Ever since the launch of Balkeni studio, it has been my aim to bring trustworthy and credible information to new bloggers as well as people who are considering taking up blogging as a hobby or a means to earn an income doing something they love and like.
This also means, that I don't believe in generic advice that you've probably read everywhere. I wish to give you the best option possible for your specific case! You'll also notice, if you've been reading my blog that I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all approach to blogging, this is also true in case of choosing a blogging platform.
I'm very serious about putting in a solid foundation for your blog, and if you choose the wrong platform, you ARE going to lose money. So, to help you avoid such mistakes, let's take a look at one of the most-asked question, is WordPress.com a good blogging platform?
What even is WordPress.com?
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) which is owned and operated by Auttomatic Inc. Meaning, it is a blogging platform (a place where you can host your blog) that is hosted and served by Auttomatic Inc.
Is there a difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?
The short answer is yes. WordPress.org is an open source software (also a CMS) that is used mainly to build websites and blogs and e-commerce stores. While it is free to use, you will need to find your own host to be able to host your WordPress powered website if you choose to go with WordPress.org instead. This is what is often called having a self-hosted blog.
Pros of starting a blog on WordPress.com
WordPress proudly states a significant fact, 35% of all websites are powered by WordPress. This is an impressive stat as the internet today has billions of websites. WordPress in of itself is a well-built, and efficient CMS.
Some features that make WordPress.com stand out are:
- You don't need to have any technical knowledge of running a blog or coding experience.
- It is hosted on fast, secure and reliable servers by Auttomatic and you won't run into hack problems as you might if you're not careful with your self-hosted blog.
- As your host (WordPress.com) takes care of your version of WordPress updated, you don't need to worry about updating your site and you can concentrate on what you do best; write.
- It's easy and simple to use, with lots of free (yet well-designed) themes as well as premium themes to choose from, I believe it shouldn't be hard to set up a well-designed blog for yourself.
- It is free to use, until you decide to upgrade it. And offers extreme scaleability when your blog grows from being just a blog to a full-time business.
- Practically no downtime, anyone who has ever self-hosted a blog probably knows the pain of a post going viral and their blog going down. Or on shared hosting when sometimes your blog experiences downtime but no sir, not here. On the two years that I was using WordPress I never had a single minute where my blog went down.
- Responsive and amazing support. The support is just beautiful, they care and they WILL help you out. That's not something I can about some other blogging platforms or hosts.
- Built-in monetisation opportunities such as an exclusive ad program, payment buttons and the ability to add a store to your website or blog makes it very easy to monetise your blog.
What are the cons of starting your blog on WordPress.com
There are some obvious cons to using WordPress.com as a blogging platform. As the platform operates on simplifying the pains of a self-hosted blog and help you focus on what you actually want to do - run your blog/website rather that spend time managing it and keeping it updated, a few shortcomings may be seen.
Some cons that I found WordPress.com to have:
- As a blogger, you also assume the role of a webmaster, especially if you are the only one on your team. This means you will be using follow links and no-follow links along with these new guidelines from Google as well. Well, there is NO easy way of adding these links in WordPress, you will have to switch to the HTML section of your post and add these attributes into your posts until you upgrade to the version that lets you install custom widgets and themes.
- Which brings me to this con, unless you're on a very specific plan that lets you do that, you cannot install third-party widgets and plugins. This is to make sure you don't accidentally install something that makes your website vulnerable to attacks and hacks but some people still find that limiting.
- You cannot run Adsense or any other ad networks that isn't WordAds. WordPress offers it's own ecosystem of Ads and you may only use that. Many people say that the earnings from WordAds is not as high, however I can't comment on it since I don't use much ads on any of my sites anyway for the sake of user experience.
- The free version of WordPress comes with Ads, your blog/website will show ads that will bring WordPress revenue, not you.
- You may not add custom Javascript to posts and pages that is not pre-approved by WordPress for security reasons.
My experience with WordPress.com
If you've known me or read my blog in the past then you know how keen I am on experimenting with new blogging platforms and thoroughly testing them out before I make an opinion. I like to test things out for myself rather than taking someone else's word for it.
This is partly because I am tech savvy, can code and am familiar with designing and like to do things my own way rather than a preset way. Being a web and graphic designer, I fail to understand the one-size-fits-all approach to blogging platforms. As a developer, I don't agree with it.
I started my very first blog around late 2014, if I remember correctly in December 2014. Like any other new blogger I got started with blogger and with some research, I was convinced that blogger couldn't be long-term for me as I had to go self-hosted.
