Within the past three weeks I’ve created two websites, using themes create by Michael Pollock at Solostream. Here are the top 10 things I’ve learned from creating my blogs (I actually lived to tell about it!). 

But first, I gotta give you a writing quip…else I wouldn’t be doing my job. This writing quotation is from Winston Churchill; if you substitute the words “starting a website” for “writing”, and you’ll see what it feels like to create a blog!

“Writing a book is an adventure: To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.” - Winston Churchill.

Your website or blog is just like your books or articles: monsters that you’ve wrestled with until you’re bloody and exhausted and limp as a dishrag…and that you’ve suddenly triumphed over and flung out for the world to see. 

10 Tips for Starting a Website or Blog for Freelancers

1. Decide if you want to hire a web designer. Me, I like the idea of knowing how to add, change, or delete widgets, ads and links to my websites. At this point in my writing career, I don’t want to hire someone to design my website because I want ultimate control. Plus, I like using my brain in new ways and learning what goes on behind the scenes of web design.

2. Schedule time to create your blog. Oh, is it time-consuming! Picking a theme (both of my WordPress themes are from Solostream), planning the layout, adding ads, writing articles, playing with the colors, adding your own logo or images (which I haven’t done), figuring out how you want your tags to look, learning about keywords….it’s not an overnight romp.

3. Research different WordPress or Blogger themes. There are dozens of free themes out there; I used free WordPress and Blogger themes in January 2008, when I first decided to create my blogs. However, I soon decided that I wanted to get serious about my websites….and that involved purchasing WP-Magazine Theme 1.0 from Solostream (featured on my Quips & Tips for Healthy Women website). Instead of a free theme - which can be fantastic, don’t get me wrong - I wanted all the extras that both WP-Magazine and WP-Glory offer.

4. Check for website support. If you tackle web design on your own with something like a Solostream theme, find out if website support is included. This can include website forums with questions and answers, or even direct support from the website designer him or herself (Michael Pollock at Solostream has been stellar at answering all my pleas for help. This, by the way, is the foundation of a successful small business owner or freelancer: offering excellent customer service).

5. Scour website support forums for answers. When you’re starting a website, you’ll have a gazillion questions about everything from FTP to RSS - and the bloggers who’ve gone before you had the same questions! If you purchase a theme, you may find your answers in that forum, comments section, or in emails from the web designer. Read or search those website support forums carefully. I’ve also found it helpful to simply Google my question.

6. Pay close attention to the details. In the WP-Magazine Theme comments section, I noticed the same questions and answers a couple of times. Installing your theme properly, complete with gravatars and tags and uploads, means that you have to do exactly what the instructions say. It’s precise work - which is why many freelancers and bloggers hire web designers. Starting a website is easier when someone does all the “behind the scenes” work for you, especially if you don’t have the time or energy to do it yourself.

7. Keep neat notes. When I created my blogs, I didn’t keep notes. So far, it’s not a problem because it’s all fresh in my mind…but in six months when, for instance, I want to change my four 125×125 ads to a single 300×250 ad, I may be kicking myself for not leaving myself notes. Granted, the steps are on Pollock’s WP-Magazine Theme instructions, but sometimes even re-discovering the answers can be time-consuming. If I were to start a website again, I’d write everything down: “How to Install the Popularity Contest Plugin”, “How to Change the Number of Comments Displayed”, etc.

8. Get oxygen flowing in your brain. Get yourself outside to keep the oxygen flowing and your brain healthy. Creating a blog can cause frustration, anger, and sometimes even tears (though I never cried, I did yell at the cat a couple of times). When you’re drowning in oceans of code and feel like you can’t breathe, take a break. Step away from the computer.

9. Put the more difficult things aside until later. I was so excited about starting this website, Quips & Tips for Freelance Writers, that I couldn’t focus on the top content box. So I deleted it. A couple days later, I realized that I really did want the box full of feature articles, most popular posts, etc - and I re-tackled it. I installed it with no problems. Same with Solostream’s nice big purple boxes on this site, and a few other things. When you’re creating a blog, put the complicated things (and “complicated things” differ for everyone) aside until later.

10. Think like a computer programmer. Left brained thinking: logical, analytical, sequential. For instance, Pollock’s WP-Glory Tutorial helped me set up my top content box.  But I could only watch half his tutorial due to a computer glitch on my part (I think). Even so - and this I’m very proud of - I completed the top content box all by myself, based on everything I’d learned by creating my own website, “Quips & Tips for Adventurous Women”! Somehow, through all my experiences creating blogs, I actually picked up a few things about how computer programmers think and how codes work. O happy day!

Michael Pollock at Solostream.com has been absolutely fabulous in answering all my questions. Thanks, Michael!

And, my websites are hosted through HostGator - their technical support is also amazing. They’re knowledgable, friendly, polite, and offer 24 hour support. They’re fabulous.