Before delving into the 302 status code properly, let’s talk a bit about HTTP protocol in general.

HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol) Status Codes

The internet is made of 2 core themes, web clients and servers.

Web clients are your browser, which could be platforms like Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Safari, or Firefox. The point is that you usually access the internet using any of these clients.

Usually, whenever you request a website, you are accessing data from a web server. You make your request and the server responds. This is what happens every single time you view any content online.

You make this request using the HTTP protocol. Protocols are languages that everyone on the internet agrees to use for simplicity. A client requests the server, and status codes let us know whether the request was a success, a failure, or something in between.

HTTP codes are of various forms:

• 1xx: informational requests
• 2xx: successful requests
• 3xx: redirects/ redirection
• 4xx: client errors
• 5xx: server errors

The 3xx are for redirects. This is when an address was requested, but you were sent somewhere else.

For example, let’s say you want to visit https://www.someoneswebsite.com and you wind up viewing https://www.adifferentwebsite.com. This is usually the result of a redirect.

This happens a lot when web developers change the slugs or URLs of posts and pages. Though, usually, these are 301 redirects, which tells search engines the move is permanent.

301 vs 302 redirects

A 301 is a permanent redirect. An example of this is if you apply a 301 redirect to a site “abc.com” to redirect to “xyz.com” permanently. Thus every time someone visits abc.com, they are redirected to xyz.com.

Also, a 301 redirect helps tell Google that you have changed URLs.

All existing ranking moves from the old URL to the new site. This is a permanent move, more like changing addresses and having your mail forwarded to your new address. It might take some time for everyone to catch up, but eventually, they do.

A 302 redirect, as said before, is temporary. This means you plan on moving back to the old site in the near future.

Also, 301 redirects pass “link juice,” whereas 302 redirects do not.

Why is this so important?

Link juice is a search engine ranking factor based on the theory that particular links convey value and authority from one page to the next. It’s a method to see how people are talking about your content, website, and brand.

It is a fantastic method to raise brand awareness, build your reputation, and promote yourself as a reference in your field.

Search engine optimization can suffer as a result of 302 not passing this link juice.

What About Meta Refresh?

Meta refresh is another form of redirect often compared to 301 and 302.

A Meta refresh redirect is a client-side redirect. Unlike 301 and 302 redirects that happen on the web server, it informs the web browser to navigate to a different web page after a certain amount of time has passed.

A five-second countdown with the text “If you are not redirected in five seconds click here” is most usually linked with meta-refresh redirection.

In many circumstances, utilizing a meta refresh redirect can result in confusing your users, they are more vulnerable to spammers, and they also do not pass any link juice. This is bad for many reasons.

What is HTTP 302 status code?

A 302 Found message is an HTTP response status code that indicates that the requested resource has been relocated to a new URL temporarily.

The web server is frequently the cause of it, unlike client error replies found in the 4xx codes, such as the 404 Not Found Error. This can be caused by either a client-side or server-side issue and the user experience is unaffected because the redirect occurs automatically.

Although a browser redirects to this page, search engines do not update their links to the resource (the “link-juice” is not transmitted to the new URL in “SEO-speak”).

A client that receives a 302 Found response code should continue to utilize the original URL for subsequent queries because the location or current redirection directive may be altered.

For instance, what if you’re visiting a clothing website in the United States while you are located in Germany? A 302 redirect would send you to the German version of the site to ensure that currency and other contents are displayed according to your location.

When can you use the 302 status code?

Mostly, rather than being an error, an HTTP 302 response is intended for redirection. Some of the most typical reasons for using a 302 redirect include:

• Redesigning a page — While the other page is being built, you can redirect users to a temporary location.
• Performing A/B testing or site maintenance – Want to put a new page to the test and get feedback on how it performs? You can do this without harming your ranking by using a 302 redirect.
• Promoting a product – You can use a temporary redirect for a page that ordinarily contains other information to drive users to a specific offer.
• A product is sold out — If a product is sold out or temporarily unavailable, consumers can be redirected to a comparable page until it is restocked.
• If the content is broken and you would like traffic redirected to another page
• When you want to collect some data

How to use 302 on your WordPress website

First, log in to your hosting account and open cPanel. Navigate to the domains and select redirect.

On the redirect settings, you select the redirect type with a dropdown box. In this case, it is temporary (302). Select the domain in question, enter the address you wish to redirect to, and then select add.

With this, your redirect has been added.

To remove this redirect, go to the link of redirects, click on delete and then click on remove redirect.

You can also redirect within a website. For instance, you can redirect people from the about us page to the contact us page.

The steps are similar to the above with some changes. After selecting the domain in the box just below, which you left empty previously, enter you’re about us page name as your directory. For the redirection address, select the contact us page name. Add, and then your redirection has been added.

Doing the redirect yourself doesn’t come highly recommended unless you are a highly technical individual. You can make mistakes with your redirects.

One significant implication of this is that you lose traffic to your site. When corrections are made, if you’re lucky, you may get up to 90% of where you were, and even this would take some time.

Why does error 302 occur?

The 302 codes are not usually error messages and don’t usually require fixing. It is only an error if your website is responding with 302 codes that it shouldn’t, and when it responds with a redirect loop, such as ERR TOO MANY REDIRECTS.

Though, 302 codes may be issued inadvertently if something on your website is configured incorrectly. If this occurs, you may encounter issues like when a page on your website unintentionally sends visitors somewhere else.

From Google Chrome, the ERR TOO MANY REDIRECTS error appears like this:

This issue can be the result of a configuration error, a plugin conflict, wrong URL settings, or a misconfigured .htaccess file.

How to fix the HTTP 302 error on your WordPress website

The very first thing you need to do is make sure to perform a complete backup of your website. That way, if anything goes wrong, you can always revert to the previous version.

A WordPress backup plugin comes in handy here. BlogVault WordPress backup, UpdraftPlus, JetPack backups, and WP Time capsule are a few of the best you can use.

To fix HTTP 302 error:

1. Check to see if the redirects are valid

Double-check to see which URLs are causing the 302 error and assess whether the redirect is necessary. To do so, go to the pages on your website that you believe are causing the 302 error and examine if they are functioning as expected.

It is correctly configured if a temporarily unavailable page redirects to the correct resource.

If, on the other hand, a website sends you to the incorrect resource or your browser detects a redirect loop by displaying an ERR TOO MANY REDIRECTS error page, it is a sign that one (or more) of your redirects isn’t configured correctly.

2. Clear browser cookies and cache

Cookies on your web browser are also a common cause of the problem. Using a different web browser, such as Firefox, Safari, Opera, Microsoft Edge, or others, try browsing your website.

If you can visit your website normally using a different browser, you’ll need to erase your regular browser’s cookies and cache.

If changing the browser does not resolve the problem, proceed to the following step.

3. Deactivate all WordPress plugins

A plugin issue is the most prevalent cause of WordPress redirect loops or “Too many redirects.” This error is caused by a plugin attempting to set up a redirect in a way that clashes with basic WordPress redirects.

You must disable all WordPress plugins on your website to remedy this. Normally, you may deactivate plugins by going to the Plugins » All Plugins page in the WordPress admin area.

However, let’s assume that you are unable to enter the WordPress admin area.

In that case, you’ll need to use an FTP client or the File Manager tool in your WordPress hosting control panel to deactivate WordPress plugins.

Simply use an FTP client to connect to your website and navigate to the /wp-content/ folder.

You’ll find the plugins folder there, which you’ll need to rename to “plugins.deactivate” to disable the WordPress plugins.

