How to start a blog for beginners
How to Start a Blog the Easy Way:
You’ve read my, Why You Need to Blog and How to Easily Start One where we talk about why everyone should blog, not only for personal-growth reasons in their own lives but also because the internet community is growing daily and will only increase over time. Here we are going to learn how to start a blog for Beginners (Complete Process).
*This page contains affiliate links. And while we do get a small commission when you purchase through one of these links, it doesn’t cost you anything additional to use that link, and of course, we only recommend the products that we love and have used ourselves.
Which means that not only can you make money easily blogging (eventually), but you also get to share your story and impact humans around you who are watching you lead with example. In addition to all the fun information, I also told you about a few of my favorite resources that I use!
In this article, we are going to learn:
- The step-by-step process of HOW to start a blog : all the way from creating your domain name (www…) to how to create your first post
- Resources that I find beneficial to my last four years of blogging!
- Affiliate programs that I use to earn a
commission (and that are free to sign up with)!
READY? Start Your Own Blog:
So many people think that blogging is ‘difficult’ or has to be ‘hard,’ but that does not at all have to be the case. It’s time-consuming, but if it can earn you a passive commission WHILE you’re creating an impact, does 10 minutes of your time sound that bad?
Here’s a fun layout of How to Start a Blog works:
To know how to start a blog , you should understant following steps-
STEP 1: Buy your land/web hosting:
I signed up for Bluehost back in 2015, and haven’t regretted the day SINCE. This website makes it a DREAM for creating your first website.
Here’s how:
GO TO BLUEHOST.com and click the green ‘Get started’
Then select your plan:
I would really recommend the choice plus because it gives you the domain privacy- which essentially means that your private information (your name, address, etc.,) will not be available to the public).
Then you’re going to come up with your website name (your mailbox/site):
*What to keep in mind: come up with a name that describes YOU or the BUSINESS or your NICHE that you want to create because that is what your content should represent. (which is amazing for SEO, but more on that when we get to that bridge)!
If you want to think about your perfect domain name, then COME BACK TO IT! Luckily on bluehost, you can choose it later!
Quick Funny story:
When I was creating my website, I actually decided on it after already buying the bluehost platform. I ask the Universe to give me my most perfect website name and then I forgot about it (on purpose). Later that night I was in bed trying to fall asleep, and lo- and behold- the most perfect name came to me. And here we are today! And I love it more today than I did when it first came to me!
Whether you create your domain then and there or wait a few days to get inspired, the next step is to:
Create your Bluehost account
After, select your package info:
If you sign up for 12 months- you’ll ONLY pay this price once. I recommend paying for the most amount of years as your wallet will let you, because you’ll end up saving A LOT more for a longer amount of time! It’s a breeze and the best part is that you won’t have to worry about payment.
Bluehost is awesome because it gives you 1, 2,3, and 5 year plans that other web host websites don’t DO or charge WAY more money!
The only thing I wish I did differently was to sign up for the 5-year plan when I had the chance to save my wallet in the long run.
Then, Select the RIGHT extras:
MAKE SURE that you have Domain Privacy Protection, whether you get it for free if you choose the Choice Plus plan or the Basic or Plus plan, that’s the one extra you SHOULD have on your account to protect your privacy and data.
Please note: If you opted to select your domain name LATER you won’t have the option to pick up this “extra” later-
Speaking of checking out, that’s your next step!
After you’ve done so, you have to create your new password to your bluehost account:
After you’ve created your password, LOG IN!
Skip the free themes after you have logged in, not because Bluehost doesn’t have good themes, but because free themes are next kept up to date- which is important for your blog to function to the best of its ability!
how to start a blog
CONGRATULATIONS TO CREATING YOUR WEBSITE!
In step one, you have bought your land (web hosting) and given your site a name (your domain). WordPress is ALREADY installed for you through your Bluehost hosting, so now you’re ready to click “start building” to move to step 2:
STEP 2: ORGANIZING and STYLING your home (website)!
Step 2 requires you to INSTALL WORDPRESS.
To clear up login confusion (which I had a lot of trouble with in the beginning):
- To login into your Bluehost account, go to http://www.bluehost.com, and click “login” on the top right corner.
