Have you been thinking about starting a blog and trying to figure out where to begin? Well, you are in the right place as I will walk you through the steps to start a blog and get you on the exciting journey of becoming a blogger. Blogging is a great way for you to get your ideas out into the world and can give you a great opportunity to make an income and gain some awesome skills. The technical side of blogging can seem hard to grasp but with practice and some googling, you can learn what you need to do and execute.
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When you are thinking about starting a blog you will have to take some time and think about why you want to become a blogger and then make an assessment of what you will blog about and how you will make it happen. Here’s the step by step guide you need to start your blog today:
Choose a Blog Topic
You’ve made the decision to start a blog but what will you blog about? In this step, take a look at your interests, skills and spot any opportunities you feel will make for a great topic. If you have a great skill and you are very proficient in a particular field, then this could become your blog topic and you can start from there. Or if you have an interest in something that gets you excited, this can also be another topic you could choose. As you think about your blog topic, decide on something and get moving. Do not get stuck in this stage as you can always change your mind and choose another topic, the key here is to pick something and keep going.
Pick a Domain Name
A domain name is the name that your website will have and it is what a visitor to your blog will type in to find you. It precedes the “.com” that you will see on most website names. For example, this blog’s domain is “Abundanceofjo.com” and is the name of my blog. This requires some thought as it will be the official name of your blog and will be how people will find your blog and bring traffic to your site. As you choose a domain, check Google to see if the domain has already been taken and choose a unique name that is not already taken.
Choose a Platform
A blog platform is the site where you will be building your blog and it is the framework you will use to write your blog posts and developing your blog pages among other things. My favourite platform hands down is WordPress as it is relatively easy to use and provides great flexibility for you to build your blog. It’s critical that you use WordPress.com as this is the site that you will need in order to use your domain and have a more professional looking site that will attract more readers and help you grow your following. If you would like to learn more about the differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com, you can read about it on this site.
Buy Your Hosting Plan
This is the stage where you will set up hosting for your blog. Hosting is where your blog lives and is considered to be the “land” of your blog and the platform is the “house.” With a hosted blog, your domain will go live and your site will have a more professional look and it will be the place where your website’s codes reside.
I highly recommend Bluehost as they are offer amazing prices, excellent and responsive customer service and great options to choose from. I have been using Bluehost for two years and I have enjoyed the service that I have received and I love their step by step process in setting up my blog. It was very easy to use and navigate without paying an arm and a leg.
Purchase Your Hosting at Bluehost Here
Here’s how the process works to buy your hosting on Bluehost:
Click on Get Started
Choose the Plan would like to purchase, the Choice Plus which is the three year plan is highly recommended as you get the best value for price and it’s great for SEO when you start to write blog posts:
The next step is to choose your domain name – this is where you will choose one. If you don’t have a domain name, that’s ok, you can go back and select one when you have decided on a name.
This is where you will you enter your information:
The next step is to click Submit:
Install WordPress
The next step is to set up your WordPress site to your blog. This is where you will design and build your blog and do all the fun things like choosing colours, font etc. You will also use WordPress to do your website design and choose your theme for your blog. Here’s the guide for setting up WordPress on your blog within Bluehost where you can choose your theme.
Login to your new blog through Bluehost (you will need to create a username and password). Navigate to this section:
Plug in your Domain name and choose “Do you want a blog”:
Here you can choose a Theme that you like and Click on “Use this Theme” and go ahead an install the theme:
Congratulations! You are a blogger -it’s an exciting journey, keep going!
Other Considerations for Starting a Blog
These are some other options that you can choose for getting your blog set up:
- If you are looking for another theme for your blog, I highly recommend 17th Avenue Designs, the prices are affordable and the designs are beautiful and very detailed for installing the theme.
- Collecting emails is essential to your blogging business, I recommend Convertkit. You get your first 1000 subscribers free.
- A blog is a great way to make great money, check out this post where I discuss some of the most successful bloggers out there. This will give you some serious inspiration.
Starting a blog is an amazing way to express yourself and using this step, I hope you will be able to get going and enjoy the blogging journey.
Let me know if you’ve started your blog in the comments.
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