In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to start a blog using WordPress.org and Bluehost.
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This post details how to start a blog using WordPress.org and Bluehost easily and quickly – so you can start a blog right away.
WHY START A BLOG?
Blogging is an amazing and fulfilling journey. Blogging is your very own creative outlet where you can write about your passions, share your ideas and inspiration, and gain a community of readers (and hopefully new friends!) who share your interests.
I love blogging and I want to spread the happiness! That’s why I created a detailed tutorial to start a blog. I want to help you skip the fluff, and learn simply and quickly what you need to do to start a blog. In this tutorial, you’ll benefit from the breadth of blogging information I uncovered along the way, all in one place. I have laid out exactly what you need to do, in simple terms, so that you can easily start a blog, even without any previous knowledge in this field.
If you’re ready to jump in and actually to start a blog, you have come to the right place! I’m so excited you are starting your own blogging journey. It’s going to be amazing.
Now, let’s begin!
START A BLOG PRE-STEPS
Feel free to skip this section and head straight to the tutorial section if you’re ready to get started with making your very own blog. If you want more information before you begin, I don’t blame you. That’s why I created this pre-step section.
1. DETERMINE IF YOU WANT THIS BLOG TO MAKE MONEY.
You will fall into one of these 3 categories:
Category 1: You want to make money with your blog!
If you are looking to monetize your blog, proceed, as this tutorial is specifically made for you to understand how to be self-hosted on WordPress.
Category 2: You are blogging for only pleasure.
If you are just looking for a fun, creative outlet, and don’t care to make money blogging, you don’t need to self-host your blog. You can simply make a free blog on a platform like Blogger or WordPress.com.
Category 3: You want to make money with your blog and do it for pleasure!
Yay, I was hoping you would fall into this category. Just kidding. But, I really do think that if you’re blogging for pleasure, why not go ahead and try to make money with your blog since you’re planning on doing the work anyway?
You may have noticed I have mentioned self-hosted a few times at this point. So, what is self-hosted and why should you care?
In short, self-hosted means you have more control over your website. You should care because you’ll want to be self-hosted if you’re planning on making money with your blog.
I think it’s important for you to understand that there are several ways to start a blog and that the combination of using WordPress.org and Bluehost (which is what I use) is not the only route. To put it simply, you could use WordPress.com or Blogger (both hosted platforms) instead of WordPress.org (a self-hosted platform).
Here’s the difference between Wordpress.com, a hosted platform, and WordPress.org, a self-hosted platform:
WordPress.com is a hosted platform while WordPress.org is a self-hosted platform. If you decided to use WordPress.com, you would not need to also have a hosting provider, such as Bluehost. You would only need to use WordPress.com. There are several stipulations though by using a hosted platform, which is why many successful bloggers use a self-hosted platform instead.
Similar to Blogger, you could start a WordPress.com site absolutely free. One main difference is the way your URL or domain name displays. If I would have used WordPress.com for free, my domain name would look like this: marlydice.wordpress.com. If you’re blogging for only pleasure and do not intend to make money blogging, there is no need to have a self-hosted platform. If you want to make money blogging, you want your blog to appear professional and legitimate by having a URL that is only your domain name. My URL or domain name is marlydice.com, which is much more professional than marlydice.wordpress.com.
You could still use WordPress.com, a hosted platform, and upgrade by paying for a custom domain. This would alleviate the issue I mentioned above. However, you will still not have the flexibility and control that you do over a self-hosted platform, like WordPress.org.
There are several limitations on blog monetization avenues with a hosted platform, whereas with a self-hosted platform, you have the ability to partake in unlimited monetization avenues. This is important because as a money-making blogger, you will most likely want to have revenue coming in from multiple avenues so you can reach your full-earning potential.
2. DECIDE YOUR BLOG NICHE
That is, what do you want to write about? Think about it this way: what do you love doing? What could you spend hours on end explaining to your friends? What do your friends and family tell you you’re really good at?
When determining your blogging niche, you don’t need to decide exactly what your niche is, as it will probably alter a bit when you start writing your posts. But you should have a good idea of the main theme because it will affect Step 1 below.
TUTORIAL
1. CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME
The first step to start a blog is to choose a domain name. A domain name is simply what people type to get to your website. My domain name is www.marlydice.com.
Have you thought about your blog name? I’m sure you have! Your blog name usually aligns with your domain name and it will be crucial for you to pick one that represents your blog well, as it’s the first thing your readers will see when they come to your site. Your blog name should identify quickly what your blog is about. If you want to go a more subtle route with your blog name (such as having it be your own name), you may want to consider adding a tag line under your blog’s title, or your name, so readers will get a general idea of what you write about on your blog.
Now it’s time to decide upon a few blog names. You don’t want to get your heart set on just one name because it may be taken. You’ll need to do some research, both to see if your domain is taken and also to see if the name is taken on social media, that is, if you’re planning to set up accompanying social media accounts.
