Add a Blog to FreeToastHost

Right out of the box... FreeToastHost does not provide a blog platform.

So why should you even consider working outside the box to create a blog for your FTH website? In one word...Content! I don't necessarily mean in the SEO sense, although that's true. I mean it in terms of engaging members and attracting new ones. Plus, let me put in a plug for Pathways: There's a great elective project in Pathways about blogging and this adventure fits the bill!

There are 3 options to accomplish putting a blog into a FTH website.

1. fully constructed within FTH
2. link to a free blog website
3. link to your custom website

01   Fully Constructed within FTH

This is the most laborious process, but it has these advantages:

• provides Google with new content which is important when it comes to appearing their search results
• keeping your website traffic close at hand... on your FTH website

The process:

1. Create a custom FTH page "Blog"
2. Add the "Blog" page to your main menu
3. The "Blog" page becomes your blog catalogue... listing/showing all the available blogs.
4. Each blog title links to another custom page you create which contains the blog.

Gina's 2 Cents:

• Be creative... most blog formats consist of an image, blog title, brief description and a link to read the full blog. Consider designing your blog page in a similar fashion.

• You don't have to clutter your main menu with links to the individual blogs. Simply make each blog an "unlisted" page.

• When you create the link to each blog on the "Blog" page you might want to choose making it a popup. The advantage is the reader can close the blog and have the blog catalogue immediately available...

02   Link to a Free Blog Website

Free and easy... that says a lot!

Yes you can create a blog/ website completely free of cost using one of the free blog sites/ platforms. There are quite a few to choose from. Which one you select is a personal choice.

Gina's 2 Cents

• I have used Wix and found the platform both aesthetic and intuitive.
• There are lot's of alternatives... including Blogger and WordPress.

You don’t need to worry about setup and hosting which will be readily done for you. That’s not all you get a domain name too – all of them free of cost.

However, you cannot get a custom domain name (like mysamplesite.com) but a shared domain name (like mysamplesite.wordpress.com).

The Process:

1. Select a free blog website
2. Create your blogs
3. On your FTH main menu create a link to your blog website.

Gina's 2 Cents

• Be sure to include a reciprocal link in your blog website's menu which links back to your FTH website.

03   Link to Your Custom Domain Website

Some clubs opt to have 2 websites. They use FTH to manage there club and so they have the ability to easily create agendas... Their Custom Domain Website is used to attract new members.

It's not as crazy as it might sound because this strategy takes advantage of the best things that FTH and custom domain websites have to offer.

If this is how your club has organized its web presence, then the proses is simple:

1. Create a blog on your Custom Domain Website.
2. Place a link to your blog on the FTH main menu

Gina's 2 Cents

• Be sure to create posts on social media for all your blogs
• If you use a blog website be sure to include social media share icons