Learn how to start a blog in just a few minutes with these 3 simple steps and tutorial. There’s no better time than now to start your own blogging journey.
Have you been wanting to start your own blog? I personally think you starting your own blog is a fabulous idea! Blogging has brought me so much joy. As my blog has grown, it now provides me with an extra $2,000 a month in income (and growing) that I get to make doing what I love right from home..
Whatever your passion is, recipes, DIY, crafts, fitness, family, homeschooling, faith, or a lifestyle blog with a little mix of things, there is a whole lot of room in this big ole World Wide Web for so much more awesome content.
Click here to start a WordPress blog, then follow the tutorial below for simple directions.
When I started my blog (back in 2009), I had no idea where to start. I had to search and search and did so many things the hard way and very wrong. One BIG mistake I made was not starting with a WordPress blog AND being hosted. I just did not have the knowledge. I, then, had to pay someone to transfer everything over to WordPress and set up the hosting for me.
I have been wanting to write this “How to Start a Blog” tutorial for a very long time. I want to help you NOT make the same mistakes I made and do things the correct way from the start.
Anyone can make money blogging. I was able to make enough to cover my hosting costs very quickly and I truly believe you will too.
There are many reasons why you may want to choose Bluehost and a WordPress blog:
1. Bluehost makes it easy to quickly create your WordPress blog by following my tutorial below.
2. Your blog domain and WordPress is FREE through Bluehost.
3. You will be self-hosted at a very affordable price of as low as $3.95 /month. To make money on your blog, you need to be self-hosted.
4. Your blog will look professional to your visitors.
5. Bluehost hosting offers technical support if you have questions.
Are you ready? Just follow these 3 easy steps and in about 15 minutes you are on you way to your very own blogging adventure.
How to Start a WordPress Blog
Three Simple Steps:
- Pick your Domain Name and Hosting Package
- Install WordPress
- Design it!
1) Pick your Domain Name and Hosting Package
This is the most fun of all! What do you want your blog name to be? Make a list of several ideas for your name. Be creative, be funny, be completely literal with just your name if you’d like. I highly suggest picking a .com name over any other choices like .net, .us, etc. for search engine optimization purposes.
Once you have your list of possible names, head over to Bluehost to see if your idea for a blog name is available by entering it in the box you see that looks like the one below.
Next, you’ll be taken to a page to select the package to host your blog’s domain name. Think of hosting as “renting” space on the internet to display your new blog. If your blog is not hosted, you really won’t be found by Google. Who wants that? I didn’t do this in the beginning and regret it often!
Bluehost is a wonderful hosting company that has great rates to get started with. When you host through them you also get your domain name for free. They also offer 24/7 support and will walk you through everything if needed.
When asked about which plan you would like, choose the “Starter Plan”. The best choice is the $3.95/month option. This is paid in one lump sum instead of monthly and will save you a TON of money.
If your choice of domain name is available you will see this “Congratulations” page.
- Simply fill in your name under the “Account Information” section.
- Then select the account plan you want. The 36 months for $3.49 /month is the best option. I also recommend selecting the “Domain Privacy Protection” option to keep pesky spammers away.
- Complete the “Billing Information”section
- Check the Box next to “I confirm I have read and agree to the Terms of Service, etc.
- Click “Submit”
On the next page you will see options to add upgrades. Skip this. You don’t need any of these, so just scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the green “Complete” button.
2) Installing WordPress
Once you’ve finished your registration with Bluehost, you will need to install WordPress. This is the blog platform you will use for actually creating your awesome new blog posts. It’s what I use and love. It is really simple to install.
Scroll down to the “Website” section and click on WordPress logo that looks like the one below:
On the next page click the “Do it Yourself” Free option.
On the following page, your domain name should be showing in the box. Confirm that it is and then click the green”Check Domain” button
On the next page, mark the box confirming that you accept the terms again. Then click the green button that says “Install Now”
At the top of the next page, you will see a green status bar showing WordPress loading. When it is finished, it will change to an orange Install Complete.
