Mikaela has a blog. Say what?
Five years ago, I really was not aware of blogs. Oh, sure – if someone asked me, “Hey, you know blogs?” I knew blogs existed but I did not follow any or realize just how much infinite wisdom is out there. (To which I contribute mostly sarcasm, baked goods, and lazy-person-cooking-skills that are only a step above dialing the pizza place.)
In my first year of law school, a new friend introduced me to the gift that is a blog. See. Nobody told me when I started law school that they require you to forsake all hobbies, social outings, and all happiness that is not derived from a well-placed tort joke. (Yes. Tort jokes were actually made. There was actually laughter.)
I followed a variety of blogs throughout law school and certainly found more than a few favorites on everything from food to travel to fashion to puppies. Life always needs more puppies. And then I started adulting. That awful thing that comes after school and before retirement and somehow seems more exciting when you’re not yet there? And then . . . I remembered I could have a hobby again!
And so this blog was born. It keeps me from going into a netflix-based stupor when I get home from a stressful day and motivates me to set aside time for cooking and baking and eating and photographing. (And eating some more.) While I am still very new to the blogging realm, I have managed to pick up a few things along the way, thanks to many other bloggers. And so, while I have little to offer, I’d like to pass along what I’ve got!
1. Web Hosting by Blue Host
Your web host sells you a domain name–i.e., your little place on the world wide web, supported by your web host’s servers. Once you have a domain name, you have the place for your blog, but you don’t actually have a visual blog, because you haven’t put anything in your domain space, yet! Hopefully you are not as indecisive as I am when it comes to choosing a name…
2. Site Design by StudioPress
WordPress is the thing that puts something in your little web space. You need the ability to design your website. StudioPress’s Genesis Framework offers a console or a dashboard, through which, you are able to do just that. This dashboard will give you easy shortcuts and menus which allow you to post to your website, monitor comments on your posts, and customize how your website will look.
3. Making it Pretty with a Genesis Theme
If you are a grade A web developer, great! For the rest of us average Joes, we need a “theme”. A theme is a bunch of code that tells the computer world what your website should look like. For example, a pre-developed theme will specify that the title of your blog is at the top, in the middle. Or that your posts will be aligned to the left side of the computer screen. The Genesis Framework comes with a variety of free themes by StudioPress. This is the perfect way to start your own website on a dime. You can always upgrade your theme later. Just log into your WordPress/Genesis framework and select which theme you want to carry your website.
When you are ready to upgrade your theme or if you have something special in mind, there are tons of themes out there that are designed for the Genesis framework, which you can purchase. Shay Bocks is a genius developer and I use one of her child themes: Brunch Pro Theme. It was easy-peasy to set it up and there are many many tutorials out there to help you customize the site.
4. Learning As You Go
There are a lot of pieces to blogging. (Take a tip from me–you can start your blog even if you have not perfected all of these pieces. It is impossible to hit the ground running with all of the pieces.)
When I started blogging, I made a list of everything I wanted to learn and accomplish. I tackled the list one at a time, working on a new one each weekend. Throughout this journey, I have found help from much more distinguished and experienced bloggers invaluable. You’d be amazed at what you can learn from google and the resources already existing on the interwebs. In particular, the following…
* Food Blogger Pro *
This membership site offers both step-by-step training videos, as well as a user forum that answers every question you could ever have. It has been my blogging bible! Here is a Food Blogger Pro Membership Coupon if you end up needing a go-to blogging guru.
I’ve also tried to put out some tips and tricks for aspects of blogging that I have learned!
- How to DIY a Photography Background
- How to Create, Optimize, and Hide a Long Pin Using Photoshop
- Food Photography Tips for New Bloggers: 5 Easy & Free Ways to Improve Your Food Photography
Any other questions? Drop me a line at [email protected]!
Disclaimer: Please note that some of the above links may contain affiliate links and I will earn a commission if you purchase through those links. I recommend only products and ingredients that I have used myself. You can read wyldflour’s full policies here.
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