Digital journaling can be a cost effective alternative to physical journaling with the added benefits of portability, accessibility, and sustainability. Additionally, digital mediums add a whole new level of creative freedom to your journaling! You can include elements such photos, videos, gifs, and links in your digital journal. For those that struggle with traditional art and penmanship, digital journaling allows you to include art, stickers, designs, and play with fonts.
Where to Create Your Digital Journal?
There are different apps and platforms for you to journal on, some may only be available on IOS or Android, but you use social media platforms as well. Most, if not all, social media platforms have a an option to privatize your page or posts if you’d like to keep your content private. For example, here on tumblr there are options to make posts private or disable reblogs.
Website makers are also a great way to start journaling! Applications such as Google Sites, Wordpress, and Canva are easy to use for those with no programming experience but want a customizable platform. For those that what to try their hand at programming and create a website from scratch, here is a video that might be helpful:
how I made my website by shar on YouTube
You can also use apps that are made specifically for journaling, that mimic a traditional journal or planner with premade templates and designs!
Apps and Software
Goodnotes
Olovka
Paper
Zinnia
Daily Bean
Day One Journal
My Experience with Digital Journaling:
Personally, I use my Instagram as a digital journal! I made my page completely private with no followers so I don’t feel pressured to perfect my photos or entries, as having an “audience” can discourage me from posting. I use free photo editor apps to decorate my photos (such as PicSee, Kawaii Photo, and Collageable) and in the description I write my entry. What’s helpful is that posts are automatically dated with the option to add the location.
I created what is in essence a private digital photo scrapbook because I loved taking Polaroids to include in my journal, but the film was too expense to keep up! I also wanted a more photo centered journal that emphasized visual memories rather than just written entries. The result was an Instagram page I actually use, lengthy descriptions that focus on detail and not just witty one liners for “likes”, and the ability to archive mundane photos of my daily life 💛
Articles
Daily Journaling: Ideas and Techniques For The Modern Writer by Kristen Webb Wright- Advantages and challenges of switching from traditional to digital journaling with tips and techniques to help you on your journey!
Digital vs. Paper Journaling: Which one is for you? By Jenny Lee- A rundown on digital journaling with resources. This article compares both physical and digital journaling with listed benefits.
The Impactful Practice of Digital Journaling Explained by Katie Koschalk- This article explains what digital journaling is, the benefits, and how to get started.
Videos to get you started:
Digital Journaling for Beginners by geminipages on YouTube: Beginner guide with a focus on Apple/ipad with a brief list of journaling software for you to explore.
How to Start Digital Journal + Flip-through by diarysheree on YouTube: A tutorial on how to create a customized digital journaling platform using Canva, Sketchbook, and Pages.
Digital Journaling in Android by Sangita Patle on YouTube: A tutorial on how to create a customizable journal on Android using Picsart and Pinterest.
Journaling Methods Library: Click here for a guide to different journaling methods! 🔗
When I was 9 years old, I learned enough html to code neopets pages, my own geocities websites, and I even made forums on my own sites so my friends could all roleplay together or rant together lol. And then? I forgot so much. I no longer no how to make a forum, or even a 'next page' button - so even the dream of just making a simple blog or webnovel site feels like a huge hurdle now. (9 year old me could probably figure it out in 2 hours).
So I'm relearning! I figured this would be a fun post to place resources I find for coding, since there's coding languages, and I figure maybe if you like running you're blog then you also might be interested in tools for making blogs!
First, for those of you who miss the old geocities and angelfire type of sites to make your own free site on: neocities.org
You can make free sites you can code yourself, the way 9 year old me did. A lot of people have made SUCH amazing sites, it's baffling my mind trying to figure out how they did, I definitely wish I could make an art portfolio site even a fourth as cool as some of the sites people have made on here.
And for those pressed for time, who aren't about to learn coding right now: wix.com is the place I recommend for building a site, it requires no coding skill and is fairly straightforward about adding pages or features by clicking buttons. I used it to make my art portfolio site, I am testing out using it for my webnovel - the alternative is Wordpress, but wix.com is letting me basically make a wordpress blog Inside my own site. It's very beginner friendly in terms of "how the fuck do I set up a 'sign up for updates' message and have my site actually email these people my novel updates?" and "I need a 4x20 grid of my art down the page, that lets people click the art to see it's information and make it bigger."