But boy was I wrong. And when I shut down my first blog which was co-owned with my sister I was soon looking for a new blogging platform for my own blog. Which would be 100% me. I will be very honest with you, I didn't know much about blogging then and I didn't even know how to code back then.
So I have to admit, I didn't appreciate spending a good 45 minutes to keep my blog updated and as the blog grew in content and pages etc. it started to take lots of time to load in the backend, and was overall slow because of the shared hosting and we weren't at the point where we could afford a much more expensive hosting.
It took some time to learn WordPress but the real pain was performing these backend and admin tasks. And the overall slowness of the website. Not to mention downtimes as well. They were short, maybe like 5 minutes-15 minutes but they were there.
Of course, the speed of your website depends on a lot of factors but one of them is your host as well. We were hosted with GoDaddy and while I still believe they are good (especially in India, the shared hosting plans in itself will always be slow because they host many sites on the same server.) they are still slow.
I also just wished if I could lessen the burden on myself, just be able to blog without all the extra bits. I already had to wear many hats as a solopreneur, the marketer, editor, content writer, planner etc. so not having to deal with one more role, meant a lot to me.
Let's dive deep into my experience with WordPress.com now. In 2016, when it was time to start my own blog I wanted to give other blogging platforms a chance, I wanted to try many of them out and see what I liked.
I knew how to use WordPress and when I came across WordPress by Auttomatic Inc. it was something I loved. It was the power of WordPress but none of the hassle that came with a self-hosted blog. My art blog (no longer online either was hosted on WordPress for two years, until I made the decision to merge it with Balkeni Studio (this blog).
I was on their personal plan, and I honestly never felt that it was restricted or limited. It was also possible to easily monetise my blog with it and I had access to WordAds as well as Simple Payment buttons integrated into the system.
The cons never bothered me very much, I was able to do everything I wanted. Blogging, displaying ads, and monetising my blog along with selling a few handmade items here and there.
The support was amazing as well! They were always willing to help and listen to me. Had I not decided to merge my art blog with this blog, I would have still been on WordPress by Auttomatic Inc.
I was going through a lot of changes in my blog during 2019, I even tried Wix out for almost an year. But I ended up coming to blogger because of many reasons which I will highlight for you now.
This is partly because I am tech savvy, can code and am familiar with designing and like to do things my own way rather than a preset way. Being a web and graphic designer, I fail to understand the one-size-fits-all approach to blogging platforms. As a developer, I don't agree with it.
Fun Fact : I'm sorry but I don't believe going the self-hosted route is for everyone or for that matter, even required.
The self-hosted blog problems with my first blog
I started my very first blog around late 2014, if I remember correctly in December 2014. Like any other new blogger I got started with blogger and with some research, I was convinced that blogger couldn't be long-term for me as I had to go self-hosted.
But boy was I wrong. And when I shut down my first blog which was co-owned with my sister I was soon looking for a new blogging platform for my own blog. Which would be 100% me. I will be very honest with you, I didn't know much about blogging then and I didn't even know how to code back then.
So I have to admit, I didn't appreciate spending a good 45 minutes to keep my blog updated and as the blog grew in content and pages etc. it started to take lots of time to load in the backend, and was overall slow because of the shared hosting and we weren't at the point where we could afford a much more expensive hosting.
It took some time to learn WordPress but the real pain was performing these backend and admin tasks. And the overall slowness of the website. Not to mention downtimes as well. They were short, maybe like 5 minutes-15 minutes but they were there.
Of course, the speed of your website depends on a lot of factors but one of them is your host as well. We were hosted with GoDaddy and while I still believe they are good (especially in India, the shared hosting plans in itself will always be slow because they host many sites on the same server.) they are still slow.
I also just wished if I could lessen the burden on myself, just be able to blog without all the extra bits. I already had to wear many hats as a solopreneur, the marketer, editor, content writer, planner etc. so not having to deal with one more role, meant a lot to me.
My search for a managed WordPress platform ended on WordPress.com
Let's dive deep into my experience with WordPress.com now. In 2016, when it was time to start my own blog I wanted to give other blogging platforms a chance, I wanted to try many of them out and see what I liked.
I knew how to use WordPress and when I came across WordPress by Auttomatic Inc. it was something I loved. It was the power of WordPress but none of the hassle that came with a self-hosted blog. My art blog (no longer online either was hosted on WordPress for two years, until I made the decision to merge it with Balkeni Studio (this blog).
I was on their personal plan, and I honestly never felt that it was restricted or limited. It was also possible to easily monetise my blog with it and I had access to WordAds as well as Simple Payment buttons integrated into the system.
The cons never bothered me very much, I was able to do everything I wanted. Blogging, displaying ads, and monetising my blog along with selling a few handmade items here and there.
