You’ve finally decided to start your own blog and share your wonderful ideas with the rest of the world. That’s amazing. Blogging offers great opportunities for individuals and businesses alike. So, whether you want to promote your products or services, earn some extra income, gain exposure or simply create valuable content and share it with large audiences, blogging is a great idea.
The downside is that you’re not the only one who’s eager to become a successful blogger. In fact, there’s a pretty tough competition out there. To put things into perspective, in 2020 there were approximately 31.7 million active bloggers in the US alone and more than 600 million blogs on the internet out of the 1.7 billion existing sites.
So how can you make sure your blog won’t get lost in the crowd and people will read your posts? It’s going to take some time and patience, and of course a killer WordPress blog to help you reach your objective. If your head is filled with great blogging ideas, but you have absolutely no clue how to go about setting your own WordPress blog, we’re here to help you out. Read on and you’ll discover the essential steps you need to follow in order to create the perfect WordPress blog.
Choose a web host
Before we get to the fun part of selecting the right WordPress blogger theme and choosing fonts, we have to talk about the basics, and that means choosing a web hosting service for your blog. To put it simply, web hosting providers offer the technology and resources for websites to be published on the internet. They provide the servers where your blog will be stored, making it accessible to internet users.
There are many web hosting services you can choose from, so you have to do a bit of research and select a provider that’s safe, reliable and offers great support. Bluehost and SiteGround are some of the most reputable hosting providers out there, so you might want to check them out and see what plans they offer.
Select a domain name
Web hosting and domain name go together like a horse and carriage because you can’t have one without the other. They’re the pillars of blog building since they’re the two basic elements that make your blog visible online.
The domain name you choose serves as your blog’s address on the internet, so you have to think carefully before deciding on it. As a rule of thumb, you should come up with a name that is closely related to the topic of your blog. Also, make sure the name is short, easy to spell and memorable if you want to stand out from the crowd and make it easy for users to find you.
Install WordPress
Once you’ve chosen a web host and a domain name, you’re ready to install WordPress. Here, you’ll have two options: install it from your web host’s dashboard or install it yourself from the wordpress.org website.
The first option will save you some hassle, as it’s far easier and you won’t have to put too much time and effort into the installing process. If your web host is Bluehost, all you have to do is enter your Bluehost hosting account, click the Login to WordPress button and you’ll be taken through the set-up process step by step.
If you choose to install WordPress from their website, you’ll have to download WordPress on your computer, unzip the file, create a WordPress database on your server, and start uploading WordPress files. Then you can hit the Install now button and you’re ready to go.
Start posting
After you’ve taken care of these basic technical steps, you can already start blogging. The WordPress dashboard is pretty straightforward, so you’ll have no trouble figuring out how things work. It’s as simple as clicking the +New button from the menu and then selecting Post. Then you can let your creativity run free and start working on your first blog post. When you’re satisfied with the content you’ve created and you’re ready to send it into the world, you can click the Publish button and you’ve done it. You’ve published your first blog post.
Customize your blog
Up till now, we’ve only talked about the basics. But it takes a bit more than that to create a successful blog. If you truly want to step into the spotlight, you have to add some tweaks to make your blog more attractive. The simplest and most effective way to do that is by selecting a great WordPress theme. There are tons of free WordPress blog themes you can choose from, so all you have to do is find the one that suits your blog the best. Make sure the WordPress theme you choose is both functional and aesthetically pleasing to ensure a great user experience for your visitors.
Select the right plugins
However, blog customization is not limited to choosing WordPress blog themes. There are also plenty of plugins that can take your blog to the next level and make it unique. Different plugins provide different practical benefits, so you must select the ones that will work best for your blog. It can be tempting to crowd your blog with all the plugins you come across, but we recommend to limit yourself to just a few because you don’t want to compromise your blog’s functionality. As with all other WordPress elements, installing plugins is simple and easy if you follow the steps on the dashboard.
Promote your blog
Now that you have a great looking blog that is highly functional and provides compelling content, you have to let the world know it exists. That’s especially important if you want to use your blog as a source of income, and not just a fun pastime. Out of all the methods you can use to promote your blog, paid ads, email marketing and social media interactions are probably the most effective ones. Although you shouldn’t expect overnight results, these techniques have proven to be extremely efficient in helping blogs attract more visitors and increasing visibility.