GRAND Magazine - September/October 2019 - 15

tech talk

How to blog

The decision to start a blog is solely in your hands.
When you are ready to go, here's how to get started:
1. Pick a platform
Both WordPress and Wix offer easy "Do It Yourself"
options for creating your own website/blog. (Here's
an in-depth comparison, including a quiz to see
which is a better fit for you.) To start, simply go to
Wix.com or Wordpress.com and follow the directions.
Wix even has an AI assistant, where you answer questions about your preferences, and it will create the
site for you. WordPress has a selection of ready-to-go
templates. For WordPress, start with the ".com" version. You may also run across Wordpress.org. The.org
version is more if you are looking for customization
and likely using a website developer.

There will always be something
newer and better-
but that doesn't mean
better for you

Along those lines-you may decide having your
own website is more time than you wanted to invest.
There are platforms, such as Medium or LinkedIn,
where you can just create an account to post articles.
The upside is that it's super easy and has a built-in
social sharing component. The downside is that you
don't own the content once posted.
2. Pick a domain name
Your domain is your website's address. Domain
names in the free versions of WordPress and Wix
include their company name, for example "sitename.
wordpress.com" or username.wixsite.com/sitename.
I recommend you spring for the paid versions ($5 to
$13 a month, if paid annually), so that you can apply a
custom domain.

If you house your posts on your blog, think of
hosting as the street where the house is. Both the
WordPress and Wix free versions include hosting,
which you need.
There are other many other platforms for blogging.
There's Weebly and Ghost and Tumblr and more. Just
beware of "analysis paralysis" where you hear this one
GoDaddy.com and Domain.com are options for
or that one is the newest or the best. There will always
finding your perfect domain/site name. They're usube something newer and better-but that doesn't
mean better for you. It's finding the system that works ally under $15 a name per year, so don't be afraid to
purchase a few if you can't decide. You might want
for you.
15 GRAND

SEPT-OCT 2019

a URL (web address) that is your first and last name.
Or go for something that describes your content.
Allmushrooms.com would be a good one for Edgar
(except that it's already taken!).
Both GoDaddy and Domain (and I'm sure many
others) have a search box on their home page. Type in
your ideas for your site name and find out instantly if
that name is available.
And if you can't decide, purchase a few names. You
can always have several domain names point to the
same site.
3. Start writing
The core of blogging is writing. While you can write
your original draft right into the backend of your blog,
I recommend using Microsoft Word for PC or Pages
for Mac-some sort of word processing software
that will allow you to write, edit and save your work.
Once done you can copy and paste your post into
your blog. That way if you accidentally delete a post
after spending hours writing it but before saving it,
you'll have a back-up copy. I'm not saying that would
happen-just that you don't have to freak out if it
does.

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Deanna Shoss is a marketer, writer, interculturalist in Chicago. As President and CEO
of Intercultural Talk, Inc. she provides digital,
intercultural and real-life marketing for entrepreneurs and people following their passions
post age 50, who need strategy and know-how
to adapt to new communication technologies.
She speaks Portuguese, Spanish and French
and is a certified Body Pump and group fitness
instructor.

https://www.facebook.com/GRANDmagazine/ https://www.twitter.com/grandMmagazine http://www.Allmushrooms.com https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders/comparisons/wix-vs-wordpress/ https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders/comparisons/wix-vs-wordpress/ https://www.websitebuilderexpert.com/website-builders/comparisons/wix-vs-wordpress/ http://www.Wix.com http://www.Wordpress.com http://www.Wordpress.org http://www.The.org https://www.grandmagazine.com/2019/08/is-blogging-right-for-you/ http://username.wixsite.com/sitename https://interculturaltalk.com/ http://www.godaddy.com http://www.domain.com

GRAND Magazine - September/October 2019

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