Click on “View Credentials”
Be sure to write down and bookmark your Admin URL (for logging into your dashboard), Username and Password. You can change your username and password to something else later, but you’ll need this one the first time you log into your brand new blog dashboard.
It is best to NOT leave your username as “Admin”. I use my full name as my username.
Type your Admin URL into your web browser. You’ll see a login screen like the one below. Enter your Username and Password you copied down from the previous step.
CONGRATULATIONS!! You are ready to start your blogging journey and share your first post with the world. What will it be? A recipe, a DIY project, an introduction?
3) Design it!
One of the best things you can do for your blog is make it visually appealing. Make it purdy!
When people visit for the first time, you want them to feel warm and fuzzy and hope they like what they see so they will keep coming back for more great inspiration from you. WordPress has loads of free WordPress themes to pick from and see what you like best.
However, if you are really serious about turning your passion into a potential income maker, another thing I highly recommend is a premium theme starting out. Again, something I didn’t do and definitely would have if I had known how important it is to SEO optimization.
Here are 2 very popular themes that will give you much better Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your blog.
The Genesis Framework – This is the current framework I’m using on To Simply Inspire. It is worth it to get a child theme to go along with it too.
DIY The Thesis Theme – I had this theme for years before switching the Genesis. It is wonderful and I still highly recommend it.
Once you have a premium theme, you can delete all the free themes that came with your WordPress install. They can be bait for hackers for some reason.
A few important starters before creating your first post in WordPress
1. Permalink Structure – It is good to change the way your blog post URL’s will look once you publish a post. Default is like this https://www.tosimplyinspire.com/?p=123, with the number of your post showing. Not very pretty and not loved by search engines as much at all. Select by “Post name” (or by “Day and Name”). Your URL will then look like this: https://www.tosimplyinspire.com/how-to-start-a-blog.html
2. Create new posts – Click on “Posts” on the left side of your screen and click “Add New”. Once you are ready to post, simply click Publish. You can save drafts to work on as well. You can also add a page, which is a static page and will not show up in chronological order like a post does. They are great for having to link back to in a post.
3. If you want to add an image, click on “Media” on the left side and click “Add New”. All the pictures you ever add will be stored under Media. Pictures are so important! Create beautiful pictures and resize images to about 500 x 800 pixels in a program like PicMonkey.
NEXT, you will want to install these must-have plugins to help your new blog run the smoothest.
Must Have Plugins for Your WordPress Blog that are essential to install.” width=”600″ height=”900″ />
Rachelle says
once you start a blog how do u start making money? I’m new to all this and as a stay at home mom very interested in being able to still bring in a little income while spending quality time and not having to go back to work right away, any suggestions?! Love your advice, BTW…
Sherri says
Hi Rachelle! After you have several posts on your blog (I would say at least 10), you would want to apply for Google Adsense and Amazon Affiliates. You simply place a provided html code on your sidebar (or within posts for Amazon). The next important step is to start sharing you posts on Pinterest and Facebook. I use PicMonkey to create 600×900 images with text overlay on them. Look at Pinterest and see what stands out to you 🙂 Let me know if you have any more questions!
Duck life says
Three Steps to Starting a New Blog You Give Out is pretty and useful to me. thank you very much.
Telva Marie says
Thanks Sherry! I signed up through another website, paid Blue Host… then felt overwhelmed, and didn’t follow through!! Wish I had seen yours first! Your tutorial seems so easy to follow! Any suggestions, to take up where I left off?!?
Dawn Walker says
Hi Sherry, I have a word press site, but I am lacking content ideas!
I am passionate about cooking, baking, writing, & painting, but I jusst can’t seem to pin down anything to blog about! Where do you get the ideas from? How do you makesure that what you are blogging isnt just a repeat or duplication of someone elses? Also, why does every blog page I see look the same? the ad placement is pretty much the same. Thank you!
