How To Start a Blog Beginner’s Guide for 2020.! Techsavyjazz

So, you appetite to alpha a blog huh? Abundant idea!

But…how the heck do you get started? There’s so abundant advice out there on the web, and everyone’s cogent you to do altered things. Who do you accept to? Where’s the starting point?

Damnit, maybe you should aloof balloon it – it’s too confusing!

Well, authority up. I acclimated to be a blogging newbie too. I had the aforementioned problems. I started my blog (CMEprogramming) way aback in 2006, and I knew beneath than annihilation about blogging. In fact, it was alone the anniversary afore I’d abstruse what a blog was.

Now I apperceive a ton about them, and my blog’s accomplishing appealing able-bodied – I accept added than 300,000 altered visitors per ages which makes me accede myself addition you could accept to and apprentice from back it comes to architecture your own blog. I’m not some array of Guru, but I absolutely do apperceive the basics.

I affiance it’ll be simple, about easy, and absolutely accessible to accept (no brainless jargon). Complete good?

Awesome, let’s move on.

Why you should actualize a blog and accompany the blogging community

So below, I’m activity to outline absolutely what you charge to do to get started and set up your own claimed blog. Afore we dive in though, I absolutely appetite to allocution about WHY you should body a blog.

Note: If you already accept a solid abstraction of the whys, again skip this and go appropriate advanced with the guide.

Blogging has bound become one of the best accepted agency of communicating and overextension advice and news. There are absolutely millions of blogs online (don’t worry, you can accomplish castigation angle out and get noticed!).

It’s a abundant way to accurate yourself and additionally a absurd way to allotment advice with others.

You become a bigger being and a bigger writer.

The best reason? You can accomplish money accomplishing it!

I bet you already knew all of that, but it’s nice to be reminded.

One actual aftermost affair afore we get started:

Creating your own blog can booty a little while, apparently up to 30 minutes. So grab yourself a coffee or abstract (whatever you fancy) and let’s get ashore in. If you charge any advice during the accoutrement process, get in blow with me actuality and I’ll advice as best I can and acknowledgment any questions you adeptness have).

Disclosure: This adviser to starting your own blog contains some associate links. If you acquirement any account through one of these links I may acquire a baby commission, this is at no added amount to you.

The Accomplish Covered In This Blogging Guide

It’s boilerplate abreast as difficult as ambience up a website from blemish (there’s actual little abstruse adeptness bare here). In fact, there’s no coding appropriate by you. Acceptable news, huh?

How to Alpha a Blog in 5 Steps:

There are bristles capital accomplish you charge to do in adjustment to alpha a blog. If you chase this adviser exactly, you’ll accept your own blog set up in 30 account or less.

Choose a abundant blog platform

Choose a web host for your blog

How to Set up a blog on your own domain

Design your new blog

Useful assets for blogging

So, we fabricated it. Phew. Bigger backward than never! So, after added ado, let’s jump into footfall 1.

Step 1 – Accept your adopted blogging platform

Choosing area you appetite to body blog is appealing abundant the aboriginal affair you accept to do. I’m activity to booty a bound and accept you’ve heard of WordPress, and this is the belvedere I advocate. It’s massive.

It’s by far one of the bigger blogging platforms in the world, with endless plugins and add-ons and about absolute agency to architecture and blueprint your blog.

There are added than 82 actor alive users of WordPress = a lot, basically.

wordpress

There are added alternatives, however, and they are listed below:

Blogger – Absolutely the abutting best affair to WordPress.

Tumblr – Bisected amusing network, bisected blog. Interesting, and actual simple to use.

Even admitting WordPress is bigger (and apparently better) than those two, actuality are my affidavit why you should still go with WordPress:

Super accessible accoutrement and is chargeless to use

Tons of chargeless capacity and layouts (I’m not kidding, there are gazillions).

There’s a massive abutment appointment in case you get ashore (you won’t, but it’s nice to accept it there if you charge it).

Your blog will be crazily fast and it’ll additionally attending Functionality and anatomy – perfect!

People can collaborate with you easily. Your agreeable can be shared, commented on, and so on.

Here’s an commodity about altered blogging platforms (including WordPress), accord it a read:

How to Accept a Blogging Belvedere – (updated for 2020)

Now, Footfall 2 (see, we’re affective fast now!)

Step 2 – Self-hosting or a chargeless alternative?

Whoa, apathetic bottomward there! This is the bigger accommodation you’ll accept to accomplish afore we go any further. You charge to adjudge whether to pay for your blog or grab a chargeless one.

WordPress, Tumblr, and Blogger all action chargeless blogs for anyone. Awesome, right? It’s absolute for those of us who aren’t cool austere about blogging. But it does accept downsides:

1) You won’t be able to get your OWN area name

On a chargeless blog, your blog’s web abode (your URL) will be butt-ugly. Like, absolutely ugly. In short, actualize a chargeless blog with any added the aloft chargeless blog casework and it’ll attending like this:

yourblog.wordpress.com

yourblog.blogspot.com

yourblog.tumblr.com

I know, animal right?

2) Banned and added limits

There are some banned to chargeless blogs. You can’t absolutely monetize it, and you don’t accept the achievability to upload all those videos and images you appetite to appearance anybody – it’s all limited. Worse still, you won’t alike accept admission to the chargeless capacity offered by WordPress.

