How to start a blog
01 August 2011
Thinking of starting your own blog? Check out these tips on how to get going
There’s a general misconception that you need to be tech savvy in order to create a blog. However that’s not the case at all! Blogging software continues to evolve as Blogging becomes increasingly popular – it’s at the point now where starting a blog is as easy as 1-2-3!
The first thing you’ll need to decide on is your hosting service – this will be your personal slot on the Internet where your blog will sit. There are 2 main hosting services for beginners.
Blogger.com – This is a popular blog service from Google. Blogger makes it incredibly easy to set up your blog with a range of easy-to-customize templates. Blogger also allows you to insert advertising codes. The only limitation to blogger is that in terms of design it can be a little restrictive. Nothing to worry about if you’re just starting to blog but you may get itchy feet once you’ve been blogging for a few years.
Wordpress.com – This is a free service from Wordpress, Wordpress blogs come with a range of very slick looking templates (slightly better than Blogger’s) that are as easy to set up as Blogger. The only problem is that if you were to commercialize your blog, Wordpress rules dictate you can’t take any advertising without moving to their paid Wordpress.org service.
Once you’ve chosen your host, simply visit the site and go through their step-by-step instructions to start your blog. You’ll need to decide on a name and, before anybody else does, register that name across every social media service you can think of! You may not use them but it’s a good idea to register your blog name across Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook etc. just in case you want them in the future.
Now that you have a blog, write your first post before you tinker with the design – just so you know how it looks. You’ll notice that writing a post (once you’ve clicked on ‘New Post’) is a lot like writing a Word document, they’re based on the same design so it’s not too daunting to write something and publish.
First post finished? Congrats, you’re a blogger! Now brew a cup of tea and start to fiddle with the design of your blog. Most bloggers start blogging with a process of trial and error – call it a rite of passage. Play with settings, fonts and colour schemes before you settle on something you like.
Keep your readers in mind when creating your blog, a few key points to bear in mind:
You might like the latest Lady Gaga track but that doesn’t necessarily mean your readers will – avoid placing music players on your blog.Black text on a white background is probably the easiest format to read.
It may be a forum for free expression but good punctuation and grammar makes your blog far more accessible to your audience.
Avoid using too many distracting colours and images in the sidebars and background of your blog. The most important part is the body of the blog where your writing sits.
Be careful of the width of your blog, not everybody has a widescreen laptop! Use the BBC News website as your guide, your blog shouldn’t be any wider than that.
There you have it, a brief intro to blogging – good luck and remember that all the flash blogs you visit started life much like your own.
Read more: http://www.cosmopolitan.co.uk/how-to-start-a-blog#ixzz318X4omIK
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