The support was amazing as well! They were always willing to help and listen to me. Had I not decided to merge my art blog with this blog, I would have still been on WordPress by Auttomatic Inc.
Why I moved from WordPress to Blogger
I was going through a lot of changes in my blog during 2019, I even tried Wix out for almost an year. But I ended up coming to blogger because of many reasons which I will highlight for you now.
- I was running way too many blogs and it was getting harder to keep up with them alongside my client work. I wanted to streamline my blogs (I had more than 4) under one brand, and concentrate on just one aspect of my business first and gradually add to them (a very valuable advice from my friend and mentor Mary Angela, in her book).
- My work blog was already hosted on blogger, I was learning code and wanted to experiment with everything, and Blogger unlike how many people suggest is NOT a limited platform. It is very customisable, and I've grown to love it!
- Blogger is free, fast, secure, with no downtimes. It is so customisable that it's helping me in my journey of learning to code more and more.
- It is easier to use. It was made for simplicity, hence it is actually easier to use.
- And it's possible to monetise it as well, unlike what you may have heard, and yes, I do own my content. Read Blogger's policies to find out that they never say that they own your content!
If you're interested, you can read more about the platform in this blog post.
Is WordPress.com a good blogging platform for me?
That's a good question. And the answer is, it depends. In my blog coaching sessions for new bloggers I recommend them to weigh out the pros and cons of each blogging platform and think about what they want to do with their blog and decide which platform let's them achieve their specific goal in the easiest way possible.
I usually recommend WordPress to writers, technically challenged, and/or people who would rather just leave the backend tasks to the experts and give themselves a website manager for free that will keep their site secure, fast and happy 24x7.
As WordPress is scaleable, your plan can grow with you, that means it doesn't have to burn a whole in your pocket every month. And you get unlimited bandwidth, so if a blog post goes viral, you need not pay anything extra.
WP (WordPress) even makes it easy for you to get started even if you don't know what things like a host or domain name is. WP guides you through it.
If you ever need to start selling products and/or services through your website, then that's possible too. Monetising is easy with in-built tools.
Okay well, here's the secret. Most bloggers that tell you that self-hosted is the only route to a successful blog is not giving you the information you actually need to be successful with blogging.
#SorryNotSorry
I take pride in being able to tell my readers that I put honesty, credible knowledge, and my intention to actually help my reader (you) before anything else. I believe that it's more important to let my reader know the options that are available to them, than just recommending something just because it helps me make money, or because others are doing the same.
I'm not sure where the myth of needing to "self-host" your blog to become a successful blogger originated from but it was probably an intelligent way to earn revenue by affiliate marketing. Tell someone that without buying product A, they cannot make money or it will be harder to make money.
Not only do I not like such misleading techniques, but these days I just see everyone recommending people to go self-hosted even when there's no actual need to have a "self-hosted" blog if you want to make money blogging.
I wish to tell you proper reasons and give you actual information so that you can feel empowered enough to make a decision by yourself, without having to ask anyone else for it.
As a web designer and developer, this is my advice: WordPress is a robust content management system. However, most bloggers on self-hosted WP blogs will never use 80% of the power that WP has, simply because bloggers do no require it.
If you were a multi-category e-commerce business that needed something very complex (and you have a developer to manage and maintain your site), then, sure, self-hosted is a better option for you, but for bloggers, it's just not a requirement.
I think WP is a great platform for starting a new blog, you can get started for free and build upon it once you believe you are getting more serious about your blog. I prefer it over a self-hosted version of WordPress because it saves you a LOT of time, headache, and hassles.
Just ask anyone running a self-hosted WordPress blog about their blog getting hacked and whether or not it was a fun experience for them.
If you are extremely new to blogging I suggest you go with their free plan and adjust with blogging regularly, if you already think you'd like to get started in a more serious manner, choose a plan (it comes with a free domain name too for an year) and start your journey!
I will leave the ultimate decision to you, if you need professional help, I offer blog coaching to clients that are new to blogging to help them make their goal a reality. If you'd like to book a session, you can get in touch with me.
If you're not ready for professional coaching then feel free to get in touch via the comments section for a question or two. I'm always happy to help! Or you if you have something you'd like an extremely detailed advice on, send in a blog post or tutorial request and subscribe to my posts so that you know when it's live.
I usually recommend WordPress to writers, technically challenged, and/or people who would rather just leave the backend tasks to the experts and give themselves a website manager for free that will keep their site secure, fast and happy 24x7.
As WordPress is scaleable, your plan can grow with you, that means it doesn't have to burn a whole in your pocket every month. And you get unlimited bandwidth, so if a blog post goes viral, you need not pay anything extra.
