Business Cards...

I’m a stay-at-home mom but I also pride myself as being a blogger. It was my hobby before but now it has become my job. I am happy I get to record our family’s memories, express my thoughts and opinions on different matters, attend events like movie premieres for free, and at the same time get paid for it. I never thought this hobby of mine would turn out to be some sort of a “career” for me but I’m glad I discovered it because it means I can continue to stay-at-home and take care of my son.
This is the reason why I take my job seriously. Although I have absolute control of my time I make sure to put some effort in taking care of my blogs and promoting it. When I attend events I bring with me my very own business card which was done by my blogger friend, Pehpot. At one of the events I attended another blogger gave me one of her cards and I noticed it has its own custom business card design. I was really impressed because I think she really invested money on her own business card. Maybe I can have my business card professionally done next time. I think I would really need it to bring more traffic into my blogs.

Web Hosting Companies...

This blog turned two years old last March.  It was first hosted on blogger but I wasn’t satisfied.  The WordPress templates are so much cooler and I can’t seem to find a decent Blogger template at that time. That’s why I started scouting around for cheap but reliable web hosting companies.  The move was a scary one. If I had no idea how WordPress worked then more so with things that I heard only for the first time – nameservers, cpanels, Filezilla!  What can you expect from a Biology major like me?  That’s why I consider it a miracle that I can now manage my blogs with ease – moving my blogs from server to server, changing nameservers, uploading files through Filezilla. I owe this not only for my tenacious research but for some online friends who helped me when I was about to give up.

Finding a good web hosting company is not an easy step.  The first time I had to do it I chose a  familiar name in the web hosting business.  Although their server was good I only lasted less than a month with them.  It was then I found out that server uptime is not all you have to look for in your web host. There is another  thing and that is customer service. Since I was a newbie I needed all the help that I could. I asked them how I was going to add another blog to their server and their response was they can help me but I have to pay for the service.  I was devastated since I didn’t know a thing then about adding another blog and I wouldn’t want to pay for something every time I had to do something I didn’t know.  So I packed my bags and got another host that would be more willing to help me.

So my advice is think long and hard before choosing a web hosting company.  There are a lot of websites that compare the different web hosting companies side by side. That should give you an insight on their performance before even using their services. Once your blogs are in their servers the last thing you would need is leaving for another host in a few months as the process is tedious and you would have to set up your blogs again. So it’s better to do your research first and read the reviews before you make a decision.

PR Update! Yey!...

I have been waiting like a hawk for Google’s next PR update and finally, it came! Well not for this blog but aside from this one all of our blogs have now their page ranks. Hurray, the elusive PR is not so elusive anymore! I have been growing crazy for the longest time with the fact that my blogs have no PR. I even cried because of this – thanks, Fedhz for listening to my crazy banter – but don’t mind me I just cry over things not worth crying. LOL! So now I won’t be crying anymore – well, until the next PR update. waaah! Thanks Google!

If you haven’t checked your blog’s PR yet then hurry and check it now. You might be surprised like I was.

Free WordPress Themes...

I was doing some blog hopping when I was again inspired by one blog. How I wish my blog is as beautiful as his. *sigh Anyway, that blog got me itching and I’m thinking of changing my template again! The only thing stopping me is the fact that it’s just too tedious adding the plugins, widgets, and the html codes I’ve inserted here and there in this current template. If I don’t have my plate full this instant I would surely have gone ahead with the change.

Anyway, I have learned something since I started blogging. Before it took me hours to find the perfect template but what I did everytime I chance upon a nice looking blog I quickly check to see where he/she got the template. I go to that particular site and I bookmark it. Now, after a few months of doing that I have a nice collection of websites that offer free but still beautiful wordpress templates which I’ll be sharing with you today.

• Design Disease
• LeadCamp
• Savvy Web Design
• WP Daddy
• Top WP Themes
• Free WordPress Themes
• WordPress Rocks
• WP Theme Shop

No plans on changing your blog’s template today? Then just bookmark the links and you’ll find it handy when you need it in the future.

P.S.

This was a scheduled post and I really can’t resist the urge to change so I have a brand new magazine style template! I’m so in love with my template that I just stare at it sometimes. LOL! Yes, you can call me crazy now. hihi

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