Basic Blog Setup

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BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS
PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

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A Basic Guide To Creating Your WordPress Or Blogspot Site
With Pictures and Illustrations

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The Beginner’s Guide To Setting Up a Blog
“This book contains the basics you need to set up your blog/website and start
creating contents, making yourself, your ideas, businesses and brands known
to the world.”
Why you must read this book?
Every Idea, whether it’s for personal gain, or for non-profit endeavors needs
to reach it’s target audience. If not, it is as good as non-existent. In a world
where things are fast-paced, and everything gone digital, no one will have the
time to listen to your rantings about what you are made of, or what you have
to offer, or else the information is; ‘Classified’, ‘Visible’ and ‘Easily
accessible’.
How do you achieve this?

There are many platforms that can help you make yourself, your ideas,
brands and businesses ‘Visible’ and ‘Easily accessible’ . They are the social
medias; Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Whatsapp, Twitter, Pinterest,
Tumblr, name them. But of all these networks, only a website/blog meets all
three requirements of how to successfully reach these people because:
“It helps you classify your work”

A website helps you bring all your works, ideas, services, businesses, brands,
etc into one place where it can be linked to all those your social channels so
that at a glance, one can easily grasp all the message you have for them.
In fact, I must say that; “in the future, I see a system where the use of
curriculum vitae, Resume and cover letters in securing a reasonable job is
phased out and replaced by a simple link; the link to your website/blog,
which should contain your past works and summarize all about you; just
one link”.
Who is this guide for?

This is just a basic guide. The complete guide where you will learn how to
completely set up you blog/website and optimize is to bring more visitors
and even start making real money is available.
This guide is for all those who do not know how to start and are still confused
about the difference between a blog and a website. The target audience are;
1. Students who wants to adapt to the fast-paced world and start building
their portfolio in their desired career path.
2. Other persons who have access to a laptop and an android phone and are
ready to embrace the world of digital content creation.

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What to expect from this book?
This is only an introduction, to setting up your blog. But it will teach you the
basics you need to create a blog. It contains a step by step guide to setting up
a blogspot website/blog and a Wordpresss website/blog. But you still need
the advanced blog set up/guide to get grounded and even start earning.
What to do next?
Once you are done reading this, please ensure to complete your learning by
reading the Advanced blog set up and guide and everything you need to
know to start getting noticed on google, yahoo, bing and other search engines,
how to optimize your blog and link it to your various social media channels
and start getting more visitors.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. Introduction: The difference between a blog and a website.
2. Setting up a Blogspot blog/Website.

(i) Creating a blogger account
(ii) Creating your blog
(iii) Various blogger components and their uses.
(iv) Choosing a theme
(v) Basic blog pages and how to create them.
(vi) Layout Settings
(vii) Basic blog settings
3. Setting Up a Wordpress blog/website

(i) Creating a wordpress account
(ii) Basic Wordpress components and their uses
(iii) Choosing a theme
(iv) Basic Wordpress blog pages and how to create them.
(v) Layout Settings
4. Publishing Your First Blog Post
5. What Next?
6. Copyright Information.

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1. Introduction
The difference between a blog and a website

You are not alone if up till now, you are still confused on the difference
between a blog and a website. Actually, the only difference between the two
is in the function/purpose for which it is set up.
One is more static, meaning that once it is created, you don’t need to update
or keep posting new information regularly. It is just there and the only time
you need to add a new information is when it is necessary; like updating your
contact address or location. This one is called a website.
The other; a blog is used to share new information, ideas and insights, and it
requires that you update these details from time to time so that they don’t get
outdated.
Another type is a combination of the two; Website/Blog. Contains some

pages which are static and doesn’t change or else its very necessary and
contains another special page usually called “blog page”, that you can share
articles and posts and update new data from time to time.
The Table Below Summarizes the differences between Blogs and Websites.
BLOGS WEBSITES
1. Contains pages with structured Contains static pages that does not
information that needs constant change and mainly information about
updating to prevent it from getting the business, company, person or
outdated. organization.
2. May contain some of the pages Must contain the following pages:
found in websites, but must have a Contact page, Privacy policy, Terms
blog page for sharing new and agreement, About, Disclaimer,
information. etc.
3. All blogs are websites. Not all websites are blogs.
4. Blogs are mainly owned by Websites are owned mainly by
individuals, though some companies businesses, companies, organizations.
and businesses still have blog sites.
5. Has greater potential of reaching a Information contained in websites are
much more diverse audience. much more classified and designed to
reach a much more targeted
audience.
6. Creates more opportunities to There are fewer opportunities to
make money. make money when compared with
blogs.
7. Examples include: 12lists, Examples include: Cocacola website,
Medarchive magazine, Healthline, etc Nestle, pharmaceuticals, etc.