WP (WordPress) even makes it easy for you to get started even if you don't know what things like a host or domain name is. WP guides you through it.
If you ever need to start selling products and/or services through your website, then that's possible too. Monetising is easy with in-built tools.
If WordPres by Auttomatic Inc. s is so good, why does every other blogger suggest going self-hosted instead?
Okay well, here's the secret. Most bloggers that tell you that self-hosted is the only route to a successful blog is not giving you the information you actually need to be successful with blogging.
#SorryNotSorry
I take pride in being able to tell my readers that I put honesty, credible knowledge, and my intention to actually help my reader (you) before anything else. I believe that it's more important to let my reader know the options that are available to them, than just recommending something just because it helps me make money, or because others are doing the same.
I'm not sure where the myth of needing to "self-host" your blog to become a successful blogger originated from but it was probably an intelligent way to earn revenue by affiliate marketing. Tell someone that without buying product A, they cannot make money or it will be harder to make money.
Not only do I not like such misleading techniques, but these days I just see everyone recommending people to go self-hosted even when there's no actual need to have a "self-hosted" blog if you want to make money blogging.
I wish to tell you proper reasons and give you actual information so that you can feel empowered enough to make a decision by yourself, without having to ask anyone else for it.
As a web designer and developer, this is my advice: WordPress is a robust content management system. However, most bloggers on self-hosted WP blogs will never use 80% of the power that WP has, simply because bloggers do no require it.
If you were a multi-category e-commerce business that needed something very complex (and you have a developer to manage and maintain your site), then, sure, self-hosted is a better option for you, but for bloggers, it's just not a requirement.
Conclusion
I think WP is a great platform for starting a new blog, you can get started for free and build upon it once you believe you are getting more serious about your blog. I prefer it over a self-hosted version of WordPress because it saves you a LOT of time, headache, and hassles.
Just ask anyone running a self-hosted WordPress blog about their blog getting hacked and whether or not it was a fun experience for them.
If you are extremely new to blogging I suggest you go with their free plan and adjust with blogging regularly, if you already think you'd like to get started in a more serious manner, choose a plan (it comes with a free domain name too for an year) and start your journey!
TIP : I highly recommend reading my article on Blogger versus WordPress. You can even follow my blog for resources, and real advice to make your blog successful.
I will leave the ultimate decision to you, if you need professional help, I offer blog coaching to clients that are new to blogging to help them make their goal a reality. If you'd like to book a session, you can get in touch with me.
If you're not ready for professional coaching then feel free to get in touch via the comments section for a question or two. I'm always happy to help! Or you if you have something you'd like an extremely detailed advice on, send in a blog post or tutorial request and subscribe to my posts so that you know when it's live.
Here, at Balkeni Studio Sarah Skilton has contributed to an interview before, she's an amazing, lovely and strong woman. She runs her small business store Adventure Accessories - gifts for outdoors. She's very active on Twitter and has found her success through the platform.
Today, she'll be answering some questions about how you too can make use of Twitter to help your business or blog.
Q.
Hi Sarah, welcome back to Balkeni Studio Small Business Spotlight interviews. Can you tell everyone a little bit more about yourself and what you do?
Answer:
I created Adventure Accessories in 2018 when I changed direction in life. I took voluntary redundancy to care full time for my youngest son when he was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive cancer in 2016 aged 14. My crafts were and still are part of my therapy after I had a breakdown in 2017. My small business is an escape, a therapy and a something good to come from a nightmare that we still fight every day since he relapsed in September 2017.
I created Adventure Accessories in 2018 when I changed direction in life. I took voluntary redundancy to care full time for my youngest son when he was diagnosed with an extremely rare and aggressive cancer in 2016 aged 14. My crafts were and still are part of my therapy after I had a breakdown in 2017. My small business is an escape, a therapy and a something good to come from a nightmare that we still fight every day since he relapsed in September 2017.
Q.
So we know you're quite active on Twitter, a social media platform that most don't rave about, especially in comparison to Pinterest. When did you start with Twitter and Why?
Answer:
I actually created my Twitter account in 2013. A first I found it a confusing platform as I had no idea what the difference was between @ and # and how you used them in your tweets. However, you quickly get the hang of the platform and I love Twitter. It is by far my favourite social media platform to use. Why? Twitter is like a live rolling news service about everything that is going on in the world in real time. It is a window to world news, politics or even silly hashtag games. You can connect and chat with users all over the world even if you don’t follow each other.