I did neocities.org's little html tutorial today, it's the part of html I DID remember (links, paragraphs, headers).
My next step is to go through htmldog.com's tutorials. They go from beginner, to intermediate, to CSS. Unlike many a coding tutorial I've seen, they explain what program on your computer you need to WRITE the code in and then how to save it and how to open it. (You'd think this isn't a big deal but I've been looking into how to learn Python for months and I can't find a tutorial explaining what fucking program to write my python in... notepad? do I need something else? I don't fucking know!! My dad finally gave me a printed textbook which supposedly tells you what to download to start... I learned C++ in college and for that you needed Visual Basic to code C++, so I figured I needed Something to Write the fucking python IN.)
it's wild finding out about wysiwyg software and trying to find a modern version that isn't an Adobe product (or some subscription thing like WordPress or squarespace) and hearing so much whining about how you can't make a good website with it and how you should learn how to code like a real man or whatever
The rude attitudes are extra telling because absolutely nobody seems to be able to consider the idea of making a web page for FUN and experimentation as opposed to bare functionality and corporate use or whatever I guess. I guess everyone has forgotten how to have fun on the internet
Meanwhile I feel like this could enable my stupid ass to make some more fun and experimental web pages without feeling like bashing my face into my monitor because coding is really hard for me to grasp outside of the bare basics
Its wild no web design tutorial mentions it as an option for beginners! I don't have time this weekend to try anything out but in the future I'll post about my findings on the subject, I think I have an idea of where to start but I'd it doesn't work out for me I'll see about getting old school frontpage to work for me (I might do that anyway just for fun)
Unleashing the Power of A2 Hosting Review: Hear Why Customers Are Raving
Introduction
Overview of A2 Hosting
When considering web hosting providers, A2 Hosting often comes up as a distinctive choice. Known for its speed and reliability, A2 Hosting caters to a diverse range of users—from bloggers to large enterprises. Their commitment to performance is backed by a suite of features designed to offer not just hosting, but a robust online experience. What sets A2 Hosting apart? Let me simplify it for you:
Turbo Servers: Up to 20x faster than standard hosting
Developer-Friendly: Supports various programming languages and frameworks
Green Hosting: Environmentally responsible with energy-efficient practices
Using A2 Hosting has truly allowed me to focus on what I love—creating content—without the worries of server downtimes.
History of A2 Hosting
Founded in 2001, A2 Hosting began with a clear mission: to provide a top-tier web hosting experience. What started as a small startup has evolved into a significant player in the hosting industry over the years. Here are some pivotal milestones in A2 Hosting's journey:
2001: A2 Hosting was established in Ann Arbor, Michigan, mainly targeting developers.
2003: The introduction of their "Turbo" server line showcased their focus on speed.
2013: The launch of their Managed WordPress hosting solidified their offerings.
A2 Hosting Features
High-Speed Servers
One of the standout features of A2 Hosting is its high-speed servers. Speed is crucial, especially if you want to provide users with a seamless experience. When I first migrated my blog to A2 Hosting, I noticed an immediate boost in page loading times. Their Turbo Servers promise up to 20x faster performance, which is a game changer! Here are a few highlights about their speed capabilities:
SSD Storage: A2 utilizes solid-state drives that drastically improve data retrieval times compared to traditional HDDs.
Turbo Boost: This optional feature allows for even faster speeds by optimizing server settings specifically for your site.
Global Data Centers: With multiple data centers across the globe, A2 Hosting ensures that your content is as close to your visitors as possible.
Reliable Customer Support
Another noteworthy aspect of A2 Hosting is their reliable customer support. We all encounter technical hiccups from time to time, and having a responsive support team can make all the difference. Personally, I found their customer service representatives to be knowledgeable and eager to help with any questions I had during my initial setup. Here’s what you can expect from their support services:
24/7 Availability: Whether it’s the weekend or the middle of the night, help is just a click away.
