How to build a website
I am not kidding when I tell you that I've been researching which domain is the best for hosting your website for a loooonnng time (like a year). And all I have to show for it is: Hun? I still don't get it.
If you were to condense everything I've read in the past year into one thought, it is this: Wordpress (or something similar) is the way to go. The paid subscription is the best because it allows you to add widgets so you can add things to your webpage like a link to your podcast. Also, you can get rid of the wordpress in your domain name and actually own your name. So instead of dailydisneyliving.wordpress.com, it is just dailydisneyliving.com.
With all that said. I did not go with wordpress. Well, I don't think I did. I still don't know!
What I did do was follow the step-by-step instructions from this website: How to start a blog which claims you can start a blog in 20 minutes. The author of this blog says she is an expert in making blogs, and seemed knowledgeable on her post, and I believed her.
Why did I chose this particular website to help me set up my blog? Well, sometimes too much information is a bad thing. You can look and look for hours on end at all the different instructions, opinions, and advice, and you'll never find what you're looking for. So, I just closed my eyes and picked one. Please don't get me wrong, I am taking this very seriously. I have been dragging my feet on setting up a website because (insert 100 different reasons) but really: money. We are living paycheck-to-paycheck, so any money being spent on something that is not essential is thought out and calculated. I also HATE wasting money (who doesn't) so I don't part with it easily. But I also know, if you want to really go for it, you need to be serious, and that means setting up a legit website (basically you have to pay for it). So I took the leap, and I just hope it will work out. I really do.
The blog author's recommendation was to go with Siteground and bring over the Wordpress elements to this host. Okay... So I faithfully followed the step-by-step instructions. I made a wrong turn when inputting my Wordpress information and inadvertently also paid for a domain on Wordpress which I didn't need to do. Luckily wordpress refunded me right away (thank you Wordpress). Where I got hung up is when she advises you to import your Wordpress information so it will upload to your Siteguard site. Well, all I needed to do was enter my regular email and password, not a Wordpress email and password -duh! Once I figured out that step, it went smoothly.
Until the next step.
The blog authors instructions were to write your first post BEFORE picking a theme. Just get it out there, your first post that is, then worry about the details. Well....I couldn't figure out how to write my first post. There were no instructions on where to go and the site itself was not all that clear.
Don't get me wrong. I am not all that bad with computers, and as I mentioned, I have blogging experience, but I have never used Siteguard before so it took a few clicks to figure it out. Ironically, the first thing it asked me to do was pick a theme, so I did. I guess the theme I picked was through Weebly, and thankfully I am familiar with Weebly and (drum roll please....) I published my first post! It was very short and sweet, less than 100 words, but I did it! You can visit my first post here: DailyDisneyliving.com
And, if I'm being honest, if I did not make the wrong turn on Wordpress and purchase something I shouldn't have, it probably only would have taken me about 20 minutes to start a blog. But, with me, everything takes longer than it should. For example, after I published my first post which was short and to the point, I then spent 2 hours on my About Me page. Yep, sounds about right.
I spent a total of $64 for a year subscription. The recommendation was to get a 2 or 3 year subscription because the introductory price will go up (by 60%) after you first subscription runs up, but I did not have $240 to spend on this at the moment, so a year is what I went with. If I have made $0 in a year, then I will most likely finally put this project to bed instead of renewing. So the countdown is on!
I was really happy with the look and ease of getting my website to work, and I'll admit, I was having a lot of fun doing it! But, after about an hour, I couldn't view my page anymore. It just would not load. And now, it's way past my bedtime (did I mention on top of being a wife, and mom to three kids I have a part time job? Yep, I do. Like a real one.) So I will have to figure this out tomorrow.
Tune in to my next post to see what happens.
Money spent: $64 -ouch
Money earned: $0
If you were to condense everything I've read in the past year into one thought, it is this: Wordpress (or something similar) is the way to go. The paid subscription is the best because it allows you to add widgets so you can add things to your webpage like a link to your podcast. Also, you can get rid of the wordpress in your domain name and actually own your name. So instead of dailydisneyliving.wordpress.com, it is just dailydisneyliving.com.
With all that said. I did not go with wordpress. Well, I don't think I did. I still don't know!
What I did do was follow the step-by-step instructions from this website: How to start a blog which claims you can start a blog in 20 minutes. The author of this blog says she is an expert in making blogs, and seemed knowledgeable on her post, and I believed her.
Why did I chose this particular website to help me set up my blog? Well, sometimes too much information is a bad thing. You can look and look for hours on end at all the different instructions, opinions, and advice, and you'll never find what you're looking for. So, I just closed my eyes and picked one. Please don't get me wrong, I am taking this very seriously. I have been dragging my feet on setting up a website because (insert 100 different reasons) but really: money. We are living paycheck-to-paycheck, so any money being spent on something that is not essential is thought out and calculated. I also HATE wasting money (who doesn't) so I don't part with it easily. But I also know, if you want to really go for it, you need to be serious, and that means setting up a legit website (basically you have to pay for it). So I took the leap, and I just hope it will work out. I really do.
The blog author's recommendation was to go with Siteground and bring over the Wordpress elements to this host. Okay... So I faithfully followed the step-by-step instructions. I made a wrong turn when inputting my Wordpress information and inadvertently also paid for a domain on Wordpress which I didn't need to do. Luckily wordpress refunded me right away (thank you Wordpress). Where I got hung up is when she advises you to import your Wordpress information so it will upload to your Siteguard site. Well, all I needed to do was enter my regular email and password, not a Wordpress email and password -duh! Once I figured out that step, it went smoothly.
Until the next step.
The blog authors instructions were to write your first post BEFORE picking a theme. Just get it out there, your first post that is, then worry about the details. Well....I couldn't figure out how to write my first post. There were no instructions on where to go and the site itself was not all that clear.
Don't get me wrong. I am not all that bad with computers, and as I mentioned, I have blogging experience, but I have never used Siteguard before so it took a few clicks to figure it out. Ironically, the first thing it asked me to do was pick a theme, so I did. I guess the theme I picked was through Weebly, and thankfully I am familiar with Weebly and (drum roll please....) I published my first post! It was very short and sweet, less than 100 words, but I did it! You can visit my first post here: DailyDisneyliving.com
And, if I'm being honest, if I did not make the wrong turn on Wordpress and purchase something I shouldn't have, it probably only would have taken me about 20 minutes to start a blog. But, with me, everything takes longer than it should. For example, after I published my first post which was short and to the point, I then spent 2 hours on my About Me page. Yep, sounds about right.
I spent a total of $64 for a year subscription. The recommendation was to get a 2 or 3 year subscription because the introductory price will go up (by 60%) after you first subscription runs up, but I did not have $240 to spend on this at the moment, so a year is what I went with. If I have made $0 in a year, then I will most likely finally put this project to bed instead of renewing. So the countdown is on!
I was really happy with the look and ease of getting my website to work, and I'll admit, I was having a lot of fun doing it! But, after about an hour, I couldn't view my page anymore. It just would not load. And now, it's way past my bedtime (did I mention on top of being a wife, and mom to three kids I have a part time job? Yep, I do. Like a real one.) So I will have to figure this out tomorrow.
Tune in to my next post to see what happens.
Money spent: $64 -ouch
Money earned: $0
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