just opened Filezilla and I see the form.
I need the Host Address,
Username, Password, and port.
I will have to get that from my host.
I think I'm close!

 

[-Alex-]

I will let weblord keep on explaining how to install a new theme, he seems to know how to do it quite well

You mentioned changing the header, for that you would want to go to the file manager in the Cpanel and find the image file which represents your current header. Then you replace that image file with your desired image file. It is hard to explain precisely since this varies from template to template but the header image file should be named something similar to header.jpg

Hope that helps.

 

[Lithium]

just a quick tip, if youre running Windows XP or Vista, just right click on the file you wanted to zip, and select "Send To> Compressed (Zipped) Folder"

You already got Filezilla, but for future reference this may help

 

[Red Rock]

OK,
Reps and NP$ are getting updated as soon as I post this!
Thanx to everyone so far.
Man, you guys are all so kind!
I really want to get this Damn thing up tonight, at least the theme up n running.
LOL,
My next step is NamePros related...
I need to upload a picture.
Usually on sites I have been on before,
there is a browse function and you can just grab your pix, and voila.
Here when I tried to hit that image icon, I wasnt able to go find my picture.
I took a screen shot of my FileZilla page, that is going to help me get that theme from my comp. to my Host.
I would like to post that screenshot.
Does anyone know how to walk me thru getting my image uploaded in my post?
I took a pic of my screen w/ my digital camera.
that is a screenshot...right?
It's gonna be a long night,
Boy I have alot to learn!

Hey, I got it.
My daughter set me up with this one.
I used her photobucket account to upload the photo,
It uses that browse function, grabbed the pic then turned it into 4 diff. files.
I had to use the code.
Cool!!!
OK, so here's my screenshot of my Filezilla (FTP client)page that is requiring me to provide all types of info to move my zipped WP theme to my Hosting account.
I'll finish this tommorow.
Baby Steps!
I'm gonna go screw around in the forum now!

 

[Lithium]

Here's an important note. If you're using Filezilla to put the theme folder onto your server, Do not zip it. Why not? This means once you upload the file, you would have to go in through Cpanel, and unzip it. More work than is needed, since you can drag and drop the full, unzipped folder with Filezilla right onto your server.

Zipping the folder is only an advantage to you if you aren't using Filezilla. If you can't get Filezilla working, it's still possible to upload the file via your "File Manager" if you have a CPanel account, which then allows you to unzip it from the same location. CPanel does not allow you to upload an entire unzipped folder like Filezilla does.

By the way, thank you very much for the $NP, and I hope everything works out soon.

 

[weblord]

Red Rock : you don't need a digital camera to take screenshots of what you see on your computer, all you need to do is open up something you want to share to us, and then click on print screen, you need to have at least 1 image editor and then on it, click file, click new and then click on edit and click on paste.

to upload that screenshot, you don't need photobucket actually, namepros have already provided that as well.
click on post reply, and then click on "Manage Attachments" from here you can now share screen shots of what you see on your computer so I know where you are now.

 

[Red Rock]

Weblord,
Thanx for the 17th time!
LOL
I really appreciate the info!