Blogging & Website Platforms Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 01-18-2024

Tailor your blog with WordPress software, whether you're writing, editing, or publishing WordPress site content. An understanding of WordPress's dashboard controls and of the types of content available to you helps you get the most out of your website. Also, when all else fails, it's good to know where you can turn to for help with WordPress.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-20-2023

Whether you are new to building websites or a web professional who is new to Squarespace, choosing Squarespace to build your site is a wise decision. An overview of the different editing modes in Squarespace can help you figure out where to go in your Squarespace site to perform a certain task. Even a basic task can sometimes turn into a huge hurdle, however, which is why it's important to know where you can go to find help. And if you already have your own domain name, find out how you can update your domain's DNS settings to point it to your site on Squarespace.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-09-2023

All blogs start in the same way: A person picks a blogging application, creates a blog, and publishes a post online. What happens then depends on each individual blogger. This Cheat Sheet supplements the information provided in Blogging All-in-One For Dummies, 3rd Edition and helps you find resources and tools to make your blog a unique place that allows you to reach your goals.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 02-23-2022

When you start a new blog, one of your most important decisions is choosing what blogging software to use. You also need to decide what type of blogger you’ll be. Is there a certain niche that would be a great fit to match your interests and expertise? Whether you’re a new blogger or looking to switch blogging platforms, the range of blogging tools and options you find here can give you a head start on your search for your blogging software and blog niche match.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-12-2021

With WordPress, you can truly tailor a website to your own tastes and needs. All the publishing tools you need are readily available: Some are packaged with the WordPress software; others are third-party plugins and add-ons created by members of the WordPress user community. With a little research, knowledge, and time, you can create a WordPress website that suits your needs and gives your readers an exciting experience that keeps them coming back for more.

Article / Updated 08-06-2020

One option you have is to limit access to the Dashboard to specific Internet Protocols only. You also hear this method referred to as allowlisting (allowing) access, which compliments your blocklisting (disallowing) solutions you have put in place. Everything that touches the Internet, such as your computer, a website, or a server network, has what is known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. An IP on your computer is like your home address; it uniquely identifies you so the Internet knows where your computer is located, physically. An example of what an IP looks like is 12.345.67.89 — it’s a series of numbers that uniquely identifies the physical location of a computer or network. You can edit the .htaccess file on your web server so that only IPs that you approve can access your Admin Dashboard, which blocks everyone else from having Dashboard access. The lines of code that define the access rules get added to the .htaccess file located in on your web server where WordPress is installed, in a folder called /wp-admin. Download that file to your computer via FTP and open it using a text editor, such as Notepad (PC) or TextMate (Mac), and add the following lines to it: order allow,deny deny from all allow from 12.345.67.89 In this example, the order defines what comes first. An IP that follows the allow rules is given access; any IP that doesn’t follow the allow rules is denied access. In this example, only the IP 12.345.67.89 can access the Admin Dashboard; all other IPs are denied. If the /wp-admin folder in your WordPress installation doesn’t contain a file called .htaccess, you can easily create one using your FTP program by opening the /wp-admin folder and then right click with your mouse and select New File. Give that new file the name: .htaccess and make sure the new rules from the previous section are added. Limiting access via IP does involve the following potential negatives: This technique works only with static Internet Protocols. A dynamic Internet Protocol constantly changes. The ability to use .htaccess is highly dependent on a web server that is running Apache. It won’t do you any good if your web server is Windows based or IIS, or if you’re using the latest NGINX web server. Your Apache web server needs to be configured to allow directives to be defined by .htaccess files. Ask your web host about configuration.