To load the plugin files, WordPress looks for a folder called plugins. When it can’t find the folder, it disables the database’s active plugins automatically.

You can now go to your WordPress website and look around. If you can now log into your WordPress admin area, one of the plugins was likely the source of the problem.

Switch back to the FTP client or File Manager program and rename your plugins to figure out which one was the cause.

Rename the folder to “plugins” and disable it.

After that, go to the Plugins > All Plugins page in the WordPress admin area of your website. You can then activate your plugins one by one and visit your website to see whether the error can be reproduced.

Once you’ve identified the plugin that’s causing the issue, you can either find a replacement or file a bug report.

4. Fix WordPress URLs

The URLs in the WordPress Address and Site Address fields must be the same for most websites. Some users, however, may use www in one URL and non-www in the other.

These two must be the same.

Because you may not have access to the WordPress admin area, you may need to use an FTP client or the File Manager app to correct the WordPress Address and Site Address within the wp-config.php file.

5. Reset the WordPress .htaccess file

The .htaccess file is a unique file that website servers use to control redirection and other server settings. This file is also used by WordPress to create SEO-friendly URLs and other redirects.

A misconfiguration in the WordPress URL settings is another main cause of this problem. Normally, these choices can be found on the Settings » General page.

WordPress plugins might sometimes make changes to your website’s .htaccess file, resulting in this error. It’s also possible that deactivating a plugin will leave such modifications in your .htaccess file.

You’ll need to manually reset your WordPress .htaccess file in that instance. You can use the FTP client or the File Manager software in your hosting dashboard.

6. Speak to your web host

If the above suggestions don’t fix the problem, you’ll need to contact your WordPress hosting company to make sure it’s not a server problem.

If there is nothing wrong with the server, perhaps the tech support of your web host can help you troubleshoot a bit further.

Conclusion

The status 302 code redirects your site to another address temporarily. It is not always an error message. But in general, using a 302 redirect is not a good idea.

The very few situations where you would want to use a 302 redirect may not be worth the disadvantages. You may want to implement the 301 redirects instead.

The post What is a 302 Redirect and How to Use It Properly appeared first on GreenGeeks.

You don’t have to build a full trading platform, you simply need to learn how to make a stock market website so that you can offer up information, articles, quotes, charts, and more. There are all sorts of things you can offer if you build and design a stock trading website.

In this article, I will show you how to start a stock market website by giving you a step-by-step look at what it takes to get it done. Follow the steps in the order they are presented and you will be on your way to having your own website for stock trading in no time at all.

What You Need to Build a Stock Market Website

Everyone is different when it comes to the process they take when designing something. However, when you are building a website for stock trading, it is a good idea to have a few things in place before you start the actual build process.

The first thing to start with is a checklist. When you have a checklist in front of you, it helps you narrow down the items you need to have done before building the actual stock market website.

You may already have some ideas. If so, great! If not, here are some items to add to your checklist. Having these things done or having an idea of what you want to add will make the entire process much easier.

Stock Market Website Checklist

• Will you add a trading platform
• Live market quotes
• Content (have some ready)
• Create a posting schedule
• Newsfeed
• Come up with a website name
• Logo/Branding
• Create a professional email
• Decide on a domain  (below)
• Find web hosting (below)
• User registration

Your checklist may include some or all of these. Either way, this is a great way to store your ideas and make them a reality.

Choose a Domain Name and Web Hosting

The first step to take after you have your website checklist in place is finding a domain name and then getting a good web host for your site. Something you might want to remember when you are choosing is that you may not be able to get the exact domain name that you want.

Remember, there are already millions of websites online. For this reason, oftentimes the exact domain name or extension may not be available. There is, however, a way around this.

If the domain name you want is not available, then try searching related terms, or names with different domain extensions. At this point, there are so many different domain name extensions available, that there is a very good chance you will be able to find one that you are comfortable with.

Once you have a domain name, it is time to choose a web host. You want to pick a web host that has everything you need to help you get your website for stock market trading up and running.

GreenGeeks not only gives you all the tools you need to build a fantastic stock market website, but they also provide the very best customer service around. An added bonus is that you can also get a domain name through them.

Having your domain name and web hosting in one place makes tying it all together, building your site, and managing it over the long run much easier.

Use WordPress as Your CMS

There are actually several really good CMS platforms (Content Management System) available for you to choose from. Everyone has a different opinion, but I suggest that you use WordPress to build your new site. There are a few great reasons behind this choice.

First off, WordPress is an open-source CMS. This means that thousands of developers are able to contribute to it. The system is user-friendly, secure, and continuing to grow in popularity. As of right now, it is the most popular CMS in the world, with over 40% of the sites online using it.

Since the platform is so popular, you won’t have to look very hard to find WordPress tutorials and resources, as there are communities and message boards all over the place. These will help you through just about any issues you have.

WordPress security is also top-notch. The CMS is built on solid code and is very secure right out of the box. There are also a lot of things you can do the strengthen the security of your site.

Finally, WordPress installation is very easy. You have two choices; you can install it using the one-click Softaculous installer that is provided in your web host cPanel, or you can install it manually. Either way, you will be up, running, and ready to create very quickly.

Choosing WordPress Themes and Plugins

WordPress has no shortage of great themes that you can use to build and design your new stock market website. This is also true when it comes to plugins. There are literally thousands and thousands of both free and paid themes and plugins that you can access when using WordPress.

That being said, it is never a bad idea to try and find a theme and plugins that are niche-specific. In this case, you are building a stock market website. So, try and find a theme and some plugins that will work perfectly with what you are trying to accomplish.

Also, there are certain plugins that every site should have in order to run smoothly. However, try and find some that are a perfect fit for your niche to help engage your audience.

You may already have a theme and some plugins ready to roll. If not, here are some suggestions for you that will fit perfectly with websites for stock trading.

Financity

Financity is a financial theme that is perfect for someone who wants to build a stock market website. it provides tons of layers to build on, multiple page layout options, and plenty of pre-built theme styles and pages.

You can use the built-in tools to help create a fantastic website. There are also countless color and style combinations available directly in the theme. The theme gives you access to a built-in GDPR tool that is ready to go, along with a page builder.

Give this theme a look for your stock market site.

Finance Experts

Finance Experts is a very flexible and professional finance-based WordPress theme that is also perfect for building a stock market website. There is excellent support and documents within the theme. It also comes with powerful tools and functionality.

This theme provides you with over 28 pre-built demos and other page layout styles. It comes complete with the WP Bakery Visual Composer page builder, it is WooCommerce ready, and also has Slider Revolution to help you build slides and layouts.

All in all, this is a fantastic theme to use.

Stock Market Overview

If you are looking for a free, powerful, professional plugin that provides you with a ton of stock market information, then Stock Market Overview should be part of your website. Once downloaded, you have both a widget and a block option for Gutenberg.

Both options allow you to display a categorized list of equities, market indices, currencies, and commodities with their prices and variations.

With over 65 different stock exchanges and a large number of market indices, currencies, and commodities supported, this plugin should be a must-have for any stock market website.

Stock Portfolio Tracker

The Stock Portfolio Tracker plugin is a great addition to any stock market website that allows user registration. Your users can input their portfolio data and they can track how it is doing right from your website.

Users will have the ability to track their portfolios not at the end of the day, but in real-time. They can also share portfolios across social media and interact with other users.

If you have a stock market website that allows user registration, then this is a perfect plugin to add.

Marketing Your Website

So, you have your domain name, web hosting, CMS, theme, and plugins. You should be at a point of deciding the final steps to take once your site is ready to go live. The main thing to consider at this point is how you are going to market your stock market site and get it out there to the masses.

