If I take a really good look at this blog and think about why I do it, there are two very clear reasons. The first is cooking – something that is totally natural and necessary for me to stay sane. The second is tech – and it’s the thing that oftentimes drives me insane (which is helped by cooking), but that constantly challenges and excites me. I’ve had a passion for computers ever since I can remember, and it has extended into my adult life a lot more than I ever thought it would.
Since I started blogging, I’ve had three different websites – the first on wordpress.com, the next on a self-hosted website that is no longer live, and the third on this here website, My California Roots. I’ve learned a lot on my way here, from trial-and-error self-taught HTML and CSS to my now more advanced in-progress training in PHP.
Most people can’t stand looking at code and dread the technical side of blogging. I really enjoy it.
As a team member at Food Blogger Pro, I’ve talked to a lot of people who want to make changes to their website but have no idea where to start. I have the experience to help them navigate through a lot of these changes, but working with people on a case-by-case basis isn’t the best use of my time, and it also limits the number of people I can help.
So, I’ve decided to start posting here some information on the technical side of blogging (and blogging in general) that should help people like you navigate through the deep, dark waters of code to achieve the website you’ve always wanted to see. And so, I’m really excited to be introducing: MCR Tech!
All of the things I post in MCR Tech will live on this page here: http://blog.raquelmsmith.webfactional.com/website-tutorials-bloggers/
The first few posts will be some basics so that I can refer back to them in subsequent posts. Here’s what you’ll be seeing in the coming weeks:
- What platform you should use to build your blog
- Whether or not you should be using the Genesis framework for your blog
- How to choose a theme for your blog
I’m not going to go through things such as setting up WordPress, purchasing hosting, or using general plugins like W3 Total Cache. These things are covered in-depth in Food Blogger Pro and it’s not really my interest to be going over those types of basics here.
After those basics are covered, we’re going to start getting into the lightly technical things. All these tutorials will be covering how to achieve these things on the Genesis platform. Much of the information could potentially be used on other themes/platforms, but I work with Genesis and recommend using it, as I will discuss soon. Here’s what you can expect to see:
- What files you should and should not be editing
- Accessing your site files for editing
- How to change the colors on your website
- How to install new fonts
- How to change the footer credits on your blog
Changing colors and fonts are some of the most common edits people want to make to their website. Many times these changes will satisfy your need for customization and you can stop there. After that I’ll be getting into the more technical stuff, which I’m really excited about. But for now, we’re starting from the bottom and moving up so I can reference these posts later. If you are interested in learning about the technical side of blogging then sign up below and I’ll be sure to email you when I have new content.
I’m so excited to finally be writing about this kind of stuff. It’s been on my to-do list for a long time, but it’s big and new and kind of scary (to me, at least). But I’m taking the plunge and I can’t wait to see where it goes! See you next time, starting with WordPress!
PS. If you have a request for a tech tutorial other than the ones listed here, let me know!