Working at Home on the Internet

7 Necessary Steps When Launching a New Blog

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Did you know it is a lot of work to launch a Blog? Of course you did, and so did I. But I almost forgot How Much Work it really is to set things up the way I want them.

Why am I telling you this? Because FINALLY after two years of waiting and trying to secure the URL I have wanted is now Mine, all mine… mcbsconsulting.com will be the Main Site for My Computer Back in Service. That, if you don’t already know, is my actual business. Helping people when they are having problems with their computer, Website or Blog. But I won’t bore you with that right now, I’ll bore you with some of the steps I will be taking this time around.

• The easy part is done, I installed WP 2.2.1. This was never a question as I have found WordPress to be the best platform for my Bogging.
• Picking a Theme is not quite as easy. The first one I tried would not render anywhere close to Internet Explorer using FireFox. The next choice was a little better, but no final decision yet.
• Then there is the matter of Plugins. Luckily, I have tested quite a few and have a good idea of what I want to do with the presentation and usage features they provide.
• Meta Data is something I really have to work on. The Blog Info and Tag line are set, but Keywords are important to get right in the beginning. Content will help with that later, but I want to get a head start with SEO (Search Engine Optimization).
• Setting the Options the right way now will help later. I set the Permalink structure without the date, just the Title/post will show for entries. I always wanted to do that here, but it would cause problems with ALL the links, internal and external.
• Another important thing to do is to register with all of the pinging services and sites like Technorati and FeedBurner. I still have to set up with Google for a Sitemap and get the code for StatCounter.
• I also want to have some posts written and ready to go Before the launch. That way, I should have a head start on posting and it should be easier to maintain a consistant schedule.

Even with the experience of Blogging and being part of such a great community, it is still a lot of work to get a Blog off the ground. I have no doubt that I have left things out but this little list will keep me busy for quite a while. Not to worry, I will let you know when I Do launch My Computer Back in Service.

Let me know if you come up with any suggestions for missing steps in comments, Please.

August 8th, 2007 at 11:24am | Posted by Joe | Basics, Blogging, Management, Organization, Resources, Tips | 4 reader remarks | Print This Post