Multiple Support Channels: Reach out via live chat, phone, or email—whichever method suits you best.
Comprehensive Knowledge Base: A detailed library of articles and tutorials helps users find answers swiftly.
A2 Hosting Plans
Shared Hosting
When it comes to affordability and ease of use, A2 Hosting's Shared Hosting plans are a fantastic option, especially for beginners. I still remember my initial foray into web hosting; I started with a shared plan simply because it fit my budget and needs perfectly. With shared hosting, multiple websites share the same server resources, which is both cost-effective and simple to manage. Here are some key features of A2 Hosting's Shared Hosting:
Low Starting Price: Their plans are competitively priced, making it accessible to many.
Free Site Migration: A2 offers migration assistance from your existing host, saving you the hassle.
Unlimited Storage and Bandwidth: Ideal for growing websites that may need more resources as they scale.
VPS Hosting
As my website grew, I found myself needing more control and resources, leading me to explore A2 Hosting's VPS Hosting options. Virtual Private Servers offer dedicated resources within a shared environment, providing better performance and greater customization. Here's what I discovered about their VPS Hosting plans:
Flexible Resources: You can scale your resources according to your site's evolving needs.
Root Access: Ideal for developers like me who want complete control over their server's configurations.
Enhanced Security: A private environment adds an extra layer of security for sensitive data.
Benefits of Using A2 Hosting
Enhanced Security
One of the aspects of A2 Hosting that truly stood out for me is their enhanced security features. In today’s digital landscape, safeguarding your website is crucial, and A2 Hosting takes this concern seriously. From the moment I started my journey with them, I felt reassured by the various security measures they implemented. Here are some highlights of their security features:
Free SSL Certificates: A2 provides free SSL certificates, which are essential for encrypting data and boosting customer trust.
HackScan Protection: Their proactive monitoring helps detect vulnerabilities and block potential threats before they cause harm.
Reinforced DDoS Protection: This feature safeguards your website from malicious attacks that could disrupt services.
Knowing these measures were in place allowed me to focus on my content without constantly worrying about potential breaches.
User-Friendly Control Panel
Navigating the world of web hosting can be intimidating, especially if you’re new to it. That’s why A2 Hosting’s user-friendly control panel is yet another reason I appreciate their service. It simplifies website management, making it accessible to everyone, regardless of technical expertise. What I love about their control panel:
Intuitive Design: Easy-to-navigate menus mean you can quickly find what you need.
One-Click Installations: Setting up applications like WordPress or Joomla is a breeze with just one click.
Resource Usage Stats: You can easily monitor your resource consumption, helping to manage your site effectively.
Customer Reviews
Positive Feedback
As I dove deeper into the world of A2 Hosting, I couldn't help but notice the buzz surrounding their services. Many users rave about the performance and overall experience they receive. The positive feedback is nearly unanimous, emphasizing how this hosting provider sets itself apart from the competition. Here’s what many customers appreciate most:
Speed and Uptime: A consistent theme in reviews is the impressive speed and reliability. Users often mention page load times significantly improving after switching to A2 Hosting.
Responsive Support: Customers frequently highlight the quick response time and helpfulness of the support team—something I can personally attest to. I reached out to them once, and I was amazed at how quickly I received a thorough solution.
Testimonials from Satisfied Customers
Real-life testimonials often speak volumes, and A2 Hosting is filled with success stories from satisfied customers. Many express how transitioning to A2 Hosting transformed their online presence. For instance:
John, a Small Business Owner: Sharing his journey, John mentioned that after moving to A2 Hosting, his e-commerce site experienced record sales due to faster page load times, which directly bolstered customer satisfaction.
Sarah, a Blogger: Sarah remarked, "The user-friendly control panel took the headache out of managing my blog. It's simplified everything for me!"
In my experience, witnessing such genuine testimonials gives me confidence in A2 Hosting. Their customers not only praise the services but feel genuinely looked after, and that’s something we all want when selecting our web hosting partner.
Bluehost Review 2023: Is it Still the Best Web Host for Your Website?
