check out the new remote control Jockey Wheel SmartBar Canegrowers rearview170 Cobb Grill Skid Row Recovery Gear Caravan Industry Association of Australia
Members Login
Username 
 
Password 
    Remember Me  
Click here for the Grey Nomads website -> The Grey Nomads Forum -> The Grey Nomads - General -> Word Press Blogs
Post Info TOPIC: Word Press Blogs
oldbloke


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 2061
Date:
Word Press Blogs
Permalink  

Hi,

I have just retired and about to head off with the boss (Lesley) on a few trips in the Van. I've been thinking of starting a free blog on wordpress. I'm not a faceache person.

Planning in including not just trips but additional activities, say fishing, hikes or camping.

 

I would appreciate any tips or hints the more experienced have. 

 

Neil



__________________

Sta
wendyv


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1122
Date:
Permalink  

Go for it!
It is a great way to preserve your own experiences for later memories, and can provide valuable information for others who are planning activities.
It would certainly be of interest for you to include the additional activities.
I use Word Press. I am not very tech savvy, and have found their help service prompt to reply and really excellent.
When I was starting out with Word Press, I found one of the pre-made formats/templates that they offered, and use that, rather than try to set up one of my own from scratch.
I found that I needed to resize my photos down, to keep within the allowed limits as my posts accumulated.
I also found that I needed to move up from free site to a paying one, due to the size as my posts accumulated.
Look forward to seeing your blog posts. Don't forget to put notifications of same in here....

__________________

wendyv

 http://wendyviney.blogspot.com/

https://thisadventurousage.com/
Cuppa


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1398
Date:
Permalink  

Moving to wordpress was a huge learning curve for me. Had I have understood the differences between wordpress.org & wordpress.com I think the struggle would have been greatly simplified, but it took a while & lots of confusion before it clicked. I went with wordpress.org from the outset because I was keen to avoid a repeat experience of losing my blog when an online blog host ceased to be, but I did find the relationship between the two confusing & frequently when seeking help would find myself in the wrong camp.

Wordpress.com is quicker & easier to begin, but it may be more limiting for those who want something a 'bit different'. Thats my understanding, but not from having tried it myself.

That said, Wordpress is probably the least likely blog host to cease existence, & were I starting from scratch I may be tempted by it's easier start up. As it is, I am now reasonably conversant with Wordpress.org (well at least to do what I do) & have no reason to change, & it does have the advantage of being hosted on my own web site ....... but the down side is that I will be paying web hosting fees forever! Most of the wordpress stuff I use is free.

One piece of advice may or may not resonate - there is lots of material out there to assist you to reach & hold an ever larger audience. The trouble is, as I see it, is that too many folk succumb to this pressure of 'how to do it' & subsequently end up all being much of a muchness, always trying to come up with exciting & catchy headlines, often with little in the way of interest to back it up. All glitz & no substance. Of course there are exceptions. On the other side of the coin an excellent piece of advice given to me by an experienced grey nomad travel blogger who encouraged me to take the plunge long ago. He said "People really are not interested in what you had for breakfast".

I think an individual writing style develops & evolves over time.

I am not 'numbers driven' but it is fair to say that my modestly sized audience is important to me. Maintaining the motivation to continue a blog over time, & it is quite a commitment (many well meaning folk fall by the wayside fairly quickly because of this) is made easier when you know folk appreciate what you do.

On occasions folk have commented on how good my memory of past travels is. The reality is that my memory is not great at all, but having kept a record - what I have written - brings back far more than the words I've written, there are lots of memories & emotions between the lines too.

I continue to get as much pleasure from re-reading my past blog posts as much as I do writing new ones.



-- Edited by Cuppa on Thursday 17th of September 2020 07:45:20 PM



-- Edited by Cuppa on Thursday 17th of September 2020 07:58:21 PM

__________________

A Nomadic Life (Current)    

The Big Trip (2008/9)     

Chris61


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 240
Date:
Permalink  

Another fan of Wordpress, start off basic, just writing a few words in a blog. As you get used to it, start getting creative, add some photos, some web links, add your own pages. Take it as fast or slow as you like. As you learn some of Wordpress features, you can go back and edit and enhance older posts.

