Starting up a blog is as easy as creating an account on Blogger, Tumblr, or WordPress. But with millions of blogs already out there in every conceivable niche, how can you make yours stand out? Excellent writing and a fresh angle are a good way to start! You might want to think about building your IT skills as well. Here are a few basic IT courses that can help you design and maintain a better blog, without relying on the same templates as everyone else.
Graphic Design
Blogging is often a visual medium. You’ll need to pick or design a logo and colour theme, and lay out your blog in the most visually appealing way. Graphic design courses can help you with this, particularly if you have no background in web design. This is particularly helpful for creating a memorable brand for your blog that remains consistent across multiple channels. For example, your WordPress site design should match the design of your Facebook page. In today’s graphic and web design courses, you may also learn specialty skills that how to design infographics and photo collages. These can keep you up to date with the latest blogging trends.
Coding
Coding may seem like a highly technical skill that turns off a lot of would-be bloggers, particularly since you can just use templates on most platforms. But knowing your way around the basics of HTML and CSS can come in extremely handy when you want to tweak your site design. Learning new coding languages like Javascript gives you additional freedom to create a blog that’s entirely your own, and update it whenever you want without relying on outside IT professionals. You don’t even have to become an expert, as it’s not that hard to learn some basic programming prompts.
Digital Marketing
You can spend time creating the most eye-catching, well-written blog, but if you have no idea how to market it online then you won’t be able to grow your audience. Although digital marketing isn’t necessarily an IT skill, it combines the use of computer technology and business to help you learn how to find readers online. You’ll learn more about search engine optimization and social media marketing to make your blog easier to find and follow.
Information Technology and Networking
Online security is another big issue to think about as a blogger. A Diploma in Information Technology and Networking is a course that will give you concrete skills in online networking and internet security, allowing you to protect your blog’s data and create your own server. Managing network security is also a skill that is highly desirable at the moment, setting you up for a future career in IT if that’s something you’re interested in beyond blogging.
In addition to these more lengthy courses, you’ll also find short IT courses at training.com.au that teach subjects like the basics of WordPress for business. These types of courses will give you the tools you need to succeed as a blogger. With the technical aspects taken care of, you can then focus on your writing, photography, and commenting to make sure that your blog goes above and beyond your competitors.