Are you looking for a reliable web hosting provider for your website?
Look no further than Bluehost, one of the most popular web hosting providers in the market. In this Bluehost review, we'll take a closer look at Bluehost and its features to help you decide if it's the right choice for your website.
What is Bluehost?
Bluehost is a web hosting company that was founded in 2003. It's based in Utah, USA, and is owned by Endurance International Group, a company that also owns other popular web hosting providers such as HostGator and iPage. Bluehost offers a variety of hosting plans, including shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, and WordPress hosting.
Why choose Bluehost?
There are many reasons why Bluehost is a popular choice among website owners.
Here are some of the key benefits of using Bluehost:
Reliability: Bluehost guarantees an uptime of 99.9%, which means your website will be available to your visitors almost all the time.
Speed: Bluehost uses SSD drives and Cloudflare integration to ensure fast page loading times.
Security: Bluehost offers free SSL certificates and has various security measures in place to protect your website from malware and hackers.
Ease of use: Bluehost's control panel is user-friendly and easy to navigate, even for beginners.
Customer support: Bluehost provides 24/7 customer support via live chat, phone, and email.
Bluehost Pricing
Bluehost's pricing is competitive and affordable, making it accessible to small business owners and individuals.
Here are the pricing plans for Bluehost shared hosting:
Basic: $2.95 per month (renews at $7.99 per month)
Plus: $5.45 per month (renews at $10.99 per month)
Choice Plus: $5.45 per month (renews at $14.99 per month)
Pro: $13.95 per month (renews at $23.99 per month)
All plans come with a free domain for the first year, unmetered bandwidth, and a free SSL certificate.
Bluehost Features
Bluehost offers a range of features to help you build and manage your website.
Here are some of the key features:
One-click WordPress installation: Bluehost makes it easy to install WordPress with just one click.
Website builder: Bluehost has a drag-and-drop website builder that allows you to create a website without any coding knowledge.
Domain manager: Bluehost allows you to manage your domain settings and DNS records from one place.
Email hosting: Bluehost provides email hosting services, allowing you to create custom email addresses using your domain name.
eCommerce tools: Bluehost offers integrations with eCommerce platforms such as WooCommerce and Shopify, making it easy to start an online store.
Bluehost Review Summary
Bluehost is a reliable and affordable web hosting provider that offers a range of features to help you build and manage your website. It's an excellent choice for small business owners and individuals who are looking for a user-friendly web hosting provider with excellent customer support.
If you are in need of a good hosting provider, Bluehost is definitely worth considering. It is a perfect choice for beginners as well as experienced users who require reliability, speed, and security.
Finally, if you want to learn more about web technology, web design, and gaming, check out WebTechTips.co.uk. They have an extensive collection of articles, guides, and tutorials on these topics.
Get started with Bluehost today and take the first step towards a fast and reliable website. Fill out the form above to sign up now!
How to use dropout developer to get started with Angular
Learning Angular with the Dropout Developer website and app is a great way to get started with building web applications. Angular is a powerful JavaScript framework that is widely used for creating dynamic and interactive user interfaces. The Dropout Developer website and app is a comprehensive resource that offers a variety of tutorials and courses for beginners and advanced users alike.
Here…
Hi there. I was wondering how I could create a website for my random creative musings, similar to your own. My attempts in the past have been unfruitful because web design is an utterly inhospitable place if you don't know where to start. Is there any advice you could give?
Hi!
This, uh, went on for a bit, so full suggestions under the cut:
how to do a website, kind of?
Web design can definitely be a bear if you're not familiar with it—although I do think it's fun and worthwhile to learn if you are interested! You don't necessarily need to engage with actual HTML and CSS if you don't want to, of course.
That would be the first thing to decide: are you interested in learning to create websites from scratch or having total control over their design and layout? Or do you just want to focus on your content and not worry too much about site maintenance or a custom design?
website builders/software
If you'd rather keep things as simple as possible, then you'll probably want to sign up for a service that lets you build a website using visual site-building tools. Most free hosts/site builders are going to display ads of some sort on your site, though, so you'll need to be comfortable with that. WordPress.com may work for you if you're okay with ads on a free site, although I feel like WordPress's page creation interface can be a bit hit or miss with new users. Worth a try to see if you like it, since it's reliable software if it does click with you. A while back I feel like I remembered a lot of people using Weebly for free sites but I can't really speak to how good it is myself.