Marketing your website can be daunting if you don’t have a purpose in place. That being said, if you are able to come up with some good marketing ideas, then getting your site out there for people to see and interact with is a lot easier.

There are actually quite a few fantastic website marketing options below for you to consider. Implement some of these and you will find that your site will start gaining traction a lot faster.

• Use Social Media and Share
• Run Ads Online and on Social Media
• Build Social Profiles for Your Stock Market Website
• Add Social Sharing Buttons to all Posts
• Build a Newsletter Email List
• Spend Time in Trading Forums
• Guest Post on Relevant Sites
• Allow Others to Guest Post on Your Site
• Run a Giveaway or Content
• Add a Forum to Your Site

Conclusion 

There are all kinds of different tools and steps you can use to build a stock market site. Hopefully, the methods, tools, and steps above give you a great starting point and a solid structure.

Try to follow the steps above in the order they are given. This way, you will be able to create your stock market website in the easiest way possible. Remember, the checklist is very important, as it will give you some good options to consider during the site-building process.

Good luck on your journey! Drop us a line and let us know how the process worked for you.

The post How to Build a Stock Market Website to Engage an Audience appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Are you looking to start your own web hosting reseller business? This is the first step to starting your very own web hosting company. And like any other business, you are going to need a website. Due to the competitive nature of the industry, it has to be a good one.

Today, I will explain how to build a website for your reseller hosting business with WordPress.

You Need A Business Plan

Like any other business, you are going to need a business plan if you are going to be successful.

First, you need to understand what exactly a web hosting reseller is.

To put it as simply as possible, a web hosting reseller purchases server space from an actual web hosting company at wholesale and can then sell that space to their own customers for a profit. You do not need to do any of the actual backend server maintenance yourself.

This also means when something goes wrong with your web host, all of your customers will feel it.

Thus, picking your web host is the most important decision you can make.

You also need to come up with your company’s name, plans, pricing options, and other crucial elements. However, it is very hard, if not impossible, to come up with this information before you purchase your own web hosting plan. That’s because a lot of what you’ll set up relies on the actual plan you’re getting from the host.

Pick A Web Host and Domain Name

The web hosting company you select is the most important decision you can make as a reseller. Remember, you are selling their services to your customers, thus the web host’s quality reflects yours.

Even more importantly, the price needs to be right. Obviously, you need to actually make more money than you spend on services.

When it comes to both price and quality, GreenGeeks reseller plans are unmatched.

The quality of our service is impeccable as we provide fast speeds, strong security, an experienced support team ready to help, and WordPress optimized web servers to help customers get the most from their CMS.

And most importantly, it is at an insanely low price.

Now more than ever, customers are looking for green alternatives to help do their part in fighting climate change. Web hosting has a huge emissions problem, but when you host with us, you can rest easy because every website we host is carbon-reducing.

This is accomplished by carefully calculating how much energy we use and purchasing three times that amount in wind energy.

You Are also going to need to pick to a domain name, after all, your personal business website needs a host too. The name should be short, easy to remember, and reflect what your business is about.

Why WordPress Is The Best Choice

For both yourself and customers, WordPress is the best CMS to focus on.

It currently powers over one-third of the internet because it is versatile, scalable, and extremely easy to use. And if you are reselling web hosting services, you are going to want to focus on the largest audience, and that, by far, belongs to WordPress.

Customers are far more likely to start a website using WordPress than any other CMS, thus that should be your focus. Especially when starting out.

As a web host, there is no better way to show off your services than your very own website. Thus, it makes perfect sense to use WordPress as a demonstration. And thanks to the vast library of plugins and themes, its never been easier to build a new website with WordPress.

The Importance of Plugins and Themes

As I am positive you know, plugins and themes are the lifeblood of WordPress. They allow you to build amazing websites and stellar designs without ever writing a single line of code.

But that does raise the question, what exactly are they?

A plugin is a piece of software that adds a specific feature to WordPress. Think of them as apps for your smartphone.

A theme is a collection of templates that allows you to customize the appearance of your website. However, they are far from cosmetic only. Many themes have built-in features that separate them from each other.

Luckily, plugins and themes have thousands of options to choose from and the majority of them are actually free to use. There are also premium options you can choose. These cost a fee but add a ton of extra features or are just generally more powerful.

Here are some that may be perfect for your web hosting reseller website:

Contact Form 7

Having customers sign up for your services is how you make money. This means you are going to need to create forms for them to fill out. The Contact Form 7 plugin will allow you to create professional contact forms for your business. This includes collecting basic account information when signing up like name, address, email, and more.

You can also integrate PayPal with the plugin to seamlessly collect payment information from your customer with the PayPal + Stripe add-on.

Email Subscribers & Newsletters

Keeping your customers updated on new features, upgrades, and plans is a must for any business. And there is no better way to do it than by email. The Email Subscribers & Newsletters plugin is perfect for your needs. It allows you to create professional email newsletters easily, collect leads, and build an audience fast.

Amazica Business

The Amazica Business theme is a stylish theme that is perfect for businesses of any kind. It has a lot of customization options that are easy to use thanks to the drag and drop interface. The theme is also fully responsive, which means mobile users will get the full experience.

Popular Business

The Popular Business theme is an excellent theme for those looking for a professional, yet stylish theme. It offers a host of customization options due to its compatibility with page builders like Elementor. It’s everything you need for a business website in one package.

Marketing Your Web Hosting Reseller Business

For many people who have always wondered how to start a web hosting company, reselling is the first step. Most resellers try to act or give the image that they are the actual web host without ever letting their customer know they are simply a reseller.

As such, marketing is not only promoting your business, it is helping you secure that image.

Marketing for any type of website is integral for success, but it is far from simple. In fact, marketing is a full-time job at this point, and there are so many ways to go about it. Especially as a reseller.

• Social Media Accounts
• Paid Advertisement
• User Reviews/Testimonials
• Starting A Blog

And many more are all ways to promote your website to potential customers. Just keep in mind that marketing is not a one-size-fits-all aspect. Every type of website/business needs to find the methods that work best for their particular niche.

Start Building Your Web Hosting Empire Today

When looking back, most web hosting companies come from simple beginnings. They worked hard to purchase one web server and eventually scaled up. Reselling allows you to start on the fast track and better yet, add paying clients without doing any of the actual web hosting work.

Don’t think “how do I become a web hosting reseller,” instead, become one today.

The post How to Build an Awesome Web Hosting Reseller Business appeared first on GreenGeeks.

So, you have been thinking about starting a nutrition blog but you aren’t exactly sure where to start? No worries, you have come to the right place. If you are a nutritionist or just someone who wants to blog about nutrition, then this guide will show you exactly how to start a nutrition blog.

Truth be told, there are actually several steps you are going to have to take to get a nutrition blog up and running. That being said, I am about to map everything out for you in an easy to follow and understand guide.

Follow these steps in the order they are given and you will have a beautiful nutrition blog up and running in no time at all. Let’s begin.

What You Need to Build a Nutrition Blog

There are a few things you need to have in place before starting the actual design and building process of the website. Blogging about nutrition will be the easier part of this whole process, as this is already something you are good at.

Having some other items in place before you start building will make the process go smoother. I find a good way to do this is to create a checklist.

You may have some ideas of your own. If not, here are some items to add or think about adding to your checklist.

Nutrition Blog Checklist

• Content (have some ready)
• Think about website layout and design
• Posting Schedule
• About Us Information
• Branding (logo and colors)
• Photos for the Blog
• Video Demos (if applicable)
• Domain Name (below)
• Web Hosting (below)

Now that you have some of the checklist done, you can start moving forward with the other items you need.

