How to Start a Free Blog: A Guide for Beginners

July 7, 2023July 7, 2023 Ann MariaLeave a comment

Blogging is a great way to share your thoughts, opinions, and expertise with the world. But what if you don’t have the money or the technical skills to create your own website? Don’t worry, there are plenty of free blogging platforms that you can use to start your own blog without spending a dime. This article will show you how to start a free blog on some of the most popular platforms, and what are the pros and cons of each one.

Guide for Beginners on How to Start a Free Blog

Take a look at some of the best free blogging platforms:

WordPress

WordPress.com is one of the most widely used free blogging platforms, with over 60 million blogs hosted on it. WordPress.com allows you to create a blog with a custom domain name (like yourname.wordpress.com), choose from hundreds of themes and plugins, and access basic features like analytics, comments, and social media integration. WordPress.com is also very easy to use, with a user-friendly dashboard and a drag-and-drop editor.

However, WordPress.com also has some limitations. You cannot upload your own themes or plugins, you have to display ads on your blog (unless you upgrade to a paid plan), you have limited storage space and bandwidth, and you don’t have full control over your blog’s design and functionality. WordPress.com is best for beginners who want to start a simple blog without much hassle. If you want to see a blogging website built using WordPress, see the news website Focuzindia.

Blogger

Blogger is another popular free blogging platform, owned by Google. Blogger lets you create a blog with a custom domain name (like yourname.blogspot.com), choose from a variety of templates and widgets, and access features like analytics, comments, and Google Adsense integration. Blogger is also very easy to use, with a simple dashboard and a straightforward editor.

However, Blogger also has some drawbacks. You cannot upload your own templates or widgets, you have limited customization options, you have limited storage space and bandwidth, and you don’t have full control over your blog’s design and functionality. Blogger is best for casual bloggers who want to start a basic blog with minimal features.

Medium

Medium is a free blogging platform that focuses on content rather than design. Medium allows you to create a blog with a custom domain name (like yourname.medium.com), write and publish articles with a minimalist editor, and access features like analytics, comments, and social media integration. Medium is also very easy to use, with a sleek dashboard and a distraction-free writing environment.

However, Medium also has some disadvantages. You cannot choose your own theme or layout, you have limited customization options, you have limited storage space and bandwidth, and you don’t have full control over your blog’s design and functionality. Medium is best for writers who want to start a professional blog with high-quality content. You can create high-quality content by reading the article about what is SEO content writing and its importance in site ranking.

Wix

Wix is a free website builder that also offers blogging capabilities. Wix allows you to create a blog with a custom domain name (like yourname.wixsite.com), choose from thousands of templates and apps, and access features like analytics, comments, and e-commerce integration. Wix is also very easy to use, with a powerful dashboard and an intuitive editor.

However, Wix also has some limitations. You have to display ads on your blog (unless you upgrade to a paid plan), you have limited storage space and bandwidth, and you don’t have full control over your blog’s design and functionality. Wix is best for creative bloggers who want to start a visually appealing blog with lots of features.

Read more about adding and setting up your blog using Wix.

Conclusion on How to Start a Free Blog

As you can see, there are many free blogging platforms that you can use to start your own blog. Each one has its own advantages and disadvantages, so you should choose the one that suits your needs and preferences best. Remember that starting a blog is only the first step; you also need to create valuable content, promote your blog, and engage with your audience.

How Minimalist Web Design Makes Your Website Better Than Others?

August 8, 2020August 10, 2020 Ann MariaLeave a comment

Minimalist web designs are made with a minimum number of elements. So it will only contain essential things. Such simple looking websites can have more impact than other websites. So these design standards are useful for everyone, especially business website owners. because it can improve traffic and lead to more sales.

How Minimalist Website Design Improves a Website

Simple designs are always better than complex designs. But there are some reasons behind it that make a minimalist web design superior to others. You can learn those reasons from here.

Improve Site Readability

Most people don’t read the entire content on a web page. They try to locate the specific information that they want as quickly as possible. So readability of the site is important to improve user experience.

