Have you decided you want to start a blog on WordPress? In this post, I’ll walk you through the exact steps on how to create a blog on WordPress (one that can even make money!).
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link at no extra cost to you. Please read full disclosure here.
If you’ve tried to start a blog before and have quit or have always wanted to start one but have put it off…do IT! Having a blog is so rewarding. And, in this post I will try to make the process as simple as possible.
How to Create a Blog on WordPress:
- Choosing a hosting site
- Picking a niche / blog domain
- Setting up WordPress
- Designing your blog / setting up your theme
But, first – why should you start a blog? Is blogging even still relevant?
Blogging is definitely still relevant. And, there’s soooo many reasons you should start a blog. Here are just a few reasons why:
1. Blogs can help build your business: Pretty much any kind of business can benefit from having a blog. Whether you work in finance, media, food/beverage or anything in between, there’s an abundance of opportunity. You can use a blog to your advantage by breaking down the basics of your industry, lending a personal voice to your brand, or highlighting how people use your product.
2. Blogs can make you money (and even become your business!): If you’re wondering ‘is blogging still profitable?’ the answer is YES. You can definitely make money blogging. You can make money from ads, affiliate links, selling your own products, etc, but that’s a whole separate blog post. Plus, you can blog from anywhere and everywhere. So, if blogging does become your full time job you can work from where ever your heart desires. P.S. if you are interested in making money with your blog, make sure to check out my post on how to make money on Pinterest as well.
3. They’re fun!: At the end of the day you should create a blog because they’re an amazing, fun, creative outlet. You want to choose a topic you enjoy writing about – that is key! If you pick something you are passionate about, having a blog will be SO much more enjoyable.
4. You will learn valuable skills: Tech skills are only becoming more and more important in today’s society and because of that, being able to create a blog is incredibly valuable. Plus, not only will you pick up some tech skills, but being able to write well is also a key skill many employers look for when hiring. Definitely put your blog on your resume – even if it isn’t related to the position you’re applying. It shows self-motivation, basic tech knowledge, and writing skills.
And one other question before we dive in: Do I have to pay to create a blog?
Short answer, yes. But not much. In order to have a self-hosted blog on WordPress, you will have to pay a small fee that goes towards the hosting platform you choose.
You don’t want to create a blog on a free platform (such as Wix, Weebly, or Blogger) because they have low monetization potential and if you decide to switch over to WordPress you risk losing all of your hard work.
If you are serious about blogging you will want to create a self-hosted site on WordPress. This will give you the most freedom and the ability to grow your blog! While WordPress is free, you will have to pay a few dollars a month for your hosting platform. But we’ll jump into that below!
Step 1: How to Choose a Host for your Blog
The first step for how to create a blog on WordPress, is to choose a host for your blog! So, while creating a blog on WordPress is free, you will have to pay for a host. But don’t worry, like I mentioned above, it isn’t too expensive.
For my blog, I use Bluehost. If you’re just starting out blogging, I highly recommend choosing Bluehost as your host. Why? It’s inexpensive and reliable. Once you start getting a significant amount of traffic (aka hundreds of thousands of monthly visitors) you can switch to a more expensive and larger hosting site.
When you sign up for Bluehost, you also get a free domain name. This helps eliminate the extra step of paying for a domain name on another site! But, if you already did purchase one, you can easily add it to your host.
You can also reach out to Bluehost whenever you have any questions. I have definitely taken advantage of this and they have been super helpful (trust me you will have questions and having someone to ask makes the entire blogging process 100% easier.)
With that being said, there’s tons of hosting options out there! So, feel free to research other options as well.
Setting up Bluehost
But, if you are ready to go ahead and get started, you will want to go to Bluehost and click on the WordPress tab, then choose WordPress hosting.
Once you scroll down, you will be taken to a variety of different hosting plans. Personally, I recommend the Choice Plus option. The basic option is 2.95 and the choice plus is 4.95 per month. For just 2 more dollars per month you get a free SSL certificate (beyond just the first year!) and free domain privacy.