In general I don't have a ton of great suggestions in this area, unfortunately, because it's just not something I have a ton of recent hobbyist experience with. But if you're okay with the limitations these come with and the ease-of-use (assuming you can find an option that clicks with you) is important, then they're a perfectly reasonable choice! There are a lot of options, so shop around a bit, sign up for free accounts and mess around to see how comfortable you are with each one.
do it yourself
If you are interested in doing things the old-fashioned way, then you'll want to learn at least a little bit of HTML and CSS. There are a million resources out there on the internet, of varying degrees of quality, accuracy, or actual beginner-friendliness. Here are some guides and resources that I'm familiar with and/or generally trust:
freecodecamp
Learn to Code — For Free
These days, if you want to learn to code, you'll probably end up funneled toward online courses of one kind or another. Some of them are probably pretty good! Many of the good ones are probably also not free, and I assume you're not looking to spend money on a course like that if you aren't yet comfortable with HTML/certain you want to use it for your site.
FreeCodeCamp is one I've actually used a bit before, back when I was a bit rusty and wanted to brush up on some things before moving on to more advanced stuff. It's intended for people who want to get into web design and related fields as a career, but you don't need to go that far with it: the first group of HTML tutorials does a great job covering all the basics you'll need, and each step of the course builds comfortably on the previous steps. It comes with built-in HTML editors/previewers pre-filled with its examples so you can complete the exercises and check your work without needing other software. The intro course is geared toward the design of a "Cat Photo App" (not actually a functional app, just what the design of the page would look like; no need to worry about any weird software coding) rather than a personal website, but it'll give you a great grounding in HTML and CSS themselves.
Specifically, you'll want the "Responsive Web Design" course, and to follow it up through the section "Applied Visual Design" (though you likely don't need all of the lessons in there, as many are features you probably won't use on a personal site). The basics of the section after that, "Applied Accessibility", are also important if you want to make your website accessible to the visually impaired and other disabled folks! Everything beyond that you can ignore, unless you decide you're interested in trying that stuff out on your own. :)
mozilla developer network/mdn
MDN is primarily a developer resource (hence the name), meant as a huge reference document for web development standards rather than helping with personal sites and such, but this is basically the place you go when you need to look up details on how a given HTML element or CSS selector works. If you're ever not sure how an element mentioned in a tutorial works, or if you think you need an selector that you haven't seen explained before, this is where you go to look it up. (You'll also commonly see a site called "W3Schools" recommended for this, and it's an okay reference as well, but most folks tend to prefer MDN since it's not commercially-motivated.)
MDN does offer a "Getting started with the web" tutorial that covers the basics of HTML, CSS, what to do with all the files, and things like that. I actually only just learned about this while working on this post so I'm not sure how good it is as a beginner's reference, but it looks decent, and I trust it'll all be accurate information. I do like that it suggests taking the time to make a sketch of what you imagine the site looking like first—it's a good reminder to have a goal to work toward rather than trying to decide what you want at the same time you're trying to learn how it works.
So, that's general HTML stuff. What about tools meant more for actually creating personal sites?
bogleech's website ingredients - a good simple starting point
Bogleech has a fantastic "website ingredients" post with all the basic files you need for a website along with helpful instructions:
Tinyupload died at some point so I’ve remade and reuploaded this due to actually fairly frequent requests!
Everyone is always welcome to DM
The files in that download will let you produce a (very simple) HTML website, and explain how basic HTML works, how to add images, how to keep files together, and things like that. You'll want to find other resources to learn how to put together a more complex layout, but this is a great tool for just playing around and learning how all this stuff works.
the cave of dragonflies' webmaster guides - more in-depth html tutorials and content advice
Also consider checking out @antialiasis's webmaster guides, which are all geared toward creating your own personal website from scratch. (And, if you're not already familiar with it, her site The Cave of Dragonflies in general is itself a big personal/creative Pokémon fansite, and a great example of what you can put together if you really get going!)
