You Really Need to Setup a Testing Environment for Your Self Hosted Wordpress Site

The more online experience I get the more I realize the importance of really digging into Wordpress and knowing how to tinker with different settings. I'm also trying to learn the basics of HTML and CSS because there's a lot more I want to do with my sports blog and I don't have a clue.

It's actually quite frustrating at times when you want to do something, but a lack of knowledge prevents you from doing it, this happens to be one of those times! But there's no use in crying over spilled milk because that won't help and I'll just get more frustrated.

I've also come to realize that it's important to set up a testing environment to practice. I remember seeing other bloggers recommend doing it when I started out, but "screw that" I thought. I wasn't going to need to learn any of that coding crap and thought it would be a waste of my time because I already had too much other stuff to learn in order to get my site off the ground.

So I've finally decided to set one up and will chronicle my trials and tribulations on here for the world to see. Plus I can use this as a reference to revisit as I continue my blogging journey.

It's funny how life throws us all curveballs at some point during our time on earth
because I never dreamed I'd end up here in the online world. I've fallen in love with blogging, social media, and trying to build websites with Wordpress.

When I first started out I only wanted to get a site up where I could blog about sports and throw some ads up and earn some money in the process. Boy was I dumb back then, LOL! Don't get me wrong I still want to eventually earn some money, but I want to improve my knowledge and skills when it comes to knowing how to design and modify themes and page templates. I've got other sites I'd like to build in the future, but I want to know how everything works and fits together so I can do them myself.

So there's no way to do all that on my live site because I don't want to crash it, or worse. I know that's exactly the outcome if I start messing around under the hood.

I've went ahead and setup up a fresh installation on a subdomain to practice on. It's just another example of me not slowing down at the start and then coming to the realization that I should have done it a lot earlier.

I'm not in a position where I can afford to pay a real web designer to build the site so I've just got to do what I've done all along and push forward teaching myself. It's a challenge that I actually enjoy once I can see things coming together and different things start to click in my mind.

What's the Difference Between a Fixed or Fluid Wordpress Theme?

When looking for a theme for your new Wordpress blog it can get a little overwhelming at first because of all the choices, but also some of the terminology used can be enough to make you want to pull your hair out!

You will see this theme touting a fluid width and then another with a fixed width. Some will have both for you to choose from and then you,will see other confusing words, but let's stick to the difference between a fixed or fluid layout for now.

• Fixed - Each page will be a certain size measured in pixels and could have display issues when viewed through different size browsers.   

• Fluid - Allows for the site to expand or retract according to whatever browser size it's being viewed on. It's measured in percentages. Now you will also see different words like Liquid, Responsive, Elastic, and I was told they are pretty much the same thing.

It had my head spinning because I knew nothing, but I've hung around long enough and spent countless hours researching all the different aspects of building a successful site. My knowledge of how things work has greatly increased, but my technical skills in putting it all together is lagging behind.

The biggest thing to worry about is making sure your site is viewable no matter how a person reaches it in my opinion. So I think going with a fluid layout offers a better chance at achieving that goal.

Are You Looking to Spice Up Your Wordpress Blog?

Here's a great video that I came across on Wordpress TV that goes into detail about several different plugins that you can use to spice up your blog's appearance.

The video is kind of long, but it's packed with a ton of useful information and presented in a very easy to understand way. I've been watching it in little three to five minute increments and taking little side notes to help retain the information. The speaker does a good job of explaining what and why each plugin can be useful.

If you're serious about learning how to improve your site this video will be well worth the time you invest into watching it. The Wordpress platform has evolved so much from when I started out on my blogging journey a few years ago and it's gotten much more user friendly as well.

 

A Simple Way to Add Google News Feeds Into Your Wordpress Pages or Posts

If you are looking for a simple way to add Google News feeds into your Wordpress blog's pages or posts then you should check out this new plugin I came across in the Wordpress Plugin Repository earlier today. It allows you to do it with a shortcode and I found it easy to use on my sports blog.

I know there's many different ways to add external feeds to Wordpress and some allow you to have all kinds of different options when it comes to displaying them, but they can be very difficult to setup for new bloggers. They have so many options that it can actually be overwhelming and discouraging for someone just starting out. Trust me I know from personal experience!

Now I'll get back on track about using this plugin. Don't let the word shortcode scare you because they are not hard to use if you can copy and paste. The maker of the Simple Google News plugin has very easy instructions on how to use it.

You can display the searches by topic or even use a phrase if you'd like. You can also set the number of items that will be displayed and how much content the individual snippets will show. I like it and here's a link to the page I created on my sports blog with this plugin handling the feed.

Update: The plugin has been updated since I made this post and you can now display feeds in a widget on the sidebar of your blog if you want.

Still Kicking Around The Blogosphere After Five Years and Loving Every Minute Of It!

I can't believe it's been almost five years since I got the itch to start a sports blog! Time has seemed to fly right on by. My journey has been filled with many ups and downs, but my love and desire for blogging has only grown stronger.

