How to Build a Basic Blog

Photo came from Derrickthomaswriter.com

I have had a lot of people ask me here lately about "How to Build a Basic Blog". It prompted me to write a post about it. I thought this post might be very helpful and informative to others who might be contemplating starting a blog - but they are just unsure where to start. Social Media, Computer Language, and Internet tricks can be a little over whelming and a bit time consuming if you do not know what you are doing. I am going to try to help eliminate a little bit of your frustrations and hopefully some time with this tutorial. I will try my best to explain everything in detail. If you have any further questions on "How to Build a Blog", please fill free to contact me. I am, by no means, and expert. Just passing along a few tips I have learned while blogging. Here.we.GO:

Step 1: Find out what blog site you would like to go with. I chose Blogger. There are tons out there and the two top sites are Word Press and Blogger. To me, Word Press was good but a bit confusing and not as "user friendly" as Blogger is. This is just my personal opinion  I started out years ago on Blogger and then switched to Word Press and after much frustration switched back to Blogger. I don't know if it is because I learned first on Blogger or what...but, my opinion is: Blogger is Better! {SMILES} But feel free to try others out for yourself and see.

Step 2: Create a catchy Blog site name and title. Your name will go in the domain site link and your title is what appears on the top of your blog page. Your site name and title can be the same (like mine) or you can choose to have it different. When you go to Blogger - you will click create new blog and it will ask you, "Title" that is what appears at the top of your page. Then "address" that is what will appear in your domain link like: http://gracefullyrefreshed.blogspot.com.

Step 3: Choose a Template. It will ask you to choose from a few pre-designed templates. You pick the one you want and - Viola!, Your blog is started and ready for your first post!

Now if you are just wanting to Journal "on-line" then that is all you need to do. Just click "create new post" and start writing away.....but.....if you want to make your blog a little more advanced then keep reading.

picture from blogsfacebook.com

Next Level Blogging:

If you are more serious about blogging other then just an online journal, then you will want to take your blog to the next level. You can change your blog look and layout. You can customize it to have your post in the center of your blog or on the outer sides, if you want a toolbar at top, or side tools, etc. 

If you want to change your layout (how to your blog looks, example: post in the center or right or left side) then on your blog homepage click the down arrow and choose "Template". Once you choose "Template" you can then choose to "customize". Once you click "Customize", another page will pop up. (It is a black background page).

At the top left corner there is a toolbar to customize. You will see Backgrounds, Widths, and Layouts, and Advanced. To change the layout, click layout then it will give you a few choices to choose from. Click your favorite layout.

To change the width size of your post - click "Width" and adjust the measurements that you would like for it to be.

To change the background color click "Background", then pick your favorite color you would like for your blog to be.

To change fonts styles and link colors then click "Advanced". 

Remember: when you are finished making all changes you would like to make - click "Apply to Blog" at the top right corner.

This is how to build a basic blog. If you are a serious blogger and would like for it have a website feel with toolbars, etc. then go to my post: "How to Build a Blog Site". I will show you how to change your template with a more snazzy look and how to create a site just for your taste!

Blogging can be a great release from stress but it can also be a great income if you know how to build your site. Check out my post about "How to Monetize Your Blog for Beginners" and "The Blog Workshop."

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