Balkeni Studio

It could be that you have just stumbled upon this whole, "blogging" thing recently or you've known about it for a little while yet never really thought of getting into it until now.

So, you quickly Google, "How To Start A Blog", and suddenly you see a lot of information being thrown at you, words you've never heard before or you have heard before but don't know what they mean and you just don't want to look like a complete newbie and never asked anyone to help you out.

Don't worry, I'm here to explain everything there is to 'starting a blog' and the blogging basics you should know about before you start blogging. In fact, my aim is to help people like you, to make blogging more accessible to those who are on a budget, or those who just want to get started but don't know how to do it.

I'm here to hold your hand and guide you through it all.


Today we are answering any and all questions you may have about the words "domain name".  How people use it, what is the use of a domain name and more.

What is a domain name?

A domain name is like your address on the world wide web. Let's compare you blog to a house, when you would want someone to visit your house, you'll give them your address, right?

Similarly, if your blog is your house and you want someone to visit you will need an address. This address is called domain name.

A domain name can be anything, numbers and characters, however they cannot have spaces between them.

As simple as that. For someone to be able to find your website and/or blog online you will need to give them your address which is called a domain name.

Kinds Of Domain Name

For the purpose of this blog post I will not go into the technicalities as you don't need to know those.

But I do want you to know the difference between a domain name and a subdomain. As this will be handy in your blogging adventures.

You will mostly see two kinds of domain names on the Internet:

• balkeni.com (yourdomain[.]com)
• shop.balkeni.com (subdomain[.]yourdomain[.]com)

Premium And Free Domain Names

Where can I buy my domain name from?

What are my recommendations?

This blog post was requested by one of my readers, hence here is the tutorial. I am well aware of the power of Pinterest in driving traffic to blog owners. I also use Pinterest to drive traffic to this blog.

So, giving your audience an easy way to share your blog posts and save them on Pinterest becomes imperative for most bloggers.

While those on WordPress enjoy easy integration through plugins or built-in systems (blogger has a share button too but it will automatically choose the first image in a post) those on blogger will sometimes feel left behind.

This is exactly why I am writing this tutorial to help you install a Pinterest save button that pops-up automatically when someone hover over an image on your blog.

01. Getting the code from Pinterest

• First, make sure you are logged on to Pinterest.
• The second step is to get the code from Pinterest. For this, you should head on to Pinterest Developer Tools.

02. Installing the codes in your blogger blog. 

I hope this blog post has helped you in making your blogger blog integrate well with a social media platform you like. You can always request more tutorials or blog posts here. If you'd like, consider adding my blog to your reading list or sign-up to receive blog posts straight in your inbox.

If you would like some additional help or need to leave some feedback, please consider leaving a comment, I read and respond to all of them.

If it resonates with you, please consider donating to help me keep my blog running smoothly and the content updated regularly. 

I'm not proud of the fact that majority of my teen years, and even my early 20s I spent being disorganised. I was always to lazy to organise things at all let alone organise them well. It was always such a task, such a chore and I would always find a million reasons to do it, "later".

When I started my business 4 years ago, I never thought this habit of not being organised would help me lose both money and time. Not to mention it took a toll on my health later too, but that's not what I want to discuss with you today.

What I really want to speak to you about is the whole "trend" of planners and planning your work, your life, maybe even side hustles etc. I could never get myself to sit down, fill in my planner, plan my life, my work and stick to the schedule.

Every time I read a blog, it was always the same thing. People's life were soooo much better because they started organising and using planners. There were many times I bought planners, so many of them, but just never got around to filling them, you know?

This made me so sad. I was not happy with my work and life all over the place. I wanted to be organised, I wanted to work efficiently and be productive. So, without realising I started doing something, and it was the best thing ever.


But before I tell you what it was that I did, I want to let you know that if you're like me and struggle with planners, yet still love them. You are not alone. I'm with you!

I used to be just like that. No matter my love for the planner, or how insanely well it was created, I would print them out and never get around to using them. Or using them for a bit before I slacked off because I thought I had more pressing tasks to handle.

For example, making products, updating my blog, social media... hanging out in Facebook groups, losing 5 hours to my Pinterest feed. Yeah. Talk about distractions. I had a bag full of excuses, for not going back to that planner and filling it down.

Now, on the other hand, I make planners for myself, even for others to use, for my clients and more. And you know what, I'm proudly using them, properly. I've even found good use of all my other planners I bought previously but never used initially and they are all helping me take my work to a new level, simplifying my life and making things much easier for me overall.

So, what was this so called miracle in my life?

How I Discovered The To-Do List System

I like art, I like drawing and my personal Instagram is filled with it. I want to continually improve as an artist even though it is just a hobby as of now. So, I enrolled in a course that would help me draw better.

And, one of the first things the instructor ever said is that most people think that drawing well is a talent. Surely, for some people it is. But for most people, it is an acquired skill. And that's exactly why you need to practice it everyday.

That's when it hit me, could it be possible to acquire organisational skills even though I wasn't born with them? The answer, yes!

Like anyone learning a new skill, it's important that you take baby steps instead of diving in it all at once, overwhelming yourself and then quitting. It's also important to keep in mind to practice this skill so that you can make it into an effective habit and then, eventually, it will become a system for you.

