Create a Blog

• 1). Create a blog using a hosted blogging platform or self-host your own. A hosted blog platform, such as Blogger.com or WordPress.com, does not require you to find a hosting plan and the software is built in. A self-hosted blog can get complicated, and for someone brand new to the blogging world, it is recommended to start with a free blogging platform.
  
  
• 2). Choose a template. A hosted blog site allows bloggers to choose a template for their blog. If you do not like any of the standard templates, doing a web search for "blog templates" will produce multiple sites that allow you to download a template for free. Bloggertemplatesfree.com allows you to customize your search. Eblogtemplates.com gives you information about the template before you download it. Pick a template that has a basic format you like. There are a variety of basic templates including two-column or three-column. The tweaking comes into play with adding the HTML codes.
  
  
• 3). Add profile and basic information to the blog. Tell the readers a little bit about yourself by adding a bio, some contact information and references to your other writing, education and background. If you have other social media accounts, add them to the blog site for others to interact with you.
  
  

Customize Your Blog Using HTML

• 1). Begin to customize your blog. Basic HTML codes can be applied to most customizable blogs and websites. Some blog hosts allow more customization than others. If you use Blogger, from the Dashboard, under the Design menu, click on "Edit HTML."
  
  
• 2). Back up your template. Under HTML, you can download your current template to save for later. This is a good idea in case you need to retrieve the template at a later time. When you save the template, put it in a location that you will remember. This is useful in case the HTML code changes the undesirable effect or you make mistakes while typing in HTML code.
  
  
• 3). Review the basic HTML layout. When you look at the blog code, it may not make sense. Look over the page to see the layout of the blog. HTML uses tags to tell the computer what that specific element should look like. For example <b> is a tag that formats a word to be in bold. Looking at the basic structure will give you an idea of the HTML structure before you begin changing the code. See the References for a site that will help you with basic HTML tutorial, including the structure of an HTML page.
  
  
• 4). Change the text and font. Note that all tags begin with the symbol: < "tag name" > and end with a / before the tag name: </ "tag name">. To make a word or phrase bold, place the tag <strong> before the bold text and </strong> after the bold text. The word blog would show up in bold letters with HTML code as follows: <strong> blog </strong>. This will also make words bold: <b> blog </b>.
  
  Here are a few more examples:
  Underline: <u> blog </u>
  Center text: <center blog </center>
  Italics: <i> blog </i>
  Right align text: <p align="right"> blog Just use </p> closing tag
  Left align text: <p align="left"> blog Just use </p> closing tag
  
  Fonts:
  Color: <font color="red"> blog </font>
  Font style/ face: <font face="Arial">
  Font size: <font size="4">
  
  See the References for a code cheat sheet.
  
  
• 5). Add new paragraph and page breaks. For a new paragraph with a blank line: <p></p>. To add a break at the end of a line without the blank line: <br>.
  
  
• 6). Add bulleted or numbered lists.
  Bulleted lists:
  <ul>
  <li>Bullet Item One</li>
  <li>Bullet Item Two</li>
  <li>Bullet Item Three</li>
  </ul>
  Numbered (ordered) list:
  <ol>
  <li>Ordered Item One</li>
  <li>Ordered Item Two</li>
  <li>Ordered Item Three</li>
  </ol>
  
  
• 7). Preview and save the template. It is crucial to save the template after all the changes have been made. After hitting save, preview the blog to see if all the HTML code worked. After saving and previewing, you can look at your blog by selecting "view blog."