My First Post!

Hello everyone, and welcome to ZahyzBlogs!

I’m thrilled to share my very first post with you. This blog is dedicated to documenting my journey in the world of IT, where I’ll be sharing the new things I learn, the challenges I encounter, and the solutions I discover along the way.

In each post, I'll dive deep into my experiences, reflecting on what I've learned. Whether it’s coding challenges, project management insights, or new technologies, I aim to provide a comprehensive look at my ongoing education and professional growth.

For this first post, I’m excited to take you through the journey of setting up this website.

Making This Website

When I first considered how to make this website, I faced a dilemma: should I build it entirely from scratch or use a service like WordPress or Squarespace? As a Computer Science student with some experience in creating simple websites, I was eager to develop it from the ground up. However, after doing some research, I realized that, for now, it would be more practical to use an external service. That being said, I still plan to build ZahyzBlogs from scratch soon.

During my research, I stumbled upon an excellent resource on GitHub, a list of personal blogs and portfolios (https://github.com/jkup/awesome-personal-blogs?tab=readme-ov-file). This list gave me a clear vision of what I wanted my website to be. I saw diverse styles, innovative features, and unique content that inspired me and helped me decide on the direction I wanted to take with ZahyzBlogs.

While exploring different options, I came across ghost.org through a few YouTube tutorials. Ghost is a platform for professional publishers to create, share, and grow content. It seemed perfect for what I needed. I made an account and followed the tutorials to set up my website. After setting up the basic landing page, I was ready to create the newsletter.

Creating a Newsletter

A feature I wanted for ZahyzBlogs was an email newsletter to keep my readers updated with the latest posts and insights. Ghost.org offers a built-in email newsletter feature, which I used to set up a basic subscription service. This feature allows readers to sign up and receive new posts directly in their inbox, ensuring they never miss an update.

While the current setup is functional, I plan on improving and expanding it in the future. My goal is to create a more personalized and engaging newsletter experience.

Setting up a Domain

Choosing a name for my website was a crucial step, and I had a clear vision in mind. I decided on "zahyzblogs.com" as it perfectly encapsulates my brand and the content I plan to share. I opted for a one-year registration because, while I am excited about this domain name, I anticipate revamping the website in the near future and might consider a new domain name at that time. This flexibility allows me to adapt and grow as my blog evolves.

I purchased the domain from Cloudflare because it offered a smoother setup process and the domain was more affordable compared to other sites. To set everything up, I followed a tutorial on the Ghost.org website. To ensure I fully understood the process, I also watched YouTube videos to reinforce my knowledge of DNS settings. After configuring zahyzblogs.com, I proceeded to set up SSL to ensure the site was secure.

Once everything was configured, I eagerly typed in zahyzblogs.com, and there it was, live and ready! It was a satisfying moment to see all my efforts come to fruition, marking the beginning of this exciting journey.

Conclusion

This is just the beginning of ZahyzBlogs, and I have many exciting plans for the future. I look forward to expanding the website, diving into more complex topics, and sharing even more insights from my journey.

If you haven't already, I encourage you to sign up for the newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest posts and updates. By subscribing, you'll be the first to know about new content, special features, and upcoming enhancements.

Thank you for joining me on this adventure. Stay tuned for more, and happy reading!