Hook Up Your Blog *Revised*



WELCOME to all of the new bloggers out there. I have such wonderful friends with interesting lives that I encouraged a few to start their own blogs and they did.

Check them out in my friends list. I want to share with you all how to get your blog hooked up.

Now I don’t know much but I do know enough to get you started.

You can get your own blog by going to www.blogger.com. Once you set up your blog and write your first entry you’re now officially a blogger.

You should begin by looking at other blogs to see what styles you like and what accessories you want to add to your own blog.

Go to blogsearchengine.com and register your blog. This is a directory of blogs that you should belong to so random people can find you. If you only want your friends to find you then dont register on there, just give your blog addy to your friends.You can also use this site to browse other blogs and see what’s hot.

Next you might decide that you want to add links or something and you realize you have no idea how to do that. School time: You have to learn html codes or just visit this site for a cheat sheet: HTML Cheat Sheet

You also want to check out Lisa Explains It All. It is a great html tutorial for kids or ppl who are new to html like us.

It’s very important to get to know your template. At first it all looks like Chinese, but once you scroll through it you’ll begin to recognize where everything goes.

To add a link you have to go to your template and find the sidebar and then paste the html code for links: Visit Lisa’s Tips. Replace the bold text with the correct information.

There’s also an easier way to link to your favorite websites. At the top of your post template there is a toolbar with an icon that looks like a chain. It’s right next to the color icon. If you type in the name of your link in your post and then highlight it, then click this icon, you can type in the url to the page you want to link and presto, the icon links it for you. This way you won’t have to worry about codes.

One of the fun accessories that I found is IMOOD.COM Its a mood indicator that you can change everyday according to your mood. You can put the indicator on your web page to show everyone how you’re feeling.To add comments to your page, if you decide not to use one of the templates from blogger, which most people love to do as a form of interaction, go to Haloscan.com and follow the instructions.

The design template of your blog is called a BLOG SKIN. There are ppl who design blog skins for you to download and use. Take a minute and browse Blogskins.com to see all of the different templates you can download and use to decorate your blog, or do a google search for other sites that offer free templates.

If you want to add your own images you need web space. You can go to Yahoo Photos and create an online album. Once your pictures are stored here you can add them to your website as you wish by right clicking the image and selecting properties then copying the pic’s address and pasting it into the image link code.

My friend suggested using Photobucket, to store your photos. She says it is very easy to use and explains everything, or you can download the Hello Bot thing that blogger offers. I tried it, but it gave me a virus so I don’t use it, that’s why I don’t have many pics on my blog.

If you want to see who’s coming to your blog and how they were referred I recommend using Blogpatrol. This also acts as a record of how many hits you get per day. It comes with a counter that you can put on your page.

If you want more ppl to read your page then you have to put some work in. You can join any one of a million blog rings, which are lists of blogs related by topic. You should also surf the net and comment on other ppl’s blogs. That way they will check you out and decide if they like what they are reading.

Introduce yourself to the blogging world by completing the 100 things list. This list should consist of 100 random facts about you. It’s very challenging but once it’s done you’re official.

You probably can’t do all of this in one day. It will take time to develop your own style and figure out what makes your blog unique.This is not easy at all but it becomes more fun as you learn more and since there are no tests, it’s STRESS FREE!

I think I put you off to a good start, the rest you learn as you go.

Good Luck!