__________________

Cheers Chris

 https://chrisanddiannesultimaadventure.wordpress.com/

I wouldn't have to manage my anger if people managed their stupidity
Mike Harding


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 4706
Date:
Permalink  

Perhaps also consider registering your own domain and setting up a website that way you will have a permanent and eternal "home".

It's not hard or expensive to do, I use Bluehost:

https://www.bluehost.com/

They have some good deals for new signups.



__________________

 

"I beseech you in the bowels of Christ think it possible you may be mistaken"

Oliver Cromwell, 3rd August 1650 - in a letter to the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland
dorian


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 3979
Date:
Permalink  

Your own ISP may provide you with your own free web space.


__________________

"No friend ever served me, and no enemy ever wronged me, whom I have not repaid in full."

Lucius Cornelius Sulla - died 78 BC 

 
oldbloke


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 2061
Date:
Permalink  

OK. Thanks gents. A bit to think about.

Sooo, is WordPress.org free?


Also how much storage is there?

 

Are there other options?

Gets a bit confusing.



-- Edited by oldbloke on Friday 18th of September 2020 11:25:44 AM

__________________

Sta
markf


Senior Member

Status: Offline
Posts: 215
Date:
Permalink  

I got hold of "jandmf.com" via No-IP and set up WordPress here at home on a Raspberry Pi. I found it all quite easy but then I have quite a lot of relevant experience to fall back on. I made a lot of use of WPBeginner to get things rolling along. Everything that I've done is here.

None of it is hard - just long winded. Getting the right look is the most tedious part of it. Google took a real beating while I was getting it all going...smile After a few months, because I'm a curious tinkerer, I've gathered a bit of knowledge of the internal workings of WordPress so if you've got any questions please ask away. If I don't know the answer I'll try and find the answer.

I went with self hosting because I didn't want to have any restrictions imposed by a third party hosting provider.



__________________

Cheers,

Mark F...

VK3KW

Land Rover 2002 Discovery 2 Auto Td5

2010 Outback Campers Sturt

http://jandmf.com
Cuppa


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 1398
Date:
Permalink  

oldbloke wrote:

OK. Thanks gents. A bit to think about.

Sooo, is WordPress.org free?


Also how much storage is there?

 

Are there other options?

Gets a bit confusing.



-- Edited by oldbloke on Friday 18th of September 2020 11:25:44 AM

 Wordpress.org can be free, or paid for, depends which template you choose for your site. Also some add-ons cost, but many dont. Wordpress.org does not provide any storage . You provide this via setting up your own domain. Ie you pay a web hosting service to provide you with a Domain & storage space. My site for example ... is cuppa500.com, & I have it hosted by a hosting company called GoDaddy (google them). There are any number of web hosting companies, all with a variety of storage options. If you go with Wordpress.com your blog address will be a Wordpress.com address. Eg.oldbloke.wordpress.com as opposed to something like oldbloke.com.  If you go with Wordpress.com I believe they will provide a range of storage options & you will not need to learn how to set up your own web site as well as learning how to set up a blog.



__________________

A Nomadic Life (Current)    

The Big Trip (2008/9)     

oldbloke


Guru

Status: Offline
Posts: 2061
Date:
Permalink  

I have discovered
Google
Wix
Weebly also offer free web sites, along with a few others

www.websitetooltester.com/en/blog/best-free-website-builders/

__________________

Sta
Page 1 of 1  sorted by
 
Quick Reply

Please log in to post quick replies.
Click here for the Grey Nomads website -> The Grey Nomads Forum -> The Grey Nomads - General -> Word Press Blogs
Tweet this page Post to Digg Post to Del.icio.us
Purchase Grey Nomad bumper stickers Read our daily column, the Nomad News The Grey Nomad's Guidebook