So many things to learn when getting a new blog off the ground. So many tools to evaluate. After weeks (months? years?) of Google research, listening to podcasts and reading other blogs, it was time for me to suit up my big girl pants and get my hands dirty.
Here’s the “determined to get stuff done on day 1” to-do list, warts and all. I’m sharing some minor hiccups with the hope that others may benefit from my experience if they get the courage to jump head first into blogging.
My process on Day 1 (omitting many hours of reading and podcast listening):
- Spend countless hours determining what topic you are passionate about
- Brainstorm name ideas
- Research short list of name ideas for domain availability (repeat until you find a match you’re happy with)
- Evaluate host and domain services
- Select the host and domain service your favorite podcasts about blogging recommend because there are too many options and you cannot even begin to understand the pros/cons of each host
- Find tools and create key graphics
- Logo
- Homepage header
- Profile pic
- Spend an hour trying to figure out why the main header graphic looks perfectly and is the exact dimensions required by the template but then is being cropped off
- Create a short list of graphic design websites for photo and graphic resources
- Discover the WordPress help forum AND through kismet, a question related to this exact problem on your exact theme – yessss!!
- Decide that yes, you are ordering takeout tonight because it’s now after 8:00pm
- Quickly blog about your day one experiences
- Use the lovely header graphic in this post since it is apparently incompatible with the way this theme functions – digital recycling at it’s best
- Call it a day