This question gets asked lots of times, so I will try to shed light on how I do it and why I do it that way.

1. I would strongly recommend that you use WordPress for your web site and blog. It can easily function in an integrated way as a blog and a traditional web site, so that’s all you need. And here are 8 more huge reasons why WordPress is a great choice.

2. There are many professional WordPress theme designers who are offering top-notch designs that can be customized to your needs very cost-effectively. For example, see WooThemes, Obox, Elegant Themes, BizzArtic and ThemeForest, just to name a few.

3. As for hosting, I like to own my own domain and host it myself, rather than use WordPress.com. Go Daddy is a good host for a WordPress site, but there are many other excellent options. Basic hosting is inexpensive. However, there are many specialized service providers who bundle basic web/blog site hosting with other “soft” services and charge considerable monthly hosting fees. Buyer beware. Make sure the services and value fit with your needs.

4. Finally, everything I’ve described above – that’s the easy part. The hard part is feeding relevant content onto your blog on a regular basis, networking that content and building key relationships with other online influencers, customers and prospects. This is where the work starts and when investment of your time and resources really pays off. Here are some excellent suggestions for generating social content that gets clicked.

There you go: simple as 1,2, 3.