Aaron Donohoe

I’d just like to point out, that this post is my personal opinion and experience and doesn’t reflect whatsoever on FireStats - just a disclaimer so the nice people at FireStats don’t go taking my house for my bad mouthing of them

Anyway, I’ve taken the decision to uninstall FireStats from my blogs, I’ve taken this decision after encountering numerous problems with the plugin, mainly with the load it puts on my database and subsequently my website.

Other errors included fatal errors resulting in having to reinstall the plugin - my idea of a stats plugin is it records information over a long period and emits graphs etc… However, it isn’t that effective when you’ve to often reinstall the bloody thing!

It also doesn’t record some visits, I’ve checked this out by logging on to the blog on a friends computer and upon returning home it hadn’t logged the visit - where it logs most actions from my IP and certainly others, it often fails to record some.

I’ve decided to resort back to the ol’ reliable Google Analytics - I’ve found over the time period it has performed well, as I’ve kept it active as I have with FireStats.

Don’t go flaming me saying I should have installed the latest version etc…, well infact I have tried the latest version as well as the BETA version and found them both to have the same problems. Don’t get me wrong, FireStats is a great concept, just needs to fix those bugs, and until then I’ll be sticking with Google Analytics!

I’ve taken the executive decision of moving all of my blogging over to here, why? Well I feel having a personal domain name (hence, Aaron Donohoe (dot) Com) could help my online presence dramatically. The reason madringo.com never took off - beside the fact I never was that bothered with it, was that the name was often misspelt - and the main factor for that was that it meant nothing really!

The only problem I can see with this domain is the common error in the name Donohoe - the various variations being Donohoe, Donahue, Donoghue, etc… - maybe it would be a wise move to invest in those names later on…

The official move wont take place until sometime later in the month. As I’ve to secure a few bits and pieces, such as a new server, and some further plugins have to be configured and not forgetting I’ve to allow present advertisers on madringo.com to get their monies worth.

So come Mid-June, madringo.com will be completely inactive. And redirected to here, but it will be open from the move until then to facilitate and passing traffic etc…

Any opinions on the move? Wise or Wrong choice?

We’ve treated ourselves to a new theme, which was modified by a friend of ours (I was owed a favour )- with the code itself modified by myself and brought upto a Widget friendly stance. The header was also designed (albeit badly) by myself using some new brushes I got for Photoshop - made it somewhat technology come WEB 2.0 looking. I like it…opinions please!

We ditched our other theme, as we found a few errors in it and as it wasn’t mine I didn’t want to touch the structure and f**k it up even further!

*EDIT*: Found a problem with IE…trying to fix it!

I’m finally back online, after I decided to take a few days leave - a much needed break! I still haven’t really gotten into the swing of things yet since the Christmas period, having been dodging work and other bits and pieces. I think it’s time to settle myself down now, I’ve opened up another hosting business recently, it’s just about self-managing, the script manages everything from processing payment, through to creating the accounts and lining up support tickets in order of priority etc… More details on it shortly, as I’m still setting it up (the website).

Since last week I’ve relaunched Blogger Hub, except this time it will be solely for Wordpress, and Wordpress related products and discussions. I’ve no experience with other platforms like Drupal, Typepad and whatever else is on the market, so it would be pretty stupid to continue to run a board on topics I know little about, or have no experience with - on the other hand, Wordpress is such a widespread product it will interest both beginner and intermediate bloggers. The usual topics covered: Running your Blog, Styling and Modding your Blog, Monitising your Blog, Selling Products and Placements on your Blog, and the general “blogging banter” thrown in for the sake of it. I don’t see it catching on for a while - I’m being pretty realistic in this, forums are a difficult thing to setup, and even trickier to get running - no one wants to talk on an empty board, but the board will be empty without anyone chatting on it. A Catch 22 situation! I will have to put my marketing cap on and get some members in, one thing which may interest them will be the fact that I’m trying to figure out a way to have it as a revenue sharing board… .

