Getting Started: Deciding on a Hosting Site, and Lessons Learned
Good morning, Lovelies!
A quick DISCLAIMER - this post is not really photography related, but we are a photography for beginners group. As such, I think, many of you have considered creating a website, which makes - creating a website - an excellent topic for our little group. Also, I want you to be able to follow me step-by-step as I’m embarking on this exciting new journey.
At the very bottom of this post, I’m adding a full-disclosure notice, something some of you might want to get into as a potential revenue stream, and some great new ideas for our group.
So, thank you for visiting during my website creation process (whooo-hooo…my first blog post… I am wayyyy thrilled, and my little heart is pounding!!) Let’s dive in and get started.
Like many of you, I’m not very internet savvy or technically inclined. I’ve tinkered with websites here and there, but it never felt right.
Some platform didn’t give me the options I wanted. For example, they didn’t offer enough templates, or the templates they offered weren’t quite right for my purposes.
Others were too difficult to navigate. Getting the site to do anything seemed impossible. For example, I always knew I wanted a link to our Photography for Beginners group, but some sites asked for code. Well, I have zero clue about code, and the process went down the tubes from there.
There were sites that were easier to use and had plenty of templates. Inserting links was easy, too, but then they didn’t allow me to change the templates. If the template had an image field on the right, and I wanted the image on the left… well, good riddance, that didn’t work. OR - if the template had a block for text, but I wanted two columns, well, too bad… a block was what I was stuck with.
So, it was a headache(!), and I gave up before any of the sites could ever go live. By the way, that did not make me feel any better about myself. I am usually a quick study and not a quitter, but there I ran into walls. Does that sound familiar? Have you been there?
Somewhat defeated, I considered hiring a professional to build me a website, but after speaking with a few companies and professionals, I quickly learned that was not an option either.
I am a hobby photographer and cannot invest thousands of $$ on a website that may or may not work for me. NO! I needed something more economical. Something that if everything goes sideways will not make me cry.
Finally, I decided to give it one last shot with this platform, and I must say, it’s easy-peasy. I am not 100% convinced, yet, it’s too early in the process, but just sitting here, typing my first little blog post, I can safe my draft, come back to it, insert and edit the text how I want, and it feels easy and natural.
Also, navigating the site, adjusting the template (and they have loads of them) was a cakewalk.
BUT - it wouldn’t be me if something had not gone sideways, and in this case, it was my own, noobish fault.
I thought my domain was the same as getting the website. IT IS NOT!
The domain is simply the internet address - in this case - katjabethune.com
The actual site is different and costs extra.
So, the noob I am, I bought my domain for three (3) years, which was around $50, only to learn that in order to publish it - I needed a subscription, too, WHICH — wait for it — was around $300 per year, and includes a free domain name for one (1) year.
I have requested a refund ;) so, let’s see how it goes.
Okay, that’s pretty much it for my first blog post. I hope there was some useful information in it for some of you.
Now the full disclosure and the exciting news I have promised you at the start.
Full disclosure: I did apply as an affiliate with this platform. They denied me pretty quickly, but I sent an email to make my case.
The exciting news for Photography for Beginners is - if this platform decides to take me as an affiliate, we will have contests where the group members can actually win prizes. What sort of prizes I do not know, yet, but I am sure we can figure it out as a group and have loads of fun with it.
Looking forward to seeing you all in the group, keep posting those great pictures, remember to keep it clean, and as always —> HUGGLES