iamrupert

If you  like the look of this site and you are looking to create something yourself then do read this article. It takes you step by step through the process of how you can get a site like this setup. You would be amazed how cheaply you can get your site up and running - it starts at around £50 up front and then only only £25 a year and you have complete control over what you have on the site.

1) The first step is to choose your domain. e.g. www.iamrupert.com. Your domain can be anything you want it to be, as long as it is available. It could be a .com, a .co.uk, a .org or indeed any number of extensions. Generally .com or .co.uk are most popular. To find out if you domain is available and to buy your domain I recommend 123-reg. At only £6 for 2 years (for a .co.uk) and a simple registration process you can get going very quickly.Don't choose any of the free options like hosting. They will severely restrict your flexibility. Ideally you want to host your own domain.

2) Hosting a domain can feel daunting and scary. It isn't so don't be.For simple, cheap and excellent no nonsense hosting we recommend 1&1. They are a large established business. They can provide you with the package you want at the right price. I have used them for years and never had a problem with them.

Once you have 1 and 2 sorted out you need to point your domain (1) to your host (2) and you do this by changing the nameservers in your 123-reg control panel to point to the nameservers of your hosting account. 1&1 will tell you what your nameservers are when you sign up. This "pointing" or propagation to use it's correct term, can take up to 24 hours but normally happens VERY quickly.

3) This site is based on Joomla. Joomla is an Open Source Website Content Management System. It is fantastic, highly supported, with loads of free and paid-fopr add-ons from a huge community of developers, but best of all is FREE. We highly recommend Joomla. It can be daunting to begin with by there are many ways to get support or advice for setting the site up. Contact me if you would like to have a site setup service. I can install Joomla and get it up and running for you very quickly. As an aside - Download 1.5 as support for 1.0 is fading.

 4) Once you have installed Joomla you can search the web for Joomla templates. There are plenty of free ones (search for free joomla template) or you can subscribe to a site that has highly professional and stunning templates that you can then download and apply to your site. This is not too expensive an option either.

I recommend the following 2 sites. Shape5 is where I got the template for this site from but Rockettheme.com is also a fantastic developer of templates. You should definitely check out the templates from both these sites and go with a template that works for you.

You now have everything in place, except the photos, the articles, any other utilities you might want to add to the site, but this is where the fun begins and you can really start making the site your own.

Best of luck, and please do feel free to contact me should you wish to ask any questions on the above.