As of 2022, blogs account for a third of all sites on the internet, and 43.2% of all websites on the internet use WordPress, making it one of the most popular blogging platforms and website builders around.
We’re going to guide you through setting things up while creating a killer blog in the process.
Ready to learn how to start a WordPress blog?
Let’s dive in!
One of the largest mistakes new bloggers make is simply picking the wrong blogging platform.
WordPress powers a staggering 455 million websites as of now with more being created daily.
With that said, let’s begin with the basics:
The very first thing you need to do when creating a new blog is decide on a name.
Whether you already have a name in mind, or you’re still in the brainstorming stage, there are a few things you’ll need to consider before solidifying your blog name:
• Is it easy to spell and type into a browser?
• Is it memorable?
• Do I have a solid backup?
• What’s my niche?
Additionally, here are a few tips for picking the right blog name for you:
• Use a keyword or two
• Consider your own name or a nickname
• Use an alliteration
• Use acronyms or abbreviations
• Consider a common phrase or saying
Now that you have found a more specific topic for your blog, you want to make sure you have a good name to go with it.
Your blog name is the cornerstone of your brand, it’s what people will be typing into browsers to find you, so it’s vital that it is short, easy to type, and easy to spell.
When we search available domain names you might find that your chosen name is already taken.
Before moving on to the next step, make sure you have a shortlist of several names you really like.
With that said, let’s move on to picking a blog niche:
The thing about starting a brand new blog is that there are already so many blogs out there.
Not only do you need a cool name that will help you stand out in a crowd, you also need to narrow your blog down into a unique niche.
Here are a few examples of a blog niche:
• Gardening
• Food and dining
• Animals and pets
• Family or mommy blogs
• Travel
• Art
• Business and finance
• Fashion
• Tattoos and body modifications
Even if you are far more knowledgeable and insightful than these top blogs, they probably have such well-established SEO that it will be close to impossible for a newcomer to match their visibility, authority, and popularity.
This is unless you narrow down your blogging efforts into a less competitive niche within your topic.
For instance, if you want to blog about cooking, how about a more specific subsection of food like gluten-free baking or low-calorie diets?
As long as you are genuinely interested and knowledgeable on the topic, these niches can make it easier to attract organic traffic to your new WordPress site.
Now that you have a few blog title ideas, you’re going to need to get your own custom domain name.
This is the website address that visitors to your site will type into their browser.
There are lots of different domain registries on the internet such as:
• Bluehost
• GoDaddy
• NameCheap
All of them work in the exact same way and offer the same available domain names, however, you may find that they charge different prices and offer different deals.
We’d also recommend opting for a domain registry with a solid privacy policy that ensures your personal details are protected.
Once you’ve chosen a new domain, the process of securing it is pretty simple.
You should also take a look on popular social media platforms like Instagram to see if your chosen blog name is currently available as a handle.
If it is, we’d also recommend setting that up now before it gets snatched up!
If you find that your first choice is taken, run a search for your backups, and hopefully, you’ll find that one of those is available instead.
Now you have your own domain, here’s how to start a WordPress blog and then get yourself some web hosting:
Web hosting is what makes it possible for you to have a website on the internet.
It’s like a slice of digital space that you rent from a hosting provider in order to run your blog.
Some popular web hosting companies are:
• Bluehost
• Hostinger
• Hostgator
Each hosting company will offer different basic plans and business plans, so don’t be afraid to shop around for the best deal for what you need.
You may also want to check that your hosting plan includes easy WordPress hosting integration , unmetered bandwidth, and an SSL certificate.
Let’s continue with the signup process:
It’s worth noting at this point that there are two versions of WordPress on the internet: WordPress.com and WordPress.org.
WordPress.com is the website building platform, whereas WordPress.org is the open-source downloadable software.
We will be using the WordPress website blogging platform:
Click on “start your website”:
Pick out your domain name or use a pre-existing one:
Pick your WordPress plan.
Although there is a free domain version of WordPress, you will be limited in available features:
Tell WordPress your goals:
Pick a category:
You will then be taken to a customizable theme section where you can begin to create your homepage.
The first step to making your site look how you want is to use a really good blog theme.
WordPress offers thousands of free and premium themes.
You can filter your search to see the themes that are free, as well as those that you have to pay for.
WordPress offers tons of high-quality free themes, so don’t feel like you have to fork out for premium!
Additionally, you need to go to “site identity” to ensure your site’s title and tagline say what you want them to say.
This is where you can also upload your blog’s logo.
If you haven't already designed a logo for your new blog yet, don’t worry!
Free tools like Canva make it easy to create a professional and unique logo in seconds.
Here is an example:
These sites allow you to choose a logo template, which you can then customize and tweak with drag and drop symbols, text, fonts, and colors to design your own blog logo.
It’s super easy and available for free! Just make sure that you keep your logo simple and self-explanatory.
You want your blog site to look as credible as possible.
