It’s hard to know what your blog will become on day one. When I created my very first blog I was merely 16 and had not a clue what I was doing. I didn’t know the difference between blogspot and wordpress. SEO sounded like a UFO and HTML was literally a foreign language to me. I didn’t expect to keep up what was meant as a little side project and new hobby. Yet here I am, at 22, and still blogging.
My first blog was called Inkdropperr ( yes, it was spelled incorrectly and I’m pretty sure it’s not even a real word anyway), and it followed a few name changes from Accio Wonderland to A Certain Perhaps. When I finished secondary school I thought it was time to move on and leave my blog behind, but within a few months, I realised how much I missed the blogosphere and reappeared with an entirely new blog “Ivory Clouds”. Throughout university I dipped in and out, taking many unintentional hiatuses, never fully being part of a community. Then, similar to how I moved from secondary school to college, moving from college to the working world has also brought a new change for my blog. I’ve decided to move from blogger to wordpress.
It wasn’t an overnight decision. I’ve wanted to own a URL for a very long time. Self-hosting a site is another thing I’ve wanted to try. As someone who has a degree in Web systems engineering, you would think I’d have plenty of knowledge and experience with website building but theory and textbooks don’t really make you an expert. Thankfully there’s a heap of tutorials out there. Each with their own way of doing things. Videos I find are particularly useful. I’m a more visual person and can follow instructions better with a diagram. After reading a dozen articles and watching numerous youtube tutorials, I was actually more confused than when I had started out. Every tutorial has a different opinion and a different stand on the “right way” to do something.
Here are the things I learned in the process that I wish I knew before
It is expensive!
Purchasing a domain is the least costly part. After that you need to purchase a hosting site plan and possibly a wordpress theme. I started with bluehost as it is a highly popular hosting platform and one of the cheapest out there, but found my website slightly lagging. And while load time was probably mere milliseconds from instant, it bothered me enough to look elsewhere for hosting. Researching hosting sites further, I discovered that bluehost is cheap because they provide a service to many people and thus explains why performance wouldn’t be their main feature with so much traffic to deal with. Bluehost offer money back within the first month after purchase which a great opportunity to get a feel for it without the commitment.
WordPress is better than Blogger
There I said it! For years I was a loyal blogger supporter. Even seeing a dot-wordpress in the URL caused a subconscious bias in me. Now, having experienced both blogger and wordpress(.org), I can see why nearly everyone prefers wordpress. While it is hard to at first to learn the functionality, there are so many options and freedom to do as you please within wordpress. I’ve barely scratched the surface that I’m sure I have lots more to learn. Blogger has such a simple interface in comparison. I didn’t feel limited while having a blogspot as it catered to my needs sufficiently. It was an out-of-the-box blog that could be setup definitely within a day. WordPress needs a bit more attention but is worth it.
Blog Names are difficult to think up
Trying to think of a unique name that fits your blog is a hard task. Especially when it is going to be your “forever blog name”. You are buying this domain name so you want to be sure that you’ll still love it just as much in six months time. I’m hoping that I’ve picked the right one with “Always Marian”. Initially I was thinking of names with book-related things like “paper elephants” and “fading pages” but my blog’s niche is not solely books and defining its content with a name like that would be quite limiting. I chose Always Marian mainly because it has been my instagram username for many years now and I wanted a URL with my name in it. Marian [dot] ie turned out to be a holy pilgrimage site so that idea went out the window. I like my blog name with its subtle reference to Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland. It’s also how I’ve been signing off blog posts. Always, M.
Writing your own theme is like reinventing the wheel
I spent a whole month trying to write my own theme. First with a blank page, which was like trying to find a needle in a haystack whilst blindfolded. It’s possible but really difficult. In college, I’ve written websites from scratch with HTML, CSS, python and javascript. They all had really simple functionality. I rather enjoy writing code like that, especially the CSS and styling of it. But writing a blog from scratch is complex and a lot of work. So soon into the process I decided to switch to a child’s theme which is like taking an existing theme and adding my own functionality to it. I took a rather simple theme and messed around with it for a few weeks. I made some progress but in the meantime found an existing theme to which met most of my needs and wants. There are thousands of themes to choose from. It’s unlikely that your needs are so unique that there doesn’t already exist a theme. Keep searching and you’ll find it!
Do you prefer WordPress or Blogger? What are the things you wish you knew before starting your blog?
Always, M
Omg I remember Inkdropperr 😭 dang we have both grown so much over the past few years! Getting your own domain is definitely pricey, but I think it’s 100% worth it to have a little space on the internet which is entirely yours. It took me the longest time ever to change from blogger because I felt so loyal to the site, but now I’m with WordPress and I feel like it was definitely the right decision. I’ve been through soooooo many blog names also – but I’m glad that we’ve both settled on something neat that we wanna keep (if you change it again I swear😂).
I was also showing my blog to a friend a few days back and we came across my Ireland post from years ago where you had commented, and he read out your comment and without skipping a beat I went “is that Marian?” And he was like woah how did you know and I was like we’ve been blog friends for literal centuries haha. Just thought I’d tell you my lil anecdote 😂
Awwhhwww your comment is so sweet, I’m actually beaming while reading this! That anecdote is just the cutest <3 I can't believe we've come this far. Like where did that time go??
It is definitely worth getting a domain - a pretty big step, but so glad I did. I know I'm a terror for changing blog names XD I pinky promise not to change again (well... for the foreseeable future). Your blog actually inspired to take that step and finally get a domain. I was in awe of how you transformed an Awkward Donkey into Wandering Everywhere *applauds*. I just be hanging out in your comments screaming that I've been here since the beginning XD
I started on Blogger too at 16 with NO idea how to blog! But I eventually moved to wordpress and being hosted and I’m so so glad.😍I don’t do my own coding though eep, I have a relative who does it for me, or I’d be so very lost haha. But I definitely feel like WordPress has more options, is more responsive, and just feels professional. I love your site!
Ah sure we all start somewhere – and the best way to learn something is by doing! And you’re clearly learned a lot – your blog is thriving! It’s amazing how many people start out blogging in their teens and are still at it (and doing a bloody good job too!) in their young adulthood.That’s so lucky to have an ever so generous relative to help with the code. That part can be tricky. WordPress is definitely much more professional, I think too.
Thank you! (right back at you <3 )