I actually created my Twitter account in 2013. A first I found it a confusing platform as I had no idea what the difference was between @ and # and how you used them in your tweets. However, you quickly get the hang of the platform and I love Twitter. It is by far my favourite social media platform to use. Why? Twitter is like a live rolling news service about everything that is going on in the world in real time. It is a window to world news, politics or even silly hashtag games. You can connect and chat with users all over the world even if you don’t follow each other.
Q.
You mentioned that twitter drives 48% of your traffic, can you tell us more about the strategies you used and how long it took you to get there?
Answer:
As I already had an established Twitter account it hasn’t taken me long to grow my following as my new business Adventure Accessories. What has helped drive traffic is taking part in Twitter Chat hours. Each chat has a specific hashtag. You use that # in each of your tweets and everyone taking part in the chat can see and respond. There are literally hundreds of chat hours taking part all the time, but I made a hand infographic of my favourite ones to take part in.
As I already had an established Twitter account it hasn’t taken me long to grow my following as my new business Adventure Accessories. What has helped drive traffic is taking part in Twitter Chat hours. Each chat has a specific hashtag. You use that # in each of your tweets and everyone taking part in the chat can see and respond. There are literally hundreds of chat hours taking part all the time, but I made a hand infographic of my favourite ones to take part in.
Q.
Do you see a good ratio of return on investment as a small business owner on Twitter, do you think it's worth it?
Answer:
Absolutely to drive 48% of my traffic and for this figure to be constant is a valuable investment. In comparison I have 44.8k monthly unique viewers on Pinterest but it only accounts for 5% of my website traffic. Yet I only have 7.3k followers on Twitter but 48% of traffic plus numerous sales as a result of Twitter chats and as a result of such high engagement from I have a Twitter reach of 1.7 million.
Absolutely to drive 48% of my traffic and for this figure to be constant is a valuable investment. In comparison I have 44.8k monthly unique viewers on Pinterest but it only accounts for 5% of my website traffic. Yet I only have 7.3k followers on Twitter but 48% of traffic plus numerous sales as a result of Twitter chats and as a result of such high engagement from I have a Twitter reach of 1.7 million.
Q.
If someone was just starting out on Twitter, what advice would you give them?
Answer:
Engage with other users, chat and use hashtags, but only max of 3 hashtags per tweet. It is not like Instagram. Less is more. Like and re tweet other users tweets. Take part in chat hours. A particular user will be the host and they will help you if you are not sure what to do. Each chat has its own rules but they are generally fairly laid back. Create an account and have a go.
Engage with other users, chat and use hashtags, but only max of 3 hashtags per tweet. It is not like Instagram. Less is more. Like and re tweet other users tweets. Take part in chat hours. A particular user will be the host and they will help you if you are not sure what to do. Each chat has its own rules but they are generally fairly laid back. Create an account and have a go.
Q.
Do you think anyone can drive about that much traffic from Twitter as you do? If yes, then what should they focus on when promoting on twitter? And why did you choose Twitter or other platforms?
Answer:
It is all about what you put in. At one point Twitter only accounted for about 12% of my traffic, but I have grown to 48% mostly from Twitter chats. Chats usually last an hour and I tend to take part in at least one a day, so I am on Twitter for at least one hour every day, but usually more going through and responding to my notifications. Follow the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of the time engaging, offering advice and sharing other people’s content, the 20% promote you own content. You will then get the same in return.
Look at the trending hashtags and take part in those that are relevant to you, this will increase your exposure and reach greatly.
I love Twitter because you get to chat in real time to people all over the world. Twitter helps you to create links and networks with other business owners, especially in your niche, don’t see each other as competition, but rather, you are help and support for each other.
I would describe Facebook as a business to customer focus whereas Twitter generally is more business-to-business.
It is all about what you put in. At one point Twitter only accounted for about 12% of my traffic, but I have grown to 48% mostly from Twitter chats. Chats usually last an hour and I tend to take part in at least one a day, so I am on Twitter for at least one hour every day, but usually more going through and responding to my notifications. Follow the 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of the time engaging, offering advice and sharing other people’s content, the 20% promote you own content. You will then get the same in return.
Look at the trending hashtags and take part in those that are relevant to you, this will increase your exposure and reach greatly.
I love Twitter because you get to chat in real time to people all over the world. Twitter helps you to create links and networks with other business owners, especially in your niche, don’t see each other as competition, but rather, you are help and support for each other.
I would describe Facebook as a business to customer focus whereas Twitter generally is more business-to-business.
Author Bio
Sarah Skilton is the owner of Adventure Accessories, created in 2018, a successful creative handmade business based in Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Combining a passion for adventure with a love of crafts, Adventure Accessories creates unique handcrafted, fun and functional, gifts for outdoor enthusiasts. You can follow Sarah on social media Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.
