How To Start A Blog On WordPress Today!
A super easy, step-by-step guide on how to start a blog! Are you looking for a super easy and free step-by-step guide on how to start a blog?
This how to start a blog on WordPress guide will show you exactly how to create a professional blog that is super functional and easy to use for your readers. This guide has pictures too so it’s super easy to follow along.
Ready to start your blog on WordPress today!? Let’s get started!!
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Step 1: Download WordPress (free) For Your Blog:
First, click here to download wordpress.org to your computer for free.
WordPress is a free software that allows you to design your blog and write posts easily. (It’s honestly the best!)
I only recommend using WordPress because all of the best bloggers use WordPress and swear by their services! I use it too and it’s amazing!
WordPress has two options that you can choose from. They offer a hosted option (www.wordpress.com) and a self-hosted option (www.wordpress.org).
Please choose the self-hosted option (www.wordpress.org) as it is preferred by the best bloggers and will give you more ownership over your blog.
This step-by-step guide will only teach you how to start a self-hosted WordPress Blog. P.S. The .org is not something to fear. You can still have a .com website (like mine!)
To make things easier, download WordPress to your computer! This will help ensure that you’re the only one that can access your blog. Click here to download Self-Hosted WordPress (Click on “Download/Get WordPress”)
Step 2. Sign Up For Blog Web Hosting With Bluehost:
A blog host is a company that gives your blog space on its servers so that it can be reached by anyone online.
Because your host is literally what is making your blog “live,” to the public, it’s super essential that you pick a quality and well-trusted one!
The blog host that I strongly recommend and will show you how to use in this guide is Bluehost. I personally use BlueHost and absolutely love them!
I love Bluehost and recommend them to all bloggers because they are super cheap, extremely easy to use, and their customer service is the best (they offer 24/7 support to all of their customers which is amazing!)
Whenever I contact Bluehost’s customer support they always know how to help me within minutes!
1. Click here for the special $3.95/month rate on Bluehost and then click the green “get started” button
2. Select A Hosting Plan For Your Blog: I recommend that you get the basic plan because it comes with everything you need!
IMPORTANT: Bluehost won’t allow you to pay a monthly rate, which is annoying, but I promise the websites that do allow you to pay monthly are so much more expensive!
In order to receive the reduced rate of $3.95/month, you will have to pay for 36 months upfront. That may be too expensive for you which is okay!
Bluehost also gives you the option of paying for 12 or 24 months upfront (I only paid for 12 when I was starting out). Simply switch the number of months that you would like to pay for (you can do this right above the 4 plans.)
3. Choose a Domain/Blog Name
This is one of the most fun and difficult parts! Your domain is what people type into the search bar to find your website. Mine is positivityispretty.com (don’t add the .com when searching domains.)
The best domains are short and memorable. If your blog name is catchy, people will remember it and share it more often, which is what you want!
If Bluehost says, “unable to continue” the name you’re trying to use already exists. This can be frustrating but at the end of the day if the name you want isn’t available it wasn’t meant to be.
If you can’t think of a blog name you can always try using your name. Using your name is good too because the name won’t limit what you can write about on your blog.
Just keep trying until you find the perfect name! I know you can do it!
Try your best to think of a name during this step. You technically don’t have to and can choose one later but I learned from experience that it is more difficult and annoying to add the domain in later.
Already have a domain name? Just put it into the “use a domain you own” box on the right. Then you can continue to follow along with these steps!
4. Add In Your Account Information
Once you choose an available domain name you will be taken to an account information page.
When Bluehost asks for your account information, make sure ALL of the information is correct. Bluehost will send important information (like your password) to your email address, so double-check that it’s correct.
Double-check under “package information” that your account plan is correct. You can change the number of months (12, 24, 36) you wish to pay for here.
You don’t need to add any “package extras.” Un-click any that are checked in. I didn’t get these and never noticed a difference.
5. Choose a Secure Password For Your Blog Hosting
After you fill out your account and payment information you will be asked if you want special deals and upgrades.
You don’t need these, say no unless you really want them.
After your purchase is complete, Bluehost will ask you to create a password. Pick a password that you will remember. It will allow you to log into your portal and is VERY important!
Yay! Now your blog is online, congratulations!! This guide is not over but don’t forget to comment below with your blog’s domain so that I can keep up with all of your hard work and awesome content!
Step 3. Blog Design: Make Your Blog Look Professional From Day #1!
This is the best part of creating your blog! Make sure that if you buy a blog theme, you buy one that is meant for a SELF-HOSTED WORDPRESS site.
After you log in from the last step, a screen will appear that tells you to pick a theme. A website theme is the heart and soul of what your blog will look like (important, I know!)
