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Four Huge Mistakes I Made and How You Can Avoid Them
I got my blog up and running in record time… But getting it perfect for launch? That’s a different story.
Starting a blog is exciting. You finally carve out time for something that’s been on your heart for a while. You’re fired up with ideas, inspiration, and maybe even a Pinterest mood board.
But if you’re anything like me? You might dive in headfirst and try to sprint your way to a finished site before learning how to walk.
Keep reading to laugh at the 4 biggest mistakes I made when building my blog that could have easily been avoided. My hope is that this helps you slow down, stay encouraged, and avoid wasting hours like I did!
1. Trying to connect to a domain I didn’t own
Time wasted: 5 hours
Yeah… you read that right. Embarrassing.
I connected a new site to my Bluehost account and entered in a domain I liked. I got it connected just like that! It was too good to be true! (Spoiler alert, it wasn’t true.)
I spent hours and days creating posts and customizing the backend through WordPress so my site would be perfect for launch. The only problem was… My site wasn’t connecting.
Four days later I still had my temporary URL. This is usually a sign of a problem, because getting your domain and URL should only take a few hours (48 hours max).
I confidently registered what I thought was my dream domain and dove into troubleshooting when it wouldn’t connect. I contacted Bluehost support, consulted tech-savvy friends, and Googled relentlessly—only to discover someone in Korea had owned the domain since 2007.
How I solved it:
I reached out to Bluehost support, and they guided me through purchasing the domain and assigning it to the site I had been building. Thankfully, I didn’t have to start over. But looking back, not seeing a payment go through for my domain should have been a red flag.
How to avoid this:
Before you start building your site, confirm that you actually own the domain:
- Check your credit card or PayPal for payment
- Search your email inbox for a purchase confirmation
- Do a WHOIS lookup to see who owns the domain
If it’s not yours—you can’t use it!
2. Installing a Plugin Without Knowing How It Works
Time wasted: 2 hours
I set a goal to grow my blog’s email list so I could share recipes, promotions, and exclusive discount codes. So when I discovered the Genesis E-News Extended plugin, I immediately added its sleek, customizable sign-up form to my site, inviting visitors to subscribe and join my list. However, when I would test it out with various emails, nothing ever happened.
How I solved It
The plugin couldn’t collect emails without linking to a service. A quick download and contact import handled the setup, but every test email still returned an error code
Turns out that my plugin required HTML coding, not JavaScript. I had to start the whole setup over again with a new mail service.
(For anyone wondering… MailerLite is JavaScript heavy code and is not compatible. I ended up going with MailChimp.)
What could have been a 5 minute, easy set up for my goal of increasing my mailing list, turned into a few hours of tired eyes, headaches, and frustration (and a lot of help from ChatGTP to try and figure out how to code HTML).
How to avoid this:
Make sure you understand the basics of how a plugin works and what it needs before installing it. A quick tutorial on YouTube or the plugin’s website can save you a huge headache.
3. Getting Ahead of Myself With Layout and Features
Time wasted: 2-4 hours
Even after downloading a theme to simplify building my webpages, I got pulled into the customization rabbit hole. I spent hours adjusting widgets, menus, images, and categories—before I even started creating content. Turns out my ideas didn’t match what I was actually publishing.
How I solved this
I paused on the customization and instead focused on publishing and creating drafts. I drafted some posts and some recipes and really made sure those were prepared for launch, and then I rebuilt my webpages around that for easy navigation for my viewers.
How to avoid this
Don’t build around a fantasy blog. Write a few posts first, then design around what you actually create. No one cares how pretty your site is if it’s too confusing to navigate.
4. Skipping Beginner Tutorials
Time wasted: 1 hour
I have this toxic trait where I think I can figure out everything as I go and don’t need directions. I almost always regret the choices I make when I think I know what I’m doing, but do I ever change? No…
For example, I was so excited to try the WP Recipe Maker plugin so I could share all my recipes on my blog. How hard could it be??
But I didn’t know how to choose my recipe template or how to share it in a post or whether it became its own post. Something I expected to be easy was becoming frustrating instead.
How I solved It
Turns out, you need to understand a few things… like linking it to posts and managing other settings within the plugin. Thankfully, it came with its own very helpful tutorial video… which I probably should have watched before I started anything, because it literally walked you through the entire process.
How to avoid this
This one is simple: take a few minutes to look up tutorial blogs or videos and make sure you understand how the plugin works before trying to figure it out on your own. Not only will it be easier and less frustrating, but you will probably learn a lot of cool features you never knew the plugin was capable of.
What I learned from this
Basically, that you need to take some time and understand what you are doing before proceeding with the fun stuff. Blogging and building a website involves a lot of tedious backend work you can’t skip. Themes, plugins, and widgets help, but they don’t do everything for you.
The most important lesson…
Trying to do too much at one time will result in missed steps and frustration. And once you finally get everything up and running, trying to post too much too often will result in burnout and lower quality content.
My number one tip after your site is live, is to list out your goals and how to manage them. Is it growing your email list? Sharing affiliate links? Growing your audience (and eventually having ad revenue)?
Narrow down what you will focus on the most. Trying to do it all will burn you out fast. I pushed myself too hard, stopped posting after a few weeks, and ended up abandoning my last blog for almost a year—until I finally decided to start fresh with this one.
Post meaningful content. Create beautiful photos. Manage your SEO. Direct traffic to your site using platforms like Pinterest and Instagram. This is how your blog will be seen. Not by posting every single day.
Did any of these tips resonate with you? I’d love to hear from you!
Almost six months later, I wrote a post about the biggest things I learned and the plugins that ended up being the most useful to me — give this a read if you want to have a much stronger start than I did!