Sometimes, the user will already know where to find that information. For example, if they are looking for the address or other contact details, that will be probably located at the footer section of the page.

You must organize each web page with minimal design to guarantee that the users can get the data they are searching for more easily. Because in such design standard only essential elements are placed on the site and so there won’t be any distractions.

Allows Easy Navigation

Navigation is a critical thing of a website. The navigation on the website should be user-friendly that lets users get information as soon as possible. The menu should be clearly visible. Make it stand out from the other elements of the page.

On many websites, the menu is overshadowed by animations, graphical designs, etc. But in the case of minimal design, there will be plenty of blank space. So everything on the website gets enough attention. So the navigation through the pages will be much easier than others.

Learn how to create top navigation bar from here

Highlight Your Content

Avoiding the excessive use of graphics and colors on a website can help designers to highlight each element on the website. The minimal design allows web designers to add large blank space between the elements to distinguish each of them.

If the blank space is increased drastically, then the design will look unattractive. The main trick behind the minimalist design is that it will keep a perfect balance between the amount of blank space and content.

Express Professionalism and Balance

You can make a site look attractive and creative by using different colors, patterns, textures, and graphical designs. But using all those things simultaneously is not a good idea.

Minimalist designs enable you to use the above-mentioned design elements without overwhelming which causes distraction. Some top website development company in India shows this kind of professionalism in their web designs.

Improves The Way in Which Users Process Information

Adding lesser elements not only makes the site look like a cleaner website but also a well-organized website. This is the reason behind minimalist designs are easier to navigate and find the information users want.

In this design standard, the whole site is much simpler to process information by the users.

Quicker Loading Time

Reducing the number of elements on a website can have a significant impact on loading time. To rank your website on top of search results, it must possess higher loading speeds.

If the website is slower than the competitor’s websites, then you may lose many potential customers.

SEO Friendly

Search Engine Optimization lets the search engine crawlers to easily crawl through the web pages. This may lead your site to have higher search engine rankings.

Also, loading speeds are a ranking factor. As mentioned earlier, minimal web designs have a higher loading speed. You need a reputable web design and development agency who understands the importance of SEO to build such websites.

Have A Responsive Website

For most websites, smartphone users contain a major part of potential customers. Your website should be capable to display on small screen devices. Minimalist designs give the designers the flexibility to make the sites mobile-friendly.

Closing Thoughts on Minimalist Website Design

Minimal designs provide leaves a lot of space on a web page untouched. This is helping in highlighting every element on the site. So users can easily find out the information they are looking for. Removing unwanted things makes it load faster and improving user experience. Both of them are important to have SEO ranking that makes minimal designs SEO friendly.

About The Author

Author is an accomplished web designer working at psddesigntohtml. He is experienced in writing, designing, and developing all sorts websites.

PSD to HTML Tutorial for beginners to Become an Expert Web Designer

January 31, 2020 Ann MariaLeave a comment

PSD to HTML Tutorial can give you a brief idea about this web design field to become a professional. So the first thing you need to know is that what is it? It’s a way to generate an optimized browser compatible website according to your customer requirements. The first stage in this designing the web page in Photoshop Document file and later it will convert to the mark-up language like HTML, XHTML, or HTML5.

Step-By-Step Guide to PSD to HTML Conversion

If you want to become an expert at this by learning more about image slicing or cutting, read the article given below to make the initial knowledge. The rest is up to you. Practice the methods over and over and do your projects based on these steps will make you an expert in this career.

Analyze PSD File

Perform an in-depth analysis of the selected PSD file. This is an important step in the conversion process. Because the whole work is done based on this file and so if you miss any details in the analysis, then it will affect the whole project. The analysis can help you register the roadblocks that may occur during the conversion. Learn all aspects deeply and plan the conversion steps by providing all the necessary CSS codes and splitting the mock-up design, etc.

