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How To Start A Blog In 2021 With These 6 Steps:
Perhaps you’ve been thinking about how to start a blog in 2020, but have no idea where to begin. First of all, don’t worry, I’ve been there. I thought starting a blog would be so easy, and it’s not to say it wasn’t, but it takes WORK! To make your life easier I am sharing with you 6 steps you must take to start a blog today with Bluehost and WordPress!
1. Get Started With Bluehost
Once you log on to Bluehost click the “get started” button and pick the plan that best suits you. If you’re just starting, the basic $3.95 plan is a great one, to begin with.
2. Pick your Domain Name
This can be fun but challenging for multiple reasons. One, it’s hard to think of a really good name for your niche that will catch someone’s attention. Second, you may have a name in mind but the domain has to be available for you to purchase it.
My suggestion is to think of some things in your life that would fit with your niche and use a fun tool called Domain Wheel. For instance, when I was thinking of my name for my website I knew I wanted my blog to be about budgeting and family life and my little girls. I put in the domain wheel something along the lines of “Girls”, “Budget”, “Blog” etc…
One by one It would showcase a similar word, for instance, “frugal” popped up in one of the suggestions. That resonated with me because “frugal” felt like a catchier word than “budget”. As I kept generating words I would start thinking of more.
Eventually, I landed on frills, because instead of using the word “girls” the word “frills” made me think about frilly dresses and girly things. I popped those keywords into the domain wheel and BAM Frugalandfrills.com came to life!
3. Install WordPress
In Bluehost, scroll down to where it says Install WordPress and follow the instructions. You will probably have to choose the domain name you just signed up with and fill in all the admin information that they will ask for. This should take you to your dashboard in WordPress.
4. Pick Your Theme
WordPress will most likely activate a theme for you just to get you started but you do NOT have to stick with this theme. To navigate to your themes go to “Appearance” on your sidebar and click “Themes.”
It is very simple to activate new themes and try out the layout of different ones to see how it fits. You can also pay for themes. They are usually pretty reasonably priced. I found that purchasing a theme gave me a lot more freedom to do what I wanted with design and it was only a one time fee of $25.00.
5. Customize Your Site
This is the fun part! Although it can be stressful trying to figure everything out. Have fun playing around with the customization options. Pick your categories and create your pages. The main pages I would suggest setting up first are your Home button, Contact, About me and Blog page. Then get writing!!
6. Write & Launch
Once you have about 10-20 articles written then LAUNCH your site!! This is such an exciting time when you’re ready to press the launch button!
Here is a helpful youtube video I used to walk me through this process when I would get stuck. I am more of a visual person so I needed to be shown:
If you’re interested in monetizing your blog, you may also be interested to learn:
- Google AdSense Ads: How to place them on your blog
- Google Adsense Approval: How to get approved, even after rejection
I hope you enjoyed these essential steps to help you start a blog in 2020
Have your own blog and want to take it to the next level? Check out these super helpful tools:
Tailwind – Pinterest and Instagram scheduler
Grammarly – The Worlds BEST grammar checker
Canva – Create stunning designs
Flodesk – The best email marketing platform
If you enjoyed this article, you may also find these helpful:
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Such a helpful post for beginners, thank you for sharing
Yes!! Of Course! I always felt so lost in the beginning…Trying to share what I needed when I first started
These are all great tips for getting started! I dove right in to mine, wish I would have done some research first!!
yes!! i kind of did the same… Thats why i wanted to create something that would help someone to get started properly.
Such great tips for starting a blog, so helpful girly!
Thanks Bella!!
I wish I had a post like this to refer to when I first started. Great tips!!
I know!! That’s exactly what i thought. That’s why i wanted too create an outline like this 🙂
I have many friends that talk about wanting to start a blog. I think they can easily do it. It just depends on what their goal for the blog is.
I totally agree. Just takes a certain amount of determination to get started.
These are great tips! Starting a blog can be so overwhelming!
Oh my goodness it sure can right!!
Blue Host would be great for a for a hobby blogger ! That’s where I started for first couple months blogging.
I really like the flexibility of it.
You covered everything in such a clear and informative way! For me choosing a theme was the hardest part!
awww thank you so much!! and yessss girl! me too!! I changed my theme so many times till i finally bought one.
So straightforward! I could have used this easy guide when i got started
So happy you think that! And yes right! I could have too!
Such great suggestions! I needed this when I started my blog!
Totally agree!!