So you’ve read blog post #1 in my series, got all your accounts set up, created your Bluehost hosting for your site (which I highly recommend & this is an affiliate link), have your WordPress ready to go & are like…. “what do I do now?!”, right? Well, let’s jump into it then!
In this post I want to help get you a little more familiar with your new WordPress dashboard so you have a general idea of where to find things, customize things & what to click when we start getting in to future posts about customization & more in this series!
So when you got to your WordPress dashboard, which is the place you will be going to do all your customizations, plug ins, posts, pages… all of it, it’ll look something like this.
This screen (dashboard) will have so many messages to you. Plug-ins that want you to download them, news, updates that have or need to happen on your site, analytics for the health of you blog… literally everything. It can sometimes be a mess that might be difficult to figure out without some guidance.
So from my experience with my own blog, I am here to help you see things a little clearer, because this dashboard is where you will be at when working on your site.
So on the left hand side of your dashboard you will see all your editing features and options running down the page. These will include things like your host (should you get one which I personally recommend from experience using Bluehost [affiliate link in which I will receive a commission if you use at no extra cost to you, thank you for your support] & you need a self hosted website to monetize your blog one day), your main dashboard (where all your news & update info is), your site kit (once you download that- you need to be on track for monetization first, which I truly hope to help you all with getting there!), posts & pages– this is where you can create new ones, view prior ones and all in between, comments to see anytime someone kindly comments on your post, email subscribers where you can see how your following is growing, send campaigns & more, appearance where you can customize and set up your site theme & make your website look amazing (we will get into this in a future post), plug ins– the place you will go to add new ones everytime you want something more to elevate your website (we will talk in the future about this), general settings & more as you continue to add more.
Again, we will get into all of that in the near future!
If you are in your account and you go to view your site, you will see your site like this. You’ll see your website as others do but you as the admin will also see a top bar with options. This is another way to get into customizing your site & it is my favorite way because you can view your page as you are making changes so you can truly see how it will look. I love using this feature whenever I am changing colors or sprucing up my website theme or adding widgets, and you will come to love it, too.
Also, when you are on a page you’ve created or in a post you have created, the top bar will also allow you to edit post or page. This allows you to quickly be brought into editing when you notice you might want to edit something. As I keep saying, your website will always be a work in progress. Just when you think it is “perfect” & “ready” to go, there will always be something new you learn or something you might want to change up a bit. So just start! Take a little time to get your site set up, but you really need to start putting content out there to start gaining traffic on a public site if you are serious about growing your blog. YOU GOT THIS! (:
This is going to wrap up this post & check back soon because I will be going into how to actually customize your WordPress theme & make your website look amazing all while being user friendly for your viewers! You can check out my video above if you prefer a video tutorial on getting to know your dashboard!
Hope you all enjoyed & that this has helped you in some way to get familiar with the place you will be creating in all the time (:
DISCLAIMER: I am not an expert in this field. I am simply sharing my own experiences, strategies & blogging / content creating journey with you all in the hopes it might help you if you are navigating your way through the same thing! I am never telling you what you should do & you should always consult a professional if you have a serious question. I can only speak from my own personal experience! (:
