Hi guys! I’m here with an impromptu post to share two exciting (in my opinion) bits of information! π
I’m really happy right now, so I’m just going to dive into it for the sake of not accidentally rambling. π
I upgraded to self-hosting my blog!
I’ve been blogging for five months as of today and I love it. I have no intention of stopping. So I decided to upgrade to self-hosting! I now own heirofglitter.com rather than heirofglitter.wordpress.com and I think it looks so much more professional. π
This is how it went:
I got on the laptop my family shares and realized I had no clue what to do, so I googled a tutorial. I followed the first four steps and everything was going smoothly. I was thinking, “Wow, this is easier than I thought!” and then, of course, got totally lost again. I tried another tutorial and that said to do something completely different. I was so confused and I was partially tempted to give up and try again tomorrow (which shows just how much motivation I have haha). But then I went to my blog settings page and found the “domain” tab, where it gave me the option to upgrade. I compared the three plans (free, premium, and business) and decided that premium would workΒ β business seemed way over-the-top and it was considerably more expensive. I purchased the premium plan and confirmed it via email (you know, all that necessary jazz). Then I had to wait about half an hour for all of my blog posts and theme details to transfer, although I was told it could take up to three days. I didn’t want to mess anything up by logging out of WordPress so I left it alone and trolled my social media (and still checked for my new site every five minutes haha). Then one time was the lucky time and I loaded heirofglitter.com. I checked to make sure everything was the way it should be, then messed with the fonts a little bit more. Now I’m happy with everything and excited to pass this milestone! π
Moral of the story is: if you decide to self-host, don’t worry about hosting domains or tutorials or any of that jazz. Just upgrade your domain on your blog settings. It’s considerably easier and doesn’t take too long. π
Moral of the story #2 is: after the transfer is complete and you finally do self-host, you’ll be a very happy pineapple (like me). π
and now for the other thing…
I’m officially going to BookCon 2016!
I got my ticket this morning and my mom booked a hotel. We’re going to BookCon! I’m so excited for this. It’s my first book event of any kind and I look forward to exploring Chicago too. Some of my favorite authors will be thereΒ β Sarah J. Maas, Cassandra Clare, Marissa Meyer, Laini Taylor, Leigh BardugoΒ β and authors whose books I really want to readΒ β Sabaa Tahir, Alexandra Bracken, Susan Dennard, Richelle Mead, Morgan Matson. Plus, it’s only mid-February and the event is in mid-May, so many more YA authors are bound to sign up too! If Rick Riordan signs up, I’ll be in heaven. Well, I’ll already be in heaven just because I’m going, but if he goes then my three ultimate favorite authors will be there for me to meet. π
And speaking of meetingΒ β I’d love to meet some of you! I’m excited to meet a bunch of other book bloggers, and it would be so cool if I could meet some of my blog friends too! I’ll be wearing a name tag of some sort (fyi I don’t think I’m famous), so if you see me totally come and say hi! Tell me who you are / what your blog is called so I know though. π Let me know if you’re going to BookCon!Β β
I’ll probably be mentioning this a lot in the upcoming months because I’m so excited, so know that I’m not trying to brag. π I’ll be able to meet so many authors, bloggers, and BookTubers. I can’t wait! β€
* If you’re curious, you can find the BookCon website here.
That’s all I have for now! I just had to share these things because I’m really excited. π
Now I’m off to read more of The Warrior Heir and eat more butterscotch candy. π
WOAH, CONGRATULATIONS! It all sounds so exciting, and I’m thinking if I should go too.
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Thanks!! π It is exciting and it’s not too difficult, but the premium plan is $99 so I’d only recommend it if you’re sure you want to keep your blog going. π
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Pleasure! π And I meant going to the BookCon xp
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Oh, okay. Haha, oops. π
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Doesn’t the switch to self-hosting destroy all the links back to your blog that are currently floating out there, though? That’s what has me worried.
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No, I don’t think so. I have links to my reviews on a page and I tested a few of those to see and they worked fine. Even though that’s not the same thing I would think that it still applies. π
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I just went to a couple of my friends’ blogs and checked out tags where I was included. I tried the links and they all still came to my blog. So it’s all good. π
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Good to know.
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π
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Wait… self-hosting is when you’re paying for hosting through an external provider, isn’t it? If you just paid the 18 bucks for the .com name, then all you’re changing is your domain name? Right? *looks confused*
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…..nevermind. I totally somehow skipped part of your post. *headdesk* I’m going to claim headache status for that. -.-
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Haha, you’re fine. π I was originally trying to figure out how to use Bluehost, which is another hosting platform, but then I realized I can still use WordPress. So I just used that. π
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I’m considering switching at some point. Once I’m established – which I’ll consider to be 500 followers. I’m only at 324 right now. In the meantime I’m considering just buying the domain name so when I do make the switch my links are already pointing to it.
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That would probably make it easier. π
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Yeah, I just did it. Now officially “scifiandscary.com”!
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Awesome! π
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Congratulations for upgrading! And BookCon. I am so ANGRY I DONT LIVE IN AMERICA!!! NOTHING LILE THAT EVER HAPPENS IN THE UK!!! *tears hair out* maybe I’ll ask my mom if I can go anywAy. I SO WANT TO
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Thanks! It would be awesome if you could go! It might be expensive getting from the UK to Chicago but I would ask anyway. π
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Ikr the expense… She’ll definitely say no but I’ll ask anyway! ππ ik I’d love to meet you! Does that sound creepy? π€π
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Yeah, ask anyway! π That doesn’t sound creepy! I consider you an internet friend and I want to meet you too. π
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Such wonderful news, Olivia! Congratulations on going self-hosted! I’ve thought about it several times this year but I think I’ll wait a little longer. And yay for BookCon! I’m extremely envious but I hope you have a wonderful time this summer. π
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Thanks Summer! I’m so excited for BookCon! π It’s too bad you can’t go!
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