# Blog


## Build

### Basic Blog Setup 
- Set site title
- tagline
- time zone
- language

### Customize Your Blog
- Upload Logo                                                                                                                                      
- Choose Colors and Fonts 
- Customize Header and Footer 
- Customize Homepage (select a layout or blog grid) 

### Create Content 

- Add your first blog post 
- Create an “About” page 
- Set a featured image for one post 

### Set Up Navigation 

- Add pages for Home, Blog, About, Contact 
- Create a Primary Menu 
- Create a Footer Menu 

### Set Up Essential Pages 

- Add a Privacy Policy 
- Add Terms & Conditions 
- Add an Accessibility Statement


## Brand

### First Audience‑Building Steps 

- Enable social login  
- Add a welcome‑subscribe popup (convert visitors to email list) 
- Customize notification emails (comment replies, new‑post alerts) 
- Connect Jetpack Stats (or Google Analytics 4) 

### Test Everything 

- Check mobile optimization (link to guide) 
- Click through every menu item & post 
- Disable “Coming Soon” mode when ready 

### Launch & Promote - Social Presence 
- Connect Facebook Page auto‑sharing 
- Connect Instagram auto‑sharing 
- Connect TikTok Profile (optional) 
- Add social‑sharing buttons to posts 
- Embed a social media feed on homepage 

### Launch & Promote - SEO & Visibility 

- Optimize on‑page SEO (Yoast or All‑in‑One SEO) 
- Submit site to Google Search Console 
- Generate & submit XML sitemap 


## Grow

### Enhance Reader Experience 

- Enable & style comments section (Akismet/Antispam Bee) 
- Customize author/profile boxes 
- Display testimonials or highlighted comments 
- Create a Favicon (browser icon) 

### Advanced Promotion & Partnerships 

- Build an email newsletter (Any biz dev here? Beehive is a great free option) 
- Draft an influencer / guest‑post outreach list 
- Run first Facebook or Instagram ad promoting a pillar article 
- Launch a content giveaway (e.g., free e‑book) 
- Track campaigns with UTM links in Analytics 

### Content & Traffic Strategy 

- Plan a content series or editorial calendar 
- Implement internal‑linking strategy for older posts 
- Install Yoast Premium for advanced schemas 

### Performance & Security 

- Speed‑up site with Jetpack Boost / caching plugin 
- Enable automatic backups & update alerts 
- Create a staging site for safe experimentation 

### Blog Analytics 

- Monitor traffic & engagement in Jetpack / GA4  
- Review monthly performance dashboard and set goals
