Hello all, first post here, nice idea you've got going with the whole credit thing

So i thought i'd do my bit and write up a quick tutorial on what i've found with my time on the net.

Before we start, i'd just like to say that when i say 'blog', dont think of a site where all you can do is type up your life.
No.
What I mean is intergrating a program into your site that allows you to post news with ease while still still being able to keep the site open to other things.
If your not clear on what i mean, read on and things should clear up.

Now i'm not going to go into a great deal of depth, purely because i have found 2 programs that work briliantly for 2 different options. Why would you need more?

Option 1: Using MySQL / MsQL

I would say that you're better off going with this option out of the 2, but generaly speaking you will need to fork out some cash to get a hosting plan that allows a database.
Any way, for this one you're going to want WORDPRESS. If you didnt understand what i meant by 'blog', hopefully browsing around that site will clue you in

I can personally vouch for WP, my site (PHROST) runs on it and as you can see, it is much more than just a simple blog

Why is WP so great?

Well for a start it is very simple to use, you might have a bit of trouble getting it all set up (i did heh), but the forums are extremely helpfull. After that it is just a case of click "new post" and type away!
Not only that but you can addons, allowing you to put galleries in (like the one on my site), intergrating adverts, putting in radios, the list goes on.
Also you can get new skins for your site, meaning you can have it up in seconds. Or, if you're like me and prefer the creative side of web design you can take skin and mod the graphics to get your own completely custom site.

Oh, and the "proudly powered by wordpress" thing at the bottom is optional, but i thought i should leave it there, purely because they are so helpfull

Option 2: Using PHP

Not as great as option 1, but still quite nice. For this one you're going to want CUTENEWS. Again i can personally vouch for this as it is what my site ran on before wordpress.

I'll admit its been a while since i used this, so my memory might not be spot on. Basically it is like a simpler version of WP.
You can post, edit, delete posts, the comments system is all taken care of, its all there.
Also it is VERY easy to install, pretty much just copy the folder to your site and go to install.php and follow there instructions, thats it.

You can sort of get skins, but you'll need to code them yourself. By this i mean you can completely edit how the news is displayed and they give you templates to work off, but you'll need to know your way around HTML + a bit of CSS to edit them really.

Not much else i can say about it, i think ive covered most of its features.


Well there you go, i said it didnt go into great detail, but those 2 programs work brilliantly, so i see no need to

Hope this helps!

This is a very good tutorial for someone who is completely new to this.

Trap17 provides an easy mechanism to install WP through the fantastico icon, just click, input and click again, you are done.