by May Monten

Created on: December 18, 2009   Last Updated: December 28, 2009

After you've picked a name for your blog, selected a template, and set the blog up, many of your one-time blogging chores will be behind you. But you still have to keep the blog going. That involves doing maintenance on your template, reevaluating your goals when necessary, and, of course, tending to the heart and soul of your blog by continuing to write fresh posts.

If you are using WordPress, you will need to do periodic upgrades on the software. When an upgrade is available, there will be a prominent message on your dashboard. You shouldn't put these off, because often the upgrades are necessary for security reasons. 

If you are using WordPress plug-ins, you will also get notifications whenever they are upgraded. Installing the plug-in upgrades is not as important as installing the WordPress system upgrades. In fact, you can usually safely ignore the plug-in upgrades if you are happy with the way your plug-ins are working. However, it may be easier just to install all the upgrades as you go along.

If you are using Blogger, you won't have to worry about upgrading your software, unless you are also using third-party applications.

In addition to upgrades, you may also want to tweak your theme (or template, in Blogger). The longer you work on your blog, the more ideas you will get for changes you'd like to make to your format. Some of these will be easier to implement than others, so you'll have to decide which are worth the time and trouble. If you want to make a lot of changes, and if you want a distinct look, you might consider hiring a professional designer. But there is a lot of tinkering that you can do yourself.

As you get more experience writing your blog, and as your audience grows, you might find that you are having second thoughts about your original blogging plans. You might want to shift your emphasis, or even veer off in a different direction. You can keep on fine-tuning your plans for the life of your blog. It's best, though,  to take a series of small steps, rather than making drastic changes all at once. 

The most important part of maintaining your blog is to keep on writing great posts. Keep on striving to discover and express your authentic blogging voice. If you believe in what you are doing, the attention, most likely, will follow.

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