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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