November 8, 2007 at 23:21Blog Start Experience
This article is the second in a series of three articles about blogging. It is based on my personal experience and the example of my project. All the tips below are the result of my own experiences. I think this can be useful for those who are just going to get hold of a standalon. And those whose experience is similar to mine can add and correct what I wrote for the benefit of new bloggers .
For strong friends, I advise you to start by choosing a domain and searching for a hosting. If you plan to take a little time and not become a “ blogging star ” in the first ten days of practice, feel free to take the “ starter ” package". Its content is different everywhere, but not essential. Php 4.1, a MySQL database, three to four gigabytes of traffic and a control panel - almost everyone has it. Immediately after a resounding success, you will buy places and traffic.
Good luck if you have a buddy blogger who has verified the 99.9% uptime promised by everyone in his own skin. Equally good luck is having a one-year budget of $ 100-120. Hosting with junk prices is best to beware.
A normal hoster will give a domain registration in the .com zone. Choosing a name is a separate task, with many solutions. You can play around and go to a special agency (before meeting me, that's exactly what Voronin did), you can check the hoster's intellect and stress resistance, irritate friends, stupid on the forums ... The best option is to come up with it yourself, correlating with the goals and objectives of the future project, the disappointing employment of all the best words on the topic, and the fact that the twenty-two-letter domain is, perhaps, a bust .
To install Wordpress ™ on a hosting (I’m sitting and I advise you), you will need ftp-access to the server and MySQL database. The synergy of “ straight arms ” and the ability to call for help will do the trick . You will beg everything from the hoster, or do it yourself. The slideshow shows where and what to insert and enter - do it yourself, or attract a “ reasonable student of the polytechnic ”:
(There should be a slide show with the installation process, but it is flash and therefore you can watch it on my blog )
WordPress is installed by default with a pretty good functional theme ( skin , skin , visual execution, interface). But if you want to isolate yourself, you can go further, and change it to something more original. By the way, exactly this step leads to the fact that in the blogging runet on one " original " topic for five or six bloggers. This applies, first of all, to those Russified, the use of which can be painlessly avoided.
Omitting the details and emotions, you can go to the plugins that I successfully use.The dozen or so plugins described below have been tested for seamless interaction on this blog.
(I give links not to downloads but to plugin pages; it is very useful to read the comments of happy users, see buglists and installation tips).
1. Tiger Style Administration - a “ beautiful ” version of the WordPress control panel . Recommended to aesthetes and lovers of SIESES pieces.
2. Akismet - working antispam . Will require WordPress API. If the first plugin is an appropriate add-on, then this is a necessary basis.
3. Google Sitemaps - Builder "site maps ”, without which a blog (for Google) is a bunch of scattered files.
4. All in One SEO Pack - allows you to add the " right headings ", descriptions and keywords . Addition to worries about how well your blog from search engines is visible.
5. Popstats - plugin for visual statistics of attendance and mention by colleagues. It captivates (in the right direction), pleases the eye and pride.
6. Simple Tagging - tagged plugin . Russified by Lecactus . I'm buggy with Russian tags. With my love of English tags, this is a minor flaw.
7.WP Contact Form - contact form with "anti-spam nozzle". A little processing, and speaks Russian. With an accent, but pretty m-cute.
8. Pagebar - paging - plugin . Replaces the default pagination with cute numbers. Color-size customizable to full satisfaction.
9. Audio Player - the player is. So far used only once. It worked.
10. Subscribe to Comments - Subscribe to comments . I use others, I set myself. Seo-bakery growers are advised to set it to "default subscription." I'm against. Bad tone, yeah. But the choice is yours.
eleven.Filosofo Comments Preview - Preview the comment before posting. I, pedant and clean, really miss this on other blogs. But in mine, with the help of this plugin, self-test - I do not want to.
12. MaxSite - social bookmarking . Optimistic plugin. If it’s good (and “ socially useful ”) to write, it’s a very useful thing.