When Miz Helen got in touch with me about getting badges designed for her blog, I was happy to discuss the scope of the project with her. She wanted these for her linky parties and also needed people to be able to copy them from a place in her blog and paste them to their own blog.
The idea behind the illustration came from the cloth pattern and a red plate she already was using as her button for the blog.
Being a blogger myself and being familiar with the link party trends, this project was great to work with. We ended up with two variations of the same design that she really enjoyed.
Her blog is filled with some pretty great recipes and I've really liked working with her. The fun thing about this project was that it wasn't just design work, coding was involved too and so it made it even more fun for me as a designer and developer!
Need a button/badge designed for your blog that matches your branding? Feel free to get in touch!
In Q1 this year, I got a chance to make a custom photography logo for a freelance photographer based in Poland. This is what I like to call a signature logo.
The client really wanted his own signature to be used as a logo. And so we went with the concept. I loved how it turned out after that and so did he.
You can check out his work on his Instagram handle.
When you want your logo to be unique and iconic, this can be a perfect choice, your signature is a great representation of you and the chances of someone having something similar are really slim.
In a previous post, I wrote about the importance of using HTTPS on your blog.
Today, I'm writing to give you a tutorial for your blog that is hosted on blogger.com and the tutorial is all about switching from HTTP to HTTPS in a manner that is doesn't affect your blog traffic, confuse Google and make a hot mess out of your otherwise, fine and amazing blog or website.
Blogger has always aimed to make it easier for bloggers to achieve the guidelines it gives to bloggers and site owners. For example, a very easy way to nofollow links, a customisable platform, and when it was finally time for HTTPS, blogger helped by allowing users to just make two clicks and have access to free SSL and thus HTTPS.
Fun Fact : I love how blogger simplifies things, in fact, I love the blogger platform and I think it's really a good option for bloggers and even some service-based creative individuals. I use it myself.
But, the problem with large scale changes such as these is that they won't be without problems of their own.
It is, as I mentioned before, important to keep in mind that such large scale changes also come with their own set of problems, and ones that came with the adoption of HTTPS in early 2016 was that most blogs that were using third-party scripts and widgets, experienced a lot of "content unavailable" errors when being served over SSL.
WARNING : It should be kept in mind that switching from HTTP to HTTPS can cause incompatible third-party widgets and scripts to break.
So let's get into the step by step way to prepare for the switch and that actually make it on your blogger blog.
01. Prepare for the switch from HTTP to HTTPS
One of the first things I'd like you to do is find out whether your theme's external widgets (that are not from Blogger) support HTTPS. If you're running an old theme, chances are it won't support many scripts and you'll see a lot of content that doesn't load anymore because of it, or you'll see mixed content issues.
I wish I could tell you what script is causing the problem but with so many templates out there I couldn't exactly pinpoint what's wrong with yours unless I know more about it. Feel free to leave a comment (without leaving a link in the actual comment that you need help).
Make a list of all widgets and codes your theme uses that don't support HTTPS, and know that these might not work or cause problems when you switch. Ask your script developer if they plan to support HTTPS and can help you integrate it.
02. Make The Switch
- Now, head over to Settings in your blogger dashboard.
- From there, click Basic
- And under HTTPS select "Yes" for both the options.
To match, here's what your settings should look like:
That's it, you should see HTTPS working in about 24 hours for your blog. Usually, it happens sooner, but I still recommend giving it 24 hours before you decide that something is wrong and you need to troubleshoot it.
03. Making changes in Google Webmasters
Every time a URL changes Google and most search engines view it as a new URL, so by switching to HTTPS it's like your website is brand new.
But we don't want that, because well, that's bad for our search presence. So, you'll go to Google Webmaster/Search Console and add all your site versions:
- Starting with HTTP (both www and non-www versions)
- Starting with HTTPS (both www and non-www versions)
And then, you'll set the preference to the HTTPS version, this lets Google know that while both domain names are yours and of the same site, you prefer the HTTPS version over HTTP.
04. Updating your Google Analytics
If you are using Google analytics, and chances are that you are. You'll need to update your websites address there too.
- Head on to over to Google Analytics
- Click on Admin
- Navigate to Property Settings
- Change the default URL to "https://"
Make sure the settings are saved and you are done.
That's it, this is how you can properly switch from HTTP to HTTPS on your blogger blog.
Troubleshooting HTTPS Issues
Sometimes, you HTTPS availability might get, what you may call "stuck" and that's not normal.
If you're not seeing HTTPS working on your blog even after the 24 hour period is over, here's what you can do to troubleshoot:
- Check whether your domain is set-up properly.
- Uninstall or remove Cloudflare if you have that enabled on your blog.