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Which is Best?
Whether you want to create a site for your business, brand, products,
companies, organizations, or just a personal blog, it is best to incorporate both
a website and a blog with the 6 basic website pages included.
These pages include:

1. A Home Page
2. An About page
3. A Terms and Conditions Page
4. A privacy policy page
5. A disclaimer page
6. Contact us page
Keep reading, I will tell you why these pages are very important if you want
to make the most out of your site.
Choosing a hosting server; Wordpress.com Vs. Blogspot.com

One of the most frequent questions people ask is whether they should create
their site with wordpress or blogspot.
This question does not have a clear cut answer, but all I can say is that both
have their advantages and disadvantages. All you need to do is to research on
these benefits and disadvantages of both and choose what you want
depending on your goals of creating a site.
For me, I have used both wordpress and blogspot for over 5 years now, and
these are my observations:
WORDPRESS BLOGGER
1. Requires little or no coding skills Requires that you understand some
to use. basics of programming to enjoy it’s
use better.
2. Strong support system for Have a support system, but you need
beginners. to have the will to learn. Not for lazy
people.
3. Very expensive to use if you want Blogger is free to use for all persons.
to access some important features. All you need is to buy, register and
connect your domain.
4. Have a very active community Haven’t seen such community with
where you can find fellow bloggers strong support from blogger.
and learn from their experiences.
5. Have many restrictions to some You can start earning from the first
important features that helps you to day you open your blogger site. It is
earn money easily. You must pay to more liberal and you can configure
earn money. your site to suit you using custom

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codes. (Check the Advanced Blogger
Set Up course To learn how you can
start earning from your first day of
blogging.)
6. Has more beautiful themes and Has beautiful themes too, but not
custom page layouts. compared to wordpress. Although
you can download and insert your
own desired theme (It is covered in
the advanced course).
7. Best for E-commerce stores and Good mainly for publishing blog
business sites. posts and small businesses.
8. Easy to connect and share your You need some programming skills
blog posts to your social media to link your social media accounts, or
accounts. else you just want to be copying and
posting links from your blog to your
social pages.
9. Has more customized features like You must code to add these custom
a contact form, etc. features.
And Many more…
These are some of the things I have observed while using wordpress and
blogger. So in summary, I can say that no one is better, you just need to
identify what you need to achieve and pick one.
You will have nothing to regret while using any of the two.
KEY POINTS:
 A website is usually static and must contain the 6 basic web pages;
Home page, About, Terms and conditions, Privacy Policy, Disclaimer
and Contact page.
 A Blog is a website, but must have contents which are updated
frequently.
 It is best to build a site that incorporates both a blog and the 6 basic
web pages.
 The difference between a wordpress site and a blogger site is not much
and making a choice on which one to use depends on your personal
goals and objectives.

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2. Setting up a Blogspot blog/Website.
(i) . Creating a Blogger account

STEP 1:
 To create a blogger account, you must have a gmail account. It is always
advisable to create a separate gmail account for your site, so that you can
easily classify the mails you receive. The reason why you should try to
classify your emails is because you can miss mail containing vital
information for your site if you are the type that have a large mailing
contacts.
STEP 2:
 Once your gmail account is ready, proceed go to the web address:
www.blogger.com.
 Find the create your blog button, and click it.
 Sign in with your preferred gmail account and click next.
 You will see a page containing the Privacy Terms and Policy, try reading
through it or save it for latter. You may find some of the information there
helpful.
 Scroll down the page and click I agree button.
 A new page where you can set your blogger profile display name will
appear.
 Type in your name; this is the name people will see when they look at
your profile or at your posts.
 Click the finish button.
 Congrats! You just created a new blogger account.
The pictures below should help.
Step 1. Step 2.

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Step 4
Step 3
(ii) . Creating Your Blog

STEPS:
 Once your blogger account is ready, the next step is to create a new blog.
NB: You can create multiple blogs/websites using one blogger account.
 You should see a page like this after creating your blogger account. Click
on create blog.
 Here Type in the title you want your blog to bear. This is different from a
your blog address which ends in -dot. Something.

