I set up a blog, now what?

Taking the First Steps

When I began this journey of setting up my website, I didn’t know what to expect. However, I did begin the process through research and looked at various websites to begin this journey. I looked at Wix, Weebly, Canva, and others as well I can’t quite remember. I wanted something that was user-friendly for me and consistent. I finally settled on Wix in November 2024 during the 5302 class. After I settled on a website platform to build my e-portfolio, the fun stuff and frustration began. 

First, let's begin with the explanation of the fun stuff. I began setting up my website during Thanksgiving break in Fall 2024. It was a much easier time for me since I had nothing else better to do. I spent roughly 1-3 hours a day setting up the website. I chose the colors, the text, the layout, menus and various settings needed in a website. Some may not know this, but I am a huge Taylor Swift fan, or AKA, Swfitie, so I wanted to shoot for my website to have those vibes, but also have a bit of my personality involved as well. I incorporated some Taylor Swift lyrics here and there, but with a twist–I related it to the appropriate content presented in the specific subpage. I did enjoy utilizing the AI generator to create backgrounds and pictures related to the content, which I found to be both relieving and resourceful for what I had envisioned in my head. 

Tips, Tricks, and Frustrations

As for the frustrations, I had many along the way creating my website. The upside of this was creating the website last semester, however there will always be frustrations at the center of creating something new. Some of it had to do with the tedious aspect of the small things like making a text box center, or mistakenly deleting something, or getting rid of the background I didn't like and wanting to change it back to what I really chose. Luckily, I did begin creating this website in the fall, during thanksgiving break, which did allow time for me to make changes and get how I wanted my website to look. 

As for what helped me understand Wix, I watched YouTube videos and clicked around with the menu to figure out how to set up my website. I was frustrated with Wix at the beginning of this e-portfolio process, but I eventually understood how to get around using the website creation and creating my e-portfolio. “I may not get it yet, but I will soon”, which made me realize I needed to keep a growth mindset as I progressed (Dweck, 2006). As I was creating my website, I realized the importance of using a growth mindset as I was developing my pages, creating the background. It took me a while to understand how to use the platform, but I finally got the hang of it–thus the power of yet came in handy while creating the website. 

As someone who is a visual learner, I highly recommend looking at YouTube to understand how to get around using Wix, or any other website creation platform that suits your needs. Of course, research the website creation platforms first before you do anything, then make your selection. I’m someone who doesn’t need all the bells and whistles and wants to use what is within my area of need–Wix was the clear winner because of how user-friendly it is, plus it is free. If those ideas do not appeal to a person creating a website from scratch, then I don’t know what will. 

References

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: The new psychology of success. Random House.