Domain Name and Web Host

First things first, it is time to get a domain name and web host to host your website. To make this as easy as possible on yourself, it is a good idea to find a web host that will give you all the tools you need to get a nutrition blog up and running as easily as possible.

This means you want to find a web host that is also a domain name registrar. This way you can house everything under one roof and make the process even easier.

GreenGeeks will give you every tool you can imagine as part of the web hosting plan. Furthermore, we are also a domain name registrar. You can choose a free domain name as part of the web host plan and have everything in one place.

Remember, the exact domain name you want may be taken. But, you can play around with the wording some. If that doesn’t work, then try using a different domain name extension. With everything available these days, there is bound to be something you find that you are happy with.

Installing and Using WordPress

Now that you have a domain and web host, it is time to pick a CMS (content management system) to build your website. There are a few good ones, but I recommend using WordPress for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, WordPress is very user friendly and fairly easy to create and build. There are a lot of page building tools available, and the platform makes it as easy as possible to build a site without having to use code. There might be a slight learning curve, but all-in-all, you will be hard pressed to find anything better.

It is also very easy to install and activate. Once you have your web host set up, you can easily install WordPress a couple of different ways. You can use the one-click installation process found in your cPanel. Or, you can install WordPress manually and activate it that way. Either way, you will have the platform up and running very quickly.

Finally, since WordPress is so widely used and respected, you will never have to go far to find tutorials and resources to help you with whatever problems or questions you may have while putting together your nutrition blog.

Choosing a Theme and Plugins

WordPress has thousands of themes that are both free and paid. Most of these will help get your website where you want it. Now that you have WordPress installed and activated, it is time to try to find a theme that works for you.

You want to get a theme that works well with what you are trying to accomplish. In this case, you are putting together a nutrition blog. Try searching for themes that have built-in tools you can use to take your ideas to the next level.

You should be able to find a lot of themes that are geared toward nutritionists. Here are a couple to look at if you are interested or need a place to start.

Organic Food

Organic Food is a WordPress theme that is built specifically for nutritionists. The theme will allow you to build a dynamic, mobile-friendly nutrition blog that you can grow over time. It comes with a multitude of page layout options, colors, styles, and templates. It has everything you need to build a beautiful website.

NutriCorp

NutriCorp is another fantastic WordPress theme that is geared toward nutrition. It comes complete with a drag-and-drop page builder, is a responsive theme, and it is WooCommerce ready. The theme has every available widget area you can imagine as well. If you want to get your nutrition blog off on the right foot, definitely give this theme a look.

When you finish picking your theme, it is time to figure out the right plugins. There are certain plugins you need to have to make any WordPress website function smoothly. Things like a great SEO plugin and a plugin that allows you to optimize and compress images are also both important.

That being said, you also want to try to search for some plugins that are niche-specific to the kind of blog you are building. Getting niche-specific plugins can help you accomplish things other websites may not be able to do, separating you from the pack.

If you already have a few in mind, then great! If not, here are a couple to look at and consider.

Foodie Nutrition Facts Label

The Foodie Nutrition Facts Label plugin will allow you to create FDA compliant nutrition labels for your website. These are very useful for food bloggers and nutritionists, and will help you take your website to the next level. You can create labels and see how they will appear in real-time with the built-in editor. Definitely a plugin to get on the road to becoming a nutrition blogger.

WP Recipe Maker

If you are running a nutrition blog, chances are you will probably post some recipes and other food-related items. This is where WP Recipe Maker can come in handy. The plugin will allow you to build and post dynamic recipes on your website. The recipe layout is mobile-friendly and built with SEO in mind.

Marketing Your Nutrition Blog

At this point, you are just about done with your nutrition blog. Now comes one of the most important parts of the building process. You have to figure out how to get your name out there and generate some traffic to your blog.

You might have a plan in place, or you might not. Either way, here are some website marketing suggestions for you to consider.

• Build Social Media Pages
• Publish Social Media Ads
• Post on Other Nutrition Sites
• Allow Guest Posting Your Site
• Build an Email List
• Run a Promotion or a Giveaway
• Add Sharing Buttons to Your Site
• Share Your Content Across Social Media
• Join Facebook Groups
• Be Present on Forums

Conclusion

Creating a nutrition blog so you can start blogging about nutrition does not have to be difficult. If you have to right steps in place and a good idea of how to start, then you should be able to get a very solid nutrition blog up and running in no time at all.

Follow the steps above as they are laid out and you will find that creating your new blog was both fun and informative. This is the smoothest and easiest way to build a nutrition blog.

Above all, I want you to remember to have a good time with the process. Building it can be very rewarding and enjoyable. Good luck!

The post How to Start a Nutrition Blog that Makes People Want to Eat Healthy appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Are you looking to turn a niche topic into a blog? If so, the lack of competition may allow you to build a surprisingly large audience. After all, if no one else is doing it, you are the only option available.

Today, I will demonstrate how to create a niche blog using WordPress.

Come Up With A Plan

The biggest mistake you can make when starting a website of any kind is to just jump right into web development without coming up with a plan or rough draft first. In most cases, you probably are not building the first blog of its kind. However, if it is a really focused niche topic, it may feel that way.

Scour the internet to find everything you can on your particular topic and try to understand the audience you are aiming for. Identify reasons why similar blogs either failed or have yet to grow.

Is it because the audience is simply too small? Was their presentation and quality of the content not great? Can you come up with ways to be better?

You should also take the time to come up with a design for your website. What kind of colors will you use? Do you have a particular layout in mind? Are there any key features that are a must for your blogging niche?

Only once you have collected information and spent some time thinking up a stellar design are you ready to build a website.

Pick A Web Host and Domain Name

Whether you are using a popular or niche topic does not matter. The first step of building a website is to always find a reliable web hosting company. A web host rents you a web server, in which you can store your website. Whenever someone accesses your website, they are really connecting to that web server.

Thus, finding a quality web host is important. However, they are not created equal.

Here at GreenGeeeks, we are proud of the customer experience we offer. We provide fast speeds, strong security, a 24/7 support team that is experienced and ready to help along with optimized WordPress webservers to help you get the most out of them.

And it’s all at a great price.

However, we differentiate ourselves with our commitment to the environment. The web hosting industry has an enormous emissions problem that is eclipsing the airline industry. We make sure we do not contribute to this.

We carefully calculate how much energy we use to host every website and purchase 3 times that amount in wind energy. As a result, every website we host is carbon-reducing.

You will also need to select a domain name before continuing. This is the URL of your website and as such, it should follow some guidelines. It should be short, easy to remember and reflect what your website is about.

Why WordPress is Perfect for A Niche Blog

Next is finding a platform to build your website on. These are called Content Management Systems (CMS), and there are a ton to choose from. Each one has a set of features it excels at and others that don’t. This can make it a tough choice.

Luckily, when it comes to blogging of any kind, WordPress is the best choice you can make.

WordPress is by far the easiest CMS you can use to build a website on, and you can build any kind of website to boot. This is accomplished by offering an intuitive design. You won’t be spending time searching for a particular setting or feature because they are where they belong.

You also don’t need to worry about your coding experience or lack of it. Unlike other CMS, WordPress does not require you to write a single line of code. Instead, the vast library of plugins and themes does all the heavy lifting.

But don’t just take my word for it. Over one-third of the internet uses WordPress.

What Are Plugins And Themes?

Since plugins and themes are going to do most of the work, it’s important to understand what they really are.