What’s important about that? Well, a SSL certificate allows you to go from having a http to https before your domain, which is more secure. This will keep your data secure and have users trust you. You know when you go to a site and see the lock next to the url? By purchasing an SSL certificate, that will appear on your site, letting visitors know it’s safe.
I also think domain privacy is super important because it protects your personal data. Not only does it ensure that your personal information is hidden from public, but it also helps protect you from identity theft. With domain privacy you have full control and ownership of your name and your personal info will remain private. This helps protect your email and phone from spam marketers!
But, if you don’t care about domain privacy, then you can choose the basic plan and add an SSL certificate once the free year expires.
Once you select the plan that’s best for you, next comes choosing a domain.
Step 2: How to Choose a Domain for your Blog
Choosing your domain for your blog is super important! Why? Because once you have it, you will not want to change it. So, if you’re wondering how to pick a domain name, I recommend choosing something vague over one that is extremely specific.
By choosing a broad domain, you can write about pretty much anything. So, if your domain is “www.nataliereviews.com” and you start writing about tv shows for a year, but then decide you want to write about books, you can do so. However, if you chose to name your blog ‘www.tvreviews.com’ then it wouldn’t make sense to include book reviews.
I decided on my domain because I knew my blog would be health and wellness themed, but I also knew that I wanted to write about a lot more (such as how to blog!). When choosing your domain, you will also want to consider what you want your niche to be.
As mentioned previously, you can write about anything! One way to decide is to make a list of everything you are passionate about and then narrow it down by popularity. The more popular a niche is, the easier it will be to get visits to your site.
Having a broad idea of your niche will help with your domain, or you can also always just have your domain be your name.
Once you have settled on a domain, you will type it in and make sure it is available. Once you have an available domain, you will fill out your account information. Then, click create password and you’re all set on Bluehost!
Step 3: How to Set Up WordPress
Now it’s time to set up WordPress! This is by far the easiest part, because with Bluehost (and most hosting platforms) it just requires a few clicks.
WordPress is a completely free CMS (Content Management System). It lets you create blog posts, upload images, videos, and is basically where you will go to edit anything on your blog.
WordPress powers nearly one-third of the internet (that is HUGE) so trust me when I say WordPress is one of the easiest and most powerful content management system’s out there. Because WordPress is so popular, most hosting sites let you set it up with just one click.
When you create your password for Bluehost, you can click log in. Then, when it asks what theme you would like, click skep this step (which I will get to next!).
Click start building to go to your new site dashboard. That’s it! Can you believe it’s that easy?
Step 4: How to Design your Blog
Ah, themes. Should you use a free one? Create your site from scratch? Buy a theme?
Let me tell you – as someone who has tried every option…BUY A THEME. The process of how to create a blog on WordPress becomes sooo much easier when you have a good theme.
First of all, you can totally start with a free theme. But they won’t give you a lot of options and will be pretty basic. This is totally fine when you’re just beginning, but from the start I wanted my blog to look good because I knew I would take it more seriously.
But, I didn’t want to spend any more money. So I said I would build it from scratch. With no tech experience…I spent 20+ hours building my site only for it to look terrible. I wish I had a screenshot of what I built, but it wasn’t pretty. If you are serious about blogging, I highly recommend buying a blog theme.
You can buy a theme on Etsy (there’s a ton of cute ones there), browse through the paid WordPress themes, or search other platforms. Personally, I recommend using 17th Avenue. It’s a small business that sells beautiful, responsive themes. The Amelia theme from them is what I am currently using on this site!
Why I Recommend 17th Avenue Themes
I love their themes because they are inexpensive, responsive, and instantly elevated my blog. Plus, for the first year I could email them with any questions I had for free (and once again, trust me, that was a game changer). But, of course, do your own research and figure out what theme makes the most sense for your site!
To set up your theme, log in to WordPress. Then, on the menu click on appearances, then themes, and click the upload button.
Here you will upload your theme (if you’ve bought one), or if using a free theme you can just choose ‘add new’ and select from the options below, then click install. Click activate and that’s it!
Congratulations! You now know how to create a blog on WordPress! If you have any other questions about the blogging process – let me know! My email is always open.
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