Starting a blog of your own can be really daunting if you don’t know where to get started. That’s how I felt back in 2016 when I was trying to get my site up and running. I knew nothing about web design, WordPress, social media, etc. I spent about 2 full weeks trying to figure it all out! It took a lot of patience and a lot of research. I could have taken the easy way out and paid someone to do it all for me, but what fun is that?!
Today on the blog, I am going to share the process of how you actually create and start a blog. This isn’t going to cover every little detail, but it will give you a nice high-level overview of how it all works. If you’re overwhelmed and not sure where to get started, take a look through the steps below. This step-by-step guide will give you a good overview of where to get started when it comes to blogging.
- Decide what you want to blog about.
- Before you do anything else, you need to decide what you are going to blog about. Are you going to share recipes? Fashion? Travel? Home Decor? Try to figure out what you want to post. You don’t necessarily have to stick to one category, but it can help if you focus on one area. I personally like to talk about everything, so I consider myself more a lifestyle blogger.
- You don’t need to have your topics figured out 100%, but I would try to have a general sense and direction of where you want to go with this blog. Also, you should ask yourself, “Why do I want to start this blog?” It’s really important to remind yourself why you’re doing this because it can be a lot of work!
- Pick a blog name and domain.
- Your next step is pick a blog name and a domain. For me, I decided to keep it simple and go with my name. Your domain is your actual URL that people will type into their browser. For example, my domain is www.catheryngrivna.com. You will have to pick a domain that isn’t already taken, so it can be a little tricky. If you really can’t decide on a blog name, I would go with your full name or a nickname. Using your name is simple, and it’s easy for people to find you.
- Sign-up with a hosting company.
- If you want your own domain and .com address, you are going to need a hosting company. I use Bluehost to host my site, and I’ve never had issues. You will have to pay to have a company host your website, but it is necessary if you want to get serious about blogging. In an effort to be fully transparent, I am paying about $200/year to Bluehost for my hosting services, domain name registration and security features. There are cheaper options out there depending on what you need, so don’t feel like you need to spend a ton of money on this!
- Here are a few other companies that offer hosting services:
- Choose your platform.
- There are several different blogging platforms to choose from and this is what you will use to manage all of your content. WordPress is probably the most popular blogging platform, and this is the platform that I use for my blog. WordPress is where I write all of my blog posts. and it’s where I can re-design my website. Whenever I add a new page, a new tab, a new category or change an image, this is all being done through WordPress. Basically, this is what you will use on a day-to-day basis to manage all of your blog content.
- WordPress isn’t the only platform to choose from. You can also use Squarespace, Tumblr, Wix or Blogger. I do think that WordPress will give you the most flexibility, but some of the other platforms might be a bit more user-friendly. I haven’t found WordPress to be too challenging, but there are a few things I have had to teach myself along the way. No matter what platform you choose, there will probably be a bit of a learning curve.
- Choose (or purchase) a template.
- I’m not very savvy when it comes to web design, so I decided to purchase my blog template from someone who specializes in that business. My first blog template was purchased from Pretty Darn Cute, and it was very easy to customize after I purchased a theme. You can buy one of their templates for about $50, and it will give you a great starting point to get your blog organized.
- You don’t need to spend money on a blog template, but it can be extremely helpful if you don’t know how to design a webpage. WordPress offers several free templates and themes, so that is another option if you want to save a little bit of money. Here’s an article that talks about some of the best free WordPress themes.
- For reference, my current template was purchased from 17th Avenue Designs.
- Start writing and click Publish!
- Before you officially go live and hit Publish, you may want to have a few blog posts ready to go. I would recommend to have about 3-5 posts already written before you share your blog with the public. This isn’t a requirement, but it can make things a lot less stressful in the beginning. Also, this can help you to gain credibility with your audience. If they see that you are consistently posting and have content ready to go, they will be more likely to return to your blog.
- You may not feel fully ready to publish your blog and share it with the world, but you just have to do it. That is one of my biggest tips for getting started. You have to take the plunge and do it. No, it may not be perfect in the beginning, but everyone has to start somewhere!
Overall, these are the basics of what you will need to know if you want to start a blog of your own. Again, this is a high-level overview of how it works, so let me know if you need more detailed information. The hardest part for me was getting everything set-up within the template. I would say that step will probably take you the most amount of time.
I would recommend spending an entire weekend (or more) focused on getting your blog up and running. It isn’t a quick process, so make sure you carve out a good chunk of time to get it all done. I actually started my blog when I was “funemployed” for 2 weeks, and it definitely kept me busy! Don’t feel discouraged if it is taking you longer than you expect. All good things take time!
I hope this post was helpful if you have been considering starting a blog. I plan to write several more Blogging 101 posts, so let me know if there is a topic you have been wanting to learn more about!
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