Whether it’s sharing your incredible recipes with fellow foodies or showcasing your latest fits to a global audience, there’s no denying that blogging can be an incredibly fun and rewarding experience. However, starting a blog can be a nerve-wracking experience, especially if you’re someone who isn’t well-versed in the technicalities of the digital realm. Luckily, the good news is you don't need to be an expert tech guru to embark on this exciting journey.
From choosing the best blogging platform and web hosting service, to mastering SEO basics and understanding the importance of using an image size converter for optimising photos, setting your blog’s foundation for success starts with mastering some basic blogging tech basics.
A successful blog is like the recipe for your granny’s famous apple pie — it requires patience, effort and quality ingredients. And in the blogging world, one of the most important ingredients is none other than your blogging platform. Choosing the right platform is absolutely crucial for a seamless blogging experience and the last thing you want is to ruin that blogging pie. So, choose wisely.
A great start would be to look into some of the most popular (and reliable) blogging platforms including WordPress, Blogger and Medium. These are great starting points to explore as they offer a variety of different features and customisation options, catering to different preferences and needs.
Learn more about choosing your blogging platform here.
Yet another crucial ingredient is quality web hosting. Hosting is what will ensure that your blog is accessible to readers, and that it loads quickly and securely for your readers.
A quality web hosting service should offer features such as high uptime percentage, robust security measures, fast loading speeds and CDN integration, just to name a few. Some reliable options to consider include Bluehost, HostGator, GoDaddy and InMotion.
Now that you’ve chosen your blogging platform and web host, it’s time to start designing. Fortunately, you don’t need to be an expert web developer to create a stunning blog. Almost every blogging platform will offer a myriad of customisable to choose from, so creating an aesthetically pleasing blog is as simple as a few clicks. Can't find exactly what you're looking for? No worries, because online marketplaces such as Envato also offer thousands of professionally designed layouts to choose from.
Regardless of which layout you choose, remember to ensure that it’s mobile-friendly and easy to navigate. This way, everyone will be able to enjoy your blog, regardless of what device they’re on. Woohoo!
If you’re looking to give your blog a major boost on Google searches, you’ll need to master some SEO basics. The perfect SEO strategy is one that propels your blog to the top of search engine results, ensuring the highest level of organic traffic.
For starters, you’ll need to learn about keywords, meta tags, internal links, and even image resizing which can improve your load speeds for a higher ranking. Learn everything you need to know about SEO for blogging here.
Have you ever been prompted to sign up for a newsletter when you visit a website? Email marketing lists can be one of the most powerful things that will contribute to your blog’s success, so you should focus on getting it up and running early in the game. Email lists are a great way to keep your subscribers up to date with your latest blog posts, provide exclusive content and even cross promote your social media posts.
Platforms like MailChimp, Hubspot or ActiveCampaign are just a few of the fantastic options to choose from, so be sure to explore your choices and pick one that aligns with your preferences.
Have you ever lost precious files and documents on your computer or smartphone? Yup, it royally sucks. Now imagine that happening to your blog posts — oh the horror! The good news is that this is one disaster that can be completely averted by backing up your content regularly.
All you have to do is leverage the built-in features of your content management system or explore external services for added security. Whether it's weekly or daily, make it a habit to perform regular backups. The last thing you want is for all your hard work to go down the drain.
The further you progress in your blogging journey, the more likely it will be that you’ll want to switch things up. However, relying on professional developers for every small change can quickly get pretty costly and time-consuming.
This is where some basic HTML and CSS knowledge can seriously come in handy. There are a ton of online courses, classes and tutorials dedicated to transforming you into a basic coding wiz, so be sure to take advantage of these resources. Whether it’s troubleshooting minor issues or switching up your layout, this knowledge can empower you to customise your blog without having to rely heavily on developers.
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And there you have it — all the technical know-how you need to establish a successful blog that keeps readers coming back for more. Here’s to the blogosphere’s newest trailblazer!