Help:Build a Site

From BluWiki

Build your own website with this tutorial

So you want a website!

This tutorial will walk you through building a decent looking site using BluWiki.

It's Fast, Fun, and Free!

The best part is, you don't need to know HTML or how to use a text editor. BluWiki uses the MediaWiki markup, so if you've ever contributed to Wikipedia, you'll feel right at home. And if you haven't, that's OK - everything is easy to learn.

Lets get started

Step 1: Create your site

This step is pretty easy, just go to http://bluwiki.com/start.php and choose a name for your site.

Once you've found a name that's free, write it down. The site name I've chosen is "Foo Bar" - that's what I'll use for the rest of this tutorial.

Step 2: Your BluWiki URL

You have a couple options for your URL. Pick one and stick with it:

• Standard BluWiki page:
  • http://Page_title_here.bluwiki.com - yay for subdomains!
  • http://bluwiki.com/go/Page_Title_Here
  • http://bluwiki.com/wiki/Page_Title_Here
  • Example page: http://www.bluwiki.com/go/ClaptonBoots (notice the blue title bar, and edit links)
• Clean BluWiki page:
  • http://bluwiki.com/site/Page_Title_Here
  • http://bluwiki.com/clean/Page_Title_Here
    • Example: http://www.bluwiki.com/site/SamuelOdio.com (notice there's no edit links, title bar, or toolbox).

Basically, with the clean URLs, the only stuff displayed on the page is your content. Choose the standard URL if you want your page to look like a wiki. For my Foo Bar page, I'm going to use the URL http://bluwiki.com/site/Foo_Bar

When checking out, look for the "SELECT DOMAIN REGISTRATION OPTIONS" page (pictured)

Got cash? Get a spiffy domain name

You can also buy a domain name - like http://SamuelOdio.com - from a domain name registrar. But make sure your registrar supports URL forwarding (frame redirect). I recommend NameCheap.com. At $8.88 / yr they're pretty cheap - and they have a ton of cool services. I'm going to use NameCheap in this tutorial, but that shouldn't stop you from using someone else.

Get a domain name with NameCheap:

1. Go to NameCheap.com and search for your desired domain name
2. Add the domain name to your cart and click Standard Checkout
3. Continue through the checkout, entering in your contact information
4. Once you get to SELECT DOMAIN REGISTRATION OPTIONS:
   1. Under URL FORWARDING SETTINGS uncheck "Use Namecheap's Default Forwarding URL"
   2. Enter in your BluWiki URL in the field titled Enter URL. For example, mine will be http://BluWiki.com/site/Foo_Bar
   3. Optional: if you don't want the visitor to know they're visiting a BluWiki URL, select "URL Frame"
   4. If you want to receive emails at your new domain name, create a default e-mail account and forward it to your email address.
5. Finish the checkout process

Last Step: Add Content

To edit your page, go to http://bluwiki.com/go/Page_Title_Here and just click the edit icon () in the top right hand corner of the page.

For detailed editing help, check out Help:Contents.

Standard Disclaimer

Making your own subdomain (or hosting your domain here) only gives you a shortcut to an existing page inside of the BluWiki system. It does not give you your own personal wiki site with its own database. There are some elements that cannot be customised - user access, MediaWiki elements, and so on. This will be addressed in future.