When you’ve designed a logo that you’re happy with, download it to your device as a compressed file with a transparent background.
Then go ahead and upload it to your WordPress “site identity” editor.
WordPress plugins are software add-ons that improve the functionality and performance of your site.
For new bloggers, these plugins make it easy to build a fully-optimized site without having to learn how to code.
You can access plugins, widgets, and additional customization options in your WordPress dashboard sidebar.
Plugins are great for keeping your website SEO-friendly, building an email list, and helping you keep track of your metrics using addons like Google Analytics
However, it’s important to note that having too many plugins can slow your site down.
Google’s recommended page load time is under 2 seconds.
So to keep Google happy, we recommend that you stick to these site staples:
Elementor is the key to building an impressive site as a first-time blogger.
It allows you to visually build your site’s pages and posts with a drag-and-drop editor and offers lots of cool elements like contact forms, image libraries, slideshows, testimonials, post grids, social media icons, and Google Maps.
The plugin is available for free, with the option to upgrade to Elementor Pro if you want to use premium features.
Not only does this plugin make building your site easier, it also ensures you have a responsive design that looks awesome on every device.
And considering that 58% of internet searches come from a mobile device - we’d say it’s pretty important to have a site that works well on mobile.
Jetpack is a great multi-tasking plugin for boosting your site’s functions, features, security, SEO, and for monitoring your site’s traffic statistics.
It’s so good in fact, that you might find that it’s already pre-downloaded on your WordPress site. If not, we’d highly recommend adding it.
In terms of boosting functionality, Jetpack allows you to add useful features to your site such as “related posts” and sharing buttons.
It also boosts security by identifying and banning malicious IP addresses from your site, as well as blocking attempts from hackers to break into your account.
Lastly, Jetpack provides real-time stats and analytics to help you monitor your site’s traffic. You’ll find yourself continually checking your statistics as your blog begins to grow!
Yoast SEO is the #1 plugin in the plugin directory, boasting the most active installations and the most five-star ratings.
And there’s no wonder everyone loves it so much, it makes search engine optimization SO easy.
No need to spend time reading up on algorithms and crawlers, this plugin does it all for you!
With Yoast’s easy-to-use SEO tools, every blog post and page you publish will be ready for Google to rank in their search results.
Earlier we told you that pagespeed is highly important for your SEO.
As much as you want to fill your site with eye-catching images and illustrations, high-quality images can slow down your site.
In fact, 39% of browsers stop engaging with a site if the images are taking too long to load.
This plugin automatically speeds everything up by compressing your images.
Now that you’ve learned how to start a WordPress blog, now you need to focus on some awesome, high-quality content.
You may also want to decide whether you will be writing the content yourself or using a blog writing service.
Whether you already have a ton of ideas for blog content, or you aren’t really sure where to start, your first blog post could benefit from some keyword research.
Keyword research lets you know what people are searching for in your blog niche, the questions they are asking, and the information they want to know.
If you want people to head over to your blog and read your posts, it makes sense to target these search queries.
Keyword research is really easy to do, just head to a free keyword research tool and type in your blog niche.
Additionally, here are a few actionable steps you can take to create great blog posts:
• Know your audience and who you're writing for
• Write valuable and helpful information such as tutorials or how-tos
• Be comprehensive
• Use link-building
• Keep the paragraphs readable and easily understandable
• Use authoritative sources
• Keep it scrollable
• Consider writing long-form content
• Use proper SEO formatting
• Use a clear CTA (call-to-action)
Let’s move on to important pages you should have on your homepage:
Your site will automatically have a designated homepage, and how it looks and behaves will depend on the theme you chose to install to your site.
Different themes allow for different homepage customizations, but at the very least you’re going to want to make sure you include the following elements:
• Headline telling your visitors what your site is about
• Sub-headline
• A clickable display of your most recent blog posts
• Supporting visuals
• Benefits
• Social proof
• Easy navigation
• A clear CTA
• Content
Your “About” page will need a couple of paragraphs about you, your story, why you decided to start a blog, etc.
It’s also great to include a photograph of yourself so that your readers can put a face to the name!
Here are a few tips to create a great about me page:
• Clearly communicate your value
• Tell a compelling story
• Use your about me page to sell yourself
• Create a compelling and clear CTA
On your “contact” page, make sure you include an email address that readers can contact you on, as well as a contact form that they can fill in if they wish.
You’ll be happy to hear that there are just two more steps left until you have a complete website that’s ready for blogging! The first one is making sure you have a user-friendly site menu.
A simple and clear menu at the top of your website doesn’t just make it easier for browsers to find their way around.
It also makes it easier for Google’s crawlers to learn more about your site and place it in the appropriate search results.
Now that you have a homepage, a blog, an about page, and a contact page, you’ve just got to get them on your main menu.
Your site is looking great and you’ve got tons of ideas for insightful and fun blog posts, so let’s make sure you’re getting seen.
Growing an initial audience for your blog can seem daunting at first, especially getting those crucial first few readers.