What is the to do list system?

The to-do list system, is the exact system I started using to develop a habit of using a planner, sticking to my schedule and completing tasks related to both, my work and my personal life.

The to-do list system gave me an environment where I wasn't getting overwhelmed by the pages I hadn't filled or used, the deadlines that weren't met because something else took over that and it got pushed a bit.

The system was forgiving as long as some requirements were constantly met:

• You need a to-do list
• You need to accomplish 3 work related tasks and 3 life related tasks everyday. 

How to get started with the to-do list system

This system is great for people who work from home

I hope that this system will help you organise yourself better just as it did for me, I also hope you're balancing self-care and work together if you too work from home.



As always, if you have any feedback, I'd love to read all about it in the comments down below. I read and respond to every comment.



If you've liked this post and enjoyed reading it, then please consider donating to help me support this blog and keep it running smoothly, with more helpful content at regular intervals. You can also send in a request for a blog post or tutorial you would like to read.Additionally, you can follow my blog and even sign up to receive blog posts straight into your inbox.

Today's blog post was inspired by a request I got earlier this week where I was requested to write a tutorial on how to remove dates from a blogger blog post. This got me thinking, is it really necessary or beneficial that we remove dates from our blog post URLs?

So I started digging around, and read many blog posts published by many SEO pros out there, you know all the big names and I finally came to a decision. The answer is neither a yes nor a no. It's complicated and that's why it was needed I write this blog post for my audience, to help them understand advices they have read somewhere on the internet and actually be able to make an informed decision.



If you take into account the entire topic of links (urls) most pros will give you a different opinion, however all of them according to my research believe that having clean, short, easy-to-remember URL structure is good for your blog and/or brand.

Let's dive into why URL structures are important

In his ultimate guide to permalinks, Neil Patel explains how clean URL structure are a good practice. That having a URL that's easy to understand, remember and clean is a good SEO practice.

However, there have been instances where you'll see representatives of Google themselves have said that dates in URL are absolutely fine.

Keeping in mind the authority Neil has in his niche, and that he has worked with companies like Google etc. it quickly becomes confusing on what advice to take.

This is why I thought to check on another authority site in the SEO niche and they were of the same thinking! The community over at Moz also thinks clean URLs are a good practice.

So what do we do now? Should we have or not have URLs with dates?

At this point the very short answer is that it depends. And the longer answer is that you need to be able to understand the basics of SEO and how SERP works to be able to come to a decision about what's best for you and your blog.

As is my belief with most things related to blogging, making an informed choice is always the best.

Google considers well over 200 ranking factors when deciding which page should rank the highest in SERP (search engine results page - if you still don't know what that is I'm attaching a picture below)



And because there are many Google ranking factors, the structure of your URL is just one of those factors and not one of THE deciding factors.

This is why I believe that the Google Webmasters replied in this fashion:

Having a date in the URL is fine! #AskGoogleWebmasters

— Google Webmasters (@googlewmc) September 23, 2019

This means that while it is recommended that you have clean URL structures from the beginning, it's really okay if you have dates in your blog post URLs.

What does this mean for new and old bloggers?

New Bloggers

Old Bloggers

If you're a new blogger, or someone who is thinking of starting a blog it might be something you want to consider. Think about the blogging platform you wish to start with, your budget, and your end goal with blogging are all essential factors.

If you've been blogging for some time and your URL structure does have dates in it and you wish to change it, you must remember that any permalink (URL) changes will lead to a negative impact on your SEO unless you set up proper 301 redirects for each blog post created. This is exactly why, I think if you don't have the time or resources to make a change such as this happen then leave your URLS with dates as it is.

What does this mean for bloggers on blogger?

If you've been reading this blog for any amount of time, you know I write mainly for bloggers on blogger and that I love the platform just that much. I even suggest people to start their own blog using blogger.

As most people on blogger know that blogger as a platform includes dates in the URL that it generates. I believe that if you are on blogger or are starting a blog on blogger, you don't need to worry about the URL dates.

As bloggers, we are content creators and worrying too much about optimising our blogs technically can be counterproductive. If there is something you should know about Google is that it loves good content, sure you should make other changes to make your blog better but your content should still be your number 1 priority.

A date in the URL of your blog post in not going to make or break your blog. Don't let this deter you from choosing blogger as your blogging platform. People on the blogger platform are still making money despite dates in their URL.

But if it really matters a lot to you, I did write a tutorial on removing dates from blogger blog post URLS.

I'm still worried about the dates in my URL as a blogger

Like I mentioned above, your main concern should be someone giving your audience a better user experience, better content than dates in your URL.

Think about it, how many times have you actually paid attention to the address bar beyond the website name?

If you're like most people then you haven't paid that much attention to the address bar beyond the website name. And when you share URLS you just share them by the sharing tools available on your phone or copy pasting on your desktops, pc, laptops etc.

Depending on your blogging platform you can choose to change your link structure and set-up 301 permanent redirects from your old URL to the changed ones if you wish to retain your rankings and not effect your SEO in a negative way.