Article / Updated 08-06-2020

Software that filters the incoming comments in various ways can provide a defense against spammers by identifying and removing comments from your blog that look like spam. These filters give a blogger great tools: They run all hours of the day and they don't require any effort on your part. But an automated process is never as smart as a human, so you might occasionally lose a valid comment if you use a filtering system. A third-party software solution called Automattic Akismet is the clear leader when it comes to spam filtering, though many blogging software applications have added their own internal tools, as well. Check to see whether your blog software has any of these technologies in place for you to use; you can probably find some of them available. If you don't, check to see whether you can add Akismet to your blog. Keyword filtering Keyword filters can help you identify incoming comment spam. This kind of filtering is probably the oldest type of protection for blog comments. It might not work all the time because spammers have become much smarter since this technology was first used. Spam filtering usually works by comparing incoming comments against lists of words and/or phrases associated with spam. Matches indicate spam, and the filter yanks those comments. Keyword filters are typically updated frequently to keep up with the ploys that spammers use. Some of these lists contain web addresses and other computer identification information as well as keywords. Users also can submit and maintain their own lists in case custom spelling or other methods of tricking the antispam system come into use (for example, using V1agra rather than Viagra). Several services over the years have allowed different blog tools and platforms to take advantage of a central keyword listing. These lists are maintained and updated by a third-party company. Today's most popular antispam system, Akismet falls into this category. One problem with this kind of filter system is that some spammers leave nice messages that include bad links. These messages get past the filter because they aren't offensive and don't violate any rule that you have. Blocklists and allowlists A blog blocklist is a method of keeping spam off your website by preventing certain known spam systems from accessing your comment system or your website as a whole. By specifically identifying spammers from certain addresses, countries, or computers, or by using certain URLs, you can block those individual spammers, keeping your blog much safer. Most blogging software comes with a blocklist system built in or a system that you can easily add by using a plug-in or third-party solution. Consult your blog software documentation to be sure that you understand how to keep your blocklist up to date and how you can contribute to the blocklist. Allowlists perform the opposite action of a blocklist by specifically permitting certain visitors or types of visitors. An allowlist is a preselected list of visitors whom you know won't post spam on your blog. Bloggers use a allowlist in conjunction with a blocklist. Allowlists can allow you to accept comments from visitors who have been misidentified as spammers in the past. Essentially, you're making your blog accessible to certain people or computer networks. If you want to guarantee that your mother, for instance, can always post to your blog — or even if you want to set it up so that she doesn't have to comply with a CAPTCHA or other antispam techniques — add her to the allowlist so that she can post with impunity. Allowlists are uncommon, so if your blogging software doesn't offer this functionality, you probably can't find a good third-party solution. IP banning Similarly to blocklists, IP banning prevents certain IP addresses or a range of IP networks from accessing your website. IP banning is probably the oldest method of protecting blogs. An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a series of numbers that identifies a network, a computer, or any networked electronic device within a computer network. Devices such as printers, fax machines, desktop and laptop computers, and some telephones can have their own IP addresses. Many blog software solutions offer lists of banned IP addresses that they collect from other users of the same software who have identified spammers, and you can automatically update your own list to prevent those spammers from posting to your site. A potential problem with banning networks or certain IP addresses is that the offending poster may connect via a different IP address the next time that he or she posts something. Banning by IP address can work for known spam companies, but it's highly fallible because so many computers regularly obtain new IP addresses through their Internet Service Providers (ISPs). IP banning can also affect people whom you don't actually want to block. For instance, if you block a computer on a particular network, others who use the same network but are blameless might end up using the offending IP address at some point and be blocked. Many bloggers discount IP banning, saying that it has no real usefulness in today's mobile world.