There are also free layouts available as a more structured starting point than Bogleech's simple page, so if you want a template to customize after learning the basics, this is an option for that.
html editors
If you're going to write your own code, you'll want software to write it in (please do not use word processing software like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, it really isn't meant for this and will cause headaches down the line). Many basic tutorials (including Bogleech's) will recommend Notepad to view the page's code—if you're on a Mac, TextEdit would be the closest equivalent—and that will work for the bare basics and doesn't require you to install or download anything new or complicated. But if you think you're likely to want to work with HTML, I would strongly suggest getting a text editor with syntax highlighting capabilities; it makes telling the various bits of your code apart much, much, easier. For Windows Notepad++ is a good suggestion, while for Mac you'll probably want to look at TextMate; I haven't used it in a while but I used to use Brackets (cross-platform) a lot and found it generally good at getting out of my way when I needed it to. I personally use Visual Studio Code (also cross-platform) at the moment. There are tons of other options out there and I won't muddle things by listing them all here, but just know that if none of those options click with you, you'll be able to find another one that suits your needs.)
hosting
However you put your site together (with the exception of the site builders mentioned earlier, which generally also host your site for you), you'll need a place to put it online. Nowadays it's not common to find reputable HTML file hosts for free; you'll usually end up paying at least a small amount per month/year for hosting, it'll include other features you probably don't actually need for a simple personal site, and that's not counting the cost of the domain name (though those are usually just one low price once per year for a common extension like .com, .net, etc.). But there is at least one great free option: Neocities. Neocities is totally dedicated to bringing back the days of small, personal websites that you can design yourself, and while I haven't used it myself it's been really great to see the kinds of fun sites and projects people have been able to create with it. Would definitely recommend checking this out as a first stop for hosting! This looks like a good absolute-basics starting guide for Neocities (and includes a link to a "layout builder" if you want a more structured starting layout than Bogleech's ingredients, with a few more options to choose from than having to manually edit TCoD's): https://learn.sadgrl.online/absolute-beginners-guide-to-neocities/
(Neocities appears to have an online file editor with syntax highlighting, so in theory you don't need one of the editors mentioned above. However, I would still recommend writing your code as local files in your computer, and then just uploading the files to Neocities. That way you have a bit more protection from things like browser crashes if something happens to go wrong, and you'll have a local copy of all your stuff just in case.)
are there any other options?
There is the third option of purchasing hosting, and then installing software on that hosting to run your website (for example, you can also install WordPress on your own site rather than using WordPress.com; Altered Origin is currently running on a PHP CMS called Grav). Depending on the software you choose you can get an experience more or less like using a site builder, but with more control over your content, the design, etc.. The tradeoff is that you'll likely end up managing all the more technical aspects of software like that yourself, which can be more work than either having a company take care of it for you or using something that's a little harder to break outside of code typos, like a static HTML site.
The amount of coding you need to worry about can also vary with this; my current Grav site provides a simple way to manage adding new content, but the design/layout of the site around that content was still written entirely by hand with HTML and CSS. With self-hosted WordPress you can just use and customize themes without (necessarily) needing to touch the code, and can have more flexibility about which themes and other elements you can install than WordPress.com's free hosting allows.
But either way, I'd recommend trying one or both of the other options before bothering with this. Buying more advanced hosting and maintaining the software on your own website is something you probably don't want to worry about unless you already know you require it or will enjoy it!
okay i'll shut up now
I always love hearing that someone's looking into creating their own space on the internet; it's really a shame that so much of that creative spirit has disappeared over the years. I wish you the best of luck with your site; I'd love to see a link to it whenever you've got it up and running! (And if there was anything specific you were wondering about that I didn't cover here, or if this wasn't the sort of help you were asking for at all and I totally rambled on past your actual question, feel free to send another ask and let me know!)
If any of my other webmaster friends want to chime in with further advice or suggestions, feel free!