Slice Images from the PSD File

The first stage of the conversion is by cutting out all the images. Because the PSD file will mostly contain some images you may need in images you want from the CSS file which you can’t recreate by using the CSS exporting tool. Previously you had to cut the shadows and place them near the images. But technology advances very fast and now CSS3 has support for various shadow effects. So you need only the images, the shadowing part can be managed by CSS3.

Produce HTML for Every Existing Section

A proficient web developer can divide a single page into different sections. To keep the uniformity of the page the developers write every HTML segment from top to bottom. HTML5 simplified the code sectioning and made it more efficient than before. This helps the companies doing PSD to HTML5 conversion to complete the work in minimal time. Provide logo and menu points in the header section. Add a special line to separate the main content and header. Many websites show a slide show under the header. So if your website has that, add this section with necessary code and images to slide across the page. Images and other texts are located in the content section. The footer section with some links and contact details will present at the bottom. Once you added all this, review it for any syntax corrections.

Arrange Your Styling with CSS

This stage is where you add some styling to the design elements with CSS. If you opt to go with the Bootstrap framework, you may already have some sort of styling. But add some personal touch to the designs. For this, there are three key preprocessors namely Stylus, SASS, and LESS. They have many advantages and the major one is it helps to make use of the variables.

Wrapping Up the PSD to HTML Tutorial

The steps given above can teach you more about converting a Photoshop document file to the mark-up language HTML. But like already mentioned, at the end of the day, it’s all about the efforts you put in the work. Train yourself by using the steps while doing the conversion work for a new site. The practice will help you to excel.

Author Bio

The author has been working with many clients for more than four years. He is currently working as a website content writer in phpfreelancedeveloper.com. He is usually interested in watching movies and writing blogs related to web design and development.

Key Elements of WordPress Website Design You should be Familiar With

December 18, 2019 Ann Maria1 Comment

When it comes marketing and advertisement, colors, shapes and sizes are indeed very helpful in conveying the business intent as well as influencing potential/prospective customers and clients. That’s why web design is very crucial in promoting brand, products and services in the digital age. WordPress provides the platform for efficient design and maintenance of business web sites and here are somethings you should pay attention too so as to get the best out of your business web site.

1. Branding

The type of visual display you create for your business says a lot about you and your business. The perception of confidence, integrity, and professionalism you create will do you great favour in building investors confidence and belief in your approach. In WordPress you will find that these elements come in handy

Logo: as the imperial eagle represented the pride and might of Rome, so too is the logo you choose. That’s to showcase what you stand for.
Color palette: colors influence moods and attitudes towards things. The right mixture of color texture and visual effects of primary and secondary colors is the ideal.
Typography: since you can’t really predict the type or model of devices your clients might use, you have to make the fronts eligible, and compatible.

2. Navigation

With millions of web sites available on the internet, most surfers spend less than 15sec on a site except they are really interested. That’s why your site should be navigable with ease and fluidity. Scrolling up and down, the layout arrangement, menu style and boldness of texts can all affect your visitors attitude to your site.

3. Responsive Layout

Your site must be able to fit across a variety of devices, desktops, PCs, Tablets and smartphones. Mobile friendly apps and sites are the trend as they are as twice the number of internet users using mobile phones than laptops and desktops put together. You can get many themes from wordpress.org.

4. Hero Banner

Your home page is the first and probably the only page most visitors will encounter on your site. First impressions matter especially with little time afforded to fully engage the visitor individually. Your banner must be placed with sensitivity as it tells who you are, what you should be expected from you. Catchy pictures and informative/educative short videos will do the trick. Go to w3schools to learn how to create a hero banner/image.

5. Media

Surveys show that people spend less time reading and preferably watch pictures and videos. Brilliant colors and sharp images are more effective ways of reaching out to customers, the cut right to the chase. Like they say, a picture can speak thousand words.

6. CTA

When it comes to clickable call-to-action, the positioning, outlook, words, the feeling of urgency and subtle manipulation of sights and sounds can determine weather visitors are converted to clients. Simple things could make or mar the user experience, that’s why knowing how to subtly manipulate emotional responses and visual stimulation is pertinent.