A plugin is a small piece of software that adds a specific feature to your website. The best way to think of them is like apps for your smartphone.

A theme is a collection of templates that allows you to customize the appearance of your website. However, if you think of themes as purely cosmetic, you are mistaken. They also include features that separate them.

Now you are probably wondering, how much will this cost you?

The good news is that the vast majority of plugins and themes are completely free, but some do offer a premium version with extra features or better performance. When just starting out, free is the way to go. But as your website grows, premium tools are something to consider.

Here are some plugins and themes to help you get started:

Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons

Social media plays a huge role in promoting your website. One way to make it easier is to add social share buttons to your website. The Social Share Icons & Social Share Buttons plugin is a splendid choice. It offers 16 design options for all the major social media platforms.

Yoast SEO

Writing quality content is no easy feat, and you’re going to want all the help you can get. The Yoast SEO plugin can provide that help and valuable SEO tools to help your website rank better. It helps you identify passive tones, consecutive sentences, overly long sentences, and the overall reading difficulty of your post.

Niche

The Niche theme is perfect for any type of niche topic. It offers a modern design that is responsive (works on mobile devices), loads fast, and is extremely customizable. Its layout was meant for blogging and utilizes a 2-column grid and a slider to get your posts seen by visitors.

Opus Blog

The Opus Blog theme is a great choice if you are looking for an elegant design. It offers a built-in slider, header & footer customization options, color options, and much more. It’s perfect for any type of blog, so it is sure to fit your niche.

Marketing Your Niche Blog

Marketing has come a long way over the years and even provides an opportunity for niche blogging topics. But it is certainly an uphill battle. Unlike other topics that may eventually be searched for once or twice, if your topic is really out there, you can face some trouble.

As such, you need to be really creative.

A good tactic is to try to combine or compare your topic with something else in a marketing campaign. For example, let’s say you run a blog about a really obscure movie franchise. Look for something similar to it that is popular and mention them together.

It might not bring in the audience you are intending, but if you do it right, you might convince the visitor to look into the really obscure topic. And you can do this on a variety of platforms like:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Reddit

And many more. If the interest isn’t there for your topic, you need to help create it.

Make Quality Content

Even if you build an awesome website and market correctly, your success if still dictated by the quality of your content. If you want to help make a particular topic more popular, then you need to have quality content that visitors will share themselves. So get writing!

The post How to Make a Niche Blog and Choose the Best Topics appeared first on GreenGeeks.

If you feel compelled to encourage and inspire others, a motivational blog should be part of what you do. The world’s most renowned motivational speakers don’t possess any secret powers. They just know how to make people believe in themselves. You can do the same thing. A blog is a perfect tool to communicate your message to a wide audience.

To make others believe in themselves, it helps if you believe in yourself. But what’s interesting is the lack of self-belief in some very successful people. How can a motivational blog become successful or be effective if the motivator has self-doubt?

Well, the truth is, we all have self-doubt. And one of the ways to motivate others, under those circumstances, is to serve as an example. If you’re at the top of your field or have a unique or valuable skill, you can be an example. Whether or not you’re brimming with self-confidence.

But regardless of what brought you to this point, now you’re wondering how to start a blog. You know it can help you get your message to people, but maybe you don’t know exactly where to start.

We can help with that.

How to Make Motivational Blog

A big part of motivation is the belief that you can achieve something. If you have a knack for instilling that kind of belief in people, you can build a successful motivational blog. I say “build” because what you put into your blog, your words, are more important than the nuts and bolts. The technical things are simple, and we’ll cover all of them here.

But it’s what you write, or the information and inspiration that you can provide that will make you stand out. But in order to stand out, you need something to stand on. So let’s talk about that foundation.

Choosing a Web Host and Domain Name

Every blog needs a home. If part of motivation is aspiration, you want to appear as if you’ve got everything under control. That means a professional presentation for your blog. That means quality website hosting, the right software, and a good domain name. Sure, here are a lot of things to check off the list. But we’ll take them one by one, and when we do that, you’ll see that they’re all easily attainable.

First is the home of the blog, the web host. And for that, you can’t do any better than GreenGeeks hosting. The service is fast and reliable, and it won’t break the bank.

And as the name suggests, GreenGeeks is eco-friendly, matching with renewable energy three times the amount the network consumes. No other web host can make that claim.

Once hosting is settled, all that’s left is software (we’ll talk about that in a minute) and a domain name. The domain name you use for your blog should match, or nearly match, the name you choose.

We talked about how necessary it is for a motivational or self-help blog to instill confidence in visitors. The domain name can actually help with that.

How? By choosing a .com domain. Using .com is one of the oldest, most well-recognized, and respected domain extensions. And when you sign up with GreenGeeks, we’ll pay your domain registration fees for the first year. Yet another value proposition that we offer.

But all the good .com domains are taken, right?

Maybe not. All the single words are taken, yes, but by combining two or three short words, you can come up with a perfect .com domain name. As I mentioned, choose a domain name that’s as close to the title of your blog as possible. Unless, of course, your blog title is very long. If that’s the case, consider abbreviations (or better yet, shortening the name of the blog).

Now let’s move on to the final piece of the puzzle, your blog software.

Using WordPress

You’ve probably heard of WordPress. It’s the most widely-used blog software, showing up on a whopping third of all websites. I’m recommending it to you not only for that reason but because it’s the right tool for the job.

WordPress Is Easy to Use

And when I say easy, I’m not kidding. The initial setup on your GreenGeeks account will only take a minute or two. Then you can get started on your first inspirational blog post.

WordPress Is Ideal for What You Want to Do

What makes it ideal is the fact that once it’s set up and configured, it’s invisible. It becomes part of your workflow, rather than standing in the way. It will do everything you ask it to do, and some things you didn’t realize you wanted it to do.

WordPress Themes and Plugins for a Motivational Blog

All right, you’ve installed WordPress. And yes, it was easy. But now what?

Your site is still kind of bare-bones, so let’s pretty it up. We’ll do that with a theme. WordPress themes establish and guide the appearance of your site. They’re all customizable and configurable; what you’re looking for is a solid starting point.

There are tens of thousands of themes available for free at wordpress.org. Most of them are up to the task. But pay attention to the date they were most recently updated. You may want to steer clear of any themes that haven’t been updated in the past year or so.

WordPress evolves, and when it changes, themes and plugins have to change along with it. Using an outdated theme could put you into a tough spot a year or two down the road. An old, unsupported theme could break your site any time WordPress changes.

Aside from the free themes, there are thousands of “premium” paid themes. They will cost a few dollars upfront but can save time and money in the long run.

While themes are a matter of taste and aesthetics, plugins are a different matter. Plugins expand the capabilities of WordPress, and there are a few that every blog should use.

Jetpack

Jetpack is the Swiss Army knife of WordPress plugins. SEO tools, social share buttons, and blog visitor statistics are just a few of the things you get with Jetpack. Security, performance, and site management all brought to you by the same people who build WordPress.

Yoast SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a vast and intricate subject. But all you have to know about SEO to get started is Yoast SEO. It handles a lot of crucial technical SEO tasks automatically, and can even give you SEO-related writing tips. You will work hard on your blog, make sure people can find it. Yoast will help with that.

Site Kit by Google

Site Kit by Google integrates Analytics, Search Console, AdSense, PageSpeed Insights, Tag Manager, and Optimize with WordPress. Sure, you could access all of those Google tools outside of WordPress, but now you don’t have to.

