Since starting my wordpress blog on March 10th I have learned so much about setting up a blog.
I have been a follower of several fashion blogs for several years. It was J’s Everyday Fashion that hooked me. J would find a fashionable outfit, and style a look-a-like from items in her own closet. She gave me a good amount of styling info. Then I stumbled onto Grace + Beauty which led me to Jolynn Shane and others. I arrogantly expected that I could produce the same type of blog with great ease.
Not so much.
I’ve come a long way in one month (learned at lot), but have a long way to go.
That said, if I can help others have an easier time with this process, I am happy to do so.
To begin, here is what I’ve learned:
First of all, wordpress.com is BY FAR easier to manage than wordpress.org. HOWEVER, if you hope to have a blog like the ones aforementioned, you’ll need to utilize wordpress.org and first find a host (I use Blue Host), then install wordpress from that host site
Secondly, there are SO MANY themes you can choose from if you have a self-hosted blog (wordpress.org). Choose wisely and KNOW that yours will not look the same without modifications. I have a Genesis theme that I have yet to customize to the point that it looks like the theme I purchased
If you know nothing about CSS (and such), you will need help. I have spent many hours searching YouTube for help. It can be found, but it takes time. This research time will cut into the time you may have spent writing/posting. If you have a full-time job and spend time commuting like I do, don’t be disappointed when your blog is not all that you expected in a short amount of time.
Next, your photos may seem to lose clarity when you “Add Media” into your post. In the editing stage, make sure you select “Media File”. Mine was default set to “None”. It changed many of my photos when I corrected this.
Which brings me to my “Site Icon” which is set in “Site Identity” when you customize your “Active Theme”. That was a run-on sentence, but forgive me. This is the Icon I created on the PicMonkey website
It may not mean all that much; you see this icon in the tab when you visit a website. I wanted mine to look “clean”. It took learning PicMonkey to make that happen. If you are as OCD as I am you’ll understand why this matters. I’ll be happy to answer any questions.
Now… my post with the most views is dated March 31 and was regarding what I thought to be a super-fail. Here it is:
As he walked through the kitchen in an early morning funk, LB announced sleepily “well baby, it’s the last day of fall”. I looked at him and replied, “I don’t even know what you just said.”
Well baby… its the last day of March!
Today I jumped in with my eyes closed and for the first time I posted to Jo Lynne Shane’s [famous] Fashion Friday.
I attached my 50 Shades of Red post because I thought it was a pretty good ‘over 40 fashion blog’ post for someone who doesn’t really know what she’s doing in the world of BLOG. Only I cut my head off. How sad is that? My LB exclaimed “OH NO” when I showed him. I felt like a failure.
Apparently I’m resilient.
Today I helped [at least] 2 people. One little old fella (and I say that because he did) who couldn’t figure out a problem. And one lady who just wanted someone to care, and attempt to fix her problem. And I Will fix her problem. I don’t feel like a failure.
As a side note, I looked pretty today. This is what I wore:
There’s more and I’ll continue my blogging quest and Happily help anyone who has questions.
Let me know yours
