Monday, November 18, 2013

How to start a Blog(2)

How to Start a Blog – Step by Step Guide:

- by Mike Wallagher
Would you like to know how to start a blog? If yes, then you have landed at the right place. You can create your own blog by following those 3 simple steps below. I tried to make this tutorial as simple as possible and in case you need any additional help, feel free to contact me. Before I continue to show you how to setup your first blog, I suggest you to read my article titled “Reasons Why You Should Start Your Own Blog.”
You might think that hiring someone to set up your blog is the easiest way, but that’s a big mistake. In short, you can create your own blog in less than 10 minutes. Yes, that’s right. It might sound crazy, but starting a blog is not difficult at all. However, if you don’t know much about computers or internet, it may take you up to 30 minutes, but that’s the maximum. Here’s my sample blog, I made in less than 10 minutes using the tutorial below. You can do that too, simply follow the steps below.1) Think what you are going to blog about
The first thing you need to do is picking a blog topic. Is there anything you enjoy or are really passionate about? If yes, then start a blog about it. When I started my first blog, I was really interested in smartphones and new tech gadgets, so I picked that topic. It’s much easier to write articles and posts about something that you’re interested in.
It’s even better when you have been interested in a specific field or an industry for a long time, that makes you literally an expert. Don’t start a blog about something you have no interest in – it makes no sense. However, if you don’t have any idea or niche you want to write about, start blogging about your daily activities, memorable moments or simply about yourself.
P.S. If you already know your blog niche or topic, you can feel free to skip this step and move onto Step 2.

Step 2) Decide – Which blogging platform, self-hosted or free?

First of all, most of the blogs on the internet are made using WordPress blogging platform. In fact, WordPress has been downloaded over 65million times and used by many popular blogs and websites.
..BUT, there’s always alternatives. While I highly suggest you to start a blog using WordPress (mostly by its user-friendliness & awesome design), you can still feel free to check out my blog comparison chart to weigh different options.
However, before you go on and start your blog, you need to know whether you want your own domain (self-hosted) or not. Keep in mind that domains will most likely cost about $8 – $12 a year. In addition, you will need a hosting that costs about $4 – $7 a month. If you don’t have the money, then start with free blogging platforms, such as blogger.com or tumblr.com. With these platforms you cannot set your own address and your blog will be accessible from yourblog.blogspot.com or yourblog.tumblr.com. The downside of a free blog is that it will be some-what limited (only few themes and plugins) and you don’t have much control over it.
P.S. If you want to start a blog using WordPress on your OWN domain, then you can feel free to skip this step and move onto Step 3.

Step 3) Choosing domain & hosting, setting up a WordPress blog on your OWN domain

In case you decide to go with self-hosted blog on your own domain, keep reading. Finding a great domain name can take a while, but it’s worth it. I suggest you to pick something brandable and simple to remember. Let’s say you are planning to start a fashion blog. www.bestfashionblog2013.org or www.all-about-latest-fashion-trends.com is not a great idea. Why so?
People simply cannot remember those domains and when they want to return they have already forgotten your domain name. It’s much better when you choose something memorable, such as www.fashionologie.com, www.vivalafashion.com or something like that. As an alternative, you can just use your name, for example: www.MikeWallagher.com
In short, domain should be:
  • Catchy
  • Easy to remember
  • Unique

Where can I get domain & hosting?

However, before you get a domain, you will need a hosting provider. Hosting is a service that connects your blog to the internet for others to see. In the past few years while I have been creating and managing different blogs, I have found out that there are only few reliable hosting companies.
One of them is Web Hosting Hub, from there you can get your own domain and hosting together which saves you a lot of time and money. Their service is quite cheap compared to others and they are well-known for their great customer support (24/7). It’s also good for beginners since they have “1-Click-Blog-Installation” feature and it is focused on WordPress blogs and websites.
Of course, you can feel free to use any different hosting company since I have put together a tutorial on how to install your blog manually as well. If you decide to go with any other hosting then make sure it’s with unlimited bandwidth & unlimited disk space. That will help you to avoid problems later on.
You have two options to install your blog to your own domain:
  • A) With “One-Click-Installation” using WebHostingHub (You’ll get domain from there as well).
  • B) Manually.
The manual tutorial suits well for internet/computer savvy while the One-Click-Installation is better for starters who are trying to set up their first blog. In both ways, you’ll get your blog online in short time.

A) How to Set Up a WordPress Blog using Web Hosting Hub (For Beginners)

Click to continue reading...

B) How to Set Up a WordPress Blog Manually to Any Host (Advanced)

…. and once you have completed the installation:

Making Your First Post, Choosing New Theme and the Basics of WordPress

- by Mike Wallagher
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