Are you an aspiring blogger? If your answer is yes, do you know what it takes to start your own blog? If you do not, then you are at the right place.
Blogging is arguably one of the greatest ways of earning through the internet. In addition, blogging can be a fulfilling activity as you get an opportunity to put your thoughts into writing. To create a successful blog, there are various factors that you need to put into consideration.
After all, you do not want to create a blog just for the sake of owning one. Do you?
At the same time, it’s important to understand the associated costs of blogging. For the most part, blogging is free and it’s also free to use the WordPress platform to manage and run your site.
The only associated costs with creating your site, is getting set up with a web hosting plan and registering a domain name. The good news is that these two options will cost you only a few dollars per month.
This post will come in handy in providing details on the steps you need to take in order to create a blog that meets your requirements. That said, here are the key steps towards creating that blog which will propel you to success.
Choose a Web Host
Now that you have made a decision on the topics to cover, it is time to get down to business. Firstly, you will need to choose a web host. Web hosts are companies that provide you with the technology and services that will enable your blog to be viewed on the internet. There is a wide range of web host companies to choose from with each providing a unique experience. However, before you make a decision, there are various factors that you will need to look at and they include the hosting price, security of your blog and the performance of the hosting services.
Moreover, be sure to choose a hosting plan wisely. There are various hosting plans to choose from and your choice will mainly be influenced by your budget and purpose of the blog. Among the various hosting plans to choose from include shared hosting. cloud hosting, virtual private service (VPS) hosting and dedicated hosting.
Register Your Domain Name
With your web hosting ready, you should choose a domain name for your blog. Naturally, the domain name will be derived from your business name or the topics to be covered by the blog. You will want to stick with a .com, .net or a .org domain name. And since most of them are already taken, you will need to get a bit creative in this process.
However, it is very important that you choose a name that is easy to remember or pronounce. This will go a long way in ensuring that readers can easily key in the domain name and at the same time share the name without encountering glitches in pronunciation.
Pick a WordPress Theme
Having settled for a domain name, the next step is picking a theme. The theme is responsible for your site’s physical appearance. Initially, the web host company will pick a theme for you but you can customize it to ensure it suits your style and preferences.
Customizing your theme will allows you to make changes in on the title, footer, color, logo, background, social media handles and menus. These changes will enable you create a user interface that will give your target audience a great experience on your site.
To learn more about how to use WordPress, and finding a nice theme for your site, check out the short video below from YouTube.
Update Your WordPress Settings
You certainly want add a personal touch to your blog. Don’t you? Making amendments to the settings ensures that you get to decide how content is displayed on your site. The default settings on WordPress are fine but for a better experience, you should consider tweaking them. The settings tab on WordPress will enable you to make the changes you desire.
However, the most important settings to look out for are: the URL, name and tagline, date and time, language preference and contact information.
Add a Few WP Plugins
Plugins are a great tool for enhancing the functionality of your website effortlessly. Although the WordPress software and theme form the basics of building a functional site, plugins will come in handy in enhancing its functionality.
There are various types of plugins that will enable you customize the functionality of the website. Plugins help in introducing aspects like adding social media handles or contact forms, creating photo galleries or even tracking visitors.
Amazingly, there are numerous plugins to choose from with the WordPress offering options of up to 48,000 plugins. This wide array of options means that you find the ideal plugin that suits your requirements.
Creating Your First Blog Post
Finally, the site is ready and you should now start considering publishing your first blog post. But do you know how to write a compelling blog? First things first, you should determine the word processor that you want to use. You may opt to use an external word processor and then later upload the content to the site.
Alternatively, you may decide to create the content using the WordPress editor. An ideal editor is one that provides options for editing your text like bullet lists, number lists, text size, bold, italic and many more. After you have settled for the word processor, it is time to get down to work. A great blog post should be informative and this is done through publishing factual information from reputable sources.
Furthermore, you need to adopt a writing style that will attract the readers and leave them begging for more pieces. Apart from being informative, be sure to come up with appropriate keywords that will ensure you optimize your content to enable your blog to rank highly on search engines.
Now that you know what it takes to start your blog, let nothing stop you from achieving the success you desire.
Looking for more blogging tips and freebies?
If you are, TopFreebies is loaded with excellent resources and tutorials on starting a business online. We recommend you take a look at these free logo design tools to help you get started.
