Tag-Archive for » blogging software «

Jun

I love finding free stuff. From the time I started my blogs, I have been amazed at how much free stuff is online to aid in blogging. First it was WordPress blogging software, then it was tons of plugins and widgets, and now I’m using a free Meta Tag Analyzer I found at Submit Express .

I tested both of my sites on their meta tag analyzer. I ended up making a few adjustments, plus added a robot meta tag to my OM blog.

Having researched meta tags, I know that not all search engines recognize them, but even if just a few do, I would like to know that I have included them in my blogs. Being a newbie to blogging, every little bit helps.

Submit Express also has several other freebies worth checking out.

I sure appreciates all of the support and free advice that has been extended to us newbies in blogosphere. I’ll be the first to admit, I could have never done it on my own.

Category: Archives, Lessons Learned, Plugins and Widgets Tags: Blogging, blogging software, Blogs, WordPress Comments off

May

11 Blogging Lessons For Newbies

Barbara Swafford

Two months have passed since I set up this blog. What have I learned?

1) Start with a good blogging software program. I use WordPress
2) Install a good spam remover. I use Akismet,-caught 96 spam so far
3) Post often. Post valuable data
4) Research what you don’t know
5) Take time to learn HTML and XHTML
6) Set up your statistics. I use Google Analytics, Awstats and Webalizer
7) Post often. I know, I said that, but it’s worth repeating
8.) Have fun with your blog. Don’t take it so seriously that it stunts your creativity
9) Learn from your mistakes. We all make them
10) Post often. In real estate, it’s location, location, location. In blogging, it’s post, post,post.
11) Most importantly, remember to send out a thank you to all of your readers. They are the building block of your blog. Without them, your blog could remain in the “sandbox” forever.

With that being said, Thank you to all of my dedicated readers. Thank you for returning and/or subscribing to my blog. Thank you for supporting me as I enter this place called blogosphere. Your continued support is most appreciated.

Category: Archives, Lessons Learned Tags: Blogging, blogging software, creativity, google, WordPress 4 Comments

Apr

More Information on Setting up Your Blog – Part 3

Barbara Swafford

Okay. I had my domain name registered, and a webhost. Now I needed to find a blogging software program. Based on what I had been reading, WordPress got good reviews. I decided to go with them, but before downloading the software, tried to get an understanding on exactly what I needed to do. This is where my noviceness (is that a word?) really kicked in. I looked at all of this new terminology and asked myself, “Do you really want to get into this?”

I thought of just signing up for what I call an “instant blog”, but decided, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do what the professional bloggers do. Boy, am I glutton for punishment.

After reading pages and pages of information which contained language I did not comprehend, I decided to “download WordPress”. Well, I don’t know what I did, because after downloading it, I didn’t know where to find it. I just wanted to blog. But how could I, if I couldn’t find the software to blog on? Then I went to my BlueHost account (I tell you, I have done alot of things backwards.) and realized they would download it into my “FTP” (whatever that is?) by using their “Addon/Plugins” program named “Fantastico (Auto-Installs). Okay, I’ll try that. So I hit some buttons, and did what I was instructed to do, and like magic, I had a WordPress file in my “FTP”. I felt like I was on the road to blogging. You guessed it, I was wrong.

I went back to WordPress and read more. They talked about “Filezilla” and a “text editor”. I did know, from previous research, that since I had Wordpad, that was fine for a text editor, but I proceeded to download Filezilla. I don’t think I needed to do that as that is also an FTP, but at this point I was so confused. I figured I would try anything.

I went to my BlueHost “ftp” and was playing around and punching buttons. Well, I don’t know what I did, but all of a sudden my printer started printing blank pages. I mean, lots of them. I ran out of paper and ended up refeeding the blank sheets into the printer. I tried to cancel the printing job, but for some reason that didn’t work. I just shook my head and again asked myself, “Do I really want to blog that bad?’. I guess so, because here I am.

Anyway, I ended up with two WordPress files on my hard drive. I figured out that I had to transfer one to my FTP WordPress folder, and again I was lost. I’m not quite sure how I finally accomplished it, but I did. That process for me took a week to figure out. I really don’t think that’s the norm, but keep in mind, I was also doing my full time job.

I’m thinking back to when I finally saw the WordPress Dashboard, and remember how exciting that was, but now I wonder how I even got to this point.

The funny part of it is, I now have two blogs, so you know I was really glutton for punishment. Maybe, I’ll go for three….maybe not!