3) You DON’T OWN your blog

It adeptness complete asinine at first, but you don’t absolutely own your blog. It’s hosted on addition else’s web acreage and they can annul it if they appetite to. They accept done so in the past, and accumulate accomplishing it in the future. Which agency all your adamantine assignment on your blog, all those endless hours of autograph blog posts adeptness accept vanished aural seconds. Sad…

On the added hand, with a self-hosted blog on your own area name – you are the REAL buyer of your blog. You’ll be able to name your blog whatever you want, for example, “YourName.com” or “YourAwesomeBlog.com. You can end it with .com, .co.uk, .net, .org, or about any added web suffix. Add to that absolute bandwidth for videos, images, and agreeable additional the chargeless capacity and you accept a acceptable combo.

So how abundant is hosting and a area name? Not as abundant as you’re thinking, fortunately. It usually works out to about $5 to $10 per month, depending on your hosting provider which is beneath than a brace of coffees.

If you still accept questions, here’s some added advice for you to attending at:

Should I Accept a Hosted or Non-hosted Blogging Platform?

Step 3 – Alpha a blog on your own area (if you chose self-hosting and a custom domain)

wordpress blogging platform

I’m activity to advance advanced based on the apriorism you’ve called WordPress, and if you haven’t, you should. Seriously, it’s the best.

If you’re still a little abashed by what a self-hosted blog is, acquiesce me to explain and how you can go about ambience one up for yourself.

You’ll charge to appear up with a area name you like and additionally accept a hosting aggregation that can host your blog.

Domain: The area is basically the URL of your website. Examples: google.com (Google.com is the domain), Facebook.com (Facebook.com is the domain). See? Simple!

Hosting: Hosting is basically the aggregation that puts your website up on the internet so anybody abroad can see it. Everything will be adored on there. Think of it as a computer hard-drive on the internet area your blog will be saved.

Disclosure: I acclaim application Hostgator for web hosting. If you bang through one of my links and accomplish a purchase, I will accept a commission, which helps me accumulate cmeprogramming.blogspot.com up and running.

Personally, I use Hostgator (for my blog area and hosting), and I’ve got annihilation but acceptable things to say about it.

It’s apparently one of the cheapest (less than $3 per month) hosting providers out there. A area name will amount about $10-15 a year, but with Hostgator, you can get that for FREE aboriginal year.

If you do assurance up with Hostgator be abiding to use the advertisement cipher BB101 as this will alleviate the best abatement they action on all their hosting packages.

:). Big smiles for that!

They’re the providers I use for all of my blogs, including the one you’re account appropriate now.

If for any acumen you don’t appetite to go with Hostgator, feel chargeless to accept your own hosting company. Most, if not all of them, should accept a “one-click” WordPress install band-aid on their admin panel.

That button will automatically install WordPress on your blog. Did I say it was simple or what?

All you charge to do is assurance up with Hostgator (or your called provider), accept your hosting plan and a area name and attending for the one-click WordPress install button on the admin panel.

If you are accepting ashore at any point this adviser may advice as it has screenshots.

WordPress essentials aren’t generally needed, but I’d acclaim whois aloofness (that will accumulate all your claimed capacity private) and absolutely automatic backups (that’ll save your website aloof in case annihilation fails or disappears so you won’t lose any or actual little of your blog).

Start a Blog with Hostgator today and get an absolute 60% abatement with advertisement BB101

Once WordPress is installed on your website, all you accept to do to alpha blogging is go to your WP-Admin folio usually www.yourblognamehere.com/wp-admin and alpha autograph by abacus a new post.

At the start, the blueprint looks confusing, but it gets actual barefaced quickly. Don’t worry!

Step 4 – Designing your WordPress blog

Now, the fun bit.

Let’s accomplish your blog attending absolutely how you appetite it to. To accept a new theme, you can either arch to Appearance > Capacity and install a chargeless WordPress affair or you can arch to a exceptional affair website like ThemeForest.net and buy a affair for about $40.

I usually accept article that looks able and appealing accessible to customize. WordPress additionally has this alarming affection that allows you to change capacity with aloof a few clicks. So if you alpha accepting annoyed of your accepted blog template, you can aloof about-face to addition one after accident any adored agreeable or images.

choose-blog-theme

Remember, your blog’s architecture should reflect both you and your personality, but additionally what the blog is about. There’s no point accepting a football-orientated affair if your blog is about tennis, understand?

On top of that, it should be accessible to cross if you appetite bodies to stick around. If it’s catchy and difficult to move about it, bodies won’t stay. After all architecture is a abstract art; acceptation anybody brand altered things.

But no one brand animal websites, and they abnormally abhorrence websites that charge a university amount to navigate. Accomplish it accessible for them.

For added reading, I’ve put calm 3 blog posts about designing your blog. Feel chargeless to analysis them through.

Blog Design: Accumulate It Clutter Chargeless and User-Friendly

Advice for Blog Architecture and Blog Goals

Is there any software I can use to accomplish my own graphics, button, and banner?

Last step! Woo!

Step 5 – Useful Assets For Abecedarian Bloggers

Bloggers appear to blogging amphitheatre with capricious degrees of online and amusing media experience, but we’ve all fabricated added than a few newbie mistakes – there’s consistently allowance for added acquirements and improvement, whether you’re a abecedarian or you’ve been blogging for years.

These accessories may advice you abstain some of the growing pains back it comes to your aboriginal blog – enjoy!:

5 Beginning Blogging Mistakes You Can Fix

Choosing a Blogging Niche

How We Communicate: FAQs for Beginning Bloggers

7 Agency to Boost your success as a Blogger

And that’s it! I’m added than assured that your antecedent blog set up should now be accomplished and accessible to go, and all that should accept been absolutely abuse accessible (unlike my aboriginal time, advantageous you!). If you are accepting any problems installing WordPress on Hostgator again this adviser may help.

If by some adverse accident you get ashore or accept any questions for me about how to actualize a blog, aloof get in blow with me or leave a animadversion below. I’ll advice you out with any problems.

Enjoy your new blog!

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