After reading this comment, I decided to have my own little form of FAQ, but on a simple comment-to-blog sort of deal.

Dear “Programmer”,

I am going to make a few innocent assumptions here:

a) You are probably a guy (hence the fake “xzarak.com” URL, a girl could definitely think of something more…creative.)

b) You are probably either very young or very stupid. I make this assumption because most TEENS know how the internet and how information is transferred.

I will try to be as brief as possible, you poor soul.

The Internet is a big place. Imagine it as a very big piece of cheese. Everyone can own a piece of this cheese, because the Internet supports all times of information.

Say suppose you want some of this “cheese” to post your ideas, life, and photos on a blog. You have several options.

• A free server for blogs in mind. Try Blogspot or Livejournal, as they are very user friendly. However, if you actually want your blog layout to look…DECENT, I recommend some HTML and CSS knowledge. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, please Google it or read a book.
• A subdomain. I would NOT recommend this for those who have no knowledge in HTML/CSS. A subdomain can be just about anything. It’s usually free as well. From Freewebs to Bizhat, many commercial sites offer hosting. Also, websites made by other people just like you (gasp!) that also offer hosting can be featured here. I would not look for a subdomain over there if you have no idea what you are doing. Simple as that.
• A domain. As far as hosting goes, this is your head honcho. You must pay for your website, unless you get lucky and win it in a contest or something. (Lucky!) However, usually contests only pay for the DOMAIN, which means, “http://google.com” or “http://youthern.com”. This is JUST the NAME you are paying for. Remember the cheese? Well, you just claimed your piece. Congrats.But along with “claiming your cheese under your name”, you must have the RIGHT to actually ADD to your piece of cheese. This is where HOSTING comes in. Okay, you have your domain bought, but now you need to actually ADD STUFF to your page. So, you look for a hosting company (most companies offer a domain name and hosting) Find a good host, and start uploading files on FTP.
• Oh no! You don’t know what FTP is?! Good heavens, you are in bad shape. FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, is the process of taking what is on your computer to the internet. I recommend for newbies, CuteFTP. For more “advanced” users, go for Filezilla. You will need to know your ftp/host address. Usually, it’s “ftp.YOUR-URL.com”. Your username and password should be given to you by your host. Then, you are set.

Here is how my site came to be (an example)

FIRST AND FOREMOST, experiment with free servers. No one likes absolute trash for domains. Domains are precious things, big portions of our cheese. To abuse something so wonderful is just a sin.

ONCE YOU EXPERIMENT, make absolutely sure you are familiar with what you are working with. Some people are happy with free servers/subdomains. That’s totally fine. But for those who want to take the next step, be sure you are committed. Updates are absolutely mandatory.

THEN, LOOK FOR WHAT YOU NEED. I chose GoDaddy.com. There are very friendly and have very cheap domains. For hosts, I chose my friend Sophia. Once you have a domain, it’s relatively easy to find a host.

THEN, GET STARTED! FTP all your files for you website and start your own saga of internet life! Be sure to get yourself a CMS or Blogging software if you want a blog. It can be an absolute PAIN scripting post by post (and stupid too).

LOOK AROUND YOU! There are some AMAZING blogs/websites around you. I can barely list some of the best ones out there. Get inspired and create something by yourself. It can a rewarding experience to say, “Hey! I made that!” and totally amaze your friends/family/enemies.

Phew! Longest post ever, man. If you would like to ask a question, just comment here.