Sherri says
Hi Dawn! Oh my goodness. You are ahead of the game if you have found your passions. Don’t worry at all about how much information may be already out there. As a very successful blogger told me a few years ago, there is plenty of room for more fabulous content on the World Wide Web. 🙂 I would start with recipes for sure. The key is choosing a keyword (in this case, a recipe name) that someone would search for on Google and weaving that keyword (and variations of it) into your writing naturally a few times. Also learning to take beautiful pictures This has been so fun to me! (I use Picmonkey to edit and lighten if needed.) Then share on Pinterest and other social media. There is a lot to learn but I absolutely love that part. I recently joined a FB group, Bloggers Tell All, that a few very successful bloggers have started that has been amazingly helpful. Plus you get to network with other bloggers and ask lots of questions.
Most bigger blogs run on a custom theme, like Genesis Framework. This theme in really particular is good for SEO (search engine optimization) and the almighty Google finding you and you hopefully getting on the first page of a search which is everyones ultimate goal in blogging life. Free traffic from Google. I paid someone to set all this up for me.
As far as ad placements, yes, many blogs including mine have an ad manager, like Adthrive or Mediavine, that places ads for you that are best for your site. (they do have minimum monthly pageview requirements) But a good place to start is Google Adsense immediately if you don’t have them yet. Ads are a way for us to make an income and continue to provide free content to readers. The good thing is most people who visit are used to seeing and hearing ads pretty much everywhere we go. (radio, tv, Facebook, and more) I heard that this year and it made complete sense to me. I worried about them feeling intrusive but I have changed my mindset once I heard that.
I hope that kind of answered your questions. But please reach out again if you have any others. 🙂
Disney Magic Mommy says
Thank you for this… very helpful. My new blog is on Weebly, but I do have a domain name (www.disneymagicmommy.com) but the more I’ve read, the more I worry about it being on Weebly, for motonizing it later down the road with ads. That’s what my husband uses though, and that’s what he said I should have, so not too sure long term, but, hoping it will work out! Kind of hard to argue with your husband at times!
Cheryl says
Gosh, thanks so much for this! You explained things simply, but thoroughly, and I’m finally going to get started on the blog I should have started years ago. Thank you in advance for saving me from making many newbie mistakes! I’ve wasted money on e-books that were supposed to guide me through the blog set-up process; most just made getting started seem even more intimidating and confusing. This blog post was like a friend plainly telling me what to do: 1, 2, 3! Blessings to you for generously sharing what you learned through trial and error.
Sherri says
Oh, I was so happy when I read your comment! You are so welcome! That’s exactly what I had hoped it would be. Thank you so much for making the time to let me know it was helpful. 🙂
Jehava says
Thanks this is helpful to me as I just started a blog this month! So far it is going great! Do you have any advice for the #1 most helpful thing you did to monetize your blog? Thanks again!
angela says
thanks for sharing, I’ve wanted to blog for awhile now & get VERY overwhelmed. this is simple & perfect
Michelle says
Great post, thanks for sharing 🙂 #MyFavoriteThings
Kelsey says
Thanks for sharing this – I’m working on starting my blog, and get overwhelmed by the options out there. Your post is clear and easy to follow. I’ve pinned this for later use – I’ve challenged myself to blog for 30 days to make sure I can balance this with the rest of my life. We’re halfway in, and I’m loving it so far. Thanks for shedding light with some of your experience!
swathi says
Very useful post, thanks for sharing with Hearth and soul blog hop
Marie, The Interior Frugalista says
This is a great post that I wish I would have had 2 1/2 years ago when I started blogging. Kicking myself for not starting with WordPress!
Joanie says
Sherri: Thank you so much for the clear instructions. I have often thought starting a blog would be interesting and fun, but I had no idea where to begin. You have given me a lot of food for thought. Thanks again!
Sherri says
You are so welcome! It’s a journey I have never regretted. Let me know if you have any questions at all. 🙂