Are you wondering how to start a blog?
You want to know how to blog and earn money?
What if I tell you will learn everything that you need to know about how to start a blog and make money.
I know you are charged up to read about them.
That is exactly what I am going to share in this post.
A few years ago when I kept my feet into the digital world I had the same question of how to create a blog.
I spend a couple of weeks to collect the proper information to begin. I was going crazy in finding out where to start a blog, the best web hosting company, the theme that is good for monetization etc.
What’s even crazier I didn’t know what is a hosting, difference between WordPress blog and other platforms, themes, etc.
Now that I am listing out everything, you need not worry. This post is going to be a one-stop solution for you.
I have split it into 6 steps to make it easy for setting up a blog for you.
- Choose a niche for your blog
- Decide your blogging platform
- Find the best web hosting
- Select and buy a domain name and web hosting
- Installing WordPress
- Choose the best theme
1. Choose a niche for your blog.
This is an important step that you need to consider even before starting to write. Also, this is the first step that will answer your question on how to start a blog business.
Blog about something that you enjoy the most. By doing so you’ll love what you are writing and will have plenty of topics to write. Make sure your readers are engaged with the topic you choose.
Blog about something people would benefit and make sure it has a lot of room for discussion in the internet world. You need to do some research on the niche that you are interested in. Find out if people are seeking more information about it.
Keep in mind, In a long run, you need to create tons of contents to keep your readers engaged.
In most cases, you’ll find plenty of people writing about the same topic. Don’t get discouraged about it. All you have to do is add more value than others and write it in a unique angle.
You need to make sure to choose a niche in which you can establish yourself as an authority.
2. Decide your blogging platform
This step is very crucial for the growth of your business. I will explain to you in detail.
If you want to play, you need a playground. If you want to blog, you need a blogging platform.
There are plenty of blogging platforms out there such as WordPress, Blogger, Wix, Weebly etc. The list can go on…
Among all, WordPress is by far the best platform and the most popular website management system in use. It is used by more than 60 million websites,
including 30.6% of the top 10 million websites as of April 2018.
WordPress comes with several themes and over 55,000 plugins available.
Here at “CreateMyTraffic”, I use WordPress (Blog Tool, Publishing Platform, and CMS)
Here is the key that you need to know when using WordPress. There is two kind of WordPress platform.
- Hosted – WordPress.com: This is a free platform but it limits your potential income.
- Self-hosted – Wodpress.org: There is a small cost involved in this platform but it gives the most control over your blog. It doesn’t limit your potential income and worth in the long run.
I recommend you to use a self-hosted site using (Blog Tool, Pu00blishing Platform, and CMS) if you are planning to monetize and take your business to the next level.
3. Finding the best web hosting
Now that you chose the blogging platform, you need to have a web hosting.
WordPress is just a software that can be downloaded and is accessible only to you which means your blog won’t be live for others on the internet.
In order to make it accessible for others, you need a hosting company to give you server space. In other words, hosting is like renting space on the web to display your blog.
Which hosting company should you use?
I highly recommend using Blueshot which I personally use for my website.
They are the top web hosting company at a very affordable price. When you make a purchase they provide you with a FREE domain.
The best part is they come with a FREE SSL certificate while other web hosting company charge you. This awesome feature makes your website secure and can build trust with your visitors for FREE.
One cool thing that I like about Bluehost they make it amazingly easy to get a new site up and running with their one-click automatic WordPress blog installation.
You can use your Bluehost blog account to host multiple domains, no need to pay more for hosting when you’re ready to start another website.
Also, they provide excellent 24/7 customer service. They are happy to talk directly if you wish to talk on the phone.
4. Select and buy a domain name and web hosting
This is an interesting part. You need to select a domain name.
Confused on should be your domain name?
Let’s do some brainstorming,
If you don’t have a name yet in your mind, think of something short, catchy and shareable that represents your business or niche.
For example, createmytraffic.com is my domain name that gives an indication to the reader what my website is all about.
If you still find it difficult to come up with a name then I would recommend using your own name as your domain name.
Once you’ve decided your domain name head over to Bluehost. Click on to the Green “Get started now” button.
It will direct to “select your plan” page. I would suggest you select a basic option if you are just starting out. Keep in mind Bluehost will charge you in a lump sum instead of monthly. But it will save you a lot of money.
Then after it will take you to “sign up now” page which will look like this. Find out if the selected domain name is available by entering in the “new domain” option and click next.
Upon selecting the plan it will take you to the account information section, you need to fill out all of your account information and contact details.
Continue down to package information. Bluehost has an amazing pricing structure and it gives you a domain name and SSL certificate for free if you decide to host with them.
You will get the cheapest plan if you decide to select 36 months. Remember, they will charge you up front for full 36 months.
That’s one of the reasons they offer hosting for such a little price. Best of all, they have a money back guarantee so you don’t worry about losing anything.
Once you are done with package information, next is package extras. These are some extra services available as an option. I would suggest to leave it as it is for now because these options can be added at the later stage as well.
Enter your payment information.
Once done, agree to the terms and policy and click on the submit button.
Congrats! Now you have completed the purchase. Next step you have to chose a password. To do so, click on to “Create to your password” button (Make sure to use a secure password). Once password created you are all set to get started
5. Installing WordPress
To get started with WordPress, you need to click the Blue “Log in” button.
After that Bluehost will ask you to select a free theme. I suggest you skip that step by clicking “skip this step” at the bottom. This is because most of the free themes are not updated on time.
If you are considering to monetize your business and to have more control, I would recommend you to chose a premium theme. Here is a post that will help you determine the perfect premium theme for you.
The next step is to start building your website. In here you have two options either to click on the blue “start building” button or “go to my Bluehost account”.
You can skip the second option and click the “start building” button which will direct you to a new WordPress site that looks like this,
In this page, you can click on “I don’t need help” option below “Business” and “Personal” buttons.
Congratulation! You have completed the WordPress installation process.
5. Choose the best theme
Finally, I am glad you have joined the bloggers club. Congrats!
I am sure you are feeling awesome about it.
It’s time to make your website gorgeous. Let’s choose the best theme for your website. A beautifully designed looking theme is so essential that it gives the first impression to your visitors to stick on to your website or not.
WordPress has tons of free themes where you can pick and design. However, it will limit you from customizing and also will effect monetizing part if you decide at the later stage.
So my recommendation would be to choose a premium theme that cost you very little. Some of the premium themes have a drag and drop feature.
If you are a non-coding person like me then this feature would help you build an incredible website in no time.
Here are some of the place where you can get themes that I recommend.
- Mythemeshop
- Elegant Themes
- Thrive Themes
Check out this article for more theme options.
Now that you have learned how to start a blog with Bluehost, below are a few hand-picked articles for you to take your blog ahead.
Originally Published by CREATEMYTRAFFIC
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