Promoting Your Motivational Blog

Your priority when starting out should be social media. And really, social media should remain a priority in the long run. The best way to attract visitors to your blog is by being visible and engaging. Post on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook and link back to your blog.

As a motivational writer, it’s important to follow up. Stay connected to your social media accounts; don’t just post and walk away. Nurture the sites and the connections you make there. Start the dialog on social sites and continue it on your blog.

You might also consider offering free seminars to attract readers. If you can give an inspirational talk online, you’re bound to gain blog followers. Of course, once your blog gains traction, you can reverse that and use your blog as a way to promote paid seminars.

Uplifting and Inspiration Are Sacred Callings

I tried to word that without sounding too precious.

But to be a motivational blogger is something that happens on a different level than a typical blog. As bloggers or speakers, we can start to see audiences as collective things. But a motivational blog is something that has the ability to speak to the individual. And once you make that connection, it can remain strong for a long time.

The post How to Make an Uplifting Motivational Blog that Inspires Others appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Are you a baking enthusiast? If so, you should consider sharing your experience by creating your own baking blog. A blog about baking can be quite profitable and can help others find the same passion you have.

Today, I will share how to create a baking blog using WordPress.

Make A Recipe for Success

Every excellent baker knows the importance of following a recipe, and building a website is no different. However, just like there are a ton of different cakes, there are a ton of websites you can make.

Thus, the first question you need to ask yourself is what kind of baking blog will you create?

Will you be a baking recipe blog? Will you explain the science behind baking? Perhaps you will focus on a particular type of sweets and/or cakes?

You can not build a website until you know what it is about. You should also start thinking about the design of your website. What colors will you use? Is there a specific font you like? What type of layout will you use?

These are all questions that you should think about before you proceed. But once you have the answers, you are ready to build.

Picking A Web Host and Domain Name

Whether you are a baking blogger or a different kind, every blog starts off the same way. You need to find an amazing web hosting company. A web host will rent you a web server, which you can store your website on. Whenever anyone accesses your website, they are really connecting to the server.

Thus, the web host is extremely important. However, they are not created equal.

Here at GreenGeeks, we are proud of the customer experience we provide. This includes delivering excellent speeds, strong security, a well-trained support team ready to help 24/7, and most importantly, our web servers are optimized for WordPress.

And all of this comes at a reasonable price.

However, we separate ourselves from the competition with our commitment to the environment. The web hosting industry has a monumental emissions problem that is eclipsing the airline industry. To help fix this, we carefully calculate how much energy we use and purchase three times that amount in wind energy.

Thus, every website we host is carbon-reducing.

You will also need to select your domain name. This is the URL of your website. As such, it should follow three simple rules:

1. Be Short
2. Easy To Remember
3. Reflect What Your Website Is About

Why You Should Use WordPress to Build A Baking Blog

Next, you need to pick a platform to build your website, and just like the web hosting industry, not all of them are created equal. Luckily, when it comes to the CMS or platform to build your website, there is a clear winner.

WordPress is hands down the best platform to build a blog on. In fact, it already powers over one-third of the internet, so don’t just take my word for it.

But how did it achieve such widespread success?

WordPress is extremely customizable, scalable, and it is the easiest CMS you can use as a beginner. Unlike other CMS, WordPress does not require you to write a single line of code, which is usually the biggest obstacle a beginner faces.

This is accomplished by the vast library of plugins and themes. These allow you to customize the appearance and features on your website with only a minor effort.

What Are Plugins and Themes?

Are you wondering what plugins and themes are?

A plugin is a small piece of software that adds a specific feature or set of features to your website. Think of them as apps for your smartphone.

A theme is a collection of templates that allow you to customize the appearance of your website. This includes things like the layout, how many columns you have, the sidebar area, etc.

Each of these come in both free and premium versions. When just starting out, free plugins and themes make the most sense. Typically, you do not need a lot to start with. However, as you grow, you may want to reexamine the usefulness of a premium version.

These typically have more powerful tools that will give a larger website the oomph it needs, and by that time, you will make enough to warrant the price.

Here are a few plugins and themes to help you get started:

Smart Slider 3

If you want to give visitors a taste for what you are offering, then you cannot go wrong with a slider. A slider is a slideshow of images that you can place anywhere on your website. But, you will need a plugin to add them. The Smart Slider 3 plugin is perfect for the job.

All the sliders are customizable, responsive, and you can place them anywhere on your website.

RecipePress Reloaded

A big part of any food-focused blog is to share recipes. However, you don’t want to just throw your recipes into a regular post. Instead, you want to have a stylish design, and the RecipePress Reloaded plugin can help you do just that.

This plugin allows you to create stylish recipe cards that include ratings, serving sizes, and much more.

Bakes and Cakes

The Bakes and Cakes theme is designed around cakes, as I’m sure the name implies. And that makes it perfect for a baking blog. It is an SEO-friendly theme that comes with a variety of sections like testimonials. The theme was also created with speed in mind, and as a result, it is really fast.

And don’t worry, just about everything is customizable. So, you won’t have a problem making it look the way you want it.

Creamery Lite

The Creamery Lite theme offers a minimalist design perfect for food blogs. In case you are wondering, minimalist design is when the theme isn’t very flashy, which allows your content to stand out more. It’s very effective for food blogs because the food previews/thumbnails can really shine.

Marketing Your Baking Blog

You also need to take some time to consider how you will market your website to the world. As you probably already know, if no one visits your website, all of that hard work is for nothing. Thus, you need to have a plan in place to attract visitors.

Over the years, marketing websites have evolved. And you have a ton of options to choose from. However, what’s most important is understanding what your audience is into. For example, as a baking blog owner, you are probably targeting a slightly older audience.

Thus, marketing on TikTok may not be the best choice.

However, you may find more success as a baking blogger on Pinterest or Instagram because you upload pictures of your culinarian creations. Here are some of the most popular marketing methods:

• Social Media Accounts
• Email Subscriptions
• Paid Advertisement
• Collaborations
• YouTube Tutorials

Any of these, and so many more, are great options to pursue with a baking blog.

Get Baking

Once your website is set up and you have a marketing plan in place, all that’s left is to release amazing content. I recommend setting up a content schedule to ensure that visitors know when your next publishing is available. And make sure to take some awesome pictures for thumbnails.

The post How to Create a Baking Blog and Demonstrate Culinary Skills appeared first on GreenGeeks.

A World Health Organization study found that mental disorders affect one in four people. The same study says that depressive disorders are second only to heart disease in terms of global health issues. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that starting a mental health blog could benefit many people.

Not least of all, yourself!

Did you know that the very act of writing can help you manage anxiety and cope with depression?

You may have considered starting a mental health blog if you’re among the one in four affected. Or even if you have a family member or loved one who struggles with mental health issues. Maybe you never took the first step because you thought starting a blog would be too difficult or technically challenging.

I promise you; it isn’t an insurmountable task. In fact, a blog is something you can get off the ground in a spare afternoon or evening. It will take work and dedication to make it successful, but the first step is the easiest.

Don’t take my word for it. Keep reading, and I’ll show you how you can do it yourself.

How to Start a Mental Health Blog

Before you set up your blog, ask yourself which aspects of mental health you’d like to focus on. Do you have information or research that could help your readers? What do you want your blog to achieve? What kind of audience can you serve?

The more you can narrow down those answers, the more you’ll be able to attract your ideal readers to the blog. It’s called finding your niche, and most successful blogs have a definite approach or point of view. Using a niche properly will also help your blog rank higher in Google search results.

