If you’re a student with a passion for writing, having your blog can be an additional source of income. You can turn that passion into a job while you study to get a degree and maybe get a better job. One easy way to start blogging is to create a WordPress blog, which can seem daunting for first-timers. However, starting a WordPress blog may not seem so insurmountable once you’ve broken down the process into bits.
In this guide, we want to give you practical steps for launching a WordPress blog. Also, starting a blog is not the endgame; you want to maintain it so that it brings you profit. Therefore, after talking about the process of launching, we will talk about how to maintain and be successful at it. We prefer WordPress for blogging for different reasons – it is easy to use, is SEO friendly, offers several customization options, and more.
Before You Get Started, What Do You Need?
You need three things to create a WordPress blog successfully: a domain name, a web hosting account, and a complete thirty-minute focus. Your domain name is the intended name of your blog; think long and hard about this before you choose. First, you want a quality domain name but also something your audience can easily remember.
Meanwhile, a web hosting account is where your website will live on the internet. Once you’ve got the necessary materials sorted out, clear your schedule for the next thirty minutes. In 30 minutes, even less, you can launch your blog from scratch and create your first blog post. Now, let’s get into the process of creating a WordPress blog for the first time.
Straightforward Steps to Creating and Launching Your WordPress Blog
Creating a WordPress involves eight major steps, which we have highlighted below. We urge you to read with rapt attention before practicing the steps.
Step 1: Choose and Register Your Blog name
Your blog name is your blog’s identity; it controls how people perceive your blog, so you want to choose carefully. Knowing the right name to choose for our blog can be difficult, but you only need to ask yourself some questions. For example, what will your blog be about? What is your style? What kind of audience are you targeting? Also, how easy is it to spell and remember the name, and is the name related to your business?
Selecting a name for your blog will become easier once you can ask and answer these questions. If you still can’t decide, you can use a blog name generation as inspiration or check out how competitors name their blogs. When you’ve chosen a name, register it by visiting the domain registrar’s website. You’ll see if the name is available or if someone has already registered it.
Step 2: Select a WordPress Web Hosting
Your WordPress web host is important; it must be secure, constantly updated, fast, scalable, and backed up daily. It’s easy to opt for the cheapest web hosting services, but we highly recommend against that. Your best option is managed WordPress hosting, particularly since the setup is geared towards WordPress. Some of the best and fastest WordPress hosting companies include DreamHost, Nexcess, Cloudways, Kinsta, and Hostinger.
Step 3: Install WordPress
The next step is to install and set up WordPress on your device in straightforward steps. Some hosting companies will automatically install WordPress for you, while you need to do it manually yourself for some. Bluehost, for example, automatically installs it; you just need to log into your Bluehost account and then your WordPress, and you’re set. Once you’ve set up WordPress, you can go ahead with creating blog pages, customizing your blog’s design, and blogging.
Step 4: Choose a Theme
The blog themes control the visual appearance of your WordPress blog; you want your blog to be visually pleasing. Therefore, you should customize your blog’s look and feel using pre-made WordPress themes, some of which are free. To change your blog’s theme from the bland default theme, go to your WordPress dashboard and select Appearance – Themes. Then, click “Add New Button,” and you will get access to over ten thousand free WordPress themes.
When selecting a theme, remember that simple is better; therefore, choose a theme with a simple design. When you’ve decided, install the theme and activate it; you can also customize it if you desire.
Step 5: Write Your First Post
Your WordPress blog is ready to go; it is time to write your first blog post. You can do that by going to the menu on your dashboard and clicking on “Posts,” and then “Add New.” An editor area will appear where you can start writing; after writing, click on “Publish” to make the post publicly available. Also, you will see “Categories and Tags” on the posts screen: this option lets you organize your posts into sections.
Step 6: Plugins
WordPress plugins let you add new features to your website, such as a contact page, sliders, galleries, and forums. There are at least 60,000 WordPress plugins you can choose from, including ShortPixel, Broken Link Checker, Spectra, Starter Templates, and more. These plugins make customizing, editing, and securing your blog easier. Also, you can easily optimize your blog for SEO, increase the load speed, and do much more.
Maintaining Your WordPress Blog: Keeping It Successful
Once you’ve built your blog, the real work begins – you want the blog to thrive. Three things you need to maintain a successful blog and earn from it are time, consistency, and patience. If you give it what it takes, you can earn tens of thousands of dollars annually through blogging. Here are tips to help you maintain a successful WordPress blog:
- Choose a niche, say thesis writing help services, and stick with it – decide on the type of blog you want to create.
- Always show up – that is, always post educational, fun, and engaging content on your blog.
- Monetize your blog – by displaying ads, affiliate marketing, and sponsored reviews, among others.
Conclusion
With the steps involved in creating a WordPress blog broken down, you can see it’s not as daunting as it sounds. Remember that creating the blog is only the beginning; to be successful at blogging, you must be patient and consistent. Also, learn the different ways you can monetize your blog and start earning thousands within a year.