One of the hardest things for a new blogger to do is try and figure out the resources that are needed to be able to start blogging effectively. It is rather difficult for someone to get the information that is necessary to do so. The business model having been found out the problem becomes trying to figure out what tools one needs to make their Internet blog business grow.

I have really been surfing a lot lately trying to get the proper plugins that I need for my blog and these are some of the resources from technical ,plugins, information, etc .

WordPress Blogs

Ø Download and get the latest WordPress version – This is for those who have yet to start their own WordPress blog

Ø Install your own WordPress – Comprehensive instructions on how to upload and install your WordPress to get you started in about 1 hour in blogging through WordPress.

Ø Install WordPress through cpanel - detailed instructions on how to install your own blog through cpanel . You can see more WordPress videos from this great blog.

Ø Installing WordPress using fantastico – For those who are self hosting , cpanel has fantastico which you can use to quickly set up your WordPress .

I had set up my WordPress using fantastico and one of the problems is that sometimes you will not get the latest WordPress version in WordPress . You will need to upgrade your blog to the latest version both for security and also to get the latest blogging tools.

Ø Upgrading WordPress. – Detailed instructions on how to upgrade your wordpress.

Ø For those who like seeing it done, go to youtube and learn how to upgrade WordPress

Now that you have your blog set up the next thing is to find the tools and plugins you will need to have your WordPress blog looking and working as you wish.

My WordPress Resources

Content Management

The first thing I wanted to do with this blog was simply to start blogging. I at least needed to get that welcome to WordPress first post out of the site. Having used joomla before I saw that the WordPress editor was not all that. I read the following resources to get a good WordPress editor.

Ø 4 alternative WordPress Editors - A listing of the word editors available for your blog.

• 12 Reasons why I Like Windows Live Writer - I actually used live writer after reading this post. I used to use Dreamweaver before.

WordPress Plugins

Dealing with plugins is not all that fun and one needs to get the ones that act for them and not all the plugins available. Other than the first one of the list, i depend on what other blogger’s are using and seeing how they implement their WordPress.

1. WordPress plugging database - Find most if not all the available WordPress tools .
2. Top 30 Plugins in the blogosphere -A listing of very good plugins from Stasys
3. WordPress Plugins - This is the list I stuck too as somehow the plugins could work well with my blog. Alex King’s blog is also a very good blogging resource.

WordPress Themes and Design

The problem with setting up your blog is choosing good WordPress themes to use.Trying to figure out the gems from the chaff can be very daunting and who does not want to have the best design out there. However I got a lot of information from the list below.

1. WordPress Theme Viewer - A very comprehensive list that you cannot go wrong with.
2. SEO Themes - Very nice list of SEO themes that were actually checked for hidden links, errors and modified to give you better search engine results
3. Arpit from Clazh Tech and Design blog has great WordPress design lists .His own blog design is just fantastic to say the least and I’ll be trying to make mine like that too.
4. As you can see from this blog, I use Nathan Rice’s Elegant Blue Design. The reason being that I just like the way it looks and it’s easy to modify and yes he does support his product.

In keeping with my own goal of learning to create and manage web sites I have had to take sometime to try and teach myself how to create better designs. It is true I have done everything on this site on my own including the logo which I did in about 15 minutes. These are some of the sites I have been going back to.

1. How to design your own WordPress theme - I am not there yet but it’s one of my goals in 2008 .
2. At Personified you will not only get great templates but also great tips on improving your blog design.

I will be adding to this list every time I come across something interesting.

Now that the we have the first part of the tech web design stuff done, we are ready to go back to remembering exactly why we started the blog in the first place. It can be tiring to do all the setting up and adding plugins and designing and I have actually given up once. That is why I remind myself why I am blogging to success.

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