A New Start
It has been a year since our old email provider forced us to find a new solution to our electronic communication problems; us and millions of others. Taking three months to transfer all of the important emails from one provider to another for safekeeping, we began a journey that launched us into being more “techno-savvy”.
With the transition of services, we were faced with questions of “Where do we start anew?”, “Which service should we go with? Google? AOL? Yahoo?”, and “How do we get this done?”
Intriguing Answer
With the dilemmas of the above questions, a friend shared that she paid to own a domain that gave her the option of unlimited email addresses for various purposes, and those of all family members. Her domain gave her the option of building a website if she ever wanted one. This intrigued me.
She suggested the various services that could offer me a domain with free email addresses but said that she especially liked one. With that bit of information, I did my research, and because I especially value this particular friend’s skill and expertise, I ended up signing up for the services she had.
A Domain is Born
With that came the question of “What shall we call the domain?”
The perfect answer to our question was the description of the beautiful environment in which we live. It seemed natural to use the name that greets anyone who comes to our acreage. We ARE Oaks and Acres.
I have enjoyed having our domain for email addresses, and I have made quite a few different ones. For example, when I shop online, the correspondence and receipts all go to my “shopping” email. When I sign up for newsletters for creative sites, they go to my “creative” email. And services such as Edison and Propane go into my “services” email. I am allowed to have unlimited emails!!! But though it is nice to have the separation from my main email, it is often hard to keep up in checking with all those different email addresses.
Creating a Webpage?
In meeting with friends, I asked if any of them had ever created a webpage. Their responses gave me the idea that I needed to have a purpose for internet sales or some other sort of business. When I told them it was neither, they asked, “Then why?”
My thought was that people were going to see our domain name (@oaksandacres.com) following our name in our email addresses and try to find a landing or website. How disappointing not to find a page to connect the two. And with that thought, a further one came to mind. Why don’t I create a webpage?
Being a person who likes challenges as well as knowledge of the latest technology, I have embarked on a journey. There is no “why” that satisfies anyone else’s curiosity. It is the process that I want to learn. It is “knowing” that I can! And with this said, I have spent hours researching WordPress, themes, and all of the “how-to’s” to create pages, posts, and categories.
I have a long way to go here. And, maybe in time, I will find a purpose other than just sharing pictures and thoughts that will give more purpose than most think it was worth. I am one who thinks that no amount of education ever goes to waste, and what an educational experience this has been!
A Side Note
WordPress has many assistive “helps” to be sure that serious-minded webpage creators and businesses are seen for their efforts.
To the right of this page, as I type, I am looking at my “grade” with AIO SEO. I now have a score of 87/100 with suggestions for improving it. The green buttons are so satisfying; the red ones give me disappointment, as I still don’t understand how it tells me what a focus keyphrase is.
And Now We Move Forward
Who would guess that the start-up of a website would have such painful beginnings?! We have learned a lot in the time it took to get this far. Stay tuned. We will be up and running very shortly. And while you wait, you can enjoy another spring view here at Oaks and Acres.
