Great. The purchases have all gone through, and the new blogsite is up and running.
I’m pleased to say that all the plug-in’s and widgets all work well. But how did I do this?
Answer: Trial and Error, and asking a friend for advice (Tip: use Skype to keep your telephone call costs down). That way I’ve learned by my mistakes, and those lessons will hopefully stay embedded in my head for the future.
The design I’ve chosen at the moment (it’s called “Themepod”) came completely free of charge. Go to http://wordpressthemesbase.com/ and have a look around- there’s lots more available there that may suit your own needs.
However, please don’t let others do it for you. Do like I have, and learn how to do it yourself. You’ll get a much better understanding of how your blog works if you do, and you won’t be stuck in a sticky situation if your web designer/ pal falls over ill or is away on holiday, just at the time when you need to make that one crucial update.
Tip: Use the HELP button after you’ve logged in to your dashboard section- there’s some good resources, info and knowledgeable people on the forum, all of whom have probably experienced the issues you are. Read and digest their advice- it’s all free and you’ll be grateful of it in the long run.
Ok, so I’m presuming that you also are using WordPress to run your blog from, like me. I’ve absolutely no experience of other blogging formats that exist. I did some research into what established bloggers used, took some opinions from contacts and had a good look around before making the final decision. For me, WordPress suits my needs so far, plus it comes with lots of recommendations from others that know what they’re talking about, which is always a good sign.
Like the first (WordPress-hosted) version I had- the usability of the programme itself is exactly the same- still very good and easy to learn. The advantage is that with an independently hosted blog, I now have the option to expand the functionality of the way the site works as it develops. I’m not restricted by format any more, and as this blog takes shape, in the future there’s going to come a time when I want to add more functions, features, plug-in’s etc. With the WordPress-hosted version, I would not have had this flexibility. Think of it like a painting (cliche I know, sorry). If you get the paint out and start with a piece of small canvas, there may come a time when you want to add more detail. You don’t know yet what that detail is going to be, but if the canvas is too small and you’ve filled it up with “stuff”, when you come to expand you won’t be able to, and you’ll be kicking yourself because you’ll have to start all over again with a bigger canvas to fit all the detail in- a big waste of your previous time and efforts.
So, if there’s one thing you should seriously consider before you go too far down the “free hosting” route- it’s get your WordPress blog programme hosted somewhere- you never know when you will want to expand.
Oh, and make sure that when you type “WordPress” into your posts, you use the capital P in the middle of the type- Mark Steadman will get awfully upset in a self-frustrating-sort-of-way if you don’t 