Being a business owner and an artist can be tricky. You’re expected to be good at many things — creating your art, billing, marketing, accounting, communicating, selling and technical.

It’s okay to find people to assist you where your skills are not as strong. Web design may be something that you, as an artist, have some skills in — like designing your logo. But putting it all together is another thing. Building a website, whether in WordPress or one of the “canned” systems available, still takes some time and skill.

As I design your website, I let you do whatever you can do, and I do the rest.

And if you’re completely freaked out by all technical matters, no worries. I can take over. (But I will send you all the documentation you need if you change your mind.)

What is the difference between a domain name and hosting? Are they the same thing? Done with the same company?

Confused?

I hear many questions about these terms — domain name and hosting — and since one of the first things we need to do to launch your website or to move or update your website is to answer those first two questions, it’s worth spending a little time explaining.

Your hosting account is where the files for your website will reside. It’s a server that holds your website. It is paid for monthly or annually. There are many companies to choose from. Some are better than others for WordPress websites. And some are better than others for customer support. We recommend some — but whoever you use should have 24/7 customer support. When your website goes down, it can’t wait until Monday.  It’s very affordable.

Your domain name is purchased separately. It is also paid for annually, and “points” to your hosting account. The domain name and the hosting account can be at the same company (such as GoDaddy, HostGator, Web.com) or at separate companies.  It doesn’t matter if these are purchased at one place or two, but choose a reputable company with a track record.  Prices range from $12 to $35 a year.

Some businesses choose to purchase multiple domain names that will “point” to their single website/hosting account. For instance, one might choose two names that are closely aligned so that error-typing still leads to you. This isn’t necessary but feel free to do so if you want to spend the extra money.

One of the reasons WordPress has become so popular as a platform for websites is that it’s open source software — meaning that it’s free. It is relatively easy to build a website and to maintain it. Plus, there are a variety of themes to choose from

Some WordPress themes are free themes and others paid. Resources regarding the open source software and many of the themes and plugins can be found at www.wordpress.org.

WordPress is installed (free) on your hosting account. Do not use wordpress.com — this is a paid host that limits what you can do on your WordPress site.  Your WordPress site will be installed on the hosting you purchase.

Thunder Communications uses a variety of well-designed themes that are both beautiful and easily customizable. Many themes are pretty but you must choose colors or styles that are pre-defined. I use themes that can be turned into the site you want. Customization is key to making a generic theme look like your organization.