13. FeedBurner FeedSmith - rss channel redirector ; subscription and remote reading. It is important to remember the covenant that is given on the plug-in's office: “ Satisfied with the results? Then publish! "
When the plugins are installed, the appearance of the blog is pleasing to the eye, and the head is full of ideas ready to splash out on numbered pages, a very important step follows: "launching". I was lucky with knowledge of languages. Information about stratum “necessary” and “not necessary”, I read in English, French and Italian forums. The temperament and national features of blogging vary from country to country, so I’ll give only those starting tips that have been personally useful to me:
1. Initial settings . Make sure the blog has a relevant headline and business e-mail.
2. The order in the address lines . Edit permalinks . It is nice (and useful) when the post address is beautiful and functional.
3.Disable the visual posting editor . Bugs, interferes, annoying.
4. Useful miniature . Draw a favicon . Ask for help drawing companions, if he himself is weak in the subject. Necessary thing; it’s comparable in strength with the meter-long poster “ I am special ”.
5. Think about the categories ; add some basic ones. Organizes and organizes (primarily post ideas).
6. Write five to seven posts and post them using backdate posting. (In my case old posts from my blog on Habré approached). An empty blog is best not to show anyone.
7. Twist your WordPress theme . If you are having difficulty with this, contactspecially trained person . For relatively modest money (as an option - for barter), you can get support from a php and css specialist, for whom solving your external problems is a nut.
8. Describe the goals of the blog in " about the blog, " and your own in " about yourself ." It is important that this be (or seem to be) true and not look either familiar or arrogant.
9. Show yourself to the world . A photograph has it even if it looks like a household one (like Kraynov’s ). The main thing is not to emphasize your physicality. At least ahead of time.
10. Illustrate the posts . Have money? Paid clipart. Are there any opportunities? In the home. Any connections?Forces of professionals .
11. Copy the comments . Attention! Friendships do not suit much, because they, as a rule, are laconic and “warm” to disgrace. “Class!”, “Cool!”, “Heartburn!”, “Vasya, blow to the mountains!” - they are not good, they only spoil. Some experts advise you to write comments yourself, under different nicknames. I have not tried this, but it may be suitable for schizophrenia.
12. Put the icon (and in some cases - the icon) rss in a prominent place . I advise you to show the indicators after 100 subscribers, but underline the very possibility of subscribing from the first minute. Here, as elsewhere, without hysteria and fanaticism. Subscription temptations in every post are annoying.
thirteen.If there is no search in your topic, add it with a plugin . Do not forget that the search results should look neat and correct. Experiment yourself before forgetting about it for a long time (the owner of the blog will rarely need an external search).
14. Do not post Google ads . Do not play with advertising at all until the departure of 200-300 readers becomes an invisible “drop from the sea” for you.
15. Dish cross-browser ! Be sure to check how adding each plugin (widget, graphic element) affects the display of your blog in leading browsers. Install these browsers (Mozilla, Opera and the last two Explorer) on your computer.
16. Start a blog roll. Add only those you really read to it, but remember (!) Each subsequent removal from the blog roll is a very serious step.
17. Do not sin “how” to you, until your own (successful!) Experience is behind your advice.
18. Be extremely careful when setting goals and objectives . Especially when you declare them publicly. For example, when engaging in an author's project and calling yourself “Daily,” you need to keep a brand, or shamefully stamp the shit posts, or scribble-and-hang. It’s also not worth it to abuse the optimistic cheating yourself.
19. Make good friends with fellow bloggers . Help when you can, do not hesitate to ask for help when necessary.
20.Be polite and loyal , no matter how “ Guschevski ” and “ Oktyabryatsky ” it sounds. Bloggers are people a hundred times more open, polite and sociable than the same zhezheists. For professional and social reasons. This is felt in the very first weeks of the blog experience, but it is important to come with this attitude initially. And there will be happiness, yeah.
