Behind the Scenes of My Coffee Blog: How I Modified It on WordPress

When I first started my coffee blog, I didn’t know much about how websites worked.
I just wanted a cozy space to share what I was learning about coffee.
But little by little, I got curious about how I could make it look and feel more “me.”
If you’ve ever felt the same, here’s how I started experimenting with the basic technical parts of WordPress — changing a theme, adding a bit of CSS, using HTML tags, and connecting Google Analytics.

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Step 1. Preview and Switch the Theme

The theme controls how your website looks — colors, fonts, and layout.
To test new ones without breaking anything:

1. Go to Appearance → Themes → Add New.
2. Click Live Preview to see how it fits your blog.
3. When you like the look, click Activate.

This is the easiest way to give your site a small “makeover” without touching your posts.

Step 2. Add a Small Custom CSS Style

After picking a theme, I wanted my blog to feel a little warmer — more like coffee than code.
In Appearance → Customize → Additional CSS, I added a few simple lines that change the color of my post titles and give quotes a soft background.

.entry-content h1,
.entry-content h2,
.wp-block-post-content h1,
.wp-block-post-content h2,
.wp-block-heading,
h1.wp-block-post-title {
  color: #8B5E34 !important;
  font-size: 1.2em;
}

.wp-block-quote,
blockquote {
  background: #f7f4f0 !important;
  border-left: 4px solid #8B5E34 !important;
  padding: 0.75rem 1rem !important;
  font-style: italic !important;
  border-radius: 0.25rem !important;
}

I generated and tested this simple CSS snippet with the help of an AI assistant to better understand how styling works in WordPress.

The effect is small but noticeable — headings turn a cozy coffee brown, and any quote appears in a light cream box with a slim border.

It instantly makes the blog feel warmer and more personal without changing the layout.

Step 3. Use HTML Tags to Structure a Post

This part was new to me, but I learned that HTML tags help organize how text appears.
To show what I mean, here’s a simple example I added in a Code Block:

h1, h2 {
  color: #8B5E34;
  font-size: 1.2em;
}

blockquote {
  background: #f7f4f0;
  border-left: 4px solid #8B5E34;
  padding: 0.75rem 1rem;
  font-style: italic;
  border-radius: 0.25rem;
}

These little tags — <h1>, <h2>, <ul>, <ol>, and <em> — define headings, lists, and emphasis.
They made me realize that WordPress is just a friendly layer built on top of simple HTML.

Step 4. Connect Google Analytics (with MonsterInsights)

After setting up my design, I wanted to see if anyone was actually reading my posts.
I used the MonsterInsights plugin, which makes it super easy to connect your site to Google Analytics — no coding needed.

Here’s what I did:

1. Go to Plugins → Add New and search for “MonsterInsights.”
2. Click Install → Activate.
3. Open Insights → Settings → Connect MonsterInsights.
4. Sign in with your Google account and choose your Analytics property.

Once connected, the plugin automatically adds the tracking code.
You can even see your visitor data right inside Insights → Reports — I loved that part because it felt like seeing who just walked into my coffee blog.

Step 5. Preview and Publish

Before publishing, I clicked Preview to check everything on desktop and mobile.
I also added a few screenshots — my theme screen and the code block — to show what I worked on.
Once it all looked right, I hit Publish.

I started this post just to learn how things work behind the scenes, but it made me appreciate WordPress a lot more.
You don’t have to be a web developer — small experiments like these are enough to make your site feel personal and alive.