A beginners guide to start your own blog, get your blog up and running in 30 minutes following these 10 simple steps!
Taking those first steps into starting a blog, can seem like a daunting prospect. Will anybody read my content? Is the blogosphere too saturated? Do I need a website designer? Is it going to be expensive? How do I market my blog? You name the question, and I will guarantee we’ve asked it! Thankfully, through trial and error, countless hours of research, perseverance and dedication we have got our site to a position we are happy with. Don’t get me wrong, there is still much to be learnt and work to be done; however, each day our traffic is increasing, therefore we must be doing something right.
In this article we will be sharing all the tips & tricks that we’ve learnt along our journey, which will help you to save both time and money when starting your own blog.
WHAT DO I NEED TO START A BLOG?
- Your blog name – Pick a name that’s relevant and memorable (e.g Our Taste For Life)
- Understand these terms:
- WordPress.org is a program to develop your blog & design your website (Do not confuse this with WordPress.com)
- A domain name is your website address (e.g www.ourtasteforlife.com)
- Web hosting is where you will register your website. It’s a storage space offering services that make your site visible on the internet (e.g Bluehost, Site Ground)
- SEO (Search engine optimisation) getting your website visible in search engines
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO START A BLOG?
You can start a blog for free however it will be a ‘hosted’ site which means it will be very basic, you will have less control on SEO and there will be limitations to what you can design. We started off with a free blog and our content wasn’t getting seen so eventually we changed to a ‘self hosted’ site.
If you eventually want to earn money with your blog, you will need a ‘self hosted’ site which means you will have full access to everything. To set up your own self hosting site can cost as little as $2.99 a month. Keep reading to get the cheapest deal with our referral link.
HOW TO START A BLOG? LETS GET STARTED!
1. CHOOSE YOUR DOMAIN NAME
First lets check if your domain name is available on the internet – type your name into this search bar here.
If your domain name is not available, you can:
- Try changing .com to .net or .org
- Play with the text (e.g change ourtasteforlife.com to ourtaste4life.com)
- Add dashes in between words (e.g our-taste-for-life.com)
Don’t forget to check if your name is available on all social media platforms too!
2. REGISTER FOR WEB HOSTING SERVICES
Ok so Domain confirmed, let’s get your site registered with a web host. Siteground is without a doubt the fastest and most securest host (we’ve tested a few!). They also offer 24/7 support which is crucial if you’re a beginner. If you sign up with Siteground, they also offer a 30 day money back guarantee!
You can sign up in a few minutes by clicking on this link. At no extra cost to you, we will earn a small referral fee which helps us maintain the site. Every little helps…. please let us know so we can thank you!
- Click on Get Started
- Select your plan package (Basic for beginners unless you would like the plus features)
- Enter your domain name under NEW DOMAIN
- Enter personal details
- Select package length
- Select package extras (We don’t use these, you can always add them on at a later date)
- Enter payment details & submit – You will receive an email with your log in details.
3. INSTALL WORDPRESS SOFTWARE
Log in to your account and follow the steps to download your WordPress site.
While WordPress is installing, it will ask you to select a theme for your blog. You can select a free theme for now and change it later once you start blogging.
Once the installation is complete, that’s all the formalities done! Now time for the fun stuff…
4. PERSONALISE YOUR WEBSITE
Get familiar with your WordPress dashboard, under ‘Appearance’ you can change your themes, menus, logos and customise everything.
There are thousands of FREE themes available, you can filter them to find the right style for you. WPbeginner wrote a great article to help you choose the right theme, 9 things you should consider when selecting a perfect WordPress theme.
5. DOWNLOAD PLUGINS
Plugins are like apps, they add features to your website such as improve security, SEO, social media buttons and more.
We recommend starting off with:
- Akismet Anti-Spam – Protects your blog from spam
- Sucuri Security – Security scanner
- Yoast SEO – Improves your websites ranking in search engines
- WPForms Lite – Create contact forms, such as this
- Updraft Plus – Backs up your site
Once installed, activate and follow any registration steps that pop up.
6. ADD PAGES
A good start is to add an ‘About You’ page, let viewers know what sort of blog you are and your message.