"The philosophy of the process " - remained there . The next post is about the most difficult. About what happens when a blog is launched, and you have to do something about it.
Original post on design-freak.com blog
For strong friends, I advise you to start by choosing a domain and searching for a hosting. If you plan to take a little time and not become a “ blogging star ” in the first ten days of practice, feel free to take the “ starter ” package". Its content is different everywhere, but not essential. Php 4.1, a MySQL database, three to four gigabytes of traffic and a control panel - almost everyone has it. Immediately after a resounding success, you will buy places and traffic.
Good luck if you have a buddy blogger who has verified the 99.9% uptime promised by everyone in his own skin. Equally good luck is having a one-year budget of $ 100-120. Hosting with junk prices is best to beware.
A normal hoster will give a domain registration in the .com zone. Choosing a name is a separate task, with many solutions. You can play around and go to a special agency (before meeting me, that's exactly what Voronin did), you can check the hoster's intellect and stress resistance, irritate friends, stupid on the forums ... The best option is to come up with it yourself, correlating with the goals and objectives of the future project, the disappointing employment of all the best words on the topic, and the fact that the twenty-two-letter domain is, perhaps, a bust .
To install Wordpress ™ on a hosting (I’m sitting and I advise you), you will need ftp-access to the server and MySQL database. The synergy of “ straight arms ” and the ability to call for help will do the trick . You will beg everything from the hoster, or do it yourself. The slideshow shows where and what to insert and enter - do it yourself, or attract a “ reasonable student of the polytechnic ”:
(There should be a slide show with the installation process, but it is flash and therefore you can watch it on my blog )
WordPress is installed by default with a pretty good functional theme ( skin , skin , visual execution, interface). But if you want to isolate yourself, you can go further, and change it to something more original. By the way, exactly this step leads to the fact that in the blogging runet on one " original " topic for five or six bloggers. This applies, first of all, to those Russified, the use of which can be painlessly avoided.
Omitting the details and emotions, you can go to the plugins that I successfully use.The dozen or so plugins described below have been tested for seamless interaction on this blog.
(I give links not to downloads but to plugin pages; it is very useful to read the comments of happy users, see buglists and installation tips).
1. Tiger Style Administration - a “ beautiful ” version of the WordPress control panel . Recommended to aesthetes and lovers of SIESES pieces.
2. Akismet - working antispam . Will require WordPress API. If the first plugin is an appropriate add-on, then this is a necessary basis.
3. Google Sitemaps - Builder "site maps ”, without which a blog (for Google) is a bunch of scattered files.
4. All in One SEO Pack - allows you to add the " right headings ", descriptions and keywords . Addition to worries about how well your blog from search engines is visible.
5. Popstats - plugin for visual statistics of attendance and mention by colleagues. It captivates (in the right direction), pleases the eye and pride.
6. Simple Tagging - tagged plugin . Russified by Lecactus . I'm buggy with Russian tags. With my love of English tags, this is a minor flaw.
7.WP Contact Form - contact form with "anti-spam nozzle". A little processing, and speaks Russian. With an accent, but pretty m-cute.
8. Pagebar - paging - plugin . Replaces the default pagination with cute numbers. Color-size customizable to full satisfaction.
9. Audio Player - the player is. So far used only once. It worked.
10. Subscribe to Comments - Subscribe to comments . I use others, I set myself. Seo-bakery growers are advised to set it to "default subscription." I'm against. Bad tone, yeah. But the choice is yours.
eleven.Filosofo Comments Preview - Preview the comment before posting. I, pedant and clean, really miss this on other blogs. But in mine, with the help of this plugin, self-test - I do not want to.
12. MaxSite - social bookmarking . Optimistic plugin. If it’s good (and “ socially useful ”) to write, it’s a very useful thing.
