How to start a blog

So, you want to find out how to start a blog? This is the perfect place to be.

Starting a blog is a quick and easy thing to do and once you have one up and running, you can focus on putting effort into your blog posts, promotion and ultimately making it successful!

Blogging is so rewarding!

it’s your VERY OWN space online

Not only is a blog a creative outlet where you can share what you love and inspire others, you can also make money blogging, work with brands and build your own personal empire.

No matter where you live or what story or life experience you have to share, blogging can be your hobby, your side hustle or your dream career!

PLEASE NOTE

This page contains affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission if you use those links. I will always only recommend brands and websites that I trust, that I’ve used and experienced for years and ones I think you’ll love too.

WHY DO YOU WANT TO START A BLOG?

• Are you passionate about a topic that you’d love to share your knowledge, thoughts and ideas about?

• Do you dream of running your own business, working from home and being your own boss?

• Do you already have a business and you want to start a blog/website to attract more customers?

• Would you love to get involved in all the perks of blogging? The PR packages, travel, working with brands?

• Are you simply looking for a fun hobby to do on the weekend to have something to look forward to?

Let’s set you up for success!

Here are easy step-by-step instructions on how to start a blog:

• 1. Decide what to blog about

• 2. Name your blog

• 3. Secure the username

• 4. Create your blog

• 5. Install a blog theme

• 6. Add your logo

• 7. Style your pages and side bar

• 8. Start posting

• 9. Promote it

1. decide what to blog about

The first thing to figure out when starting a blog is what type of blog you want to have. In other words, your ‘niche’. The more focused you are on your niche and the type of posts you’ll create to fit that niche, the more new followers you’ll gain. If you create a new blog and the content is all over the place, people won’t be able to connect with it as much as if it focused on a particular category.

Popular blogging categories or niches include:

FashionBeautyLifestyleInteriorsTravelHomeDIYFamilyWeddingEducationTechnologyBooks + FilmFitnessFoodArtPhotographyPersonalMusicYoutubeParentingMoneyBusinessCraftDesignMom LifeOrganizingPlanningHealth

You need to go with a niche that excites you, one you’d love to create content for. If you want more than one niche, (e.g. a fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog) I suggest choosing no more than three categories.

2. Name your blog

Next you need to come up with a unique name for your blog. You can either use your full name or you can come up with a different creative name. Read my instructions on how to choose a blog name.

3. Secure the username

Once you have a name for your blog, I recommend starting accounts with the same name on all social media accounts. For example, if your blog is called Sprinkle Cupcake, you need to try and get the username sprinklecupcake on every social media account (eg. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram). If you can’t have the name exactly, try adding an underscore (_) or a dash (-) in the middle of the words, or adding the word ‘blog’ at the end.

Having the same username on every social media platform will make it so easy for your readers to find and follow you.

4. Create Your Blog

Now that you have your blog name sorted and you’re ready to get things happening, we need to create your blog!

I recommend starting your WordPress blog with Bluehost (affiliate link). I have had so many customers start their blogs with all different hosting sites such as Siteground, Dreamhost, Hostgator and Godaddy however the one that has been most popular over the years and easiest to use is definitely Bluehost. I have chosen to be an affiliate of Bluehost rather than the other options for this reason! I want this process of setting up a blog to be both easy and affordable for you.

If you try starting a blog at WordPress.com instead, unfortunately you can’t install a custom theme to make it look nice. The themes that WordPress.com have available aren’t that great and you don’t want to get stuck paying for a plan on there only to find your blog doesn’t look the way you want it to.

Starting your blog with Bluehost means you have complete freedom of your website and it isn’t all stuck on WordPress.com. You can change your theme at any time, to any WordPress theme you see here, on Etsy or on Creative Market.

Bluehost have a 30-day trial, so if you decide within the first 30 days that running a blog isn’t for you, you can get a refund on the plan you have purchased.

BLOGGING TERMS

When you’re just starting out there are some blogging terms that may seem a bit confusing, so I’ll try and make it easy for you:

DOMAIN – Your domain is your web address, your home on the internet. When people type your domain into the web address bar, they’ll land on your blog. The domain for Blog Pixie is www.blogpixie.com, so your domain would be www.whateveryouwant.com

WORDPRESS – WordPress is a web-creation platform which is installed to your hosting account. It’s where you go to run your blog, just like opening a program on your computer. It allows you to create a blog, change the look of it, publish posts, pages and run an online store.

HOSTING – Web hosting is the service that makes your blog appear live online at your domain. If you didn’t pay for web hosting and went straight to your domain, nothing would be showing there. All your website files (your theme, posts, images, content) that you upload to WordPress are pushed live by your hosting.

You can get everything mentioned above at Bluehost. This is the #1 recommended hosting website for WordPress blogs and websites and it’s so fast and easy to set up.

