WordPress, starting a blog.

Hi lovely reader,

Maybe you know the feeling if something doesn’t work the way you want to. Well i got this feeling while i was building this blog.
Many times i needed to ask myself, what i was doing wrong?
I am working with wordpress now for almost a year and still i don’t know everything, especially the SEO side of it. However if you aren’t a pro in building your WordPress website, i can show you it isn’t really harsh to make it your own.
First you need to ask yourself what you want to invest in your blog. It cost a lot of time and you’ll need to spend some money.
I am hosting my website at versio.nl and bought a special WordPress pack. I’ve claimed now three domain names (centurylifestyle.org, esmeraldaattema.com & esmeraldaattema.nl).

The easiest way to implement wordpress to your hosting domain, is to download direct admin (at Versio it is included) and download the special WordPress web application:

After installing this app, you need to click at the app and open your wp-admin (dashboard)

Well now you can go your way into the world of WordPress.
Note: if you have already a wordpress.com site you can import your blog info into your new domain (just by following the instructions at the tools -dashboard- option). First you need to login at your wordpress.com site and export your blog info, so you can add this later on at your new (dashboard) domain =).
For me was this a real struggle, because it did’nt export everything, i needed to set all of my featured pictures all over again :s.

Now you can modify (almost) everything you wish, but first be sure you have picked a theme.
Search at WordPress.org or Themeforest.net to select a theme for your blog. If you can’t find a theme at one of these, just google further. There are so much more themes you could download (not all are free!).
I will recommend to buy a theme (if you want to), there are so many more options you can choose for your website. You can modify the content with extra options, like an extra sidebar or slider.

Here are a few of my favorite widgets:

Usefull widgets:
1. Google Analytics Dashboard for WP, for analysing your traffic. Really a recommendaton to register your blog at google.

2. Maintenance, if you want to reorganise your blog or maybe just want to have it offline for a while. You can still modify your blog.

3. One-Click Child Theme, if you are a bit better with CSS and HTML you can install this widget. With this widget it’s possible to change your whole content with HTML. You can do this “easily” at the editor. Be sure you have the right theme!
The advantage is, you can play with the content and you can make a whole new theme (only thing you need to have is a basic theme, and with this basic theme you can enlarge the possibilities of your blog).

4. Use any font, with the free version you can upload one favorite font and add it to your blog :). I found my favorite font at: Dafont.com.

5. Contact form 7, really simple but clear contact form. I’m using this for my contact page.

6. WP-Spamshield, i find it annoying to have so much spam at my blog. This ‘shield’ protects your website against spam.

Besides these wdiget i want to suggest: Snapwidget.com.
It’s a widget for your Instagram pictures.
Just follow the instructions and add the code to your widget area (Tekst option). In my opinion this is the easisest way to present your Instagram feed to your blog.

How to add a plugin?
Go to plugins at your dashboard and add new, fill in the name of the widget and install now. Oh and don’t forget to activate the plugin. Sometimes you’ll have a widget that you can find in your widget area (appearance), but you could find the widget also at your dashboard beneath the settings.

My secret behind my blog is, just play with widgets, plugins and the child-theme. Don’t forget to save it while you’re modifying.

Another usefull tips:
– Check the box “link open in new tab” (for example when you add a link in your post), it encourage your followers to stay at your blog.
– Know what color Hex codes are, if you know which color you want to, you can
change your content in every color.
– If you want to earn money with your blog you could try Google
adsense. If they approve your request, you can add an advertisement to your blog.

Well that’s it for now, i’m still exploring for myself so if you have any advices or questions….. i’m pleased to hear it from you!