You can check to see if your domain is available here:
When you’re searching, please, please, please get a .com address. It’s for your own sake. You do not want a .net, .info, or .whointheworldwilleverrememberthis. You get my point.
A .com is the way to go.
When searching to see if your potential blog name is taken on social media, you’ll have to do it the old-school way and go to each social media platform and type in the URL you are seeking.
After selecting your domain name, you actually need to register it so no one else can take it! (I’ll show you exactly how to register it using Bluehost below). There are several ways to do this, but if you’re just starting out, you probably want to keep things as easy as possible and do everything in one place. I recommend using Bluehost to register your domain. You can actually get your domain name completely free if you set up hosting with them (you’ll read more about this in the next step). I used Bluehost when I set up my blog and it was easy and seamless.
2. SET UP HOSTING
The next task you’ll need to do to start a blog is to set up hosting. You’re going to need to find a hosting provider if you’re looking to have a self-hosted blog. As I mentioned above, if you’re looking to keep things as easy as possible, you’ll want to use Bluehost for your hosting provider. By doing this, you’ll automatically get your domain name free. Score.
I used Bluehost when setting up my blog, and it has been wonderful. Here are a few reasons why I chose to host my site on Bluehost:
- Not only was the process easy, but they also have 24/7 customer support via phone, chat, and tickets if you run into a question along the way.
- When you sign up with Bluehost for one year or longer, you receive a free domain.
- Bluehost supports more than 2 million websites, so they know what they’re doing.
- They have their own training videos to help you build a successful website.
FOLLOW ALONG IN THIS STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO SET UP HOSTING
GET STARTED WITH BLUEHOST.
If you haven’t already, click over to Bluehost using my link (thank you for using my link and supporting this blog), and click the green button that says “Get Started.”
SELECT YOUR PLAN.
You can choose any plan that fits your needs. For the purposes of a newbie blogger, I’d recommend selecting the basic plan. At this point, you only need one website and won’t have that much content that you’d need more than 50GB. Note that the pricing for the basic plan is offered for 36 months, and you have to pay one lump sum to get the lowest monthly rate.
GET YOUR DOMAIN.
If you’re a brand new blogger and haven’t set up your domain yet, this is where you’ll do so. You should have already tested domains in the search domain box above and found your perfect domain. Once you have input your domain name, select “next.”
CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT.
You’ll come to this screen where you’ll input the requested information.
Note that under the “Account Plan” setting, you can switch your plan to be for a different amount of months. As I noted above, you’ll notice that you have to at least pay for 36 months to get the lowest monthly rate.
Make sure to read through the Terms of Service, Cancellation Policy and Privacy Policy.
Once you’re ready, click “submit.”
SUBMIT PAYMENT INFO
You’ll then come to a payment page, which looks like this:
Once you enter your information, hit “submit.”
CREATE A PASSWORD
The next screen will prompt you to create a password. This page looks like this:
Just select “Create your password.”
You’ll then come to this page, where you’ll actually make your password:
Once you’ve created your password, you will see this screen:
Congrats! Your hosting set-up is complete! Way to go! Now you can “log in.”
3. PICK A THEME
You can now pick a theme for your blog! Woohoo!
You’ll be sent to this page, where you can pick a theme (don’t worry, you can always change it later!):
Once you have chosen a theme for your blog, you’ll see this screen:
Now it’s time to get rockin’ and rollin’ on your blog.
POST SET-UP STEPS
1. GO TO YOUR DASHBOARD
Your dashboard is the place where you’ll manage your blog. It is basically your blogging home base. You’ll want to get to know this dashboard well, and you will, in time, as you continue to work on your blog. It will look like this:
2. CLICK “BLUEHOST”
At the top left of your navigation bar, click “Bluehost.” It’s highlighted in blue below.
In the middle of the screen above, click “Launch.”
3. LAUNCH YOUR SITE
You’ll now come to the screen below.
Type in a site title and site description. Then click “Next step” to get your blog off the ground!
4. BEAUTIFY YOUR BLOG
Now that you officially have a blog, you should add in any blog posts that you have written. If you haven’t written any yet, go ahead and put some Lorem Ipsum text in place of your content so you can get a general idea of how the content will appear.
Head to “Appearance” > “Themes” to select which theme you want. I spent days going through themes and applying them, then removing them and so on. Take your time because you probably won’t go through a blog redesign anytime soon.
Once you have your theme, head to “Appearance” > “Widgets” to select a few widgets to get you started. Some of my favorite widgets to use (and ones I use on my blog) are “Pinterest PinIt Button” and “Shareaholic.”
Create your pages. Your pages essentially fill your top navigation bar. I had outlined my navigation bar before I started my blog so that I knew what I would need to find as a theme to fill my need.
You’ll continue to play around in your dashboard as you build your blog and I’m sure you’ll go through several revisions when you first start. This is completely normal. Take your time and enjoy the ride! You’ve got yourself a blog, my friend. It’ll be no time before you catch the blogging bug.