Trying to do too much is the biggest mistake persons creating their first website usually make. When you are a beginner, you may become overwhelmed with all the things you think you need. When in actuality starting your WordPress, blog can be done in a few simple steps.
In this article, you will find a checklist of the things you need before actually starting your first blog. We’ll also provide a six-step plan to make it easy to create a WordPress website for beginners.
Table of Contents
The Checklist You Need Before Starting a WordPress Blog
1. A Goal:
Before you even come up with a name for your blog or start looking at themes and WordPress hosting options, you need to have a goal. Ask yourself, what the purpose of your blog is. This will help you to narrow down your target audience and guide you into choosing the right WordPress theme.
2. A Domain Name:
Now that you are certain of the purpose of your website, you can start coming up with a domain name. Simply put, a domain name is what you call your website/blog. E.g. myblog.com.
3. A web hosting account:
A web hosting account is like owning a house. The house itself is your blog while the land it is built on is the web hosting account. It’s where your website lives on the internet. We offer several web hosting options that will fit your budget and technical needs.
4. A bit of your time:
Once you have done all the above, all that’s required is your time and not even a lot of it. You won’t have to do any coding as WordPress sites offer several themes for you to choose from. All you have to do is customise, post and publish.
Six-Step Plan to Help You Start Your WordPress Blog the Right Way
Now that you are no longer overwhelmed and have done all the above-mentioned preparation, you are ready to start your blog. Here are six steps to get you started:
Step 1. Register Your Domain Name & Purchase Web Hosting Plan
In order for persons to view your blog you will need a domain, which is your online address. You will also need a web hosting service that will power your site.
At Hosting.co.uk we offer fast, efficient and reliable WordPress hosting service for your website at a very affordable price. This removes the stress of purchasing your domain and hosting services from different companies. The best hosting UK provider makes it easy for you to purchase both your domain and hosting in one place at the same time.
Step 2. Install WordPress
To install WordPress, you can use Softaculous one-click app installation to easily install WordPress. Log into your cPanel, locate Softaculous, go to the Software/Services section. From there search for the WordPress app either from the search box on the left or click on the CMS category then scroll down to WordPress. Once you locate the WordPress App, click on it to install it. Side note, many hosting companies include Softaculous installer in their WordPress Hosting plan at no extra charge.
Step 3. Select Your WordPress Theme
This is possibly the most exciting part of setting up your blog. It’s time to select a theme that’s a clear, stunning and a practical representation of your blog. There are literally thousands of pre-designed themes to choose from. Many of them are free blog themes.
Preview the themes that complement your blog. Choose a theme that’s not too cluttered as this can affect the speed and performance of your website. Check for the ones that are designed for blogs, are SEO-Friendly, optimised for all devices and translatable.
Narrow down your list to the one that aligns best with your blog goals. At this time you can go ahead, install, and activate it.
Now that you have your WordPress theme, it’s time to create and post your very first blog.
Step 4. Creating Your First Blog Post
We can sense your excitement. You are about to create the very first of many blog posts. Here’s how. From your WordPress dashboard go to Posts and click on Add New. This will take you to screen with an editor area. There you will type your first article or you can copy it from your word document and paste it there. Review your first post for errors. Then add images or videos that complement it.
Also, on the posts screen you’ll see some sections like Categories and Tags. You can use these to organise your posts and add keywords in the tag so persons can find your post. Now go ahead and click on PUBLISH. Congratulations! You’ve just posted your first blog.
Step 5. Plugins & Customisations
Now that you have achieved the goal of starting your blog, you can now start adding other elements to your website. You can add contact forms, galleries, sliders and social media links, etc. WordPress sites have thousands of plugins that facilitate additional features to your website.
Step 6. Making Money from Your Blog
You have put in some hard work to get your blog from dream to reality. Maybe you are wondering if it’s possible to make money from your blog. The answer is yes you can. There are many different ways to successfully monetise your blog. That is as long as you are willing to produce quality content and put hard work and effort. There’s no shortcut.
Some of the best ways to turn your blog into an income generating business include using:
Google AdSense – You can monetise your blog by showing adds on your blog. Google AdSense is one of the best and easiest way to do this. It is the biggest advertising platform for publishers and bloggers. Acting like an intermediary between you and advertisers Google AdSense allow advertisers to bid for keywords matching your content. The result? The best rates possible for the ads.
Affiliate Marketing – Affiliate marketing refers to the process of recommending products and services to your readers. Once someone uses your link to make a purchase you will receive a referral commission. The key to do affiliate marketing successfully is to endorse high-quality products and services that you actually use and trust.
eCommerce (online store) – A lot of bloggers make money from directly selling products from their blog. This includes artwork, music, eBooks, and more. You can even offer consulting services as well.
Conclusion
Now that you are equipped with a guideline of how to create a website, you can go ahead and start creating your WordPress blog. It’s not always smooth sailing and you will encounter challenges. However, once your website starts gaining traction with increase in traffic, comments, purchases and subscriptions growth, you’ll be happy and proud of your work. Don’t stop, keep creating! Check out some tips of what to do after your posting.
