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Wordpress and propogation

by Goatboy
13 replies
I'm in the process of starting my first blog site, and following the advice of the folks here I'm using Wordpress.

Here's where I'm at. I have written 50+ posts. Last month I filed a DBA, opened a bank account and purchased the domain name along with several other names that I'm interested in. (NameCheap)

Last week I purchased Artisteer and the photos I need to get started and developed a template for the front page.

Yesterday I followed Warrior advice and purchased webhosting from a different company than my registrar. (Hawk Host)

This morning I went to the registrar and pointed the nameservers at my webhost. Then I went to the temporary control panel my webhost provided and used fantastico to install WP 2.8.

Now here's my question. Until the name propogates I have to use the temporary cpanel to work on the site. When I try the url provided for the WP admin panel I get a "not found" error and I assume this means the name hasn't propagated yet. So, is there anything I can do until the url begins to work? Should I be installing my WP theme files to the root directory, or setting up something else?
#propogation #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author querblogger
    I'm not 100% sure, but it should be possible to access your site via the IP address of the server your site is hosted on, even if the DNS settings haven't propagated yet. So, instead of using yoursite.com/wp-admin, you could use YourServersIP/wp-admin to log into Wordpress. You should ask your webhost for the IP address.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Pension Guy
    No, it won't work for some reason.
    Recently I was planning to move a WP blog with its domain to a new host and tried to set it up and check everything by using the yourIPnumner/~user type URL and it didn't work.
    The only thing I can advise is patience until it propagates...
    Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author Goatboy
    Thanks guys. I was afraid of that. I guess I'll just have to be patient.
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  • Profile picture of the author Leon McKee
    I'm assuming you've installed WordPress at the top level so try the full URL:

    http://IP/

    and then

    http://IP/wp-admin/

    I would also highly recommend you install a "test" blog in a sub-directory called /blog and set your WP Privacy Settings to "I would like to block search engines, but allow normal visitors". Make sure you test your ideas and various plug-ins here before installing on your main blog. You'll drive the Googlebot nuts, for example, with errors if you don't take this extra step. For example if you install a language translation plug-in and then uninstall said plug-in you'll have a lot of dead links in the search engines for every country you executed a translation. These errors can take months to clear on their own or will require a lot of effort on your part in the WebMaster Tools (Google). The nice thing about a test blog is if you mess things up all you have to do is start new with a reinstall. Also, if you've got a lot of ping sites in your main install and/or the XML-Sitemap Generator installed you'll drive the search engines nuts in a bad way if you're testing and deleting posts and pages. Use a test blog!

    Leon McKee
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    • Profile picture of the author Goatboy
      The test blog sounds like a great idea. If I understand right, I go to my root directory and create a new sub directory named /blog. Do I then need to install a copy of wordpress to that /blog subdirectory? Or can I name the directory I want to create the blog in from inside of WP?
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      • Profile picture of the author Leon McKee
        Originally Posted by Goatboy View Post

        The test blog sounds like a great idea. If I understand right, I go to my root directory and create a new sub directory named /blog. Do I then need to install a copy of wordpress to that /blog subdirectory? Or can I name the directory I want to create the blog in from inside of WP?
        If you're using Fantastico you should let it create the directory during the WP install. The option looks something like "Install in directory" you then enter blog or whatever you decide to call your test location. However, if you're doing a manual install then I would recommend /blog at the root level.

        Leon McKee
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  • Profile picture of the author Leon McKee
    Your themes should be installed at:

    /public_html/wp-content/themes

    If you don't have an FTP program then Google "FileZilla".

    BTW - you can install themes in 2.8 from within the admin interface under "Add New Themes". If you go with this method you don't need the FTP option. However, I still recommend you become very comfortable with FTP and your server.

    Leon McKee

    P.S. Keep local copies of ALL modifications to your WP site. For example, if you customize your footer.php file then keep a copy on your local PC/Mac.
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    • Profile picture of the author Goatboy
      Thanks for the tips. I'm still waiting to be able to work on it since the name hasn't swaped over yet. At least it will give me something to work on tomorrow.
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  • Profile picture of the author Leon McKee
    I just tried to help someone with a HostGator account and could not find a way around the same issue that Goatboy is having resolving IP access to WP! The short story is that he has no choice but to wait for the DNS propagation to take place from what I can tell. If anyone with a Fantastico De Luxe based installation has verified the proper IP file path please comment.

    Leon McKee
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  • Profile picture of the author Goatboy
    It propagated yesterday and I started installing the blog last night in a /blog sub directory. So far, this is one of the easiest things I've done on the internet.

    I keep thinking it can't be this easy, but I haven't tried to move wp to the root directory yet. I'll attempt that in another couple of days when I'm sure I have the whole thing in it's final shape.

    Thank you everyone for helping make this easier.
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  • Profile picture of the author Leon McKee
    I recommend you perform a NEW install at the root level for your primary blog. Use the /blog install as a test site and then implement proven modifications to your root level install. You're correct in that the install process is pretty simple which might come in handy if you toast your /blog install

    Leon McKee
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