Building A Successful Blog And Overcoming Issues

How much do you know about the engine room of your blog?

I’m no expert in web building, and have had more disasters than successes with it, but I have tried to keep up and learn as much as I can.

It doesn’t mean that I have to be an expert. There are plenty of programs that allow me to build websites, and for my blogs, I happily use themes from Dosh Dosh.

Working with a good WordPress theme means that I can tinker at the edges, and that suits me. Apart from themes, Worpress plugins are something that I enjoy playing with on my blog!

With a basic knowledge of html and the ability to set up a database, all one needs is a good ftp program, and you have more control over your destiny than you would if you simply hand the lot over to a developer.

Of course, getting someone else to build your site for you is fine too, especially if it frees you to perform more productive tasks!

The advantage of knowing your way around a web server though is that if anything goes wrong when your tech person is away, you have a chance of tracking the problem down.

It’s no different to having a working knowledge of a car – if you have a flat tyre or mechanical trouble on the highway, and you can trace the problem, it can make it easier even if you do have to call for help.

Picture this: it’s Friday night, your website or blog goes down, and your tech support person is away until Monday and can’t be reached. What are you going to do? Learn the skills over the weekend?

I’ve had it happen to me, and that’s one of the reasons that I took the time to learn something about the programs that I use.

I learned the hard way, and it was very frustrating.

With tools such as Joomla and WordPress available, along with Cpanel and other tools, life has become a lot easier as far as web building is concerned over the years.

Networking with other bloggers and webmasters can also be a great help. as they can point you in the right direction to find help, and maybe even open to a ‘skills swap’ with you.

Which ever way you go though, it has to be easier than sitting in frustration all weekend, wondering what the heck to do next… and where your traffic is going because they can’t find you!