- Reset your custom domain on blogger.
- Turn off HTTPS and wait a day or two before turning it back on.
Usually, this will fix the issue. But if it's still not working, please feel free to leave a comment below (don't add your website link in the comment section, instead use your google account or name and URL so I can get in touch with you).
Additionally, you can seek support in my group dedicated to bloggers using blogger.
Mixed Content Issues
Once you get your site to load over HTTPS but there is still some content being served over HTTP you will not mixed content issues.
The only way to combat this is to find what content is being served over HTTP and to fix it.
INFO : If you need me to solve and fix their mixed content issues. I charge my hourly rate of $75/hour for all tech work. If you'd like me to help you fix this, please feel free to get in touch.
I hope this tutorial has helped you and please feel free to leave comments and questions down below if you are stuck somewhere or just need more help in making sense of things.
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I think you'll agree with me when I say blogging has changed so much since the early 2000s; what it used to be when it was just getting popularised. And so has the technologies we use to blog.
Nowadays, blogging isn't just hitting publish on a blog post, it's so much more. Marketing, promoting, selling products and services you build, running membership sites and so much more.
As the nature of blogging has changed, new threats emerged, and security questions are being raised. People want to be protected, more and more people are realising the importance of their data and are taking it seriously.
Laws are being formed about the same, and as a digital content creator, it falls on you to keep up with all the latest changes and rules and regulations not only to protect yourself but your audience and give them a secure browsing option on your blog or website.
One of the most recent changes has been awareness about HTTPS and SSL. And I know some of you haven't caught on it, yet. That's why I'm here to help you understand what it is in a non-technical way, and let you know why it's so IMPORTANT.
What is HTTPS?
The abbreviation stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It is the secure version of HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).
Google has been pushing HTTPS for a long time now, and even gave a small significance to websites that were being loaded over HTTPS to those that were simply loading on HTTP.
It was all made official, with the release of Google Chrome 68. Google was making it sure that website owners serve their websites over a secure connection.
What is SSL?
Think of SSL as the means by which a secure connection is served by a server to a computer network. The result of which is, that you see a padlock and your web address starts with HTTPS rather than HTTP.
SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer.
Why use HTTPS and SSL?
HTTPS signals your web browsers to use an added layer of SSL to protect your site's traffic, in short, you readers and audience. This also helps protect your audience's sensitive information such as credit card information, passwords, e-mails etc.
It prevents attackers from meddling with your site content by changing it when a visitor visits your website.
Why is this important to me as a blogger?
Brilliant question. It is important, especially for site owners such as yourself. Let me explain why. As a blogger, you own your very own space in the world wide web. And so, it becomes your duty to protect your audience the best you can when they visit your website and/or blog.
To safeguard your audience's sensitive information is an ethical thing to do. And if that hasn't convinced you, then, it also helps build trust towards your brand and loyalty over time.
Think about it, do you want to or will buy from a site that gives a "Not Secure" warning to users? I think not. Especially when audiences are becoming more aware of their privacy and data by the day.
In an age of increasing frauds, shady companies, and shady privacy policies there is one thing that customers appreciate and that is transparency and honesty. SSL gives your audience to peace of mind to browse through your website and interact with it safely.
And I believe it should be at the heart of your business to value your customer, their privacy and information safety the most.
But sometimes, just being ethical and good-natured isn't enough for some so here are a few more reasons an SSL is important for you:
- Chrome browsers/ other browsers won't give a "Not Secure" warning to your visitors.
- A slight boost in SEO
- If someone wasn't subscribing to your e-mail list or buying your product because their browser was telling them their sensitive data might be at risk, they will do so now that you have SSL enabled.
What is TLS and does it matter?
TLS is known as Transport Layer Security. It is a succeeding technology to SSL and it is what makes sure that data transfer between your web server and a visitors computer is encrypted (protected) the same way SSL would do.
I've already mentioned the reasons you should consider adding an SSL on your blog, but apart from the ethical reasons, and some other obvious reasons also mentioned above. Let me say it again.
SSL is important for the safety of your visitors' sensitive information, such as e-mail addresses, credit card information, debit card information, phone numbers, addresses etc.
So if you collect any of the above information from your visitors, you SHOULD use an SSL/TLS encryption on your website/blog.
This isn't just a matter of being ethical it's also a responsibility, and personally, I'm hesitant to purchase or interact with websites that don't use SSL/TLS or don't have a padlock (lock icon) displaying in the address bar.
But having an SSL gives you the following advantages as well:
I hope this blog post has helped you understand in a better way why bloggers and website owners should start using SSL/TLS. If this blog post has helped you, please help me out by sharing it with your friends on social media, follow my blog or subscribe to receive new posts directly in your inbox.
