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Have you been thinking about how to start a blog but don’t know where to begin? Maybe you’ve even looked into it and ended up buried in information on how to get your blog set up.
Ready to start your blog? Click here to start a blog with WordPress and then follow our tutorial below!
Blogging is an excellent way to translate your passions out into the world. It’s good to know when you start a blog, it is not just for the professional writer anymore. Blogging can be for stay at home parents, travelers, fitness fanatics, foodies, or really any other topic you can imagine!
Though there are some pre-steps before the initial blog set up. The actual blog set up can cause the biggest headache when you start a blog, especially with no website design background.
After you have discovered your niche and decided on branding, an easy set up process is key.
Below I have outlined an easy step-by-step process on how to get a domain, hosting and set up your WordPress site all in 5 minutes or less. Start your blog with way less headaches than most!
The breakdown to everything you need to know for how to start your blog is below (with pictures!)
Go ahead and grab your domain with Bluehost right here, and then follow the steps:
1. Get a hosting account (Don’t worry this will be wallet friendly, cheaper than a cup of coffee!)
2. Choose a domain name (This is your .com, .net, .co name)
3. Set Up hosting
4. Install WordPress
5. Install a theme
TA-DA, you have a blog!
Step 1 Get a Hosting Account
Hosting really confused me when we first got started, so to get to say it in the most simple manner, think of hosting like a remote computer where all of your WordPress work is stored. Think of it like “the cloud,” that at least one Apple rep has recommended you set up on your phone. There are dozens of hosting options but in my opinion, Bluehost is your best option. Here’s why I and other top bloggers believe Bluehost is the best hosting platform.
– Bluehost is international and very well known.
– They offer excellent 24/7 customer service
– The packages are extremely affordable, use the link I have provided and you will get an amazing deal! I have hooked up some of my readers with a Bluehost account for $2.95 (+ a free domain)… That is really cheap in website world!
– Their services provide really fast webpage load times!
– Bluehost is super easy to use – if I could do it… you can!
Action Step Click here to signup for hosting and get your domain. Then continue on below for visual steps on how to set up your Bluehost hosting.
Step 2 Choose a Domain
Your domain is where people go to find your site, it is your home base. This is obviously very important, check out our article here on how to choose your title. Our domain for this site is www.indefinitetravel.com. Bluehost made it so easy for us to set up our site that we had no problem starting another with them! Download Bluehost here and get started with your new domain!
Bluehost step #1
Visit this link (same as above) And click the “Get Started Now” button.
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Bluehost step #2
Choose your plan.
Bluehost step #3
Create your free domain name or transfer over your current domain. I have personally done both and Bluehost hosting makes both very easy processes.
Bluehost step #4
Set up your account!
Bluehost step #5
Choose your plan and any extras, which are optional but not necessary.
Bluehost step #6
Enter your billing information to complete registration.
Bluehost step #7
Once you have set up Bluehost and logged in, you will be taken to your Bluehost dashboard where you can install WordPress (this is the site where you will manage your blog). You can set up WordPress in just a few clicks!
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Bluehost step #8
Select Word Press Tools at the top of your dashboard.
Bluehost Step #9
Select New Install, type in your domain and create a login.
Bluehost Step #10
Click the Refresh Now button as it prompts you to.
Bluehost Step #11
Now onto WordPress we go… Go to wordpress.com and type in your new credentials. When prompted, select add a new site.
WordPress Final Steps
From here you will connect your new site…
Then Install required plugins…
Jetpack goes on everyone’s WordPress now! It’s a great plugin for analytics + stats.
And TA-DA you have a blog, welcome to your WordPress dashboard, it will display a coming soon page until you choose to launch.
WordPress Theme
You can get some FREE themes on WordPress! Just click the Apperance selection on the dashboard and then themes to browse through.
We opted for a more unique theme and wanted easy implementation, so we went with Mojo Marketplace and selected a theme there and then had their team plug it into our website! We love the 24/7 support on Mojo Marketplace too!
Head over here after you have set up your domain and get started with your theme!
There you have it! How to start a blog, easy as that! Follow this link to get started today!
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5 Responses
Hmmm. I’m hearing so much about Bluehost at the moment. I’m with Hostgator and they’ve been fine. Any particular reason you chose Bluehost? Feel like I’m missing out! Haha!
Hi Amy! We actually looked at HostGator initially as well, however we got a better deal with bluehost when we transferred our domain over and the customer support is spectacular! We had so many questions when setting up our blog that I think customer support knows us by name now haha.
Also, many fellow bloggers informed us that BlueHost is the top WordPress hosting service by far, so it was a bit of a no brainer for us once we heard that. If you do decide to transfer, you can follow our post and at STEP #3 is where you would select to transfer and then follow the steps from there.
Let us know if you have any other questions Amy, we’re more than happy to help 🙂
Hi guys ! here Barbara and Diego (both 22 years old) from Italy but currently located in London.
We are following you guys on Instagram and thanks to your blog we started to make our with Blue host and WordPress.
As our first blog we are a bit.. lost, so we would like to ask you guys 2 things:
What should we write in the “Meta description” and “Meta Author” while we are customizing Seo? and in customizing 404?
Many thanks in Advance
Barbara and Diego
Hi,
I wonder why you need hosting, what’s the pros compared to just having a WordPress account?
Great question! With hosting: you actually own the domain, you get more security with hosting, more bandwidth – so your site is less likely to crash.