Don’t know how to start the first step – When I was little, I’d always noticed the advertisements for building a personal websites. There were hundreds of them and they’d offer to teach you how to make web pages and upload them onto a server. It all seemed very simple in my head so I thought I’d give it a try.
Too complicated – When I started, I was confused that why I couldn’t get the server after editing a couple of webpages. Why Chenwendy.com is not my domain name? Why I can’t get first class domain name but only like blogs. So frustrating, right? This all came to ahead during my time in college, when some school mates made a website. They showed me that they could build up a website by themselves but for that to actually be on the “world wide web” and be seen by people needed to pay for a database, etc, etc. My memories of it was a blur, I didn’t know the differences between domain names, spaces, and databases were, in the internet market.
All these can now be installed on my laptop, very easily, and do not need to be separated. However, social media was just in it’s infancy those days, no one would ever type your whole domain name to find out who are you. I didn’t need my own website at all.
I need my own website – Years past, and now I’m working for a multinational IT consulting firm. Headhunters start contacting me and asking for an online portfolio. Fine, I knew I was obligated to build up a personal website, but why not include my own insights of UX too.
- I need a reliable supplier – Luckily, lots of big internet firms provide cloud services, such as Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei and Baidu, no matter for business or personal use. Marketing is so important, I had heard of Alibaba most, I could never avoid seeing the advertisements of Ali Cloud on streets, airports or even subways. Naturally they were the first company to pop in my head when I decided to go on this venture so I opened the website on Ali Could. I got confused for a long time, too much technical words there, come on, I just wanna build a simple and light website.
- Getting a first class domain name – I know a friend who bought a domain name for his then non-extant coffee shop years before it actually opened. It can be a kind of investment, but for me it’s not like that, so I just went to register any domain name which my name would be included. Chenwendy.com was available, so cool, I got it without hesitating.
- Renting a space – There was a “free” one which only costed me 33 RMB first year and provided 200MB of file space and 20MB of mysql. That’s good enough to establish a WordPress. Everything looked so smooth. I can see my FTP address and password, MySql address and password, so cool!
- DNS – How can people get into my website through the domain name? I need a DNS! Like server space and domain name, I rented the DNS for a year too.
This is when problems started popping up, I couldn’t visit it because I hadn’t registered the website with the Department of Industry and Information. I had to sign documents and fill out forms but what was really outrageous was applying for a curtain. This specialty “curtain” branded all over with Ali cloud logos, was suppose to serve as an ID photo background. In actuality, it was only a piece of paper. All in all, it took 2 days for curtain shipping, a few minutes to take the photo and upload it, 12 more days for getting censored, then, thank god, my website was born!!!
This (!!!) is what I was always dreaming about, owning a website and publishing what I want, recommending it to friends proudly! And, of course, for more new employment opportunities.
P.S. I was doing a little server configuration right after uploading this WordPress packet, I will talk more about that next time.