Blogging – Everything you need to know but were afraid to ask. Part Two

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase .

Thanks for joining me again on part two of Blogging – Everything you need to know but were afraid to ask.

Today we explore..

How to start a blog.

OK – let’s get the icky stuff out of the way. Everything I show you on here today will have my affiliate link included. It’s how I get paid. We’ll cover that in Part 5 “Monetizing your blog”.

That being said – I DO NOT promote anything I’m not already using myself. OK? Great.

Option # 1: Getting started with WordPress and Blue host

First – Why did I say WordPress and not Blogger or Wix? Well firstly – like I said, I don’t use Blogger (but I have in the past) and I don’t use Wix. It might be great. I don’t know. I DO use WordPress though and I think my site looks pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

I have no graphics knowledge, no website coding knowledge, in fact NO TECHNOLOGICAL knowledge at all, but I’m still able to make this work. That’s right…Idiot proof!

Secondly – Why Bluehost and not GoDaddy or Blogspot or Hostgator.. Or someone else. I have used Bluehost and GoDaddy for different things but here’s why I choose Bluehost here.

WordPress is Free and you get a FREE Domain name too (when you sign up for 12 months hosting).

I just saved you some cash right there. You’re welcome.

 

With WordPress through Bluehost you will be Self Hosted which is important later if you want to make money from your blog. Best to get it right from the start I think.

Bluehost is extremely affordable and they offer cheap web hosting. You can have a blog of your own and the only real expense you need to pay is the cheap blog hosting which starts at just $3.95 per month. There’s technical support (that will actually access your site and fix your mistakes live while you watch if it’s really that bad).

Yep! Been there. Done that.

They offer a guarantee if it’s just not for you. How very civil?

If you do plan on starting a blog on Bluehost and you are interested in learning how to get started in easy steps, continue on. Remember, if you sign up for Bluehost, but you are confused for any reason (such as how to set it up, picking a plan, pricing, etc.), you can always send me an email. I love it when people talk to me. I am here to help after all.

What will you see when you head over to Bluehost?

For all my visual learners – here’s what you see..

The Basic plan is ALL you will need but you will want to add Domain privacy for $0.99 per month. A small price to pay to protect your personal information from getting out.

1. Register your domain name.

To make life simple you can just click here GoBluehost then continue to follow the easy steps.

Have you decided on a name?

Let me tell you. That’s The Most Difficult part. I started with “It just makes cents.ca” and then moved to “Rocking The Rainbow.com” and then “Cents and Centsibilities.com” before eventually coming to rest on SpendaholicsAnonymous.com.

Word of advice – You need a DOT COM. Nothing else is going to be good enough. Fortunately there’s a handy dandy tool within Bluehost that allows you to try different connotations of wording based around your initial ideas for a name

When you are ready to create your blog, follow the steps below to buy hosting for your blog.

1. Go to Bluehost and click the “Get Started Now” button.
2. Click on the package you are interested in.
3. Enter your domain name you registered with earlier, or sign up for a new domain name here.
4. Enter your personal and payment information.
5. Next you will be asked to enter a password. Make sure it’s secure as this information is very important.

3. Connect your domain and your hosting.

Note: You can skip this section (Section 3) if you buy your domain directly through Bluehost.

If you buy your domain through Go Daddy, then you will need to connect your domain to your hosting account. Go Daddy has a full support page
for setting name servers for your domain names. I also know that Go Daddy’s support team are also excellent.

4. Install WordPress on Bluehost.

Okay, this is what you have been waiting for.

• After you create your password, Bluehost guides you through exactly what you need to do in order to start a blog.
• First, Bluehost will ask you to pick a theme. You can just pick a random one here or find one that you actually like. You can change it later
  so it’s not a big deal or just scroll to the bottom and skip this step. Remember, there are many free ones too!
• Click on “Start Building”
• On the next screen, you can choose “Business” or “Personal” – it’s up to you. Or, you can click the “I don’t need help.”

Some general tips for how to navigate WordPress:

• You can add and create new posts by clicking on “Posts” on the left-hand side when you are logged in.
• If you want to add an image, click on “Media” on the left-hand side.
• You can go to “Appearance,” then “Widgets” in order to add items to your sidebar, footer, and so on.
• If you are looking for a way to send newsletters or emails to your readers, I recommend Mailerlite.
• If Design (or appearance) really concerns you and the free templates are just not cutting the mustard for you..here’s a secret… I bought my theme off ETSY! That’s right –the site for everything hand made. I had soo much fun trying out all of the live demo’s.

So – there you go. up and running in under half an hour. Go forth Padiwan and create AWESOME Content!

 

XO

Anna