Once you’ve identified your niche, you can start populating your blog with mental health-focused articles. In the beginning, you may want to create articles that fall roughly into the following categories:

• Personal stories.
• Stories that relate to others with similar problems.
• Stories and information that provide help and solutions.

Once you’ve established yourself, you can branch out to other kinds of articles. But sticking to the fundamentals in the early days will position you to grow your blog readership.

Now let’s talk about the nuts and bolts involved in getting your mental health blog set up.

Choosing a Web Host and Domain Name

A serious blog requires a serious home. That’s why I recommend GreenGeeks hosting. We optimize our platform for WordPress, the world’s most widely used blogging software (more on that in a minute). And as you may have guessed, GreenGeeks is powered by renewable energy.

A hosting account at GreenGeeks is affordable, and we’ll even pay your domain registration fees for the first year. While we’re on the subject of domain names, you want to choose something memorable and relevant. That’s not as easy as it sounds since many short, memorable .com domains are already registered.

Try combining words, but stay away from numerals and hyphens. So something like ForYourMentalHealth.com is good. On the flip side, 4-your-mental-health.com, not so much. If you spend a bit of time brainstorming and use your imagination, you should be able to find a prominent domain name.

WordPress Is Your Blogging Software

I mentioned that it’s popular, and it is. But popularity aside, it’s also the best choice for any blog. Why?

WordPress Is Easy to Use

You can install it on your GreenGeeks account in minutes. Literally.

WordPress Is Perfect for a Mental Health Blog

That’s partly because of the plugins that are available, and we’ll talk about them next. But mainly because once you get it up and running, it stays out of your way. It just works, allowing you to focus on writing content.

WordPress Themes and Plugins That Will Take Your Mental Health Blog to the Next Level

Themes control the appearance of your blog. There are tens of thousands of themes available for free. If you don’t find a free theme that fits with your ideas, you can also buy a professionally designed theme. Most can be had for less than $100 (sometimes much less).

WordPress plugins really makes your blog come alive. For a mental health blog, you can’t go wrong with any of the following.

Simple Links

Every good mental health blog will include a list of resources. That’s where a superb link manager like Simple Links can be useful. It will help you manage and display links with style.

wpForo Forum

If your mental health blog ideas include discussion, a forum plugin like wpForo Forum will be a brilliant addition. Making it possible to share ideas and talk openly about mental health issues is a valuable feature. Keep visitors engaged and keep them coming back.

Contact Form 7, and an Extension For Mailchimp

A mailing list is an essential blog-building tool. Let visitors sign up for your mailing list using Contact Form 7 and the Extension For Mailchimp. Mailchimp is a professional email list and sending tool, and it’s free to use for up to 2,000 subscribers.

Contact Form 7 creates a form on your WordPress site to gather visitor’s contact information. (Install it before you install the Mailchimp extension.)

Ideas for marketing

Men and women are affected by mental health issues equally. But women are more likely to seek (and receive) treatment for mental health issues.

And as far as mental health care is concerned, women earn a whopping 80% of all psychology degrees.

Considering the statistics, it seems safe to assume that women are more likely to read a mental health blog. I’m only breaking down the numbers this way to identify the best place to promote your blog.

Since 71% of Pinterest users are female, guess where I would focus my mental health blog promotional efforts?

Pinterest being a visual medium, you’ll need a lot of images to promote your blog. That’s where Canva comes in. Canva helps you create professional-looking social media images with easy-to-use templates.

Facebook would be my second go-to platform for the promotion of any blog. You could use your personal account to promote the site. But for privacy’s sake, create a Facebook Page for your blog and do your promotion there.

Every time you publish a new article, share it on all of your social media platforms. If a few days go by without a new article, promote older articles. As long as your stories aren’t related to current events, you can promote them indefinitely.

A Mental Health Blog Is Still a Blog

So the ideas and practices that make any blog successful will work for your mental health blog.

• Speak from a place of knowledge. Write about what you know or what you’re learning.
• Don’t be afraid to highlight your unique personality (and insight).
• Concentrate on producing high-quality writing. Proofread, check, and double-check everything you publish.
• Don’t forget your niche, speak to it.
• Keep up with your social media promotion. You can’t do too much of it.
• Don’t take negative feedback personally. Unfortunately, every blogger has to deal with them.

I hope this article has shown that you can start your own mental health blog. The technical bits are certainly manageable, so use what you know to make your voice heard.

The post How to Create an Amazing Mental Health Blog to Help Others appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Do you live a healthy vegan lifestyle? If so, you may want to share recipes with others to help them find the same joy in their food. And there is no better way to do that than by starting a vegan blog to share your recipes with the world.

Today, I will show you how to start a vegan blog using WordPress.

Pick the Identity of Your Vegan Blog

One of the biggest mistakes of web development is just jumping right into it. If you were building a house, would you just start building? No, you would start planning first.

Building a website is no different.

First, decide on what kind of vegan blog you will create. There are a variety of angles you can choose to use. Will you build a vegan recipe blog? Perhaps you will focus on why you and others have become vegan? Or, how going vegan can make a difference?

There are a lot of possibilities for any blog and you need to pick one before you start designing your website.

Next, you need to think about the design. What kind of colors are you going to incorporate? Is there a specific layout you want to use? What type of features are you going to need?

These are all things that need to be answered before you move on.

Pick a Web Host and Domain Name

No matter if you are a vegan recipe blogger or any other kind, the first step is to always find a great web host. A web hosting company will rent you a web server in which you can store your website. Every time someone visits your website, they are accessing that webserver, thus, you need a good one.

There are a lot of web hosting companies, but not all of them are equal.

Here at GreenGeeks, we continuously improve our services and offer fast speeds, strong security, an experienced support team that is ready to help you, and optimized WordPress web servers. And we keep our prices low.

However, we stand far above the competition when it comes to our commitment to the environment. The web hosting industry has a terrible emissions problem that we do not want to contribute to. Instead, all of our hosted websites are actually carbon-reducing.

We accomplish this by carefully calculating how much energy we use and purchasing three times that amount in wind energy. Thus, we send large amounts of clean energy into the electric grid.

You will also need to decide on a domain name before moving on. This is the URL of your website. As such, it should be short, easy to remember, and reflect what your website is about.

Why WordPress is The Best CMS For A Vegan Blog

Now you need to decide what CMS or platform you will use to build your website on. There are a ton of platforms you can choose from. Each one has its own set of advantages and disadvantages depending on the website you want to build.

Luckily, when it comes to blogging, WordPress is the best and easiest CMS to use.

And you don’t need to take my word for it. Over one-third of the internet uses WordPress to build their websites. It offers many benefits including ease of use, versatility, scalability, and so much more.

WordPress’s biggest benefit is just how easy it is to use. Unlike other platforms that require some form of coding knowledge, WordPress allows you to build a website without needing to write a single line of code.

This is all thanks to the large library of plugins and themes you can use.

What Are Plugins and Themes?

Now your thinking, “that sounds nice, but what are plugins and themes?”

Let me explain.

A plugin is a small piece of software that adds a specific feature to your website. Think of them as apps for your smartphone, but with way more uses.

A theme is a collection of templates that allows you to design the way your website looks. These affect everything from the layout of the website to the colors you use.

You are probably also wondering, how much do these cost?

Well, it depends. The majority of them are free, but there are some that cost money. When starting out, free plugins and themes are the way to go. But as you grow and begin looking for more powerful tools and more unique designs, paid or premium versions should be considered.

Here are a few that can help you start your vegan blog today:

Recipe Key

A big part of vegan blogging is sharing recipes and cooking tips with your audience. You can add a lot of helpful icons to your posts with the Recipe Key plugin. This allows you to identify recipes that are gluten-free, nut-free, egg-free, and more.

