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Tips and Tricks: How to build your blog

In our previous articles we have already learned how to start our web project by finding the proper domain and hosting. Having the suitable name and environment we can now continue with the real deal – choosing the right application and building our website. In this article we will try to help you with some pointers about the main focal points in blog building.

Blog websites are not gaining popularity – they are already very popular worldwide. No matter if it would be a personal one, containing your thoughts, interests and pictures of cats or it would be a business oriented one, containing valuable materials about your field of work – your end purpose is to gain people’s attention. And this process starts by choosing the right tools to do so. As a web host, specializing in hosting WordPress websites, it is no surprise that this is our primary choice. Why WordPress? Well, the numbers don’t lie. Its recognized as the most popular CMS, holding more than 50% of their market share. Currently it serves more than 73 million websites, written in 120 languages and each month over 412 million people are reading blogs, built with this application. Impressive, huh? So lets see how you can be a part of that huge community of bloggers.

Installing your WordPress application cannot be easier. It is one of the main scripts in any auto-installer but even if you don’t feel confident to do it on your own your web host should be able to install it for you. At WebHostFace we are not only proud to provide such a free installation but doing it faster than you can say “I wonder how long would I have to wait?”. That is right, within minutes after starting your hosting experience, you would already have your basic blog set up and ready to serve its purpose.

One thing I feel worth mentioning is that many people are still under the false assumption that WordPress is just your regular blog platform. For years now it has developed in a CMS behemoth and with its thousands of plugins and widgets you can transform your website into pretty much everything – add social sharing buttons, polls, event calendars, photo galleries, sliders… well, you get the picture 🙂

Speaking of plugins, there is really an abundance of them. WordPress extensions directory is very neat – you can check popularity, user comments and impressions or instructions on how to get it working. Selecting the right plugins is mostly a matter of preference and personal judgement. Still, you can easily find the ones that are mostly recommended over the web, like Akismet, W3TotalCache or All In One SEO Pack. While I fully support using those, I want to show you a few that might be lesser known but are super cool and can give your website that extra ‘oomph’:

LiteCache – Probably the smallest, yet maybe the easiest to configure caching plugin. Automatic compatability with gZip compression, usage of .htaccess rules and creating a separate cache for mobile devices makes it very functional and a competitive alternative to its “bigger brothers”.

BetterWPsecurity – Brought from the guys of FooPlugins, one of the more reliable security plugins out there. WordPress is known for some of its invulnerabilities, but plugins like this one will minimize your risks. It hides vulnerable places, often exploited by hackers, like your admin, login pages etc, so that information cannot be used against you. Speaking of security I strongly advise you, no matter which ones you choose, to always keep your WP and plugin versions updated as this is the most common way hackers break into your application and do their damage.

Zedity – This one is a pretty recent one, so keep in mind it might not be compatible if you have an older version of your WP blog. Its a wonderful HMTL5 design editor and it can give your site a fresh and attractive look without spending hours on tedious coding.

JigoShop – As the name suggests this plugin lets you build an e-shop within your WP. Users have the freedom to use it for both physical and downloadable products and with its many customizing options it has helped create wonderful looking websites for many merchants.

Shareaholic – Formerly known as Sexy Bookmarks, this is your modern and hip way to share your articles in the social media. This one is so dandy, we didn’t think much before using it on our very own WebHostFace blog.

SEO Ultimate – Not so frequently mentioned, this one can actually get your SEO job done quite effortless. It goes all the way in helping you manage meta descriptions, rich snippets, Open Graph, 404 errors and turn them all in a powerful weapon for the good of your website.

…the list can go on forever! WordPress is so generous when it comes to giving. On top of this plethora of various widgets you receive all the warmth and love from the community. The fame and glory comes with its followers and the WordPress fans are always ready to share. You can get friendly tips by a random forum user, educate yourself for hours reading helpful guides and tutorials or just go interactive and follow some video lessons. From your initial step in choosing WordPress you always have someone by your side. Priding ourselves to be amongst the nerdiest fans of WordPress we too make an extra effort to make our clients fall in love with it. Backed with a solid knowledgebase of articles and video tutorials we do our best to aid our customers from the free installation, through optimization tips to the end product of their liking.

So whoever was still doubtful if they can create and maintain a recognizable blog website – yes, friends, it’s THAT easy. And for those who have already played around with WordPress – do share your thoughts and experiences or send us examples of your blogs in the comments below.

Radoslav Chakarov

Huge music fan, from funk through hard rock and hip-hop to reggae - you name it! When not at a live show or online (rarely!) he likes chilling, surrounded by nature, with a beer in hand or riding his bicycle somewhere in the mountains.

This Post Has One Comment

  1. Zoila

    I couldn’t resist commenting. Ԝell written!

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