Hey, friends!

I’ve been hinting at this post for a few weeks now, and it’s finally here. I am so excited to be able to share about my small business with you, and start my series sharing my blogging process, starting with my favorite resources and what I use for my blog.

Read on for info about my blog designing business, and my favorite blogging resources!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you buy something from my link, I’ll get a small commisson for advertising and you get to support this blog for free.

introducing daisies & design co.

Daisies & Design Co. is my small business, focused on creating beautiful and aesthetic blogs and websites for authors, small business owners, and bloggers. My goal is to make it easy and cheap for young creatives like me to have a pretty website, and save them from the hassle of building one on their own.

Because I do know how much work it can be, especially if you’ve never done it before. In the two years I’ve been blogging and building websites, I’ve accidentally deleted 200 email list subscribers, created two blogs when trying to only make one (I couldn’t figure out why when I changed something it wouldn’t show up, and then my Mom realized I had created two separate blogs. It was great fun. 😝😂), cried more than once over my blog, and dealt with lots of other problems.

But I’ve also learned a lot, written 90 blog posts, grown my email list, designed more than a few websites, have an awesome and decided that blogging was one of the best choices I made. (Or actually, my mom made. I mentioned that I wanted to start a blog in a few years and she told me to go for it right then.)

And that is why I started Daisies & Design Co; to share my love of website design, blogging, and save others from all the crazy mistakes I’ve made.

If you’re interested in letting me design your website, or know someone who would be, head on over to this page for the details! Plus, as a sale for opening weekend, I’m offering 15% off to the first three who book their slots!

my blogging process

I’ve gotten more than a few requests for how I write my posts, my favorite blogging resources, what host I use, and more, and over the next few months, I’ll be sharing a series on my blogging process. For today’s post, I’ll be sharing what I use for my own blog, and resources I recommend to anyone who’s new to blogging or been blogging for years. Let’s dive in!

my favorite tools

• Hosting & Domains: My hosting is through a small hosting company that sadly isn’t taking more clients, otherwise, I’d give a link and recommend it. I’ve designed two other wordpress.org websites on Bluehost, and that’s my second choice for hosting. My domain is through Porkbun which is the cheapest and most reliable company I’ve found, and if you’re buying a domain, I’d recommend using it.

• Theme: I used a free WordPress theme for my first few months on WordPress.org, but after considering it for a few months, I bought a theme I found on Code+Coconut. Their themes are affordable, gorgeous, and their customer service is amazing! Definitely check it out.
• Email: Convertkit is what I use for my email list (free for your first 1000 subscribers!), and my professional email (pearl(at)pearlchristine.com) is through Zoho. It’s a bit complicated to set up, but despite that, it’s affordable and gives me what I need for my email.

• Design: I use Canva for 98% percent of my design, and I love it. Super easy to use, and free which is always a plus. Procreate is also another thing I’ve been experimenting with for some fun designs that I may use in the future.

• Photography: One of the key parts of blogging for me is photography, and it’s important for anyone whether you’re a lifestyle/photography blogger or a Christian/faith blogger. Most free stock photos are so overused, and creating original content that your readers haven’t seen before is important, even if it’s just one photo. I recommend taking your own photos if you can, even if you don’t have a DLSR. As for me, I have a Canon Rebel T7, and I averagely shoot with 18-55 mm. lens, but I’ll use my 75-300 mm. lens once an a while. My Macro Extension tubes are also fun to play around with when I want to do some close up & macro shots.

my favorite resources

• WP Beginner is one of my favorite websites for any questions about wordpress.org. Their articles cover everything from how to start a blog to how to maintain and grow your blog or website. If you have any question about blogging or website building, they very likely have an answer.
• Allison Marie’s Blogging Course is great for if you’re just blogging for fun or practice and don’t want to get professionally. Plus, it’s free and she offers some fun tips, explains how she’s grown her blog, and how she writes & gets ideas for her posts.

• Designer Blogs offers articles and freebies on creating and growing websites on both Blogger and Worpdress.org. Their articles typically focus on design and designing a beautiful website (choosing a color palette, fonts that work together, etc) and I’d recommend checking out their website.
• Free blog planner is something I designed myself for other people, but I use it myself and love it. I’m planning on doing an updated one soon (and maybe a social media content planner as well!) but until then, here’s the current version. Super helpful for planning posts, and staying consistent!

• Blogging 101 is a post I wrote with a short explanation of wordpress.com vs worpdress.org, my top 10 blogging tips, and other info about blogging that I’d recommend checking out!

now, it’s your turn!

If you’re a blogger, what is your #1 blogging tip? What do you think of Daisies & Design Co? What is one project you’ve been working on recently?