Article / Updated 12-06-2019

You may notice that bloggers are often worried about branding. Personal branding was not something that bloggers ever considered in the early days of blogging, but now the word branding is used at least as often as one might refer to a blogger’s voice or style. A person’s brand refers to how others remember them: their readers, potential clients, fellow bloggers. Brand can include a blog’s tagline, a site’s logo, a blog’s topical focus, and even how readers view the personality of the author. For bloggers looking to establish themselves through an online platform, branding is critical! Communicate who you are on your blog Your blog should communicate who you are and what your blog is about to your readers without a lot of digging. Branding also includes consistency of look and feel across your blog and your blog-related social media properties. Teachmama, the blog of educator and author Amy Mascott, makes it clear to readers that the blog’s focus is education. Not only does the blog name, Teachmama, communicate clearly, but the tagline, “learning in the everyday,” reinforces that the goal of the site is to share learning tips, tools, and best practices. Mascott uses that top-of-the-page real estate beautifully to continue to show readers that Teachmama is the home of all things education. The horizontal navigation bar includes these headings: early literacy, reading, writing, math, science, activities, and digital literacy. Reboot your blog So what happens if you’ve created your online brand and then decide that you no longer want to be known as the brand that you’ve created? Perhaps you began your blogging life as a parenting blogger with young children, and now that your kids are older, you’d rather write about personal growth or fitness. Maybe you first blogged about education, over the years became a social media expert, and now would like to convert those expertise into speaking gigs. Some bloggers are even noticed in real life. Your blog’s branding can be tough to separate from yourself! The good news is that possibilities are endless in the online world, and you can absolutely start again should you choose to do so. Many successful bloggers began their career under one name and continued to find success — or even reached new heights — after relaunching under a different name and focus. Blogger Carol Cain is the perfect example of a wildly successful blog branding reboot. Carol began blogging under the name NYCity Mama during the mom blogging explosion of the early 2000s. While Carol’s blog certainly included travel, the brand was decidedly more mom blog than travel blog. Ready for a reboot, Carol abandoned her NYCity Mama URL and branding and created Girl Gone Travel, a travel industry online authority. So while your blog’s brand requires some thought and planning, you can get a second — or third or fourth — chance to decide who you want to be in the blogging world! How to protect your privacy and reputation as a blogger Your blog might not reflect your employer's viewpoints or your family's, but it certainly reflects your own. Don't forget that what you put on your blog today might stick around for a long time to come and that the reader might not always have your best interests at heart. Never put any personal identifying information online that exposes you to possible identity theft or physical confrontation. Don't post your Social Security number, home address, birthdate or place, mother's maiden name, passwords, bank account numbers, or any information that you use as password reminders or identifying information with financial institutions. Most bloggers prefer to keep phone numbers private, as well. Don't reveal this information about the people you blog about, either. Many bloggers solve these issues by choosing to blog anonymously or by using a handle — a phrase or moniker that doesn't personally identify the writer. Don't forget that many of your online identities are linked. For example, if you use a nickname when you leave comments on other blogs, and then use that same nickname on a bulletin board or when you sign up for a social-networking service, people can easily connect the dots. In fact, many of these services already work together. Most social media platforms are now connected. For example, posts on Instagram can also appear simultaneously on Facebook and Twitter. If you identify yourself on any of these sites or tools and then tie them together in some way, others can easily follow the trail to figure out who you are. Anonymity gives you a great way to protect yourself on your own blog, but it doesn't keep you from showing up on other people's blogs or Flickr photo streams. If your friends and family have blogs, consider setting ground rules with them about situations and topics that you want excluded as subjects on their blogs. Be willing to accept the same kinds of requests about your own blog writing. One of the best ways to take charge of your own online identity is to start a website or blog yourself. If other people are mentioning you online, having an official website that contains accurate information can help supplant or downplay less desirable material. Take control of your own digital footprint! If you want to find out more about controlling your online identity or protecting your privacy, review some of these great online resources: Visit the Electronic Frontier Foundation's (EFF) guide “How to Blog Safely (About Work or Anything Else)” for advice on blogging anonymously. The EFF's “Legal Guide for Bloggers” is a great resource on a number of issues, including defamation, privacy rights, and legal liability. com is the first business dedicated to online reputation management and provides a variety of resources for those concerned with how they appear online. Wikipedia's entry on Online Identity is informative and useful, and covers more than just blogging. Be who you are, but don't forget to take steps to protect your privacy!