7. Contact Form

How can visitors reach you when they want to make further inquiry or ask questions? This must be made quick and easy. If you are still confused about setting up a contact form, you can ask a freelance wordpress developer for some help.

8. Pop-ups

Due to most recent developments, intrusive ads are getting the hammer, nonetheless, .pre innovative techniques can still be utilised but used wisely. E.g Slide-ins and Sticky banners.

9. Blog

Content development has become an indispensable part of B2B and B2C relations. Writing texts, uploading and updating of images, info-graphs and videos are excellent ways to connect and interact with visitors. It keeps them on their toes, engaged and always anticipating for the next big thing. That’s why it’s advisable to own a blog to share business goals, past and future projects across various social media platforms and improve ratings and visibility.

10. Social Media Links

You keep your trail on your visitors, encouraging them to stay in contact and share the bands reputation and products with others. Social media icons can serve also as reminders, WordPress design services can implement these kind of additions easily to the website.

11. Newsletter Signup

You can send the latest info and news directly to the visitors email address. Just make sure you respect their privacy and privacy laws and don’t over load them with unnecessary details.

Wrapping Up

With these firmly in your back-pocket, you can go ahead and design an impressive site and hopefully convert visitors to clients, higher rankings on SEO and ultimately more brand awareness.

What Is Psd to Html and Why Is It Important for Web Development

December 10, 2019December 10, 2019 Ann MariaLeave a comment

With the influx of better improved network capabilities, fibre optic transmissions, internet ubiquity and scalability, more and more people are becoming ‘netizens’ by the hour. To keep up with the pace, every business owner has to learn to adopt and adapt to the current trends and technologies. When it comes to Social Media Marketing and Branding, PSD to HTML conversion is one of them

PSD To HTML Conversion: What Exactly It Is

In Web design, it means extracting file from PhotoShopAdobe (PSD) to Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). It’s a systematic workflow process that has these steps which are:

1. PSD Design is Crafted

Adobe is used to design, edit and creating pixel-perfect and captivating designs and images. It has all the necessary tools that is efficient for designers to manoeuvre shapes and colour texture to design beautiful images and graphics.

2. Component is Sliced

Breaking up of design into multiple smaller images that can be coded and fitted into functional parts of the web page. This enables faster loading and assigning of various attributes to these images.

3. HTML Coding is Done

When the design task is completed, it is time to create styles files. CSS is used to refine and define the various features of the site, the menu style, aesthetic simulation, colour pattern, front size and type. This is where professional coding is very crucial.

4. Website is Ready

Once everything is in order and on further addition is needed, the web site can be launched immediately.

Why is it Vital to Convert PSD to HTML?

Some people ask why not just do the design on HTML. Well here are some of the reasons why:

1. Helps Developer Maintain Consistency

It avoids the pain of double work as PSD is a more veritable tool when it comes to creative work and art design. You are free to make changes, edit and recreate images.

2. Eases Website Maintenance

Where further editing or maintenance work might be required, it makes it easy to organize by many modules. It helps reduce the post-project maintenance cost.

3. Pixel Perfect & Cross Browser Compatibility

As stated earlier, the PSD design produces amazing graphics and pictorial concepts and stunning beauty. This leaves the developer with finishing touches using codes to make it responsive across various browsers and seamless user experience.

4. Implement W3C Standard in Website

Following the norms and globally accepted standard gives a web site an edge in accessing overseas markets and attending to a wider range of clients.

Closing Thoughts on PSD to HTML

PSD to responsive HTML is done to develop a dynamic and functional website from the static PSD file. It offers a spectrum of advantages that are vital for web development and attract developers to it.It is a cost-effective way of building a web site, it is the surest way to maintain an effective, fluid, flexible and functional site that is SEO oriented and aims to improve the experience and attitude of its visitors.

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Category: Web design