In your WordPress dashboard click on ‘Pages’ > ‘Add New’ and when it’s ready, under the ‘Publish’ section, click ‘Publish’.
7. PUBLISH YOUR FIRST BLOG
Don’t feel the pressure of getting this perfect, there’s no such thing. You’re going to learn so much on this journey of blogging. Look at our blogs for layout examples and you’ll eventually develop your own style.
In your WordPress dashboard click on ‘Posts’ > ‘Add New’. Write your article, add Categories, add tags, a featured image, complete the Yoast SEO and when it’s ready, under the ‘Publish’ section, click ‘Publish’.
8. BUILD AN AUDIENCE
Get yourself out there, social media platforms are a great way of driving people to your site. Follow us on INSTAGRAM and get in touch we would love to check out your new blog and give advice where possible!
View this post on Instagram
9. TRACK YOUR TRAFFIC
Go to Google Analytics and sign up for a FREE account.
Google Analytics will display how many people are visiting your blog, where they are coming from and more. Eventually, this report will help you learn what people are searching to find your website. This will track your growth in the background.
10. MONETIZE YOUR BLOG
Go to Google Adsense and sign up for a FREE account.
Google Adsense is the largest advertising platform for bloggers, the more traffic, the more pennies.
Once you’ve got more content published and consistent traffic to your site, you’ll start earning. Please note this takes months and even years to build an income.
Another way to earn money is through affiliate links, check out this blog post: HOW WE MONETIZE OUR BLOG
Well, that concludes our blog our step by step for starting your own blog, however, if you have any further questions we would be happy to help. Please leave them in the comment section below.
Happy blogging and good luck!
Charlotte & Natalie x
Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. That means that if you purchase through these links, we will earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. And we can continue bringing you free travel tips and advice. If you use our affiliates, you are awesome, and we thank you!
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THE BACKPACKER ESSENTIALS & FREE PRINTABLE PACKING LIST
BLOG CHECKLIST – PRE-PUBLISHING & POST-PUBLISHING
Nan McLeod
Monday 19th of October 2020
Omg this was amazing! I’ve been on this blogging journey since January & really want to launch my own blog site so this was super helpful! Learning from other bloggers & content creators has been the best part. I didn’t realize this community would be so helpful & resourceful! Thank you thank you thank you! Chi-Miigwetch (thank you in my native language) -Nan
Car Rental
Monday 13th of July 2020
"Great blog, it seems lots of effort and time was put into it. But its nicely written, reading this is effortless. Thanks"
Our Taste For Life
Wednesday 29th of July 2020
Thank you for taking the time to leave this comment! It means so much to us
Abhi
Friday 12th of July 2019
The Post was really awesome to read.
Thanks for sharing with examples
Our Taste For Life
Saturday 13th of July 2019
Hello Abhi, thank you for taking the time to comment, we are so pleased you found this guide helpful! Are you thinking about starting a blog? Bluehost are offering our readers a discounted rate of $2.65/month for 36 months contract - this discount will only be available on 15th and 16th July. To claim it just click on our referral links in this post! Please do get in touch if we can assist you further
Katie and Elissa
Thursday 9th of May 2019
Awww this is awesome ladies! So much great info! Have passed it onto Katie as shes been wanting to start a personal blog to kinda journal her thoughts for herself but has always said starting one and building a site confuses her. So thank you!
Our Taste For Life
Friday 10th of May 2019
Hello Ladies, thank you for taking the time to comment, we are so pleased this was helpful to you. Feel free to contact us with any queries you may have when starting up, we are happy to help!
Sanne
Thursday 9th of May 2019
Always looking for other insights and way to expand our blog! Did not know that about Google Adsense and can't wait for your blog on how you have managed to monetize it! When you have any tips for our blog, please feel free to tell us! Also love the beauty and tranquility of your website
Cheers, The Adventures of MiSa
Our Taste For Life
Friday 10th of May 2019
Hello Ladies, thank you for taking the time to comment, we are so pleased this was helpful to you. We will check out your blog and get back to you as you asked! Thanks again!