I am planning a round-the-world trip and thought it would be a great idea to start a ‘casual’ blog so that I can keep my friends and family abreast of my movements, thoughts and photos along the way. The trouble is, I’m not very good with the internet so I decided to do some research.
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There is a wealth of information on the web about how to start a blog, and while others may opt to follow Wix and their guidelines or just use a builder like the one that 1&1 or GoDaddy offer, I prefer to be a bit more independent. I stumbled across a website that seemed perfect, called NeilPatel.com and his How to Start a Blog article, and after investigating all the site had to offer, I was hooked on the free advice.
First I had to choose a domain name. This is what my friends and family will type into the search bar in order to find my blog. Once I had the domain name, I needed to find out how to get my blog onto the internet. I learn from the advice that I had to have a host. The ‘host’ is the company which will save my blog and also get it onto the internet.
As my blog is just for fun, and I need all my extra cash for my travels, I chose a free hosting option. Apparently, the results aren’t quite as professional if you aren’t paying a fee, and you don’t get as much choice with the design of your pages, but there is enough choice for what I want, so I’m happy with my decision.
If you have a business or want to take a more serious approach, then a self-hosted blog would probably give you a better result as you will get more options with relation to plugins etc. and your site will look more professional. It seems that the charge for a self-hosted site is still very low, but paying the fee will ensure that your blog doesn’t get cancelled if the host company don’t like what you put on it!!
Once you have your domain name and sorted out whether you will use the free, or self-hosting option you can then design your pages. This is so much fun and really opens up a whole new world to internet ‘newbies’ like me. I learned that I can choose a ‘responsive’ theme in order for my blog to be read on different devices.
Some of my friends only use their mobile phones for internet access (well those that have unlimited internet thanks to 3) but my family mostly use their desktops – by using a responsive theme they will ALL be able to read my blog on whichever device they choose.
Obviously, my blog is going to be straightforward and easy to navigate as my Gran and Grandad aren’t particularly good at finding their way around a website and I want them to be able to enjoy my experiences as much as the younger members of the family do!
I hope to make my blog entertaining and informative so everyone will enjoy keeping up with my travels. So far, setting up a blog is proving way easier than I thought thanks to Neil’s article and all its’ advice and direction. 🙂
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1 Comment
In blogging do not push yourself too hard to write new blog post everyday, just enjoy the moment with your blog than stressing yourself to write blog post you dont feel you like the topic, I have been there and also index new blog post takes time to get to the top. So dont force yourself to write new blog post.