How I Build A New Blog

Some of you have commented that you wouldn’t know how to build a new blog.

I use the word “build” because that’s basically what I do. I’m currently building a new blog using WordPress.org.

How I Build A New Blog Using Gutenberg:

Gutenberg is a somewhat new editor for the WordPress platform. It was built with the aim to make page building easier and more intuitive.

Since it’s a visual editor, you get to see how your pages and posts look during your editing process.

It’s great for people like me who never managed to learn the more intricate process of programming language.

Gutenberg makes it much easier for people to design their own blogs and pages.

Building a blog is kind of like building a house or a garden from the ground up.

So I thought I’d explain how how I do it.

How I Go About Building A Blog:

1. First you come up with a name for your blog

Put a lot of thought into this. Because if you change your blog name later you may lose all the SEO (search engine optimization) that you accumulated with your other blog name.

If you want to know more about SEO, click this link. It would take awhile to explain what this means.

And to tell you the truth, I’ve probably only learned the tip of the iceberg about SEO.

I’m constantly working on SEO on older blog posts.

2. Check domain sites to see if you’re preferred domain name is available

You will pay yearly for the use of the domain you choose. It’s actually more like leasing a car.

You might want to Google the name of your domain before you officially choose it to see how often it comes up on the internet.

Because you will want something a little different to stand out from the crowd.

So if a lot of sites have a close version of the blog name you’ve chosen, you might want to rethink before committing to it.

Those other blogs are already established and you would be competing with them in being found by search engines.

Since I already have the blog called Cozy Little House, I felt that I could easily stay inside the current framework when choosing another blog name.

Thus Cozy Little Book Nook was born.

How I’m Building A New Blog About Books, Etc:

Thus, the name Cozy Little Book Nook came to me and I acquired it a few years ago.

3. Choose a host

Then I chose a host. I already have a host for Cozy Little House, so I just had them add the new site to my monthly bill.

A host puts your site on the internet. That’s if you’re using WordPress.org.

If you want to use Blogger, it is free. I started out on the blogger, or blogspot, platform back in 2009.

4. Choose a theme or blog design

When building a blog, then it’s time to choose a name and a host. And I start looking for a theme I like.

This takes time, sort of like when you’re picking out carpet for your new home.

Some hire a professional designer to design their blog.

Theme & Blog Header Design:

Once I get a theme, I start playing around with it get it designed the way I want it. That takes even more time.

This means arranging and rearranging elements. Kind of like when you rearrange the furniture in your home for a new look.

Except now you’re in the process of building a blog.

I design a blog header, then noodle around with it for a time. I’ll add this, take away that. It’s a process.

That’s about the point I’m at now with Cozy Little Book Nook.

Doing My Research:

I’ve been researching and finding lists of book bloggers and writing them down to refer back to.

I’ll study their blogs and their design and figure out how they constructed their book reviews, etc.

If they’re on WordPress.org, as I am, then maybe they are using plugins that I might want to acquire for my blog.

I go to various pages of their blog to see how they used their design to pull all the information together.

5. Choosing plugins (which add functionality and protection for your site)

Using Plugins To Build A New Blog:

By the way, a WordPress plugin is a piece of software that “plugs into” your WordPress site.

You will want plugins that help protect your blog from spammers that may have gotten into your blog for nefarious reasons.

I’ve had this happen and it was disastrous. You very much want to do everything you can to avoid this.

Plugins can add new functionality or extend existing functionality on your site.

It allows you to create virtually any kind of website, from eCommerce stores to portfolios to directory sites.

So I try to figure out what book blog function plugins a book blog author might be using. And then I Google them and check for ratings and whether they’re updating on a regular basis.

Because some don’t update when WordPress.org updates. And that might mean less protection for your blog.

The main plugin, or really only plugin, I’m searching for is one that formats book reviews. Formatting gives your reviews a cleaner and more professional look.

I can find everything else on my own.

Using The Inspect Tool:

I search other blogs by using the Inspect tool.

It’s kind of like peeling back their blog page to see what is underneath. What I’m doing is searching for the word “plugin” with the Inspect tool.

You can find the Inspect tool by right-clicking on the page. It is close to the bottom of a list.

WordPress.org has lots of free plugins you can download. Or you can purchase plugins.

What I’m doing with the Inspect tool is looking for functionality, not copying what the other book bloggers have done with their own blog design.

6. Choose your colors

Then I will look at colors, which is actually called Hex Codes when it comes to blog design.

How I Build A New Blog With Hex Color Codes:

I use these sites to figure out what colors or shades of colors I want to use in building my blog design.

Click on this link and you will see one of the sites where I search for colors and color shades.

You can click on any of the colors on the website and it will pull up all the various shades of that particular color.

This is what a color code looks : #c3e096. (I randomly chose that hex code just to show you what it looks like.)

The hex color finders that I like are written down in a notebook I’m using for information for my new blog. If I don’t write them down, I often forget where I found them.

I don’t usually pick just one color. But using shades of one color would work in a blog design.

I take cues from my blog header I’m in the process of designing to choose colors to use when I’m building a blog.

It takes tweaking here and there.

In the process of building a new blog, I then take my hex color codes and create my color palette.

This is a work in progress for me with the new blog.

To me it’s almost like designing a room in my home, except I’m building a new blog instead of designing a room.

Here is a site that is called “The Ultimate Guide To Hex Colors” by iStock. This article will explain colors and codes for building a new blog.

I’ve learned all this stuff over the 9 years I’ve had Cozy Little House. You learn as you go.

Now that I’ve explained this blog design process, I will at some point write a post about how I work with graphics. Some of you requested this.