A Beginners Guide to Creating Your First Blog or How To Start A Blog The Right Way
You love to travel. And you love reading travel blogs. Peoaple keep telling you that you should start a blog right now but you don’t know where to start ?
We know how frustrating it can be to deal with technical stuff…but if you want to start a travel blog or any other blog you need to follow some simple steps.
Create a WordPress Blog – Step by Step Tutorial
1. Choose a name for your blog and make it a good one
Before we get in the technical stuff like hosting, themes and plugins, you need to pick you domain name for your blog! (Our domain name is must-visit-destinations.com just in case you are not sure what that is)
What do you want your domain name to be? Think of some that sounds great and once you’ve decided, head on to the next step.
2. Go self-hosted from the start
This is the biggest tip we can give you. Go professional from the start! Chose a quality hosting! (When we started we used some pretty inferior hosting. This lead to the site being down, often, and a bunch of other problems.)
Yes you can start a free blog with WordPress (http://wordpress.org) or Blogger (www.blogger.com) accounts if you don’t want much for your website.
If you have grander plans for your blog (and we guess you do!), then you’ll want to self-host, meaning that you’ll need to choose a server to host all your content. We recommend you to choose Bluehost
Now for a step by step look at how to go self-hosted:
Step 1: Go to BLUEHOST, click on Get Started now.
Step 2: Pick a hosting plan. We recommend you the most popular plan. For only $6.95 per month you can get a free domain!
After you have chosen your plan from the Step 2, you will be presented with this page, this is where you can check the availability of your blog name (Step 1) , and then go on and purchase it. Type the name of the blog you want to buy in the box on the left, and click ‘next’.
Step 3: Fill out your details under account information and tick off the boxes under package information. Keep in mind, the longer you host, the cheaper the account plan will be!
After you complete this stage, you’ll be greeted by this screen, click on ‘create your password’
Now you’re done with this part! Going self-hosted wasn’t so hard, now was it?
Log into your BlueHost account my.bluehost.com
3. Install WordPress in a second!
Once you’ve completed the registration process with Bluehost, it’s time to install WordPress.
This part should be pretty easy, here’s how to install WordPress on BlueHost:
A) Log into your account on Bluehost, click CPanel and then WordPress.
B) Click Start (for a fresh install, not Import)
C) select your new domain name
D) complete your admin username and password and click ‘Install Now’
installing….
Your install is complete! Congratulations! Your blog is now on the internet.
Now go to: http://www.yourblog.com/wp-admin and use your admin and password from step D and sign-in to the backend of your blog.
Go to Settings > Permalink Settings page and change your permalink structure to “Post name”. Hit save. Now it’s time to make your blog look pretty.
There are many great themes and plugins out there! What’s great is with your self-hosted website and the use of WordPress, you have complete control over your blog’s appearance. If you’re looking to start out with lower operating costs, you can take advantage of the many free themes.
If you want your blog to look as professional as possible, you may want to puchase a paid theme. There are many companies out there that offer great paid themes. Just Google ‘WordPress Premium Themes’!
Install plugins
Plugins are a great way to make your blog function better. They are easy to install and can make your blog great!
- Akismet – This plugin will protect you from spam.
- Shareaholic – This plugin makes it easy for your readers to share your content with a click of a button.
- Yoast SEO – This plugin makes it easier for you to post SEO-friendly content
- Contact Form – Simple contact form that allows people to contact you. Messages go straight to your inbox.
Set up an about page
Add a photo of yourself, tell us what got you started blogging, and be as personable as possible. People like to read about other people!
Post content – Write, write, write!
It can take a while to find your voice when you first start blogging, so don’t be afraid to experimen. As a tip – Keep it simple. As you will see, one of the most important things for writing a great opening sentence is to keep it short and simple.
Any questions? Troubles? Ask us!
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, We will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, We only recommend products or services We use personally and believe will add value to our readers.