Looking to get started creating your own blog website but not sure where to begin. Look no further as below I have laid out an easy to follow step by step guide to help you on your journey.
When I first began my blog website journey, I was not familiar with services like WordPress or Bluehost or even program lingo. As I gained more understanding and experience, it all became much less daunting. I’m here to share with you my knowledge to help you feel more comfortable with getting started creating your blog website.
Listed below are the pieces you will need to get started, with details explaining what each service entails.
Getting Started:
1. Purchase a Host – Bluehost
Purchasing Bluehost is quite simple and very affordable. You can get started for as little as about $4 CAD per month, for a 12 month plan. They provide a few different purchase options, with difference to what you will receiving regarding: Hosting services, Website inclusions, Security, eCommerce, and Marketing.
Bluehost is a web hosting service that makes your website and its data accessible to others by storing it on web servers. In essence, it allows your website to be visible and accessible to everyone.
There are a few different types of web hosting. Some of the more popular ones are: Shared Hosting, WordPress Hosting, Managed WordPress Hosting, VPS Hosting, and Dedicated Hosting. Depending on what your website entails, would be the deciding factor of which best suits you. For those looking to start Blogging, WordPress Hosting is best suited.
2. Download WordPress
Before you begin downloading, you will need to make sure you are downloading WordPress.org, and not WordPress.com. WordPress.org is a self-hosted service and WordPress.com is a hosted service. Self-hosted services are generally seen as more professional and geared towards blogs that are run as a business.
WordPress.org is the platform where you will stylize your website, install plugins suited to your site content, it gives you ownership of all your content, design and data, and provides you with a community dedicated to keeping WordPress performing as best and secure as possible.
3. Choose a Domain
Your Domain name can be anything you choose. You will want to verify the domain you are choosing has not already been used or is too similar to another where you may run into issues in the future with needing to rebrand.
Domain names can represent your business niche or be more open to allow your business to grow in may directions. For example, if your blog is about cooking and your name includes a reference to anything cooking/ kitchen related, it may be difficult in the future if you want to redirect your audience to new content you are wanting to share that is not related.
In addition, new users may have a harder time finding your website if they are searching for a specific category.
4. Website Theme
The fun part! Whether you are looking for a free theme or a purchased one, there are plenty of options out there.
WordPress provides you with many free options, so you can get started right away.
Sites like Etsy also have a wide range of shops that sell themes you can purchase. Some even provide services like installing the theme for you and/ or creating a personalized theme.
For my website, I choose the Magnolia theme from 17TH Avenue Designs. They have beautiful designs and I found as a newbie to themes, their step by step installation / website design modification instruction guide that is included with your theme purchase, made the entire experience easy and very effortlessly.
I was not at all familiar with WordPress’s interface and 17TH Avenue Designs guide provided a very easy to follow setup. It was well detailed and provided a lot of additional information for when I got stuck or needed additional direction.
As I delved further into setting up my theme, WordPress’s interface became a whole lot easier to understand and navigate. I hope this becomes the situation for you as well.
5. Start Blogging
Yah! You are now on your way to begin your blogging journey!
I hope this step by step guide has helped you, and provided you with a better understanding of website lingo.
Have a wonderful time BLOGGING 🙂
