Building your Blog
tagged Blog Design, Blog Software, Building your Blog, Freelance Web Designer, how do i get started, plugins, Webmaster and Wordpress
Have a domain and the idea for it, but still haven’t got around designing it? well it’s now time to start making those web pages for your site. This is the most exciting part believe me. If you don’t know HTML or PHP (the language used to create web pages) then don’t worry. I didn’t know HTML or PHP either when I first started and I still have lots to learn, however if you use a blog package like Wordpress to design your site then you shouldn’t have much problem and it will get you started and up and ready in no time. Wordpress is so easy to use that you can literally have a site ready in less than 30 mins! You can update content frequently without the hassle of having to upload and download files from the server everytime you want to add, delete or edit something. It is designed in such a way that is user friendly and easy to use. Wordpress is open-source which means its free. It’s a content management system written in PHP. It’s so popular that many say it should soon take over all it’s competitors. I use the software for nearly all my sites including this one.
How do I get started?
Depending on the amount of customization and flexibility you want and on how much you are willing to learn getting started is simple.
- Blog Software: You can go for the easy option and choose Wordpress, trust me it’s a fantastic piece of software that you can have hours of fun with. All you need to to do is install wordpress, choose your wordpress theme (there are literally hundreds to choose from), make those few minor changes for example change the footer, remove any unwanted links and that’s it your done! You will find everything you need to get you started from wordpress tutorials to plugins that you can easily install to offer you additional functionality that isn’t already available in your theme. This could be something like a FAQ plugin, contact form, newsletter, there are so many to choose from. Blogging with Wordpress really is fun and you can get nice looking, professional and google adsense ready themes so you dont have to do anything. The great news is that you can also specify exactly what type of template you are looking for by performing a search by category which is made available in Wordpress. For example, if you are designing a website about travel then you may be search for ‘travel’ in the theme listings. Worpress is ideal and probably most used option. You should browse around the internet as there are so many blogging software but by far Wordpress is the best and most popular offering free templates which are easily available for download.
- Freelance Web Designer: You could get someone else to design your site for you. There are many freelancers out their and you can place your project on a freelances website. In doing this you will get instant access to post your projects, search resumes, select candidates and manage your entire hiring process. Some hosting companies may also offer web design so you might want to check it out with your host provider.