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 Type in a web address for your blog. The best web address is as short as
possible, easy to remember and should represent what your
blog/business is about.
 If you have already bought a domain name, don’t worry you can update
it later. The guide to setting up a custom domain in blogger is contained
in the Advanced blog set up guide.
 Once you have set up the title and URL of your blog, you will now have
access to the full features of blogger where you can customize your blog
to your taste.
 You should see a page like the one one below, with more icons.

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(iii)Various Blogger Components And Their Uses

 NEW POST:
 Here your can create new articles or posts and publish it.
 It is the first icon you see on the blogger dashboard after the title of your
blog.
 POSTS:
 This section contains all the posts you have published, scheduled to
publish, or uncompleted posts also called drafts.
 It also contains the number of time people have viewed the post since it
was published, the name of the person who published the post (assuming
you invited other authors to contribute to your blog.
 STATS:
 Here you can monitor the activities on your blog.
 You can see your blog followers, number of posts, number of comments,
your all time blog views, the number of views within the past 24 hours,
the past 1 week, the past 1 month, and the past year.
 You can see the posts and pages with the most viewers and the ones that
performs best.
 You can also see the search engines that refers people to your blog mostly,
the social platforms where your visitors saw your links, the browsers they
use, the operating system of their devices and their countries.
 All these data is provided by google for free, and should be used wisely
while writing to your audience.

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 COMMENTS
 Here you can moderate all the comments on your blog.
 You can see all comments, the people that commented, and the post or
page they commented on.
 You can also delete unwanted comments from your blog.
 EARNING
 Here you can set up your blog for Google Adsense.
 The guide on how to set up your blog is contained in the adsense page.
 This allows you to earn money on your blog by displaying ads on your
pages.
 PAGES
 This is where you can create the basic blog pages and other pages you
want to show on your site.
 LAYOUT
 A layout is a structured arrangement of items within certain limits.
 Here is where you control how your site looks like.
 You must arrange your site in a way that important pages, and
information are well structured, visible and easily accessible.
 A bad layout set up can affect user experience on your site very badly and
can cost you lots of traffic.
Keep reading; I will show you how to set a good layout to make it easy for
people and search engines to find important information on your blog.
 THEME
 A theme is the beauty of a blog. It is a collection of colors, fonts, and other
effects that makes your blog portray the message you have in mind.
 You should have some sense of arts to make most out of the blog theme,
or at least do some research to chose the best combination of colors and
fonts that suits your blog the most.
 A good theme can make your web visitors feel at home and would want
to visit again, it’s just psychological.
 SETTING
 This is the mind of your blog. The system that helps search engines find
your blog, and helps you optimize your blog for more visitors.
 It is made up of many sections like the Basic blog settings where you can
edit your blog title and description, link a favicon, etc.
 This book only contains a guide to some of the settings you need to get
started. But to optimize your blog so that you can be easily found by
search engines, you need to access the full version of this book.

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 READING LIST
 This list contains some helpful articles on how to use your blog.
 You can always make out time to go through it.
 VIEW YOUR BLOG
 It is always advisable to click this button whenever you make any change
or add a new feature to your blog.
 This will help you know how it will look in the eyes of your visitors and
decide on whether to revert the change or to keep it.

(iv) . Choosing a Blog Theme

 What You Need To Know Before Choosing a Theme
 A theme is the beauty of a blog.
 Different themes have different concepts they work best on.
 You need to know your niche, and then choose the best way to represent
it using colour combinations that represent it well.
 Some themes are best for Travel blogging, food blogging, research articles,
Music website, affiliate marketing, etc. You will find out more if you keep
following 12 Lists.
 Once you choose a theme, never click on the Edit theme/Edit HTML
button or else you have some knowledge of programming or you know
what you are doing, you can scatter all you have been labouring with for
days.
STEPS:
 Go to your blogger dashboard and click on the theme icon.
 A myriad of themes will appear. At this point, you must have done your
research and know which themes fit best.
 Once you like a theme, make sure you click the preview button to see how
it will look it when you apply it.
 If you don’t like the colors on the theme, click the customize button and
you can edit the colors and fonts on your theme.
 Once you are certain, click apply theme.
 You can also upload your own theme to the site assuming you don’t like
any of those. Ensure you check the Advanced course to see how to
successfully upload your own custom theme to your blog.
Note: You can always change a theme whenever you feel like. But always
remember that it may look unprofessional if people keep seeing new changes
so often on your blog. Also, if you are using a mobile phone, don’t forget to
switch over to the desktop version of your browser, it saves you some stress.

