I gave blogging a try last year in lockdown. I created a standalone blog using a gatsby js template. That meant I had to take care of everything from managing hosting to promotion and SEO. If you are starting out, I do not recommend that part. Without a sizable audience, your blog will hardly get any visitors. Utilizing a platform is the right choice in the beginning. I wrote my first post on hashnode detailing the lessons I've learnt in the last one year since I began blogging. You can read it here saheelwagh.hashnode.dev/10-lessons-from-10-months… . Let me know which points resonate with you the most and I will write about it in depth in future articles.