If you've followed the blogger tutorial or changed the URL structure on your blog on some other platform, make sure to set-up 301 redirects.


I hope that this blog post will give you clarity on what route you want to go. Personally for me, I'm on the blogger platform and I'm happy with the way things are with my blog post URL. It's the kind of optimisation I don't think too much about.

I believe in providing my audience with a good user experience, and content that helps them. The URLs are fine as it is.

If you have any thoughts and feedback to share, I'm looking forward to reading and responding to your comments.

As always, If you've liked the content and it has helped you in any way then please consider signing up to receive my blog posts directly in your inbox, or add my blog to your reading list. Alternatively, if it resonates with you, please consider donating and helping me keep the blog up and running and make our mission reality. 

I was requested to do a post about removing dates from blogger blog posts. Being a fan of the blogger platform I decided to do a bit of digging. And the good new is, it's possible. The other news is that there is a bit of a catch as blogger otherwise does not let you remove or change the permalink structure.




To remove the date structure from URL of your blogger blog posts:

• Copy this script and click Theme


• Then click Edit HTML
• Click anywhere on the code in your template once, and then press CTRL+F or Command + F (for Mac users) and type in "</head>" and press enter.
• Paste the code you copied earlier right above the tag "</head>".
• That's it and you are done.

I have been dedicated to the blogger platform for years now. It is my blogging platform of choice, and I love that it is extremely customisable. It is a very popular myth that blogger is not a customisable platform, it's not true. And for 4 years now, I've been helping bloggers make the most of their blogger blogs.

I know a lot of lifestyle, DIY, fashion bloggers review products and so I often got requests from bloggers on helping them with a star rating widget.

Are you a blogger on the blogger platform and you do reviews?

Then you'll be happy to know that this star rating widget will help your blogger blog stand out from other generic blogs. Now let's get into it.



Even if you weren't a blogger who often does reviews, you might find unexpected ways to make use of this simple yet beautiful star rating widget in your blog. Let's get right into it.

01. Save The HTML Code in your own computer

Go ahead and save the HTML Code somewhere in your computer or book mark this post in your browser, or pin it to read it later and go back to it when needed. I like to use Evernote to save all my blog codes and embed webpages, you may also use Trello to do so if you wish.


<div class="rating">
<div class="rtxt">
My Rating:
</div>
<span class="fa fa-star checked"></span>
<span class="fa fa-star checked"></span>
<span class="fa fa-star checked"></span>
<span class="fa fa-star"></span>
<span class="fa fa-star"></span>
</div>

02. Add The CSS Code in your blog template

1. Log in to your blogger blog, the click on Theme.
2. Then click on Customise.
3. Scroll down to where you see the option Add CSS.
4. Copy and paste the code below
5. Click Apply to Blog.
6. Then click Go back to blogger.

.checked { color: #54c5d0; } .rtxt{ display: inline-block; text-transform: uppercase; padding: 0 5px; }

Congratulations, you have now completed all the steps required in setting up the widget. Now, you'll need to understand how to use this widget in your blog posts.

Every time you need to display the star ratings in a blog post you'll need to copy and paste the HTML code provided to you in the beginning of this post to wherever you want that ratings to display.

By default, this rating widget shows three star rating, you can easily customise this by changing the code by just adding the word "checked" in the code for every star you would like to show. For example: You can show a 4 star rating using this code, notice how this is the same HTML Code as before but with an extra "checked" added.

For your ease I've added bolded the extra word added:


<div class="rating">
<div class="rtxt">
My Rating:
</div>
<span class="fa fa-star checked"></span>
<span class="fa fa-star checked"></span>
<span class="fa fa-star checked"></span>
<span class="fa fa-star checked"></span>
<span class="fa fa-star"></span>
</div>


Similarly, you can add five stars, and remove the word checked from the code to show less amount of stars.

Once you've added in the codes properly you can adjust the colours of the stars by changing the values of:

.checked { color: #54c5d0; }

This value affects the colours, you can easily look up the colours using the colour picker and and match them with your theme.

Live Demo

You can hire me to add this to your blog if you feel it's too complicated and you don't wish to DIY it.

I hope you've enjoyed this tutorial, and it helps you extend the capabilities of your blogger blog! As always you can send in a request for a tutorial or blog post, and if this blog post has helped you, please consider subscribing to all my future blog posts or follow my blog.



If there's anything else, please let me know. I enjoy writing tutorials for you guys as always. Please consider donating to help me keep the blog up and running smoothly if it resonates with you.

Back in 2017 I just wrapped up a custom logo design project.

Designing logos for others gives me great joy. The process which helps me determine exactly what my Client wants their brand to represent, is always a roller coaster ride, that I happen to like.

My Client this time was a Perfectionist — if I should say so. I loved working with her as she knew exactly what she wanted. She was clear with her vision which really helped me understand her brand better.





Such Clients are a breeze to work with! Here's what she had to say after she received her final draft and files, "I absolutely love the work you have done. ❤️ Thank You, so much!".

And those words meant so much to me!

If you feel you're ready to start your custom brand journey, then visit my custom design shop. Or if you'd like something premade, head over to my premade designs shop.

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