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Please don’t click any of the links shown pointed to by the blue arrow or
else you are sure of what you are doing.
(v). Basic Blog Pages and How To Create Them.

STEPS:
 You should have learned that the six (6) basic blog pages include:
1. Home page
2. About page
3. Privacy policy
4. Terms and agreement
5. Disclaimer and
6. Contact page.
 HOME PAGE
 This is usually the first page of a blog site.
 It usually contains all the links to the other other pages on your site.
 You must plan your layout and set it well in order to make your
homepage well structured.
 ABOUT PAGE
 This page is where you tell people about you, your business, your
products, brands, the services you offer, and what they are expected to
gain from your site.
 Try to include relevant information like your social pages.
 PRIVACY POLICY
 This page is very important and makes your site look professional.

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 Here you inform your viewers of the information you may collect from
them based on their interaction with your site. Such information include;
their email addresses, comments, IP address, etc. These information are
necessary for protecting your site from spammers and other harmful user
behaviour.
 You should also assure them here that the information they provide is
well protected and whether their details are visible to other third party
sites.
 TERMS AND AGREEMENT

 Here you list out the terms and agreement of using your site.
 You should state it clearly if your site contains some contents which
others might consider harmful like pornographic materials, links to
unwanted third party sites, promotional contents, etc.
 You should also warn people and appeal to them not to try using harmful
software that could disrupt your site activity.
 DISCLAIMER
 This page usually comes with the privacy policy page, but can stand on its
own.
 You should warn your readers and make them understand that no man is
an authority in any field, and that anyone can make mistakes, hence that
using information they get from your site is at their own risk.
 CONTACT PAGE
 Here you can tell our visitors how to reach you.
 You can include things like:
1. Your physical location/address if you want.

2. Your phone number
3. Email address
4. Your social media pages, etc.
 HOW TO CREATE THESE PAGES?

 Go to your blogger dashboard and click on pages.
 On the page, find create new, it may appear as a plus/cross sign.
 On top of the typing interface, Write the title of the page.
 Type-in the relevant details.
 You can add pictures to beautify it.
 Click the publish button once you are done and your page is set.
 If you are not done designing the page and want to finish it later, click on
the save as draft button, whenever you are done, you can publish it.
(Don’t ever publish half-finished pages, it may spoil your reputation).

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NOTE:
If you are confused about where to get the details to fill into these pages, you
can go to 12lists blog and copy the ones there. I am giving it to you for free.
Just remember to make necessary changes and edit the where the name and
contact details appear to your own.
(vi) . Layout Settings

I will only discuss the basic layout settings you need to start with.
STEPS:
 Go to your blogger dashboard and click on layout.
 The primary layout of your blog will appear. This depends on the theme
you chose, but you can rearrange it to suit you.
 The layout contains what is known as gadgets and contains various
sections such as a header, a body, a footer, side bars and a section where
you can add new gadgets.
 These gadgets are where you can add new features to your blog.
 You can rearrange these gadgets to suit you, but some are constant
depending depending on your theme.
 Once you click the add gadget, a list of possible gadgets will appear
where you can choose depending on your need.
NOTE: Be careful while adding too much gadgets to your blog, It may slow
down your site loading speed and affect user’s performance.
These Gadgets are the ones I consider Most Important

 Contact Form
 This makes it easy for visitors to send you an email.
 Pages
 Here you can display a list of all those basic blog pages you created and
even more.
 Featured Post
 Here you can highlight your favorite post to the first page of the blog, and
it will be the first post any visitor sees on visiting your site.
 HTML/Javascript
 With this, you can add a third party functionality or codes to your site.
 This can include affiliate links, social media pages, etc.
 Search
 This function enables users to search various components of your site.
 I will advice you to add this only if your site has grown bigger with many
posts.

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 Translate
 This feature enables your visitors to read your blog in their native
languages.
There are many others you can add depending on your need.
 THE BEST WAY TO ARRANGE YOUR BLOG LAYOUT.

