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Recently, people have been asking me about my blogging experience, and a couple of them have expressed interest in starting their own blog. Since I have a little bit of experience in the blogging world now, I decided to write a tutorial on how to start a blog. I hope this can tutorial can help you get started blogging so you too can share your ideas with the world.
This is a tutorial on how to start a WordPress blog. I personally use Bluehost as my hosting service, so the tutorial will guide you through the steps of getting started using Bluehost. You can shop around for hosting as there are many hosting services out there, but I’ve been pretty happy with Bluehost’s service, reliability, and of course, pricing. If you end up choosing Bluehost, you can use my link to get a free domain name and discounted hosting for under $4/month.
Here are some of the reasons I chose Bluehost:
- You get a FREE domain.
- WordPress through Bluehost is FREE. WordPress is easy to use and there is TONS of support online for it if you run into any issues.
- They are the #1 recommended web hosting service by WordPress.org.
- They have a money back guarantee for 30 days.
- You will be self-hosted. This is important if you decide you want to monetize your blog later.
- You will appear more professional by having your own domain. I started off with a free blog (livefrugalee.wordpress.com) to try to save money but quickly realized that it was well worth a few bucks a month to have a self-hosted blog.
- They have GREAT 24/7 service. I needed some help migrating my old blog over to my new domain, and the customer support rep stayed on the phone with me and helped me move all my content over to my new blog in a few simple steps.
Click here to start a WordPress blog, and follow the instructions below.
How to Start A WordPress Blog using Bluehost
1. Once you get to Bluehost’s page, click the “get started now” button.
2. You’ll see a page that prompts you to select your plan. I chose basic because it had everything I needed, and it is still sufficient for all my needs to date. I recommend going with the basic plan for now and upgrade if you feel like you need it later.
3. If you don’t already have a domain name, go ahead and make one now.
4. The next page will ask for your account information and ask you to choose a package. I went with 36 months as it was most cost efficient, and I knew I could get a refund if I changed my mind at any time. You can choose whatever works for you. Once you fill out your payment information, you’re good to go! That’s it for registration. You now own a self-hosted blog with your very own domain name!
5. Once you get all set up, you’ll want to login to your cpanel so you can install WordPress.
6. In your cpanel, go ahead and click on One-Click Installs or Install WordPress, and follow the instructions to install WordPress.
7. Once you get WordPress installed, you can sign into your site by going to www.(your site’s domain).com/admin.
8. You’ll see the WordPress dashboard once you sign in. Most of it is pretty self-explanatory. For example, if you want to write a post, you click Posts. If you want to add media, you click Media. Other parts are a little bit more difficult to figure out. That’s why there are support forums that address almost anything you can think of regarding WordPress. Just google your question. For example, “how do you manage comments on wordpress” or “how do you add plugins on wordpress.”
You’re ready to start blogging! The key to successful blogging is posting high quality content on a consistent schedule. Obviously, I’m not quite there yet, but I’m working on it too. Good luck!
Here’s another tutorial from Shopify on how to start your own blog.
If you have any questions or run into any issues, feel free to email me. I’ll do the best I can to help you get started.