Get Blogging!
You've decided to take the plunge into the bloggersphere, and that's brilliant - ya have my complete support!. However, it can be a little daunting at first - so let's see if we can't cut through some of the confusion and make getting your first blog up and running as pain free as possible.
Your choice of platform (who you hosts your blog), often boils down to just two choices. WordPress or Blogger. There are others, and of course you can set up your own, but let's keep it simple, eh?. I have used WordPress, and while it has many, many features - a lot of them are 'premium' and some of the restrictions on 'free' accounts are a little OTT. I've been using blogger for well over a decade, so I feel I can best talk about that.
If WordPress seems like a better fit - fantastic, but many of the things I discuss here will apply to both platforms, so keep reading.
I'm going to assume you have a Google account - and that being the case, simply search "Blogger" or look for it in your Google apps. Google makes setting up a blog fairly straight forward but there are a couple of things to be aware of. The first being, that you are going to give your blog a name, actually, you're going to give it two names.
Let me explain.
In the first box, you type in the name you want to see displayed on your site. The second, and far more important box, is the address of your blog - the actual web address people will search for to find you. So give it a bit of thought.
Don't be surprised if your first choice isn't available, there are a LOT of blogs out there and even if a blog has long been deleted, the same name can't be used on blogger again - ever. Just persevere until you have something you're happy with.
This is where things start to get exciting. Firstly, ask yourself what kind of blog you are going to author. Is it going to be heavily image based, or mainly writing?. Now you're going to say - well, a bit of both. But this is where you need to start really thinking about what you want your blog to 'say'.
Of course, you can change your template at anytime - BUT, be aware that not all templates are created equal and what works or looks great in one template, may not do so well on another. Anyway, that's enough stressy talk for now. Pick the template that looks good to you. That you want to look at. Because believe me, if you get even a little serious about blogging - you will be looking at it a great deal.
I would strongly suggest that you stick with the templates that blogger provides. Especially if you're new to blogging and unfamiliar with coding. Many - so called 'free', third party templates, are usually poorly designed. Most have serious security flaws, and some even contain malicious code. - yeah, I know..
The same goes for add-ons, other than those that Google has vetted.
I'll be honest here, I'm NOT a techy guy. But I'll share this little nugget with you. Neither are most of the people who claim to be. Google wants good, fair - clean content. Just like you and I. So, really, if you're posting things that you believe in and support, whatever they are, you'll get ranked - eventually. Be patient. Do NOT go nuts trying to put your blog at the top of search rankings. Remember what I said about pain free?.
Enjoy your blog, look forward to your first comment on it - but don't make the mistake, that so many bloggers do, (once including myself), of taking it too seriously. HAVE FUN!. Because if you are - it stands to reason that visitors to your blog will also, right?.
We all enjoy the internet. Finding info or entertainment online, is awesome. Sadly, though, there are people who use the web to exploit people. DO NOT BE THAT PERSON!. Add your own content and speak your own truth. Be authentic. As a blogger, you will, unfortunately, come across people who will try to exploit you, your ideas and - if it gets traction in any way - your blog.
Here's some real advice. Link your blog to your social media - link all of that to Google. Keep it ALL under the same roof, so to speak. Make it, and keep it - yours. Because trust me when I tell you, there's always someone out there looking to ride your coat tails and shaft you.
How you choose to design your blog will depend entirely on what you think looks good - obviously. But do consider functionality. For example - there are lots of groovy fonts out there, but which ones are the easiest for people to read?. Also, do your links look like links and are they uniform?.
By all means play around with your CSS, try different styles etc. But do take care mucking about with your HTML code. And remember to back up your template if you're really getting stuck in to the guts of it.
As you can see in the above image, this is where you can also click to edit your blog but remember, you can add css simply, and safely, through the customise section as well.
This is the big one!, (phrasing). People will visit your blog if they find the content engaging or helpful or perhaps you're giving away free (for personal use), emoji's?!. However, nobody likes to be tricked, sucked in, or conned. So don't use clickbait or other misleading 'gimmicks'.
Another thing to keep in mind is the length of your posts. It's the three bears rule ... not to long, not to short - just right. Somewhere between 500-1000 words per post ... give or take. Of course, some will be shorter, (most of my posts on this blog are woefully short), and some posts will be longer - depending on the subject and your energy levels.
Remember that it's okay to save a post as a draft and come back to it later. Blogger auto saves as you're typing, so you can usually just click out of blogger when you need to.
Personally, I believe the single most important part of your content should be passion. Possibly a little hard to quantify, but think of your blog as being an extension of you - because that's exactly what it is!
So get to it! and have fun!
Take care
What platform is best for me?
