Hi there! So you want to start a blog, huh? Well, you’ve come to the right place! Creating a blog is a FUN and CREATIVE outlet! And it doesn’t have to cost a ton of money to get started! In fact, if you properly create your blog and consistently post great content, you can actually MAKE money blogging! Let’s take a look at these SIMPLE steps to starting a blog!
What you Need to Start a Blog:
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Decide on a Domain Name
The first thing you need to start a blog is to decide on and purchase a domain name. A domain name is your website URL — for example, mine is brbgoingtodisney.com. You’ll need to purchase this yearly (approx $11 a year). I recommend choosing a .com domain as it is the most commonly used — and your audience will more easily find you by doing so!
Purchase Web Hosting
You’ll have to “host” your website somewhere. Essentially this is where all of your website content (posts, images, pages, etc.) lives. I have tried a few hosting companies in the past but once I found Bluehost, I never turned back! Not only is Bluehost hosting super affordable, it’s always very easy to navigate and dependable too! Sign up for Bluehost here! Another perk to Bluehost is that it includes your first year of your domain name for FREE!
Install WordPress
Once you’ve purchased your web hosting, you’ll need in Install WordPress. This is super simple and user friendly on Bluehost! Check out this step-by-step guide here.
You may be wondering why you need to use WordPress and not a platform like Blogger. If you want to make money blogging by monetizing your blog, you must use WordPress as your platform. Not only is it the most popular blogging platform, it can very easily be monetized with ads!
Purchase a WordPress Theme
Once you have purchased a domain name, hosting, and installed WordPress, the fun begins! Now you get to design your blog! I recommend ThemeForest for beautifully designed WordPress themes. Check them out here! I personally built this blog on the Newspaper theme — that I purchased via ThemeForest. It is extremely user friendly and offers tons of beautiful design options to get you started. You can easily customize your layouts, sidebars, headers, menus, fonts, colors, etc!
Start Writing!
Now that you have a theme installed, you’re ready to start blogging! Create a few pages (like an About Me page and a Contact Me page) and draft your first post! Welcome to the blogging world, so glad to have you here!
It really is THAT simple! Don’t hesitate! Purchase your domain name, sign up for web hosting, find a beautiful WordPress theme you love, and start posting great content! The sooner you start blogging, the sooner you can start making money!
Best of luck to you!
Shannon
PS If you want one-on-one help creating your blog, send me an email and we can discuss further!