Welcome to the blogging world! You have decided you want to start a blog, but have no idea where to even start??
That is totally fine. When I first started my blog I had no clue where to begin. It takes time and I am still learning lots after 2 years of blogging. That’s what makes blogging so fun and exciting!
Just follow my steps below and you will be up and running in no time!
3 Steps to Get Your Blog up and Running:
1: Domain Name & Hosting
2: Installing WordPress
3: Make Your Blog Your Own and Pretty
Domain Name
You will want to do some brainstorming when picking a name for your blog. My blog originally started out as just a cooking/recipe blog. Now I offer more content besides recipes to my readers. My husband and I laid in bed with a pen and pad of paper writing out different names we liked. We both came up with Thinking Outside The Pot. Most the time a person would say thinking outside the box, but why not outside the pot since it was going to be a food blog. There are so many ideas that you could come up with that are original and fit your blogs brand. It’s so exciting once you decide!
After you have chosen your Blog Domain name head on over to Bluehost to see if your domain name is available. The box will look like this:
After you have registered your domain name you will need to enter all your account information. You will then need to pick a package you want. Bluehost will charge you for the full amount of months up front. The always have money back guarantee if you are not satisfied though.
Hosting
I have done some research on different hosting services. For the research I have done Bluehost is the quickest, cheapest and best bang for your buck when it comes to hosting for your blog. There different hosting services that you could use, but the quick and easy way to get your hosting is through Bluehost.
Your host is where your blog lives if you think about it. It will affect the way your speed and connection to your site is. You want to be sure to pick a great host for your heart and soul (blog). When you have a problem Bluehost has 24/7 support offered. This is great because it seems like things go wrong on the weekend or in the middle of the night. Yes, in the middle of the night when you are up late trying to get your latest post up.
WordPress
Once your hosting and domain are in place you need to install WordPress. WordPress is a blogging software. It’s super easy to use and navigate around. It will just take some playing around time on it if you are not aware of WordPress.
Login to Bluehost and find the Website section and click install WordPress. Click the domain button after that and type in your domain for your blog. Then click the install now button.
There you go you have created your blog! Welcome!
Making Your Blog Pretty
Now to make your blog pretty. I started out with just using a free WordPress theme that was easy to navigate and run. I wasn’t familiar with WordPress yet so this was a good start. To download a theme just go to your WordPress dashboard and click on Appearance and click themes. It will give you lots of options.
I hope that these tips are helpful and put you on your path to being a successful blogger. Good luck and Enjoy!