If you sign up for hosting with Bluehost, they’ll include your domain for free and connect it with your blog straight away – you don’t have to worry about purchasing your domain somewhere else and any other complicated technical steps. They also install WordPress for you as you’re signing up. Everything is done for you in one go!

Go to Bluehost and you will land on their home screen, where you’ll see this banner. Click on the green ‘get started now’ button.

Choose Your Plan

Next you need to select your plan. If you’re just starting out, the cheapest Basic package has everything you need.

The basic plan includes:

• DOMAIN – Make your blog look professional from the beginning with a web address (www.yourblogname.com) instead of yourblog.blogspot.com or yourblog.wix.com
• HOSTING – Paying for the space to keep all your blog content safe and making it appear live online
• LOTS OF HOSTING SPACE – Lots of space to upload all your blog images, products and content
• 5 EMAIL ACCOUNTS – So you can have [email protected] as a stylish email address, instead of a gmail or hotmail address

Choose your Domain

Now you’ll need to choose your domain (www.yourblog.com). This can take some time, trying to find one that hasn’t already been taken. Try and find the closest domain you can to your blog or business name (need help choosing a blog name?). The shorter it is, the more memorable it will be.

Once you’ve clicked next, you’ll land on a page where you have to fill your info in. This is your main information for your Bluehost account. Make sure your email address is correct, as this will be the email Bluehost uses to contact you.

Confirm your plan & info

On the same page, you’ll need to confirm your plan and account information.

Next to Account Plan, choose exactly which one you’d like (I know, again!), and it will let you know next to ‘Hosting Price’ what the total for that package comes to.

The extra options with checkboxes underneath aren’t necessary, but it’s up to you. Read ‘more information’ besides each one to see if you want them. Otherwise, uncheck all.

At the bottom you will see the total amount you’ll be paying to Bluehost (depending on which account plan you’ve chosen).

Down the bottom of the same page, is the area where you fill in your payment details. Have a read of their Terms Of Service and Cancellation Policy, and then click Submit.

Create your password

Next you will need to create your Bluehost password.

Get Into WordPress

After your password has been created, Bluehost automatically installs WordPress to your hosting account so you’re ready to go. You will be asked to select a theme – choose whichever one from their choices. You can easily change it later!

  On the next page, click the blue ‘Start Building’ button to be taken straight to WordPress, ready to start blogging.  

This is your WordPress dashboard, the site you’ll always go to if you want to edit your blog, write a post and read your comments. To get here from now on, login to Bluehost.com and click the blue WordPress button.

You can see your menu on the left which has all the sections you need, including Posts (to publish blog posts), Pages (to create your About and Contact pages) and Appearance (to change your theme).

5. Install a blog theme

Now we’re at the fun part. Installing a blog theme changes the appearance and layout of your blog/website. It’s all the complicated coding done for you, in one file which you simply have to upload to your blog. You don’t need to hire a web developer to design it all for you if you install a theme.

There are so many different themes to choose from – some with a side bar, some just a header and body section. When you preview themes, ignore what content is currently in the preview. Imagine your content (logo, posts, photos, writing) in there. A theme just organises where your content is going to be displayed on your blog and gives a bit of style to it with color and fonts.

The best theme to start off with is one of my own – Coffee And Sundays. If you’re just getting into WordPress, you should want your blog to look professional yet be easy to run and change things yourself.

6. Add your logo

To make your blog memorable from the beginning, you will need a logo. This is your blog title in a fancy font, that you place at the top of your blog.

When I started my first blog, I didn’t have Photoshop. I’m sure editing sites like Picmonkey and Canva didn’t exist back then either! I did have some kind of image editing program on my computer, so I used that to type out my blog name in a font (looking back, I chose the worst font!), cropped it down and saved it, ready to upload to my blog. Your first logo doesn’t have to be your only one. It’s definitely best for you to stick with one, but if you’re ever not feeling it, you have the option to change it!

Upload your blog header image or logo to the top of your blog as soon as you can. If you don’t have a logo and you need one fast, I’ve got some affordable logo designs in my store.

7. Style your pages and side bar

You will need to add an About page (with a bit of info about yourself) and a Contact page (so your visitors can contact you).

Spend some time styling your blog side bar, adding a profile picture, social media icons and social widgets for Instagram and Pinterest. If you want some decorative graphics to add in, check out my blog styling kits.

If you need some beautiful photos to add to your blog, check out my Blogging Resources page for a list of stock photography websites.

8. Start Posting

The sooner you start publishing blog posts, the better. They may not be perfect from the beginning, but the more you post the better you’ll get at it. Come up with a list of blog post ideas you’d like the create and work your way through it. If you need some ideas, check out my list of 100 blog post ideas.

9. Promote It

If you want to get more blog traffic, you will need to promote your new posts and your blog on your social media channels. You can use Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and even sites like Stumbleupon. If you don’t start talking about it, nobody will know it exists! Be proud of what you’ve done and start spreading the word.