Blogger Resources

This blog, by most accounts, is a baby blog. Maebells was born in January 2014. I am not a tech savvy person by any means. So the thought of blogging seemed daunting and intimidating. In the fall of 2013 I started researching starting a blog. I scoured the internet looking for information, ideas, and resources to get me started. While there are literally millions of articles dedicated to blogging I still found myself with questions. What I really needed were the baby steps to starting a blog in a simple, easy format.

I figured there are probably some people like me out there who want an easy to understand guide. So I am sharing all of the things I have learned in my first year as a food blogger.

Choosing a Name:

First and foremost, you need to choose a name. Unfortunately, there are millions of websites already in existence so your choices are going to be somewhat limited. I would recommend trying to find a short, easy to remember name if possible. The name of my blog came from combining my maiden name along with my Mother’s maiden name.

Feel free to get as creative as you wish with the name. Don’t feel that your name has to be directly connected to the content of your blog. As you think of names check for their availability by searching in the box below:

How to Start a Blog:

After you decide on a name you need to decide what platform you plan to use to publish your content. I use Wordpress, and love it. There are other options out there, but most bloggers I know use Wordpress for its ease of use, theme options and the huge selection of widgets and plugins.

To start a Wordpress account simply click here, type in the name you have chosen and click get started. You will see that it gives you options for what type of web address you will have. For example, a websitename.wordpress.com will be free. However a websitename.com will cost extra money. I would recommend spending the money and having a professional looking domain name.

Choosing a Host:

Next up is choosing a hosting company. Wordpress is what I use to write and publish my work, the hosting company is who serves it out to everyone online. I used Bluest for the first year of my blog and as I grew I switched over to Orange Geek. Since I do not know a lot about the interworkings of a site or how to diagnose problems I go to them any time I have questions. The thing I really love is that I am always able to talk to a real person who is able to answer my specific questions and offer guidance. I totally recommend them.

Choosing a Theme:

There are thousands of different ways you could tackle choosing a theme. You can check websites like Etsy or Creative Market for predesigned themes, or you can have a designer build something from the ground up. After trying several different themes I would recommend looking into something designed by Feast. My current theme is the Cook’d design and I love how clean and user friendly it is.

For more information on staying organized check out these posts:

Behind the Blog

Staying Organized: Worksheets to Keep your Blog Growing

 

Disclaimer: *This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and make a purchase I receive a small commission. I use the money from these affiliate links to cover the cost of running this site. Thank you for supporting Maebells and making this site possible!