Article / Updated 11-16-2019

Two of the many ingredients for a successful blog are good and frequently updated content. But what does it really mean to provide good and frequent content as a blogger? Use the following tips to help move your blog into the successful zone. Good content compels, satisfying the readers’ immediate interests but leaving them hungry for more. Think of a blog post as being like an appetizer: It should whet the appetite, pique the palette, and sustain the diner until the next course arrives. You don't want to give your readers “annual Thanksgiving dinner” — you want them to come back, come back soon, and come back often. Do you know how important great content is to a successful blog? If you’re hoping to break through into the world of well liked and often visited blogs, you will need to find a way to rise above the noise of millions of blog posts. And even if you plan to blog primarily for your own enjoyment, you will surely want to be proud of the content you create. This article walks you through various ways to create content that you can be proud of and that will, you hope, draw readers to your blog. Although it's important to update your content frequently enough that your readers don't assume you've abandoned your blog, you also don't want to inundate them with new content — or worse, force yourself to write mediocre content just to post something. Being yourself on your blog Blogging is quite a personal, conversational medium, and textual blogs have a strong feel of the author and his or her personality. The first blogs were actually online diaries, and even today, most bloggers choose to use words such as I or my in their blog posts, creating an intimate and open feel — even on corporate blogs. This first-person writing differs dramatically from most corporate communication, which at best refers to the company as our and at worst only refers to the company by its full and official name. Writing in the first person isn't as easy as it looks (or reads). After all, many people spend years training to write more formally, and they commonly produce all kinds of documents in which first-person writing is emphatically not suitable: memos, reports, news stories, invoices, and so on. You may have trouble finding an authentic, genuine voice that really feels comfortable. The best advice is to just practice, practice, practice. If you'd like your blog to have a casual tone, think of your blog posts as being like letters or emails. Speak directly and simply, as you would in a personal note or letter. Try not to overthink your words, but don't go right into stream of consciousness (which is fun to write but hard to read). Don’t be afraid to show emotion in your blog posts. In fact, some of the most popular content I’ve ever created resulted from an extreme emotion: joy, grief, anger. Part of what makes blogs so popular is that the reader can relate to the author. The best way for people to relate to you is for you to be yourself and not hold back. Blogger Heather Solos of Home-Ec 101 has built her brand on posts about how to clean anything, cook anything, and fix anything. But when she tragically lost her sister to suicide, Heather opened up her heart to her readers in the blog post, “Death, Organ and Tissue Donation, and Grief.” Heather’s community rallied behind her, showing their support with nearly two hundred post comments. In contrast, Erin Lane of A Parenting Production writes often about the personal on her parenting blog, but she allows herself to dive even deeper from time to time with topics such as the struggle with body image. Remember the old saying: You can’t unring a bell. Be cautious when putting something out into the world that you may want to take back later. Try to avoid ranty complaint posts, for example. There’s a difference between righteous indignation and whining. Consider placing your most emotive content into a drafts folder for 24 hours before hitting publish just to make sure you still want to share after the initial flood of emotion has passed. One of the best techniques for making blog posts readable is to read the post out loud. If it sounds close to something you might actually say in conversation, it hits the right tone for a blog post. If you make your blog informal and conversational, you still shouldn't ignore spelling, grammar, and sentence structure. Some bloggers do opt for an unedited approach, but keep in mind that people have more trouble, not less, reading poorly formulated writing. If you have a professional blog, or ever hope to make money from your blog, you definitely need to pay attention to spelling and grammar because these little details influence your credibility. Do your readers a favor — use the grammar and spell-check functions of your word processor — and proofread, too. Finding rewards in lengthy blog posts You may have guessed from the length of this book that I tend to have a lot to say. Guilty as charged! The trouble with that is that the blogosphere has not always rewarded long blog posts. In fact, as we have moved to a culture that prefers quick, easy-to-consume content, easier to enjoy on our smart phones with fewer characters and more images, it began to seem as though the days of reading wordy posts had gone the way of the dodo. But wait! Recent SEO (search engine optimization) research shows that search engines such as Google and Bing are actually rewarding lengthy blog posts over brief content with fewer words. This does not mean you should make every post you write a manifesto that goes on for pages and pages, but the fact is that a blog post of around 1,750 words seems to be the sweet spot to bring