This can help people identify ingredients they may be allergic to or are just trying to avoid.

WP Product Review Lite

Unfortunately, no one simply looks at a product and makes their decision based on a description anymore. Instead, users look for user reviews to see how other people like a product. In this case, the products are the recipes.

The WP Product Review Lite plugin allows users to leave reviews in the forms of stars and other variations within their comments.

Vegan

You might not be surprised, but the Vegan theme is the perfect choice for any vegan blog. It is a fully responsive theme that comes with a host of customization options. Some of these include:

• 3 Footer Widget Areas
• Full-width Page Template
• Instagram Widget Support

And so much more. It is an all in one theme that is perfect for any vegan or healthy lifestyle blog.

fVegan

The fVegan theme is a similarly responsive theme that is perfect for any vegan blog. One of its biggest features is the slider it offers. It is great for showing off your great-looking recipes to visitors when they’re on your website.

It also has a host of other customization options that are sure to please.

How to Market Your Vegan Blog

A big part of any business is making sure you have customers and in this case, your visitors are the customers. Over the years, a variety of ways have been used to promote your website and you need to figure out which ones work best for your website.

Some of the more established marketing methods include:

• Social Media Accounts
• Email Subscriptions
• Paid Advertisement
• Forum Participation (such as Reddit)
• Collaborations

And so much more. Most of these can be broken down much further. For example, there are a ton of different social media platforms to choose from. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, etc. Each one offers a unique way to advertise or engage with your audience.

Find the one that suits your website the best.

Get Blogging

If you follow this information, you will be well on your way to running a successful vegan blog. And as a vegan blogger, you can make money, help others find new recipes, and possibly convince others to give going vegan a try.

All that’s left is to start creating amazing content for your visitors to enjoy.

The post How to Start a Vegan Blog and Share Your Recipes appeared first on GreenGeeks.

Whether you are a business owner, or simply a crochet enthusiast, starting a crochet blog is a brilliant way to make money and share your talents online. If this is something that interests you, then you have come to the right place. Below, you will find out how to start a crochet blog.

Becoming a crochet blogger will allow you to connect with like-minded individuals, build a forum, and even aid in producing crochet related videos for your blog. Having a crochet blog can open up a lot of different doors for you.

Let’s take a look at what steps you need to get through to start a crochet blog and teach others your craft.

Perform the steps below in the order they are given and you will have a crochet blog up and running in no time at all.

What You Need to Start a Crochet Blog

You will be going on a journey that involves several steps. Before you actually start the website build, it is a good idea to have some things in place. A great way to get these important items organized is to create a checklist.

Make a website checklist of all the things you think you may need for your blog. Each website is different. But in this case, we want to get a checklist ready that applies to items you may need for your crochet blog.

Create that checklist now, before anything else. If you already have a list in place, great! If not, here are some things you may want to consider adding.

Crochet Blog Checklist

• Write Some Starter Content and Have it Ready
• Create Posting Schedule
• Create Email Newsletter
• Build Social Media Pages
• Develop Your Branding (logo)
• Contact Info
• Comment and Interaction Policy
• Domain Name (below)
• Web Host (below)

Domain Name and Web Host

Now that you have a checklist in place, you can begin working on it and have it ready for later. Now it is time to find your domain name and get web hosting. You may have a domain name in mind. Remember, though, there are already millions of sites online. You may not get the exact name you want.

If you cannot find the domain name you want, then try using a different domain name extension. There are so many available now that you should have no problem getting one that you are happy with.

Next comes web hosting.  You want to find a web host that has a fantastic online reputation and gives you everything you need to easily start a crochet blog.

GreenGeeks web hosting not only gives you every tool imaginable to get your website up and running, but it will also give you a domain name. Getting everything in one place will make the entire process even easier.

Use WordPress to Build, and This is Why

Yes, you will have some different options available to you when it comes to CMS (content management system) platform choices. However, for this tutorial, we are using WordPress to do the site build. Here are the reasons behind our choice.

First off, the platform is very user friendly and there are a lot of resources and tutorials online to help you build a crochet blog for beginners.

WordPress is open-source, which means there are thousands of developers that have contributed to its development. And you have the freedom to build around themes any way you want. When you design and build using WordPress, you allow yourself the freedom to add many bells and whistles to your website.

There are steps you can take to further secure your WordPress website, but overall the platform, out of the box, is very secure and built with solid code.

Last but not least, you can easily install WordPress when you are ready to use it through the cPanel area of your web host. You can either use the one-click installation method, or install it manually.

Either way, you are up and running in no time at all.

Choosing the Right Theme and Plugins

Let’s talk about how choosing the right WordPress theme and plugins will help take your blog to the next level. WordPress offers thousands of stunning themes (free and paid) that can help take your site to where you need to get it.

That being said, you want to look at certain themes that may interact better with the type of site you are trying to build.

At this point, you have your checklist in place, have your domain name and web hosting, and you have installed WordPress. So now is the time to get that perfect theme.

If you aren’t sure where to start, here are a couple of theme suggestions perfect for a crochet blog.

Crochet

The Crochet theme is a multi-purpose theme, perfect for those dealing with crochet materials. The theme is packed full of functionality and gives you a bunch of different page and display options. Use the post display options when you are blogging about crochet patterns.  It is also easy to use and has WooCommerce built-in so you can easily sell your crochet items directly from your website.

Magnolia

Another great theme option for a crochet blog is Magnolia. This is a simple, smooth, elegant theme that is perfectly designed for crafters. It is beautiful to view, and very easy to customize. It is a parallax-style theme that provides plenty of functionality and is mobile ready.

When you have chosen a WordPress theme to build around, your next step is figuring out plugins. There are several plugins you need to make your site run smoothly. Make sure you have a fantastic SEO plugin, as well as a plugin that you can use to optimize and compress images.

That being said, it is always a superb idea to try and find niche related plugins that can help take you to the next level. In this case, you are starting a crochet blog. So maybe find a couple of plugins that can help you in that niche.

Here are a couple to look at if you are interested.

NextGEN Gallery

NextGEN Gallery is a plugin that will allow you to display all of your crochet patterns and work in beautiful, customizable galleries. It offers a complete WordPress gallery management system that allows you to build and create many amazing galleries to display on your site.

Affiliates Manager

There are several ways to make money on a blog. You will probably want to make some money on your crochet blog through affiliate links. This is where the Affiliates Manager plugin comes into play. Track and run your entire affiliate link system right from the comfort of your WordPress admin dashboard.

Marketing Your Crochet Blog

Most of the work for your new crochet blog is either done, or is about to be. Once the site is live, it is time to get the word out to everyone and market it.

You may have some marketing ideas of your own. If you are a little stuck, then here are some some solid website marketing options for you to consider.

• Social Media Ads
• Share Site on all Social Media Pages
• Use Email List
• Share Site Links on Message Boards
• Guest Post on Like-Minded Sites
• Allow Guest Posting on Your Site
• Add Social Sharing Buttons to Site
• Collaborate
• Use Video
• Create a Webinar
• Use Infographics
• Build a Website Forum

Conclusion

Creating a new website can be daunting. However, if you have the information in front of you and all the steps in place, then you should have no problem putting something together that you can be proud of.

Use the steps above in the order they are given and you should have no problem getting your new crochet blog up and running in no time at all. I hope this tutorial has been helpful to you. Have fun with the process and enjoy your new website!

The post How to Start a Crochet Blog to Teach Others a Craft appeared first on GreenGeeks.