Why should you have a blog?
Well, there are many good reasons to have a blog. But I would say the number one reason is because it is the place for you to be you. It is the best way to represent what you are all about, whether it is in your work, in your family, in your community, or in your play/hobbies.
My blog, the one you are on right now, is a hobby of sorts really. Here I can post about my life, record events, share photos, videos, recordings, and of course write to my hearts content...ergo Content.
It is a place to digitize a lot of your memories and is a timeline of your life.
It is fun to do!
But on top of that it is a great thing to learn how to do.
Now, I'll admit I have my issues with WordPress. If you do choose WordPress then choose .ORG not .COM! On .ORG your blog can belong to your. On .com it belongs to WordPress!
The NUMBER ONE THING TO REMEMBER IS:
MAKE SURE THE BLOG BELONGS TO YOU AND THAT YOU OWN YOUR OWN DOMAIN!
The second most important thing is to Choose the right Template! It isn't necessarily the coolest that works best, but the best set up to organize your stuff! Simplicity is key! Plus, Build it yourself! This way you will be in control of it and can build it just as you want.
Keep in mind, you'll make mistakes, but they are all correctable!
So, now, here is WHY should you have a website/blog.
If I was President of a University I would "REQUIRE" all professors to have a personal/professional blog. Why do I say that?
Well, because it is publishing! Your blog can establish you as an expert in your field and over a long period of time you can have quite the collection of material. It can help you in recruiting students, it can help in getting you seen as an active publisher of valuable content and you copyright all of your content! You link your website/blog to your Faculty profile on the University's website, and you link the University's website on your blog, in every page and post you see fit.
For Families I think it is a wonderful way to record the events in your lives. All the random special moments that happen can be captured and preserved on a website/blog and over time will become more and more valuable to you. Learning about websites and blogging can only be a feather in the cap of your children going forward, and it will be much easier for them to "get" than it will be for you.
Anything you want to be hidden from the public you can simply password protect! It isn't rocket science!
Don't worry about having people see it online because trust me the trick isn't staying hidden online, the trick is being found, and if you don't want to be found, that is really easy, just don't do any SEO, or FB sharing or anything.
Above all, my advice is to keep things as simple as possible. This Beaver Builder is great, so you may want to use it to help build your website. It is very tweakable! Plus there are a million plugins to do what you want to do, just make sure it is with a good builder and don't go crazy with it!
I feel like it is a luxury to work on my website and I love writing on it, as you may be able to see!
I highly recommend it!