I decided not to choose any of these themes because they don’t look very professional. With that said, I’m sure you can make one of these themes look professional with a little extra work.
Just remember that the more professional your website looks, the more people will want to stay.
Your theme is literally the first impression your blog will make on others so you want it to be good!
I searched for a while to find a theme and decided on the Yoon theme from Skyandstarts.com. I bought it through Etsy and it was under $20 which is really good for such a professional-looking blog theme!
You can find a lot of their themes and awesome similar ones on Etsy too! Make sure that you buy a theme meant for a SELF-HOSTED WORDPRESS site.
People also LOVE 17 Avenue Designs themes!
I did not pay for my theme to be set up by someone else (I didn’t want to spend any more money). Mine came with instructions and it was very simple!
Most themes come with instructions, and you can totally set it up alone (doesn’t take very long), but if you’re super eager, you can usually pay the creator to set it up.
Step 4. Become Familiar With Your Blog’s WordPress:
Now that you’re the proud new owner of an amazing blog, you’ll need to become familiar with the WordPress back-office (literally where all of the blog magic happens!)
WordPress Basics:
1. Blog’s Left Navigation Bar:
If you’re ever looking for anything, it can usually be found on your main navigation bar on the left. The navigation bar is to the left and says “dashboard” at the top of the bar.
2. Blog Pages Vs. Posts:
Pages are important things on your website that usually don’t change. The pages on my blog are my home page, about page, contact page, recommendations page, and legal pages.
Posts are where you will write all of your content (blog posts.) You can’t organize pages into categories and tags but you can and should with posts.
To create a new post, select the “posts” tab on your main navigation bar to the left. Next, click “add new” and it will take you to the post builder.
If you want to create a new page, select the “pages” tab on your main navigation bar to the left. Next, click “add new” and it will take you to the page builder.
3. Appearance:
It allows you to edit theme settings and create your blog’s main navigation bar.
4. Media:
This is where you can upload all of your photos, videos, and PDFs. Make sure that you don’t use copyright images (you can get in big trouble for this!)
My favorite free stock photos that you can use on your blog are from Pexels.com and Pixabay.com
5. Plugins:
These are like apps for your website. They allow you to do a ton of different things! There are a lot of plugins so it’s worth doing some research about which ones will work best for you. Most are free too!
My Favorite Free Plugins (great for new bloggers!):
Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights (MOST important!) This Plugin tracks a ton of data including how many visitors come to your blog every day and what posts/pages are most popular.
GS Pins for Pinterest Lite: Allows me to embed any Pinterest URL into my site. Example Below!
Official MailerLite Sign Up Forms: Allows me to easily embed email sign up forms with my email provider (I use MailerLite)
My Favorite Paid For Plugins:
Elementor Pro: I have a yearly subscription to Elementor. It’s one of the most advanced drag & drop page builders out there.
It allows you to create professional pages and posts in a super-easy way! I use this amazing plugin for my home, about me, and recommendations pages.
Check out my home and about pages to see how magical this plugin is!
This plugin is perfect for when you want to create a more professional looking homepage than just your most recent posts (this is totally fine when you’re starting out!)
Click here to try Elementor for yourself!!
Tasty Pins:
Tasty pins has an yearly cost (under $30) which is great because it’s a super helpful plugin. It helps to optimize your images for SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Pinterest.
Basically, whenever I upload an image in a post or page, I simply fill out the Pinterest title and text (with Pinterest keywords).
Whenever anyone saves an image from my site to Pinterest, the title and description I added will be saved with the pin. This is key for Pinterest SEO.
If this confuses you, don’t worry! You don’t need this plugin right away either! 🙂
Step 5. Write Your First Blog Post:
Yay! It’s time to write your first blog post. My biggest tip when it comes to managing a new blog (if making money is one of your main goals) is to treat it like your job.
Schedule time to work on it and just keep writing! Your content doesn’t have to be perfect, you just need to start.
If you want to make money blogging, stay away from talking about yourself too much in posts because, sadly, your readers usually don’t care.
They are on your blog to gain new ideas or learn how to do something. Your posts should be reader-focused!!
Like all things, blogging will get easier over time! Remember to be patient and proud of yourself for working hard!
Share Your New Blog With Me!
Congrats on your new blog! I hope that you liked this post on How To Start A Blog. Don’t leave yet; I would love to keep up with your fantastic new blog.
Let me know how I can find it in the comments or email me at emily@positivityispretty.com
I can’t wait to hear from you and see your new amazing blog!! As always, let me know if you have any questions. I’m always happy to help!
Related To How To Start A Blog– Popular Post: Bluehost Review 2022 – Why Bluehost is Best!
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