Remember that our main goal of creating a site is to classify and structure
information about us in a way that our viewers can grasp what we have to
offer at a glance.
 General Tips:
 Your most important pages and gadgets should come at the header of the
blog layout. Examples are the Home page, contact page, Blog page and
your about page.
 The other pages; the terms and conditions, privacy policy, disclaimer
should come at the footer.
 Blog posts are usually at the body of the layout.
 Gadgets like affiliate links can come at the header, in between posts and at
the side bars.
 Gadgets like social bars, and arbitrary codes should come at the side bars.
 Don’t add more than 7 third party links to a page, it will slow down your
site.
 Your contact form is best placed on the side bar.
 You can find more information yourself with time.
(vii) . The Basic Blog Settings

This includes:
 The blog title
 The blog description
 The Blog Language
 Adult Content Setting
 Google analytics property ID
 Favicon
 Blog Title
 This should be short and represent the blog message well.
 There is usually a provision for 1-100 characters.
 Description
 Give a short description about your blog.
 Always use the most important keywords, it is used by search engines.

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 Blog Language
 This is the language you want to publish your blog in.
 It contains over 50 different languages to choose from.
 Adult Content Setting

 If your blog is an adult site, it is always advisable to select this option so
as to warn visitors about your blog to avoid violating their privacy.
 Google Analytics Property ID

 Check how to set up your site for Google analytics in the full course.
 Favicon
 A favicon is a small image usually less than 100 KB which helps users to
recognize a site from search engines. The image is usually the most
popular image of the site, most likely a logo.
Don’t Have a Logo Yet? Contact the Whatsapp Number: +2349018370062
 KEY POINTS
 All you need to get started on blogger is a functional gmail account, a
laptop (preferably), or a mobile phone, all with data connection.
 Never be in a hurry why setting up your blog, you need to first do a
research and understand the concept you want to propagate using your
blog.
 A good blog theme, a well-structured layout, and a befitting blog title and
description is the backbone of a good blog.
 Once you are done with the set up, it can take days or weeks, thinks of
post/article that is worthy enough for you to start with, do your research
and publish.
 To make the most out of your blog, check out the Advanced blog set up.

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3. Setting Up a WordPress Site
SOME IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT WORDPRESS YOU NEED TO
KNOW
 Wordpress is made up of two different servers where you can
successfully create and publish your blog/website.
 One is wordpress.com the other is wordpress.org (also called wordpress
for developers)
 For a start, you should launch your website on wordpress.com domain
and maybe transfer your site to .org later.
 The only difference is that wordpress.org was created basically for people
with knowledge of programming who would like to configure their site
better to suit their specifications. But if you just want a simple life, just
stick to wordpress.com.
 Wordpress is a bit more complex and technical to use, but they have a
strong support system especially for beginners, this will help you set up
your site without much trouble.
 Wordpress is a much bigger hosting site when compared to blogger and
over 30% of the world’s blogs are being hosted by them.
 The only problem I have with wordpress is that it is far more expensive to
start with, although when compared to the features it offers, is worth
every penny spent.
 But for beginners, who don’t have much money to spend on a web
hosting, but would like to customize their site with third party gadgets, I
will recommend them to start with blogger and then move over to
wordpress when they can afford it.
 Setting up a wordpress blog is almost similar to creating a blogger
account, you need a functional email address, a browsing gadget; a laptop
or a mobile phone.
(i) . Creating a Wordpress Account

STEPS:
 Go to www.wordpress.com on your desktop or phone browser.
 On the home page of wordpress.com, look for start your website and click
it.
 Fill in your email address, choose a username (this is the name that will
be displayed on your profile and all your published posts.), choose a hard
password and click on create account.
 The next page contains a box where you can type-in your desired domain
name. (Always choose a name that is short and reflects the idea you want
to publish on your blog)
 You will see a list of available domain names both free and paid plans.
NOTE:
If this is your first time of creating a blog, even if you feel so sure about what
you want to do with your blog, always start with a free plan (ie a

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wordpress.com plan). You can pay for a basic, premium, Business or
E-commerce plan when you have finished setting up your blog and have
started publishing your posts.
STEPS CONT:
 Once you have chosen a befitting name for your blog, the wordpress
account is created.
 The next step is setting up your blog and is a bit tiresome. But there is
always room for trial and error. Remember, don’t hurry.
 There is usually an offer from the wordpress team that asks your to accept
their offer to help you set up your blog, always accept this offer. When
you do, you will see a page with a list of things you need to do to set up
your site successfully.
 Once you have completed each setup, a ticked check box will appear
which shows that you have completed the phase.
 These set up are the basics you need to start your blog, you can discover
other things as you use the blog.
Check the pictures below for a step by step guide.