I started this blog as a way to chronicle my trials and tribulations and to connect with other like minded bloggers. I haven't kept up with this site as much as I intended too at the outset, but will be doing so from here on out.

A lot of things have changed over these last five years to make it easier than ever for "newbie" bloggers to get themselves up online and to get their message out into the Blogosphere without spending a dime. I was scared to death when I first started out and knew absolutely nothing about the online world. I couldn't do much more than surf the web and send someone an email, that's the truth.

When I was introduced to blogging a light bulb went off and I knew right away that I had to do one, no matter what. I've spent many, many hours learning and have come a long way. I've made many, many mistakes along the way as well, but I just keep plugging along and learning. There's been a ton of frustration and at times I've felt like quitting, but I can't. I love the challenges and enjoy learning all the different aspects to building a successful blog.

One of my biggest mistakes when I first started out was to avoid joining social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. I had no clue how powerful of an ally than can be. I was scared to join because I wasn't sure how to use them and thought they'd somehow end up being a detriment to building traffic for my sports blog. Now I look back and realize how ignorant I was.

If you're reading this and thinking of starting your own blog I'd say to go ahead and jump into the social media frenzy now, you will thank me later, I promise. Just dive right in and start interacting with people.

Turning Your Wordpress Blog Into A Social Network Is Possible

If you are a Wordpress user and want to turn your site into a social network like Facebook or MySpace then read on. I think it's pretty cool to have your own social network on your site for your readers to join and interact with you and themselves. It can be done with the power of a plugin. I have been looking at some different options to get this done on my other site, Beltwayboysports.com. Buddypress, Mingle and Google Friend Connect are the plugins I'm looking at to see which one I will use. When I make my decision I will post it here and let you know. All of them have features that I like, but the most important thing for me at this point is how easy is it to use and setup!

A Wordpress Plugin From Blogging Heaven

I found a Wordpress plugin that is absolutely amazing, it's the Header and Footer plugin that has been developed by Satollo.net. I added it to my self hosted Wordpress blog at Beltwayboysports.com and it has worked great with no problems. What it does is allow people like me who don't understand coding to add stuff to your template very easy. You just paste whatever it is into one of the boxes that are labeled and the plugin does the rest. You can ad adsense or anything like that to your site, it really helps newbies to be able to monetize their site or to add other functionalties for your readers. I wish that I would have found this months ago! The plugin is free and will cost you nothing more than a couple minutes of your time to install and have it up and running. I highly recommend it because I know how intimidating trying to add something to your template can be for a new blogger. I hope that this will help you on your blogging journey!  

What Blogging Platform Will You Use?

After you decide that you are going to give blogging a try, there is one more very important decision you must make. What blogging platform are you going to use? There is a bunch of them to choose from. You have Wordpress.com and .org, I will explain the difference between the two later in this post. Google has Blogger and to be perfectly honest with you, those are the only ones that I have personally used. I like all three of them and each has their pros and cons. They are pretty easy and straight forward when it comes to using them. I started out with a Wordpress.org site. It's Beltwayboysports.com you should check it out sometime. This blog that you are reading is a Blogger site that I got from Google.

Now onto the differences of the Wordpress.com and .org. The differences are .com is free and wordpress will host the site for you, but you don't own the site and can't put ads up if you decide to monetize your blog. I have heard of people losing their blogs because of some type of rules infraction and lost all of their content. Now with a .org blog you control the whole show. You will need to pay for hosting and pick out a domain name like I did with Beltwayboysports.com. I should have went the free route to begin. I knew absolutely nothing and had to figure it out on my own. It really is best to get a handle on how everything works before striking out on your own. It will save you a bunch of headaches, trust me!

Hosting is not all that expensive to get. DO YOUR HOMEWORK when you are searching for a place to host your site. I would recommend my host, but I'm not totally satisfied with their service. I did not do enough homework before I selected them. So I learned a very valuable lesson. I was just so excited to get going and let my guard down for a second and wham. My suggestion is to go and research all the different platforms. Only you will know which one fits your needs. Everyone is going to talk about whatever one they are comfortable working with!

Here is another good resource site that is packed with a ton of great information to help you out as you start your journey into the blogging world. http://2createawebsite.com

Welcome To Basics 2 Blogging

I'm making this site for people who are new to blogging or are thinking of becoming a blogger. I'm no expert and will never claim to be, but I have learned enough to be able to help others who are just starting out. I knew nothing of how a blog worked or anything about the blogosphere when I started out. Where do you go to get information and who can you trust? Should I use Wordpress or Blogger? How do I get people to my site? Can I really make money doing this? How? Those are just some of the questions that I had at the beginning of my journey into blogging. I am glad that I found blogging, I love it and wish I would have started alot sooner than I did! I was one of those people who did tons and tons of planning, trying to make sure of this and that and making no progress. That is something you want to avoid if possible. You must also figure out what you want to get out of blogging. Is this going to be a hobby in your spare time or are you going to try and make some money? That is something each person needs to figure out on their own.