13. FeedBurner FeedSmith - rss channel redirector ; subscription and remote reading. It is important to remember the covenant that is given on the plug-in's office: “ Satisfied with the results? Then publish! "
When the plugins are installed, the appearance of the blog is pleasing to the eye, and the head is full of ideas ready to splash out on numbered pages, a very important step follows: "launching". I was lucky with knowledge of languages. Information about stratum “necessary” and “not necessary”, I read in English, French and Italian forums. The temperament and national features of blogging vary from country to country, so I’ll give only those starting tips that have been personally useful to me:
1. Initial settings . Make sure the blog has a relevant headline and business e-mail.
2. The order in the address lines . Edit permalinks . It is nice (and useful) when the post address is beautiful and functional.
3.Disable the visual posting editor . Bugs, interferes, annoying.
4. Useful miniature . Draw a favicon . Ask for help drawing companions, if he himself is weak in the subject. Necessary thing; it’s comparable in strength with the meter-long poster “ I am special ”.
5. Think about the categories ; add some basic ones. Organizes and organizes (primarily post ideas).
6. Write five to seven posts and post them using backdate posting. (In my case old posts from my blog on Habré approached). An empty blog is best not to show anyone.
7. Twist your WordPress theme . If you are having difficulty with this, contactspecially trained person . For relatively modest money (as an option - for barter), you can get support from a php and css specialist, for whom solving your external problems is a nut.
8. Describe the goals of the blog in " about the blog, " and your own in " about yourself ." It is important that this be (or seem to be) true and not look either familiar or arrogant.
9. Show yourself to the world . A photograph has it even if it looks like a household one (like Kraynov’s ). The main thing is not to emphasize your physicality. At least ahead of time.
10. Illustrate the posts . Have money? Paid clipart. Are there any opportunities? In the home. Any connections?Forces of professionals .
11. Copy the comments . Attention! Friendships do not suit much, because they, as a rule, are laconic and “warm” to disgrace. “Class!”, “Cool!”, “Heartburn!”, “Vasya, blow to the mountains!” - they are not good, they only spoil. Some experts advise you to write comments yourself, under different nicknames. I have not tried this, but it may be suitable for schizophrenia.
12. Put the icon (and in some cases - the icon) rss in a prominent place . I advise you to show the indicators after 100 subscribers, but underline the very possibility of subscribing from the first minute. Here, as elsewhere, without hysteria and fanaticism. Subscription temptations in every post are annoying.
thirteen.If there is no search in your topic, add it with a plugin . Do not forget that the search results should look neat and correct. Experiment yourself before forgetting about it for a long time (the owner of the blog will rarely need an external search).
14. Do not post Google ads . Do not play with advertising at all until the departure of 200-300 readers becomes an invisible “drop from the sea” for you.
15. Dish cross-browser ! Be sure to check how adding each plugin (widget, graphic element) affects the display of your blog in leading browsers. Install these browsers (Mozilla, Opera and the last two Explorer) on your computer.
16. Start a blog roll. Add only those you really read to it, but remember (!) Each subsequent removal from the blog roll is a very serious step.
17. Do not sin “how” to you, until your own (successful!) Experience is behind your advice.
18. Be extremely careful when setting goals and objectives . Especially when you declare them publicly. For example, when engaging in an author's project and calling yourself “Daily,” you need to keep a brand, or shamefully stamp the shit posts, or scribble-and-hang. It’s also not worth it to abuse the optimistic cheating yourself.
19. Make good friends with fellow bloggers . Help when you can, do not hesitate to ask for help when necessary.
20.Be polite and loyal , no matter how “ Guschevski ” and “ Oktyabryatsky ” it sounds. Bloggers are people a hundred times more open, polite and sociable than the same zhezheists. For professional and social reasons. This is felt in the very first weeks of the blog experience, but it is important to come with this attitude initially. And there will be happiness, yeah.
"The philosophy of the process " - remained there . The next post is about the most difficult. About what happens when a blog is launched, and you have to do something about it.
Original post on design-freak.com blog