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So, you want to start a blog? That’s great news! Of everything I’ve done, I must say that blogging is definitely the most fun, but it’s hard work, too. Here’s an easy step-by-step guide on how to start a blog today.
Could you be a blogger? Here’s a quick quiz to find out if blogging is for you:
- Do you see yourself writing and creating and being your own boss?
- Do you want to set your own work hours?
- Do you want to be able to earn an income from anywhere in the world?
- Can you put in the hard work in the beginning, knowing there’s an open road of opportunity ahead of you?
If you answered yes to the above then you’re in the right place. If not, then there are many other online business options to choose from, don’t worry. This article is about starting a blog, but you can use these steps to start any kind of website.
The Tiara Tribe resource library
I have a secret place where I store all my printables and awesome goodies for my readers. Here you will find worksheets, cheat sheets and step-by-step guides for the posts I write on Tiara Tribe, taking you through each step of building an online business you love.
The secret place is called the resource library – and you need a password to access it. You can sign up for the password for free at the bottom of this page.
When you sign up for free to the library, you will also receive a weekly newsletter from yours truly. My newsletters are fun, full of valuable info, and you can unsubscribe at any time. You’ve got nothing to lose and everything to gain by joining us!
How to use this guide to set up your blog
- First, follow the steps below to set up your blog.
- Second, sign up to the resource library at the end of this page.
- Third, read the weekly newsletter and connect with me online.
I’ve created this guide on how to set up a blog because there’s a lot of information about this topic on the internet and even on this blog. Sometimes it can be overwhelming trying to read through it all and make sense of what steps you need to take
In this ultimate guide, I will link to the exact articles you should read, in the order you need them, to set up your blog. I’ve also explained words and concepts that I didn’t know when I started Tiara Tribe, to make things a bit easier for you.
I hope it helps!
How to start a WordPress blog with Bluehost
1. Choose a niche
Do you know what you want to blog about? I recommend choosing a niche for your blog, which means you choose one topic to write about. I first chose to have a ‘lifestyle blog’ and wrote about everything I did and was interested in – it flopped like a bad cake recipe. You can read all about my experience and why I say you need to focus on a niche for your blog if you need some convincing.
If you’re struggling to choose a niche, then there’s a list of the most popular blog categories in my post about, ahem, blog categories. Check out the list and see which category interests you the most and what you think you could spend a few years writing about. You don’t have to be an expert on the topic, but you must be interested enough to learn about the topic and share what you learn with your readers over time.
2. Get hosting
Have you chosen your niche? Awesome, you’re crushing this!
Now to get hosting for your blog. A hosting company has a a big central system where they ‘host’ your website by saving all your articles and pictures and keep everything up and running on the Internet for you.
You want to choose a great hosting company because you want someone that’s reliable and who will keep your site up and running 24/7 (if your blog goes offline then you are losing money and not making a good impression on visitors). You also want a hosting company that gives good technical support, because we all need help with our websites from time to time.
I’ve been with Bluehost since the beginning of my blogging journey. They host all my websites and help me whenever I need it – I just use the online chat function for assistance.
Let me show you how to easily set up a WordPress blog with Bluehost. Bluehost hosts the blog online for you, but WordPress is the blogging tool you use to write, edit and upload your content for the blog. It’s basically your content management system. So you need both – a hosting company and a content tool.
Don’t worry, both are easy to set up if you follow these steps:
Step 1:
Visit ” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>Bluehost and click on the green ‘Get Started’ button to get started…
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Step 2:
Now select your Bluehost hosting plan for your blog. I have the basic plan for $3.95 per month, which you can do too. But, I do pay other services to make backups of my blog and I pay extra for domain privacy so my personal details aren’t available on the internet for everyone to see.
Bluehost now offers the Choice Plus package at $5.95 per month that includes all of these things, which works out cheaper than if you pay separately for each. NB: Later in this post I will show you how to get 66% off the Choice Plus plan to bring it down to $4.95 per month, so keep reading. Decide which plan you need and click on Select to move to the next page.
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The great news is that all plans include the following:
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Step 3:
A domain is the www address for your blog – it’s the website’s name and the same as your blog’s name (don’t have different names as you will confuse visitors). My domain name is ‘Tiara Tribe’, which is also my blog’s name.
