The last blogging essentials post I did was five years ago so I thought this would be the perfect time to give it an update as some of my equipments and essentials have changed. We all make do with whatever we have as the most important thing in blogging I believe is creativity and not just what type of computer or camera you use. Really all you need for your blog is a working computer and then it's all down to you and your creative mind.

I am by no means a professional blogger nor do I monetise or make money every month from my blog. It's a delight to receive monetary compensation via sponsorships or guest postings but my blog is my safe space and I like to keep it that way – my hideaway. I don't push for sponsorships all that much and I explicitly suck at replying emails from advertising companies. I meant to reply but it kind of got lost at the back of my mind and then it's two months later...

In this post I'll be sharing the technical bits of my blog, photography and blogging equipments, as well as some essentials that make my blogging process a whole lot better.

the technical stuff

platform

little sips of tea is a self-hosted blog using WordPress.org platform. I took the plunge in November 2016 (read: Saying Hello from WordPress and How I Took The Plunge) and it's been the best decision I've ever made for my blog. Sometimes I do miss Blogger and its inexpensive templates available on Etsy but WordPress.org has everything that I could ever want to do on my blog.

hosting & design

I use the hosting service from NetKL Network paying RM115 per year for the myGold package. So far it's been a good experience and I rarely get blog downtime, maybe once or twice a year for a very short period of time. As for my themes, I have collected 14 WordPress themes because I, for the life of me, could not decide which theme I like best. Right now I'm using one by Underline Designs. Such beautiful theme and customisable as well.

the blogging equipment

The MacBook Pro 2019 is what I use for blogging and everything else. It really is a powerful machine and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Alongside the MacBook, I use the Magic Mouse and AirPods for music. I love listening to music while blogging or editing photos.

Another addition to my setup is this wooden laptop stand that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye and for the eye. It heightens the position of my MacBook to my eye level thus making it more comfortable especially when you're looking at the screen for a long time.

the photography equipment

iPhone

The easiest most quickest to take blog photos: your phone. I love using my phone to take photos for my personal posts as I don't have to set up any prop; just point and shoot whatever is in front of me using the filters available on Instagram Stories. I can save them and quickly AirDrop those photos to my MacBook.

Canon EOS 60D

The oh so powerful DSLR that I wish I knew how to use to its fullest potential. Photography isn't my thing so as long as I can take photos with it, then it's fine by me. I have also a marble background that I've had for years, a ring light for extra brightness, and this j5create multi-adapters to transfer photos to my MacBook.

Styled Stock Society membership

I mentioned getting a one-month membership for free in my last Friday Favourites. I never would spend money for stock photo membership, so getting one for free is chef's kiss. However, there are a lot of stock photo sites available at your perusal and my personal favourites are Pexels and Unsplash.

Editing & Hosting

I don't edit my photos all that much but if I do need to, I use the Fotor Photo Editor available on App Store. To host my photos as to save space on my blog server, I use imgbox. It's easy to use and more importantly it's free!

the other essentials

Notion

I have a post explaining how I use Notion for my blog planner. I keep my blog post ideas here and basically everything about my blog is stored here including my themes.

Notebook

When I need to jot down important bits of my blog post content, a pen and paper duo trumps digital note-taking. I love writing down important content and it's easier for me to check and refer while crafting blog posts. For this purpose I use the Muji dotted notebook.

and lastly... tea (or coffee!)

Writing a blog post is not complete without my drink of choice. I almost always opt for tea or coffee or just plain ice cold water, depending on situation and when and where I write. Sometimes, a Starbucks treat is appreciated as well. #verybasic

What's your blogging essentials?