readers to your blog via search engine traffic. Which words you choose for your lengthy blog posts still matter, though. Ideally you’d like to hook those search engine visitors and keep them there for the duration of your post, maybe even encouraging them to click around your site and read additional content. What you say still matters as much as how you say it . . . or how long it takes you to say it. One of the best ways to keep a reader on your blog for longer is to introduce them to other related content on your site at the conclusion of each post. You can certainly create these callouts and links by hand with simple text and hyperlinks, but there are also great, free plug-ins such as Jetpack, AddThis, and Inline Related Posts that will do this for you! Remembering proofreading and editing While the typical blog reader does not have the same interest in proper grammar or correct spelling that an English teacher might — or perhaps more accurately, it does remain important for good content to be shored up with careful proofreading and judicious editing. For starters, most blog software and all word processing programs come equipped with spell-check tools. Do not simply ignore the squiggly red lines under your creatively spelled words! Be sure to take the time to correct the spelling in your posts, even the most informal ones. Proofreading goes beyond simply spelling words correctly. Much embarrassment can be prevented by reading over your writing carefully before hitting publish. It’s highly recommended that you read your words aloud to yourself! Many errors have been caught by turning the written word into the spoken word. One tip: If you tend to work in coffee shops or shared work spaces, you might want to wait until you’re in the safety of your own home before putting this advice into practice. So how does editing differ from spellchecking and proofreading? Well, in spite of the earlier encouragement to write lengthy blog posts with some real depth to them, it is still a good idea to edit your words for characteristics such as clarity of thought, missed points, unnecessary repetition, and yes, unnecessary length. While you should say all that you want to say — in the end, it’s your blog — you do need to be mindful of how your readers will receive your writing if you’d like them to stay your readers. Relying on your blog’s content calendar While blogging began as a somewhat free-flowing medium with a focus on personal storytelling and journaling, many bloggers today actually prefer more structure in their blogging life. One popular blogging tool is the content calendar, a way to plan future content. Content calendars are a great way to keep your blogging consistent and organized. They provide you with the ability to see your upcoming content at a glance, helping you find the perfect place for last minute content ideas or sponsored content. They also offer a way to organize your thoughts on future posts in those moments when you have a burst of creativity. When writer’s block comes to call, as it does from time to time, a nicely filled-in content calendar can be the answer to your prayers! Have you heard the term evergreen content? Some blog posts stand the test of time! If you’ve got space on your content calendar and can’t come up with a new post idea, consider recycling a post from the past that worked well for you then. It’s a good idea to begin such reposts with something along the lines of, “This post was originally published on. . . .” Beyond keeping you organized and providing a way out of an idea drought, a content calendar is a great opportunity to create a blog strategy. Are you trying to establish yourself as an authority in a specific area? Your content calendar can act as your plan of attack. Considering utilizing guest posts from other writers? A content calendar helps you give those writers enough lead time so that they’ve got a post ready for you when you need it. Creating a content calendar doesn’t need to be complicated. You can download and print free online calendar templates for everything from kids’ doctor’s appointments to sports team practice schedules. There are a variety of tools available such as the web-based project organization tool, Trello, and the organization app, Evernote. If you’re more of a web-based tool user than a pen-and-paper kind of person, Try starting with the free calendar tool in the Google suite of products. Google Calendar allows you to create a simple and straightforward content calendar with easily replicable recurring posts. With just the input of an email address, you can share your calendar with coauthors or even invite guest contributors to add to your calendar. To set up a Google Calendar for our blog content, simply follow these steps: Go to www.google.com/calendar. Sign in to your Google account, or create a new, free Google account. If you already use Google Calendar for other aspects of your life, consider creating a new account with an email address related to your blog such as [email protected]. Google does allow you to create a variety of separate calendars within one account, but a separate account may be helpful for clarity’s sake. Select New Calendar from the menu in the left sidebar. Note that you will need to click on the ellipsis in order to access this option. Name and describe your new calendar. Source: www.google.com/calendar Once you have created your calendar, give it an easy to remember name. Click on Create Calendar. Navigate the Calendar Settings in the left sidebar in order to customize your calendar settings. Source: www.google.com/calendar You can customize your free Google Calendar settings to meet your needs.

