WordPress Install:
Considerations: Pricing, DNS, Set up, Configuration, Migration of files etc.
Microsoft Windows Azure offers a free hosting plan for simple sites. I want to try this out. This is what this site is all about. Currently the site is hosted at GoDaddy … it’s an old fashioned site with mostly static pages. Actually it is redirecting now, but its archives are static (y)! It was designed in a very old version of DreamWeaver and has not been changed in years. So, onward!
First step is to set up AZURE! Sign up – they offer introductory web site hosting for free. Although it will not power your eCommerce any time soon (not intended for that whatsoever), you can certainly get your feet wet with the free hosting. After that, it is easy to upgrade to a shared or standard package, etc., if needed.
Log into Azure Manager, go to Web Sites and choose from the gallery. I went with WordPress:
A database is needed, but not really in the ‘Big Data’ sense, so you can just go with the free MySQL [you do need to sign the “Clear DB” Terms]:
Working …
Within a few minutes, it’ all set up:
After logging into Azure, you can see the multitude of offerings from Azure … It offers a nice dashboard, where all sorts of functions can be observed, tweaked and monitored:
Eventually you get to the actual WordPress interface. So WordPress runs right on top of the hosted Azure web site – it’s a Content Management System (CMS), a blog and / or a standard web site. It is the most popular web site foundation in the world. There are also many, many ‘Themes’ that can be installed right into or on top of WordPress.