Your choice of platform (who you hosts your blog), often boils down to just two choices. WordPress or Blogger. There are others, and of course you can set up your own, but let's keep it simple, eh?. I have used WordPress, and while it has many, many features - a lot of them are 'premium' and some of the restrictions on 'free' accounts are a little OTT. I've been using blogger for well over a decade, so I feel I can best talk about that.
If WordPress seems like a better fit - fantastic, but many of the things I discuss here will apply to both platforms, so keep reading.
Getting set up and naming your blog
I'm going to assume you have a Google account - and that being the case, simply search "Blogger" or look for it in your Google apps. Google makes setting up a blog fairly straight forward but there are a couple of things to be aware of. The first being, that you are going to give your blog a name, actually, you're going to give it two names.
Let me explain.
In the first box, you type in the name you want to see displayed on your site. The second, and far more important box, is the address of your blog - the actual web address people will search for to find you. So give it a bit of thought.
Don't be surprised if your first choice isn't available, there are a LOT of blogs out there and even if a blog has long been deleted, the same name can't be used on blogger again - ever. Just persevere until you have something you're happy with.
 |
| Give your blog the love it deserves! |
Choosing your first template
This is where things start to get exciting. Firstly, ask yourself what kind of blog you are going to author. Is it going to be heavily image based, or mainly writing?. Now you're going to say - well, a bit of both. But this is where you need to start really thinking about what you want your blog to 'say'.
Of course, you can change your template at anytime - BUT, be aware that not all templates are created equal and what works or looks great in one template, may not do so well on another. Anyway, that's enough stressy talk for now. Pick the template that looks good to you. That you want to look at. Because believe me, if you get even a little serious about blogging - you will be looking at it a great deal.
Using third party templates
I would strongly suggest that you stick with the templates that blogger provides. Especially if you're new to blogging and unfamiliar with coding. Many - so called 'free', third party templates, are usually poorly designed. Most have serious security flaws, and some even contain malicious code. - yeah, I know..
The same goes for add-ons, other than those that Google has vetted.
SEO (search engine optimisation)
I'll be honest here, I'm NOT a techy guy. But I'll share this little nugget with you. Neither are most of the people who claim to be. Google wants good, fair - clean content. Just like you and I. So, really, if you're posting things that you believe in and support, whatever they are, you'll get ranked - eventually. Be patient. Do NOT go nuts trying to put your blog at the top of search rankings. Remember what I said about pain free?.
Enjoy your blog, look forward to your first comment on it - but don't make the mistake, that so many bloggers do, (once including myself), of taking it too seriously. HAVE FUN!. Because if you are - it stands to reason that visitors to your blog will also, right?.
 |
| Enjoy, rather than endure, the process! |
Serious Do Not's
We all enjoy the internet. Finding info or entertainment online, is awesome. Sadly, though, there are people who use the web to exploit people. DO NOT BE THAT PERSON!. Add your own content and speak your own truth. Be authentic. As a blogger, you will, unfortunately, come across people who will try to exploit you, your ideas and - if it gets traction in any way - your blog.
Here's some real advice. Link your blog to your social media - link all of that to Google. Keep it ALL under the same roof, so to speak. Make it, and keep it - yours. Because trust me when I tell you, there's always someone out there looking to ride your coat tails and shaft you.
Design - making your blog your own
How you choose to design your blog will depend entirely on what you think looks good - obviously. But do consider functionality. For example - there are lots of groovy fonts out there, but which ones are the easiest for people to read?. Also, do your links look like links and are they uniform?.
By all means play around with your CSS, try different styles etc. But do take care mucking about with your HTML code. And remember to back up your template if you're really getting stuck in to the guts of it.
 |
| Click the drop-down menu |
 |
| This will save your template to your device |
As you can see in the above image, this is where you can also click to edit your blog but remember, you can add css simply, and safely, through the customise section as well.
Content
This is the big one!, (phrasing). People will visit your blog if they find the content engaging or helpful or perhaps you're giving away free (for personal use), emoji's?!. However, nobody likes to be tricked, sucked in, or conned. So don't use clickbait or other misleading 'gimmicks'.
Another thing to keep in mind is the length of your posts. It's the three bears rule ... not to long, not to short - just right. Somewhere between 500-1000 words per post ... give or take. Of course, some will be shorter, (most of my posts on this blog are woefully short), and some posts will be longer - depending on the subject and your energy levels.
Remember that it's okay to save a post as a draft and come back to it later. Blogger auto saves as you're typing, so you can usually just click out of blogger when you need to.
Personally, I believe the single most important part of your content should be passion. Possibly a little hard to quantify, but think of your blog as being an extension of you - because that's exactly what it is!
So get to it! and have fun!
Take care
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