Step 1: Visit www.wordpress.com on your web browser.
Step 2: Click the start your website button to continue.

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Step 3: Create your account
Step 4: Choose a domain name (Even wordpress recommends that you start
with a free plan.
Step 5: Set up your site: Use the guide provided by wordpress service team

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Step 6: Open your email and confirm the email sent to you by wordpress
team.
Step 7: Get a WordPress Mobile Application from Google Playstore and

Sign in using the newly created account, this is very important.
Always ask for help whenever you encounter any challenges.
(ii) . Basic WordPress Components

The Pictures below shows the basic wordpress components
These components are seen once you open your wordpress dashboard.
 HOME
 Here you can have a glimpse of all your site activities at a glance.
 You can see an overview of your sites statistics, quick links to manage
your site (Edit your home page, Add a new page, Write a blog post, Edit
your menus, Customize your theme, Change your theme, Add a domain,
etc).
 You can also see popular articles and guides published by wordpress
team to guide you in your blog.
 STATS
 Here you can view your site traffic and insights.
 It contains your blog stats from one day, one week, one month, one year
and all time stats.
 You can view your pages performance, search terms, file downloads,etc.s
 Also you can monitor your audience, their top referrers, countries, the
most read authors in your blog, and the videos people played if any.

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 PLAN
 Here you can see the various wordpress plans and the benefits of using
each of them.
 You can come back later and upgrade your site to your most preferred
plan; the personal, premium, business, and e-commerce plan.

 SITE
 This contains a list of all your sites pages, posts, media (pictures and
videos), Comments, and feedback.
 Here you can edit and update your posts and pages.
 You can moderate comments and delete unwanted ones.
 You can add, remove or edit pictures and videos on your blog.
 JETPACK
 Jetpack is the only available plugin you have access to if you are using a
free wordpress.com site.
 A plugin is like a cheat software that helps you install third party
functionalities to your wordpress blog. It’s just like the HTML/Javascript
gadget in blogger, but more advanced.
 The role of Jetpack is to to run your wordpress blog and to protect your
site from harmful third party activities.
 You can also see your site login activities, and even back up your site to
protect your contents using Jetpack.
 Other plugins are only available once you activate the Business plan in
wordpress.
 DESIGN
 Here you can choose and customize your themes.
 This is more complex compared to the theme customization in blogger
and requires patience and time to master.
 But you can be using the default customization of a selected theme till
you learn how to use enhance some of the effects.
 TOOLS
 Here you can download and install new plugins once your business plan
is set up.
 You can also import and export your other blogs into wordpress from
here, such as posts, comments, pages, etc.
 You can also export your site contents to other sites or just to save them
for security reasons.
 You can also connect your social media accounts to your blog from here
and link them to automatically publish your new blog posts to your
various social networks.

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 You can also set up your blog to earn with wordads. But this is only
available if you have upgraded your site at least to up to the business
plan.
 MANAGE
 Here you can do your hosting configurations, add new domains, connect
with other wordpress users and blogs, add contributors, authors and
admins to your blogs, etc.
 WP ADMIN
 Only a blog administrator has access to this part of the blog.
 To become an admin, you must create the blog yourself, or be added as an
admin by an already existing admin.
 Admins have the right to edit all posts and pages, add new users to the
blog, in fact, they have complete authority over the blog.
(iii). Choosing a WordPress Theme

This is basically the same as choosing a theme in blogger. The steps are also
the same, and it is required that you know and understand your niche well
before choosing a theme.
 STEPS
 Go to your wordpress dashboard and click on the theme icon.
 A myriad of themes will appear. At this point, you must have done your
research and know which themes fit best.
 Once you like a theme, make sure you click the preview button to see how
it will look it when you apply it.
 Once you are certain, click apply theme.
 Once you apply the theme, you must customize the theme to suit your
blog, remove unwanted images and add your own, edit the texts and
replace it with your own.
 You can also upload your own theme to the site assuming you don’t like
any of those or pay for any of the plans to have access to all the wordpress
themes.
(iv) . Creating Your Blog Pages

Please refer to the basic blog pages in blogger and check the guide on how to
create them.
 WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW?