However, once people start reading and enjoying your blog it will become easier to attract larger quantities of organic traffic.
Let’s go through some of the best methods for drawing traffic to your blog:
Ordinary people don’t tend to check their favorite blogs every day for updates and new posts - but one thing they do check every day is social media!
In fact, the average adult spends 95 minutes each day actively looking at social media.
So you’ll want to make sure you’re catching their eye when they’re scrolling through their feed.
Set up social media accounts for your blog on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, and share teasers and CTAs for your new posts.
A great way to reach new audiences is to write a guest post for a more successful blog.
Have a look online for blogs that write about similar topics to you and see if they have a guest post policy.
You can then reach out and pitch your idea for a post. If they accept, ask if you can include a link to your own blog in your author bio.
Readers who enjoyed your post might want to check out the content on your own blog.
The blogging community is so big that there’s bound to be a whole network of bloggers in your niche - find them and introduce yourself!
Offering each other support and encouragement by sharing posts, liking, and commenting can be really helpful for building an audience.
Want more likes, comments, and shares?
You’d better start liking, commenting, and sharing other people’s posts too - it’s just good karma!
Not only does interacting with other bloggers’ posts make them more likely to return the favor, but it also makes your blog name more visible to their followers and readers.
It’s kind of like free blog advertising.
But beware, any spammy behavior will not result in the good karma you are looking for.
The internet is full of forums, and those forums are full of people asking questions that your blog has the answer to! Quora is a good example of this.
People ask questions, other people answer and then they vote for the best answer.
If you look for questions relating to your blog niche and provide the most in-depth, accurate answers along with a link to more info on your blog.
Everyone who is asking that same question will be a potential new audience member.
During this guide to creating a new WordPress blog, every step has been optimized to provide the most Google-friendly site possible.
If you continue to use keyword research and your Yoast SEO tool to create optimized blog posts, you could start receiving organic traffic from Google searchers.
Receiving free organic traffic is a long-term process, but once you start appearing on the first page of search results it can really start rolling in.
Getting your blog off the ground is hard work, but once a reliable stream of traffic starts pouring into your blog every day, you can think about making a bit of money.
Traffic is valuable. Once you get a steady flow of it to your blog, you can monetize it.
Here we’re going to talk through the various ways that bloggers make money.
Ranging from the methods that are suitable for beginners (such as Google Adsense and affiliate marketing), to methods you might want to consider when you’ve started receiving larger amounts of traffic.
You don’t have to wait for tons of traffic to get started with Google Adsense - you can do it right now!
Just check out Google’s guidelines and make sure your site ticks all of their boxes.
Head to Google’s Adsense site and enter your blog URL, email, name, and address.
Google will let you know if you’ve been approved within 24 hours. If you don’t get approved, don’t worry!
This happens to lots of new blogs, and you can reapply after guidelines are met.
Another way beginner bloggers can monetize whatever traffic they have is by using affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing programs all work in roughly the same way.
You recommend a certain product and include a special affiliate link on your blog. Then whenever someone clicks on your link and purchases the product - you get paid a commission!
There are different affiliate networks out there that suit different blogging niches.
For instance, beauty bloggers may find that different makeup and skincare brands offer different affiliate programs.
However, one affiliate program that suits most blogging niches is Amazon Associates.
This program is free to join, all you need to do is set up an account.
You can then browse the marketplace for products that naturally fit into one of your blog posts.
Amazon will provide you with a special affiliate link for that product which you can include in your post.
Whenever someone purchases that product within 24 hours of clicking your link - you’ll get paid!
Always include a disclosure statement when sharing affiliate links.
As well as all of the content that you are putting out for free on your blog, you have the option to create premium content that readers can pay for.
If you write a food blog this could be a recipe eBook. If you write about fitness it could be a training plan. And if you write about travel it could be city travel guides.
It might seem like a lot of time and effort to create a high-quality digital product, but you only have to create one product that people will love. Then it could continue to make sales for years to come.
You can also make the process easier for yourself by using an online tool like Canva.
Canva offers ready-made eBook templates and thousands of stock images that will impress.
Lastly, remember to set a good price for your product and share it across social media platforms regularly.
A sponsorship is when a brand or business pays you to write about them.
Sure, getting your blog and social media content sponsored may require a lot of traffic and followers, but you might not need to be as huge as you think.
More and more brands are on the lookout for micro-influencers who have a small but dedicated following.
So once you find that you have a reliable flow of blog traffic and regular engagement with your posts, it might be time to reach out to small companies that would be a good fit for your content.
Our top tips for landing a sponsorship are:
• Regularly like and comment on your target brand’s social media content
• Sign up for a sponsorship network
• Create a one-page media kit with stats about your blog’s page views and engagement
You did it! If you made it through every step on this list and now you know how to start a WordPress blog.
You have the site, the blog content, the social media presence, and the growing audience.
Keep your eye on the prize and play the long game.
Not sure where to start? Contact us today!