- To login into your WordPress Dashboard: simply add “wp-admin” at the end if YOUR website link, for example, I would use: www.positivitysparkles.com/wp-admin and it takes me right to my dashboard where I can edit, post, etc.,
Back to step 2:
WordPress is my favorite BLOGGING platform to use (as we found out in step one, Bluehost is a HOSTING platform). It’s also the most USED platform, and for a good reason: it’s SO easy to use and has SO many amazing resources to make your website amazing!
WordPress users range from beginnings to huge companies like Disney, New York Times, BEYONCE, and many more in between!
It’s super simple and easy to use, here’s what you will learn in step 2:
- Necessary steps to take (ie., for protection of your site, etc.,)
- Find your perfect theme
- Writing your first post
Ready? Let’s start here:
This is your WordPress Dashboard! You’re going to be spending A LOT of time here! This is where you can add a theme (style your site), add plugins, read your
Here are the first few steps you should take after installing WordPress:
- Once you open WordPress, you’ll have the option of choosing “business” or “personal.”
- Change default nickname and password: Anytime you post or leave a comment, ‘admin’ will come up as the default for your name. To change this, go to users > your profile and then type in how you want others to see your name.
- Privacy settings: By going to settings > privacy, select “Allow search engines to index this site” so your website can find found on google!
- Change your links to SEO friendly: Whenever you write a post, you want that title to appear in your link automatically. To do this go to settings > permalinks, then choose custom structure to /%postname%/
- Activate the Akismet plugin: this will help you reduce the SPAM comments. YES- even if you have a BRAND new website, SPAM will still try to be your friend and leave comments frequently.
- Get the Jetpack Plugin: I LOVE jetpack and have been using it since day one! Jetpack gives you site security, site stats, Akismet Anti-spam (as mentioned above), search engine optimization, and more! I highly recommend this WordPress tool! I’d recommend the premium package because they come with SEO tools and site monetization!
- Allow your website to be searched & indexed: You want your website not only found but indexed by other search engines as well! Make sure to have this ready by installing the google xml sitemaps plugin!
Now you are ready to ADD A THEME to your website!
On the left-hand side, click on “appearance” then “add new” and search for any them you’d like.
My recommendation, find a simple one until you REALLY find the one your looking for. Your themes and website design might change in the first year or two, mind did and a lot of long-term bloggers eventually find the right theme to them later on. And much of the time they are themes that aren’t actually found on WordPress.
how to start a blog
For example, I personally use BLUCHIC. It’s a theme design website that specialized in WordPress blogs and has really elegant and simple themes. I love them so much because not only can they install the themes for you, but they frequently UPDATE the themes and notify you about it. They are also REALLY good about getting back to you immediately.
There’s another platform called, CreativeMarket, that I used for themes before that have AMAZING ones too, but when I found Bluchic my heart was taken. I do use CreativeMarket for other resources though for my website, so that’s pretty amazing!
I’d recommend that if you don’t know how to install the theme to your website, you can easily hire someone on Upwork or Fiverr to help you install it for a small cost (as low as $5).
When you’ve picked a theme and installed a theme, you’re ready to write your first post!
HOW TO WRITE YOUR FIRST POST:
On the left hand side click on “posts” then click “add new”
You’ll be redirected toward a new page where you can then begin to write!
*I HIGHLY suggest using Grammarly when writing posts/emails/etc., I have used it since it came out and it is MY EDITOR before I can hire a professional one. You can add an extension of it to your Chrome or other web browser and use it anywhere you go online! I sincerely appreciate it and recommend it for any writers out there!
MUST-HAVE Plugins:
- Jetpack: Jetpack is like my ultimate tool for my WordPress blogging platform. It gives you analytics, security, and an increase in traffic, etc., all in one bundle! It was my first plugin that I downloaded as a beginner and I have been using it since!
- Yoast SEO: This is the best plugin you can use to help your SEO. Basically, it handles all of your optimizations on your website and helps you rank better! I have the premium version and it’s so worth it! Yoast also have a lot of amazing help and resources if you’re stuck on SEO like I was for a long time!
SocialWarfare (for sharing!): I love my sharing buttons and it took me a long time to find a social sharing plugin that I loved and made sharing fun and easy for myself and my audience.SocialWarfare is pretty popular because ofits ease of sharing and stand-out sharingbuttons !
Congratulations on acquiring your website and I can’t wait to see what you do with it! Comment your link below, and I’ll check out your stories!
how to start a blog