The domain is important as it’s your ‘place of business’ – where readers will come looking for your articles. If you need some help with choosing a name, check out my post on coming up with business name ideas.
Once you choose your hosting plan above, you need to book your domain name so no one else can take it. It’s free with Bluehost hosting.
If you want to get a new domain name, just put the domain name into the block on the left of the page. If you have already bought a domain name and you just need hosting, then put that domain name in the block on the right.
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You will only be able to choose a domain name that’s available, meaning that no one else owns it. If you type in a domain name that’s taken, Bluehost will tell you that the domain is not available.
Tiara Tip: Play around with names until you find something you’re happy with and that’s available. Don’t use hyphens, numbers, or words that are difficult to spell in your domain name.
Now this is one of the many reasons why I love Bluehost. If you don’t have a blog name yet or you’re struggling to find one that’s available as a domain, Bluehost gives you the option to start your hosting and get a free domain when you’re ready!
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Extra special Tiara Tip: If you click through and stay on the page for a few minutes, Bluehost usually pops up a special sign-up offer that gives you 66% off! It’s a once-off offer that will only be available there and then (trust me, I tried to get it for myself later but couldn’t), so I suggest you grab it! There’s another reason why I love Bluehost.
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Step 4:
Almost there!
In step 4 you will create your account with ” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow noopener noreferrer”>Bluehost by filling your details into the boxes provided. Then choose your package information. You will need to pay for 12, 24, or 36 months now. The longer you choose, the cheaper your hosting will be.
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Step 5:
Now add your payment info for processing. Bluehost is a secure site (you can see this with the https by the domain name).
You can choose to pay with a card. The CVV code is the three numbers at the back of your card. If you click on ‘more payment options’, you will get an option to pay via PayPal. Choose whichever payment method is easiest for you. Then click Submit.
I understand that this is quite a big expense in the beginning, but it’s very small compared to the cost of starting any other business. Imagine opening a coffee shop – you would have to put a deposit down on the premises, pay rent, buy cutlery, crockery, machinery, supplies, then start marketing yourself. So, if you think about it, this is a small price to pay to start a business that could make you much more than that coffee shop.
If you don’t invest in starting your blog then you will never have a chance to make anything from your blog, as it won’t exist 🙂 How long have you been saying you should start? Then make that day today.
Step 6:
You need to set a password to keep your account secure.
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Ask for Bluehost to Suggest a password for you if you really want one that’s secure and you don’t have software to generate a password for you. Never use simple, easy to guess passwords such as 1234, your name, info, or something similar.
You’ll know when your password has been created and accepted when you get the following message:
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Step 7:
Now here’s another wonderful thing about Bluehost, you can install WordPress on your blog immediately with a few clicks. WordPress themes are website designs. So when you choose a theme, you are choosing the design of your website or blog.
WordPress has thousands of themes to choose from, some are free and some aren’t. You can even buy software to design your own WordPress theme. Bluehost recommends that you choose a theme for our blog that inspires you.
Tiara Tip: If in doubt about which theme to choose, the classic theme to go for is Twenty Nineteen. Each year, WordPress launches a new classic theme – one that’s clean, minimal, and extremely popular with WordPress users. You can always use this theme until you find one you love or get a designer to create a custom theme for you.
When they say ‘Start Building’, they mean that you can start building your WordPress site. If you are building a blog, select ‘Personal’ for the kind of site.
Now you will be taken to the backend of your WordPress site. This is where the magic happens. Here you can add your content, pictures, and all other kinds of wonderful things. The backend is where you work on your site and make changes. The front end is the actual website that visitors see.
Here’s what your backend will look like:
You will need to launch your site – that means put it live on the internet. Give a title for your site and a short description. Here I put ‘Tiara Tribe’ as the site title and ‘Build an online business you love’ for the site description. ‘Build an online business’ you love is my tagline. This is a short sentence that describes what my site is about.
Well done! You have officially set up your WordPress blog in Bluehost!
So, what’s next?
Your next step is to come up with awesome blog post ideas for what you will write about. Then you can start writing these blog posts using my ultimate blog template.
As for safety and security now that you’re online, here’s an article to help you secure your website