Learning The Fundamentals | Day Ten: Build A Better Blogroll (Day Ten: Build A Blogroll)

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Day Ten: Build a Better Blogroll

Today, let’s continue to weave the fabric of the blogosphere using one of the web’s essential tools: links.

Today’s assignment: use a widget to create a blogroll, a list of links you love that you want to share with your readers.

Here’s how:

1. First, decide what kind of widget you want to use: the Blogs I Follow widget, or a Text widget.
2. Next, click the button below to open the Customizer, then select Widgets, and add the widget you want to use.
3. Finally, customize the widget’s settings and/or add your text, then click Save & Publish.

Recommendations are like getting advice from a friend rather than blindly searching the internet; adding them is a no-brainer — and often comes with traffic-building benefits.

Open the Customizer

The Blogs I Follow Widget will generate a list of your most recently-followed blogs automatically, while the Text Widget requires you to enter text and links yourself.

Learn more in the tools and tips for this assignment.

Cheers,
Michelle W. and the WordPress.com Team

I find it strange that the widget designed for blogrolls which is called the Links widget was not mentioned for this part of the course and that there is a blogroll option (feature) in the Links Menu built into WordPress.com itself and that the Links widget shows your blogrolls that you created on WordPress.com in the Links Menu, and so I have contacted the WordPress.com staff using their Contact Page to report this strange omission of that widget and that option (feature).

I am also surprised that they did not mention Reader Lists.

Instead of using either of those three widgets I am now using my About page to show my blogroll (links) and the Posts I Like widget to save space in my sidebar and for a few other reasons.

The end,

-John Jr

Learning The Fundamentals | Day Nine: Get Inspired By The Neighbors

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Day Nine: Get Inspired by the Neighbors

Yesterday, you left comments on four other blogs — that means the posts were thought-provoking.

Let’s draw on that!

Today, write a post that builds on one of these comments, and link to the other blog.

Here’s how:

1. First, choose a post that piqued your interest.
2. Next, start your new post by clicking on the button below.
3. Finally, give your post a few tags, including bloggingfundamentals, and publish it.

Start a new post

In your post, include a link to blog that inspired you: refer to the post or blog your post, and make those words a link.

The blogger will be notified that you linked to them, so don’t be surprised if they pay you a visit!

Learn more in the tools and tips for this assignment.

Cheers,
Michelle W. and the WordPress.com Team

I am not sure if this is the most recent case of this happening or not but last month I read a post called Demon Sex by another blogger named Ingidisa/Jiuhl and I left a comment on that post, that night I had a dream inspired by that post, and when I woke up I typed my dream and I credited her and her post in my dream post:

The Making Of A Pornographic Film?

The end,

-John Jr

Learning The Fundamentals | Day Eight: Introduce Yourself To The Neighbors! (Day Eight: Say Hello To Your WordPress.com Neighbors)

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Day Eight: Introduce Yourself to the Neighbors!

Leaving thoughtful comments puts you in conversation with other bloggers — and entices them to visit you!

Today, leave comments on four different blogs.

Here’s how:

Click the button below to head to the Reader and browse the blogs and topics you already follow.

Next, check the Recommendations and Discover tabs to find great posts we think you’ll love, or browse the bloggingfundamentals tag to see posts from other new bloggers.

Finally, leave comments on four of the posts you read.

You can leave comments right from the Reader, but if you love a post, why not visit the blog to explore more?

Visit the Reader

Unsure what to say?

We’ve got plenty of guidance on how to write great comments.

Learn more in the tools and tips for this assignment.

Cheers,
Michelle W. and the WordPress.com Team

Learning The Fundamentals | Day Seven: Start Personalizing Your Site (Day Seven: Headers And Backgrounds)

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Day Seven: Start Personalizing Your Site

You’ve got a theme you love – now it’s time to start personalizing!

Time to inject more personality.

Today, add a custom header image or background (or both).

Here’s how:

1. First, head to the Customizer by clicking on the button below. Choose the Custom Header or Colors & Backgrounds tab.
2. Next, upload a photo you love to use as a header — you can try a few — or preview some background colors.
3. Finally, decide which you like, and click Save & Publish to apply them to your blog.

Open your Customizer

Nothing you try in the Customizer is permanent until you click Save & Publish, so experiment with colors!

Want to try a little graphic design?

You can use online tools like PicMonkey to create a free custom header in less than fifteen minutes.

Learn more in the tools and tips for this assignment.

Cheers,
Michelle W. and the WordPress.com Team

I am using the Lazy Sleeping Star image as my blog’s site logo instead of a header image to save space and because I can use animated images this way and because the placement of header images in the Twenty Sixteen theme is not ideal for my needs, and I am using the default background color without a background image because I think that it looks good enough.

There was a time when I used header images, I still do experiment with them sometimes but rarely, and even further back I used an image of The Young Shepherdess painting as my blog’s background but I have not used custom background images for my blog in years.

The end,

-John Jr

Blogging: Learning The Fundamentals | Day Six: Make An Irresistible “About” Page (Day Six: Publish An “About” Page And Add A Widget)

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Day Six: Make an Irresistible “About” Page

We read blogs because we love the people behind them.

When a visitor is intrigued by your site, they’ll want to know more about you.

Today, create and publish an “About” page, and adapt it into a widget for your home page.

Here’s how:

1. First, create a new page by clicking on the button below.
2. Next, write your description — use your Day One post for inspiration if you’d like — and click Publish.
3. Finally, go to My Site > Customize, then select the Widgets tab. Add a Text Widget with a one- or two-sentence version of your story, and click Save and Publish.

Create a new page

Widgets are little items you can add to your blog to provide more information, like a short description of who you are, a photo, your latest tweets, and more.

Today you’ll add a Text Widget, but there are dozens of options — Learn more in the tools and tips for this assignment.

We’re looking forward to learning more about you and your blog!

Cheers,
Michelle W. and the WordPress.com Team

Here is a link to my About Page: About.

I am using the Gravatar Profile Widget in my sidebar to show an excerpt from my About Page, my Gravatar image, and a link to my Gravatar Profile.

The end,

-John Jr