More website news, I’ve finished the Motor Vehicle Preservation Society of Ireland website, it needs a lot more work - such as optimization, and more filler content drafted up, but it was a past-deadline realese, and Payne was on my neck to get it online - “take yer time” generally means “where’s me f**kin’ website” in webmaster talk… It’s online now, alongside the Blog which was a 5 minute jobby. He’s happy with the result, I wouldn’t be 100% happy with it, it’s a bugger to load on Dialup (or slow broadband), but that’s just a case of reducing the size of the navbar icons and header image. All these loose ends will be tidied up in the coming weeks (possibly months ).

On another note, I’m on the road finally! I got my “Learners Permit” last week, and I’ve taken a few driving lessons. I’m already capable of driving, it’s just road ettiquette, general use, and caping my speed… I mentioned the last one, as I kept creeping over the speed limit on my first lesson - of which the instructor didn’t give me any instruction… (a family friend). I’ve got a fair bit to improve on, such as roundabouts, and merging. I’ve been practicing Hill Starts, Emergency Stops and 3-point turns, I’m not great at them but practice does make perfect!

I’ve been asked on many occassions about running a Wordpress blog on your own domain, and on all of those occassions I’ve stated that it’s easier than it appears! I have since decided to write a series of step-by-step guides from the get go regarding setting yourself up on your own domain with Wordpress.

Many blogs focus on a particular topic, such as web design, home staging, sports, or mobile technology. Some are more eclectic, presenting links to all types of other sites. And others are more like personal journals, presenting the author’s daily life and thoughts.

Blog” is an abbreviated version of “weblog,” which is a term used to describe web sites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. A blog is a frequently updated, personal website featuring diary-type commentary and links to articles on other Web sites. Blogs range from the personal to the political, and can focus on one narrow subject or a whole range of subjects.

Firstly you must decide what you want your blog to be about; a personal blog, online business blog, development blog, technology blog, money making blog. There’s a variety of categories you can base your blog about, more importantly, make your blog about something you have a personal interest in yourself! You won’t be motivated if you know nothing about your chosen category.

Next you need to chose a name, and more equally important, a domain name to which your blog will be available. Try to use keywords that relate to your blog category, or if it’s a personal blog, use your name or internet alias. For example, if you’re opening a technology blog, I would suggest that you have technology related keywords in your domain and blog name.

Next you should register your domain, to secure it for the long-term, if you don’t intend on starting your blog immediatly. I’d advise that you use reputable domain registrars, such as GoDaddy, Name, or Register365. All offer reasonable prices, with second to none support available when needed, and have an easy to use domain management panel.

Now with your domain registered, you should secure hosting. Obviously this is upto your requirements, fundementally your host should offer a generousl package of space and bandwidth, as well as MySQL databases and will support PHP which is a must! Wordpress has setout a list of recommended Wordpress hosts - here.

Now that you’ve secured your hosting and domain, you can now move onto installing Wordpress! If you’re lucky enough to have Fantastico, and Wordpress pre-installed you can cut out the next few steps. But if you haven’t, or would like to manually install Wordpress, read on!

Download Wordpress here. Unzip using WinRar or a simular program. Open the folder, read the readme.html file! Next open wp-config-sample.php in Wordpad, Dreamweaver or another simular program. Replace the database information with the correspoding information for your hosting and MySQL database. See below.

Remeber to leave the quotation marks in place!

‘putdbnamehere’ - Your database name, often it is structured like: user_blog.

‘usernamehere’ - Put your cPanel or MySQL Database username here.

‘yourpasswordhere’ - Replace with your password.

‘localhost’ - Generally you don’t have to replace this, but in some instances you may be required to replace it with the MySql server address of your host, which they will supply.

Now save as wp-config.php, and upload all the files and folders to your server root. Login to your hosting FTP account using an FTP Client like SmartFTP, usually your server root is located at public_html.

Once all the files have been uploaded successfully, point your browser to http://yourdomain.com/blog folder/wp-admin/install.php, and run the installer script. This will now input the tables into your MySQL database. If you encounter an error double check wp-config.php, if this measure fails contact Wordpress Support for more help.

If your install was successful, you will be forwarded to a splash page, where you will be given your username and temporary password, you will then proceed to the Wordpress login page, where you should use these details to login to the admin control panel. I would advise, that at this point you go to users, and modify the password to something unique to you!

You can now start blogging! But before you do, make sure that you setup your blog’s categories, options and of course blogroll! You can now begin blogging, as time progresses you should become more familiar (if you’re not already) with the Wordpress interface. It’s argueably one of the easiest to use blogging systems, with a large followings of Themes, Plugins, Widgets, and other modifications which we’ll go into greater detail in futher installments.

Part 2 is due in the next few days!

I’ve finally gotten around to getting Blogger Hub active and online! I haven’t been saying anything about it, but basically it’s a new Bloggers Community - the aim is to be for Bloggers by Bloggers. Although I’m the first to admit that it looks bleak at the moment! I haven’t done any promotion -even though the domain has a PR2 just from sitting around and a pretty good Alexa rank!

The forum basically revolves around Blogging - namely the Wordpress system, but I’m willing to expand should the demand be known. All blogging aspects including earning money, plugings, styling, selling text link ads, free link exchanges etc… And as time graduates, the forums will expand as well the subjects.

I’d like to ask any readers of the blog to take the time to register (and participate!) in the forums - here. We’re just trying to get our feet off the ground, and this is the first step to marketing the forum!

Well, I’m a sheep! I’m following the suit, of many bloggers, by enquiring (only enquiring mind!) on a custom style. I’ve had the idea in my head for months - I’ve just put it off, due to my tight fistedness towards money…and my fear of spending it!

But, I’ve been reinspired, due to bloggers like Smemon, and Mark Walsh (a few plugs there for the lads! ) sharing their experiences with custom themes, and their relative cheapness. Custom themes, when Wordpress wasn’t as widespread when I first began blogging, would cost in the region of $400+ for a basic one! But I’ve been quoted from $100-$175 for a redesign of madringo.com - not bad! Considering, the more individual your blog looks, the better chance that you’ll attract more reoccuring visitors - although as everyone always says, Content is King!

I’ve no problem with forking out the money, as I know I’ll make it back from the income of this site. But, I’ve decided, to give it a go myself first. I’ve a fair amount of experience with HTML and CSS, and some PHP script - I haven’t done much as regards Wordpress. I’ve modified the default theme for other sites, but no made one from scratch.

So I think, I’ll start off by modifying a developed theme to suit my needs - get the hang of the structure of a Wordpress theme, and then give my own a go. But for a while, I’m putting a pre-designed theme up, as I’m sick of the default theme - I believe it’s driving my visitors away in droves!

We’re now up and running on ‘Dexter’ or Wordpress 2.3 as it will be formally known!

Remarkably, the upgrade was flawless and went very smooth and easy. Didn’t have any conflicting issues, and I didn’t lose all my widgets which was one of my fears as most I cannot remember - I made a backup of the entire blog (both files and databases) just for safeties sake. I’ve lost the blog once before, but had a backdated backup so it wasn’t too bad!

I’m thoughly impressed with the updated version, I’m looking forward to not having to constantly check for plugin updates, as with ‘Dexter’ it automatically checks for updates and prompts when a new version is available.

There is also the new tags feature, which enables you to add individual tags to your post, to aid in Search Engine optimization and will also help with the management of the larger than average blog! There are so many other new features, but these two are the main ones! Those and the slightly updated TinyMCE which has unlocked many new feautres!

I remember saying that we’d be operating on K2, as the old theme looked a bit dated. I have installed K2, and to be honest I’m having some second thoughts. I forgot how bland K2 was without a trove of customizations, so I may either make a new K2 stylesheet, or else resort to making or finding a new skin from somewhere. I think the latter would be a better choice, considering personal blogs should have a personal look, to keep traffic and make your presence known - although that’s another post!

For those of you nervous about your upgrade, think nothing of it. The only precaution you should take is backing up your blog (this is essential), and finally letting the install run its course. The Read Me file is fairly straight forward and easy to follow, plus you’ve the safety net of the Wordpress Support Forums should things go asunder!