If you feel that you'd like to help me out please consider donating so that I can keep bringing DIY tutorials and more to you. If there's a request or tutorial you'd like to see on this blog, feel free to suggest it here.
Does it matter if I don't use SSL/TLS on my website/blog?
I've already mentioned the reasons you should consider adding an SSL on your blog, but apart from the ethical reasons, and some other obvious reasons also mentioned above. Let me say it again.
SSL is important for the safety of your visitors' sensitive information, such as e-mail addresses, credit card information, debit card information, phone numbers, addresses etc.
So if you collect any of the above information from your visitors, you SHOULD use an SSL/TLS encryption on your website/blog.
This isn't just a matter of being ethical it's also a responsibility, and personally, I'm hesitant to purchase or interact with websites that don't use SSL/TLS or don't have a padlock (lock icon) displaying in the address bar.
But having an SSL gives you the following advantages as well:
- It gives you a boost in SERP over the same niche non-SSL sites that are talking about the same things you are talking about.
- IF I haven't said it already, it protects your visitor's sensitive information. So if you collect e-mails or sell something on your website, it is a must!
- It builds trust and shows your audience you take their privacy seriously.
How do I add SSL/TLS to my website?
Each website is just unique in the way that it is built. And what tools go into the making of it.
Some people use website builders like Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress.com whereas others might use Blogger.com or even choose to go the self-hosted route.
But the ability to have HTTPS essentially is provided by your host, where your website lives (or is hosted). All the above-mentioned platforms offer free SSL for your site except self-hosted blogs (in this case, some hosts do charge for SSL and some don't) and there is a way to go about it if you want to enable it.
How to enable SSL on the platform that you are using is outside the scope of this blog post however, as this is a series I will eventually be covering your platform sooner or later.
TIP : Feel free to subscribe or follow my blog to make sure you can stay updated with my blog posts and don't miss a tutorial. You can even request a specific tutorial or blog post about a topic you wish to know more about here.
What is a mixed content issue?
Mixed content issue is when HTTPS and SSL are enabled on a site yet the address bar shows an icon with an "i" and circle around it.
This means that while your site is using the HTTPS protocol and has an SSL/TLS in place there are some components being loaded over non-SSL encryptions. This is what we call a mixed content issue.
To be able to fix mixed content issues you need to know what scripts, codes, images, media or content are being served over non-secure channels on your website that are causing this issue.
Once you locate this and make sure everything is being served over SSL/TLS then, this issue will be resolved.
Usually, asking your developer or tech is the best thing to do to help you properly fix these issues.
However, if that is not an option you will need to do this manually. In the coming blog posts in this series, we'll explain how to resolve mixed content issues depending upon your blogging/website platform.
Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I help bloggers on all popular platforms solve and fix their mixed content issues. I charge my hourly rate of $75/hour for all tech work. If you'd like me to help you fix this, please feel free to get in touch.
This means that while your site is using the HTTPS protocol and has an SSL/TLS in place there are some components being loaded over non-SSL encryptions. This is what we call a mixed content issue.
How to fix mixed content issues?
To be able to fix mixed content issues you need to know what scripts, codes, images, media or content are being served over non-secure channels on your website that are causing this issue.
Once you locate this and make sure everything is being served over SSL/TLS then, this issue will be resolved.
Usually, asking your developer or tech is the best thing to do to help you properly fix these issues.
However, if that is not an option you will need to do this manually. In the coming blog posts in this series, we'll explain how to resolve mixed content issues depending upon your blogging/website platform.
Do you help fix mixed content issues?
Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. I help bloggers on all popular platforms solve and fix their mixed content issues. I charge my hourly rate of $75/hour for all tech work. If you'd like me to help you fix this, please feel free to get in touch.
I hope this blog post has helped you understand in a better way why bloggers and website owners should start using SSL/TLS. If this blog post has helped you, please help me out by sharing it with your friends on social media, follow my blog or subscribe to receive new posts directly in your inbox.
If you feel that you'd like to help me out please consider donating so that I can keep bringing DIY tutorials and more to you. If there's a request or tutorial you'd like to see on this blog, feel free to suggest it here.
At the start of this year, I got a chance to work on designing a business card for a Wix Code Expert for an event she was going to be attending.
I was tasked with creating a design that was modern and felt unique to her brand.
I came up with the concept of colour splashes that represent her brand colours as she is a vibrant person, who touches and transforms the business lives of her clients.
She quickly fell in love with the concept and approved it right away. It was an amazing experience to work with her!
Need a custom business card designed for your business?
Feel free to get in touch here or via my Etsy shop.
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