 Wordpress have multiple and unique designs for various basic blog
pages.
 All you need to do is to choose the template for the page you want to
create, and edit it with your own pictures and texts.
 Once you are done, hit the publish button.

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(v). Layout Settings
 You can access this setting by clicking the customize theme button.
 Here you can see the various wordpress widgets (called gadgets in
blogger).
 This is best done using a laptop/pc, but if you don’t have access to one,
just edit the necessary components, add your logo and pictures and get on
with other things.
To learn more about other important settings in WordPress, ensure to follow

all newsletters and blog posts from 12 Lists.
 KEY POINTS
 Setting up a wordpress site is much more advanced when compared to a
blogger site.
 All you need is a functional email a laptop (preferred) or a mobile phone
with network connection.
 Wordpress has more preformed features already created by wordpress
developers, your role is to discover them and start using them.
 If you have any issues with creating your blog, don’t forget to ask
questions.

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27

4. Publishing Your First Blog Post
Once you have successfully set up your blog up to this level, the next step
should be publishing your first post.
I know you must have been itching to do this. But one advice I have for you is
never to be in a hurry to publish posts. Many have made some mistakes
which they are still paying for today just because they were too itchy to start
writing and posting stuffs, but it is best to take your time and optimize every
page of your website so that they will be ready for your posts.
Also, your first blog post matters a lot, as it will help create a good first
impression on your viewers.
How to write a killer content is beyond the scope of this book, but I will just
share some tips which you need to know before you start writing.
 Think and plan on the first message you want to send across to people.
 Do your research; you need to know your stuff well to create a good first
impression.
 Use the right pictures.
 Check out top bloggers and your favorites to see their first posts and how
they wrote it.
 Don’t be in a haste.
 Add pictures to beautify your post.
 Add tags/labels to classify your post.
 You may suffer from impostor syndrome; but are you the first blogger
ever?
 Hit that Publish button.

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5. What Next?
Now, you have published your first blog post, so what next?
The next thing is to start getting people to read it. Don’t tell me you laboured
all these while with nobody to read your content.
You can achieve this by sharing your links with family and friends and beg
them to help you share the link with their own friends.
But that is just the beginning!
 You need to help search engines to find your site so that you can increase
your web visitors.
 You need to start making your content work for you by earning some
money through it.
 You need to keep growing and becoming a master in your niche.
To learn how to optimize your site for search engines and possible ways to
start making some money, Make Sure you Read through the Advanced
Blog Set Up.
 If after reading this, and you still find it difficult to set up your blog, or
you are too busy and occupied to create, contact the whatsapp number;
+2349018370062 or send an email to leenick492@gmail.com I will help
you with the set up, but you will pay a little token for the service
rendered.
 Follow my social channels for updates, guides and free tips from 12lists.
 FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/12services or @PaschalMadueke
 TWITTER: @MpaschalM
 PINTEREST: Paschal Madueke
 LINKED IN: @PaschalMadueke
 INSTAGRAM: @P3SK3L

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29

Copyright Information
Copyright © 2020 by Paschal Madueke (12lists.blogspot.com)
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,

distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without
the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial
uses permitted by copyright law.

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What are the steps to set up a blog?

What are the steps to set up a blog?

What are some tips for writing the first blog post?

What are some tips for writing the first blog post?

|12LISTS

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

A Basic Guide To Creating Your WordPress Or Blogspot Site

With Pictures and Illustrations

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

How do you achieve this?

“It helps you classify your work”

Who is this guide for?

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

1. Introduction: The difference between a blog and a website.

2. Setting up a Blogspot blog/Website.

3. Setting Up a Wordpress blog/website

4. Publishing Your First Blog Post

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

The difference between a blog and a website

Another type is a combination of the two; Website/Blog. Contains some

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

These pages include:

Choosing a hosting server; Wordpress.com Vs. Blogspot.com

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

And Many more…

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

(i) . Creating a Blogger account

The pictures below should help.

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

(ii) . Creating Your Blog

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

(iii)Various Blogger Components And Their Uses

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

(iv) . Choosing a Blog Theme

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

(v). Basic Blog Pages and How To Create Them.

PASCHAL MADUEKE | 12LISTS.BLOGSPOT.COM

BLOG SETUP FOR BEGINNERS

 TERMS AND AGREEMENT

1. Your physical location/address if you want.

 HOW TO CREATE THESE PAGES?