If you follow my Instagram at all you’ll have possibly seen last night's blogging meltdown. You know the ones, where an idea seems good at the time but when you try it, it all goes pear shaped. For me that turned out to be Wordpress and self-hosted. Wherever you look nowadays it feels like every blogger on the planet has made the switch from good old blogger/blogspot to more advanced methods. There's 101 guides, lists and tips out there promising to make the leap between the two seamless and easy, which if that’s worked for you then fair enough. For me however I think it’s just not meant to be.
First off I didn’t realise how bloody expensive it is! Sure I knew about the usual hosting sites/domain deals out there and did manage to find one that seemed good, but it’s everything else that goes on top that no one tells you about! The framework of a standard Wordpress theme and then the fancy blogger-esque theme to pop over that. Then the price increases that skyrocket after X amount of months. Or the add-ons it keeps trying to shove at you everywhere you click. Thankfully I’ve been lucky enough to find both a hosting site and a framework site that included a 30 day money back guarantee (I tried using Genesis as that seems to be the big thing) so both those refunds are heading back my way. Touch wood. Then there’s the option to use a migration service before you even get started towards any of that. Something I didn’t actually do as I found a handy-dandy guide on google that was sorta simple enough to follow.
I did manage to successfully move my blog over… at least I think I did. I wasn’t 100% sure in truth. There were a few little bits of code missing here and there and lots of lagging but that’s probably more my inexperience than the site to be fair. But I just couldn’t get to grips with it. So many things needed to be installed, processed and then exported in technical code that goes far beyond my basic vintage MySpace knowledge.
Then there was the sudden wave of gut-wrenching sickness I felt at spending a large chunk of money on what? A website? I’m just not in that correct situation right now… without taking into account this whole Covid-19 horribleness. Not to knock anyone who has invested in their blogs, I think that’s amazing and a brilliant step forward. But again, as of right now it’s just not for me. Maybe one day.
I was also completely confused and overwhelmed just by the entire thing. Once Wordpress was up and running I didn’t even know where to start and different things were then telling me I needed to do this and that. All I wanted to do was write, upload photos and have a semi decadent theme.
So after a rather ugly panic attack in the bath, I hopped out, put on clean pjs and loaded up my laptop to thankfully and guiltily put in my requests for the various money back guarantees. I felt like a complete time waster. However, I can’t fault a single service provider, they’ve all been extremely helpful and understanding and so I’m hoping that this’ll have taught me a valuable lesson. Don’t feel like you need to try and keep up with everyone else.
Yes other people out there have the all singing and dancing top-of-the-range blogs and things, but I’ve realized that you know what, whilst it’s very pretty to look at, you don’t necessarily need it if you’ve got a passion for writing and just sharing what’s on your mind. Something I hope is clear that I do. Or that I just like to ramble on endlessly and forget the point I’m trying to make. One of the two.
That isn’t meant to be a dig towards anyone at all by the way. There’s so many incredibly talented bloggers out there who I love to follow with the most gorgeous, easy to follow and navigate blogs. It just personally wasn’t for me. You keep doing you and all that jazz.
I’m keeping everything crossed now as it looks like I’ve got my good old basic-as-anything blogspot blog back, which has also given me a newfound love for its simplicity. It may not be the prettiest but it holds important memories of mine and even the most basic posts are ones to be treasured.
In the future I’ll tinker about with the blogspot/blogger settings and see what I can come up with but as of the here and now, I can firmly say that hand on heart I’m never comparing myself - or my blog! To anyone or anything else again. Stick with what you know, save your money!!!! And as long as your dedication and passion is there, people will see it shine through too. Even if my blog once again resembles something close to a GCSE PowerPoint presentation. It’s mine and I’m not in any hurry to change it again.
First off I didn’t realise how bloody expensive it is! Sure I knew about the usual hosting sites/domain deals out there and did manage to find one that seemed good, but it’s everything else that goes on top that no one tells you about! The framework of a standard Wordpress theme and then the fancy blogger-esque theme to pop over that. Then the price increases that skyrocket after X amount of months. Or the add-ons it keeps trying to shove at you everywhere you click. Thankfully I’ve been lucky enough to find both a hosting site and a framework site that included a 30 day money back guarantee (I tried using Genesis as that seems to be the big thing) so both those refunds are heading back my way. Touch wood. Then there’s the option to use a migration service before you even get started towards any of that. Something I didn’t actually do as I found a handy-dandy guide on google that was sorta simple enough to follow.
I did manage to successfully move my blog over… at least I think I did. I wasn’t 100% sure in truth. There were a few little bits of code missing here and there and lots of lagging but that’s probably more my inexperience than the site to be fair. But I just couldn’t get to grips with it. So many things needed to be installed, processed and then exported in technical code that goes far beyond my basic vintage MySpace knowledge.
Then there was the sudden wave of gut-wrenching sickness I felt at spending a large chunk of money on what? A website? I’m just not in that correct situation right now… without taking into account this whole Covid-19 horribleness. Not to knock anyone who has invested in their blogs, I think that’s amazing and a brilliant step forward. But again, as of right now it’s just not for me. Maybe one day.
I was also completely confused and overwhelmed just by the entire thing. Once Wordpress was up and running I didn’t even know where to start and different things were then telling me I needed to do this and that. All I wanted to do was write, upload photos and have a semi decadent theme.
So after a rather ugly panic attack in the bath, I hopped out, put on clean pjs and loaded up my laptop to thankfully and guiltily put in my requests for the various money back guarantees. I felt like a complete time waster. However, I can’t fault a single service provider, they’ve all been extremely helpful and understanding and so I’m hoping that this’ll have taught me a valuable lesson. Don’t feel like you need to try and keep up with everyone else.
Yes other people out there have the all singing and dancing top-of-the-range blogs and things, but I’ve realized that you know what, whilst it’s very pretty to look at, you don’t necessarily need it if you’ve got a passion for writing and just sharing what’s on your mind. Something I hope is clear that I do. Or that I just like to ramble on endlessly and forget the point I’m trying to make. One of the two.
That isn’t meant to be a dig towards anyone at all by the way. There’s so many incredibly talented bloggers out there who I love to follow with the most gorgeous, easy to follow and navigate blogs. It just personally wasn’t for me. You keep doing you and all that jazz.
I’m keeping everything crossed now as it looks like I’ve got my good old basic-as-anything blogspot blog back, which has also given me a newfound love for its simplicity. It may not be the prettiest but it holds important memories of mine and even the most basic posts are ones to be treasured.
In the future I’ll tinker about with the blogspot/blogger settings and see what I can come up with but as of the here and now, I can firmly say that hand on heart I’m never comparing myself - or my blog! To anyone or anything else again. Stick with what you know, save your money!!!! And as long as your dedication and passion is there, people will see it shine through too. Even if my blog once again resembles something close to a GCSE PowerPoint presentation. It’s mine and I’m not in any hurry to change it again.
— j.
No comments
Post a Comment