How did I start blogging
I left journalism behind after training as a Secondary School teacher. But writing is in my blood. The urge to express myself in print has never left me. The plan was to be an occasional freelancer But, the pressure of freelancing and teaching was just not feasible. There was no other way round it. I had to start a blog.
It seems like these days; no self-respecting freelance writer can be taken seriously without having a blogging site. I’m still a newbie but I intend to take advantage of all the perks of having a blog. Not only will I enjoy producing content, but my intention is also to start actually making money which can be done in various ways. But first things first…..
Time to create a website
Here goes! This is one of many blogs taking you through what I’ve recently experienced in creating my blogging website. I’ll be documenting the ups and downs, the pitfalls and the triumphs I’ve experienced in creating something from scratch which I’m growing increasingly proud of.
Blogging Platform
You cannot start blogging before choosing a blogging platform. This is a software or service which will enable you to publish your content onto the internet in the form of a blog. I’m using WordPress but there are so many you can chose from; Blogger, Wix, Weebly, Tumblr and many more. All are free and you can try out which one feels good for your use. I chose WordPress because it’s very popular with bloggers.
You’ve chosen your blogging platform. What next?
That depends. You may just want to play around creating a site. It’s a lot to take in as you familiarise yourself with all the features required to create your blog. My way forward has been to have a play with the free themes on offer (how do I want my blog to look). I’ve been reading other blog posts and watching various You Tube videos to help inform me on how to navigate my way around my site.
I’ve been writing various different posts and playing with the appearance, menu and as many of the back-end features, to help me decide on the look and subject matter of the blog.
Hosting- What is meant by web hosting?
This is the service of providing the computer equipment and software for a website on the internet and making it available for people to see.
Why do I need hosting for my website?
Having a web hosting account is very important in order to get a website hosted. … A web hosting company makes it possible for your website to be accessed by everyone on the web. Web hosting is basically the space that you buy on a web server to store your website files.
- Top 10 web hosting services in 2021:-
- Bluehost
- TMD Hosting
- Host Gator
- net
- WP Engine
- Green Geeks
- Liquid Web
- Name Cheap
- DreamHost
- justhost
The hosting site I’ve chosen to use is Bluehost which incidentally is currently top of the top 10 web hosting services in 2021. There are various reasons why this is the case. For as low as £2.11 a month, Bluehost will include:
- A free domain and site builder.
- 24/7 support via phone or chat.
- A one-click word press installation.
- 60-day money-back guaranteed.
- Your initial term will be for 36 months.
This suits my needs for now but I might change to another hosting site later on if I find one suites my needs better.
Self-host your site
This led me to decide that I wanted to self-host my site, which means paying a monthly or yearly subscription and providing a unique name for my blog (in this case emptynesterstyle.com). It means that the site is mine: I own it and I have my own unique domain name (name of website).
Your site hosted by WordPress
In this case your site becomes a sub-domain of WordPress. What does this mean?
- You will have WordPress in your domain name eg mysite.wordpress.com.
- You’ll not have complete control over this site.
- Your usage of themes and plugins will be limited.
- You can’t select the best hosting site for your needs e.g you can choose how much space you want to purchase for your site, how fast your server will be (site speed is vital for SEO), how you want to handle your email, and how secure your website will be.
- In short, free hosting means that the blog will not belong to you and can be taken away at any time by the blogging platform.
Let’s start blogging
So, you’re all ready to go. You’ve got your hosting site (hopefully with a one-click word press installation which most hosting sites have) and your domain name (the name of your website which is also referred to as your URL). Time to start blogging. But wait a minute. Not so fast. There’re a few more technical features to navigate if you want a half decent looking site. At this point I would say be patient and get to know the backend of your site. I built my site from scratch all by myself by watching You Tube videos. It takes time and you’ll probably make mistakes but stick with it and it’ll give you the biggest thrill once you start publishing your blogs.