Article / Updated 11-13-2019

Blog design is a very personal experience. The blog that you're starting is a reflection of you and your individual style. The decisions you make about how your blog looks are just as important as the technology that you choose to run your blog and what you choose to put on it. Because the web is an ever-evolving medium, no solid rules exist that tell you what you should or shouldn't do with your blog. But you can follow guidelines to keep putting your best foot forward. Regardless of the design you prefer for your blog, it is critical that your site is easy to read on a mobile device. This is called being mobile responsive and is important because of the overwhelming number of readers who prefer to enjoy blogs from smart phones and tablets rather than on their home computer or laptop. Whether you hire a designer for your blog, use a blog template, or try to make the design yourself, seek ways to make your blog stand out from the rest. If you're a business, make sure that your logo appears on your blog. If you're creating a personal blog, add your own photos. Even if you use a default template, you can often add an identifying graphic or element on the site that differentiates your blog from others. Don't be afraid to start small and plan to redesign later. You can grow into your big ideas when you're sure that you know what you want, so take the time to look at what other blogs are doing while you make your plans. The average blog has four very distinct areas in which to place and customize content: logos, headers, sidebars, and footers. In a blog, each of these areas has a specific purpose. As more blogs have come into existence, these areas have developed in specific ways that can help you organize your content. Here's some detail about each of these customizable areas in your blog: Logos: Getting a visitor's attention on the Internet is a science in itself, and clean, crisp logos can hold a visitor's interest long enough to get him or her to read some of your blog. Typically, a logo appears near the top of each blog page (but doesn't have to). Many logos include an illustrated element and a special font treatment of the blog name. Headers: The header of any blog contains a few elements. The first element should be, of course, the name of your blog. The title or secondary tagline should explain what your blog talks about or who you are as the main writer. You can also throw into the header some form of navigation that can help your visitors find their way around and provide them with quick links to special areas that you want highlighted on your site. On many blogs, the logo also appears in the header. As the name suggests, headers appear at the top of blog pages. Sidebars: Sidebars usually become a major focus for a blog site. Sidebars are columns to the right or left (or both) of the main content area, and they contain elements such as navigational links, special graphics that point to social networking sites, lists of blogs that you read (blogrolls), archive links, or anything that you want to share with your visitors outside the context of a blog post. Sidebars usually appear on every page of your blog and look consistent from page to page. Footers: Footers live at the bottom of each blog page, and sometimes they do nothing more than feature a copyright message. More advanced bloggers have expanded the use of footers to include a significant series of links to content within their sites. These links might lead to comments on the blog, recent posts, or posts that you particularly want to highlight. The footer can feature parts of your blog that you want visitors to find easily. How themes impact your blog design Your blog is your home on the web. Make sure you get a taste for the various blog platforms that are popular with bloggers today before choosing your home. What all these platforms have in common, however, is the use of blog design themes. Think of a blog theme as a combination of the floorplan blueprint an architect might use to build a home and the design software that the interior designer uses to decorate that space once it is built. Themes are an easy way for technological novices — or even somewhat seasoned bloggers — to customize the look and feel of their sites without needing to know how to code the site from scratch. Many beautiful themes are available to bloggers for free, and themes available for purchase range from a small one-time fee to a pricey subscription-based recurring cost. Before selecting a blog platform, spend some time looking at other blogs that already exist on that platform. You don’t want to fall in love with a specific design theme only to find that it isn’t available on the platform you selected. Themes have become a very important part of how bloggers define who they are in the blogosphere! Those hoping to focus on their top-notch photography skills can choose a theme that places images front and center. Writers hoping to establish themselves as members of the online media are likely to select a newspaper or magazine style theme where content is king. Which content type are you choosing for your blog? When blogs first entered the World Wide web, they were word-based, content driven sites that resembled personal journals or traditional print media. That is no longer necessarily true! Becoming a blogger no longer means writing paragraph after paragraph of wordy prose. Considering the following content options currently popular in the blogosphere: Photography focused blogging : They say that an image is worth a thousand words! Photography based bloggers would certainly agree. Rather than wordy posts, pictures with captions and short explanatory text are the focus of photography-based blogs. Vlogging: Combining the words video and blogging, vlogging simply means using uploaded video content in place of the written word. Podcasting: Not interested in typing your thoughts into a post and not comfortable in front of the camera? Consider podcasting! Design with your blog audience in mind While blog design is a very personal decision, you need to consider your audience before making decisions about the look and feel of your site. If you're blogging for business reasons, either on behalf of a company or to promote yourself, make sure that both the writing and design demonstrate the proper tone. Be sure to select a clean design with appropriate graphics and colors. This is not the time to share your love for wild animal prints and fireworks animation! Seek advice from bloggers in the same blogging space and find out from friends and family members who read blogs frequently what design elements they enjoy. Check out other blogs, especially blogs that reflect the same goals or tone you want to create. What does the design of those blogs say about the blogger and the blog content? Are you hoping to create a cozy community of like-minded readers? Keep that in mind when planning the layout of your site. Consider warm, inviting colors and conversation encouraging comment software. Be sure to make it easy for readers to learn more about you! Unlike a business-based blog, readers will want to feel like they are getting to know you through the words and images on the screen. You want your blog’s design to be professional and clean, but you also want to allow your personality and unique perspective to shine through.