What you are going to create about?
Where to Create a website?
How to Make Money on that Website?
Its Free or Cost ?
need to Create a Blog ? – 3 Easy Step by Step Guide
1)
DECIDE WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO BLOG ABOUT
The
first thing you need to do is pick a blog topic. Is there anything you
enjoy or are really passionate about? If there is, then start a
blog about it. When I started my first blog, I was really interested in
smartphones and new tech gadgets, so I picked that topic. It makes no sense to
start a blog about something you have no interest in, while it’s much easier to
write articles and posts about topics that you’re passionate about.
It’s
even better when you have been interested in a specific field or an industry
for a long time, because you are already an expert. However, if you don’t have
any idea which topic or niche you want to write about, think about your hobbies
or just start blogging about your daily activities, memorable moments or simply
about everything.
2)
DECIDE WHICH BLOGGING PLATFORM TO USE, FREE OR SELF-HOSTED?
First of all, most of the blogs on the internet
are made using the WordPress blogging platform. In fact, WordPress has been
downloaded over 65 million times and is used by many popular blogs
and websites.
Here’s why I think using WordPress is the
best way to start your blog:
·
You can choose from many different layouts
and free themes
·
You can easily write blog posts and add
pictures/images to your blog
·
People can comment and share your blog
·
etc…
Free is not FREE…
Yes, you can create a free blog on
a blogger.com or tumblr.com, but they are not actually free. And
let me tell you why…
You
are not able to get your OWN domain – Instead, you will get a sub-domain. My blog
(startbloggingonline.com) has its own domain, but if I had decided to start a
blog on blogger.com (for example), then it would look like
startbloggingonline.blogger.com – a bit clumsy, isn’t it?
They
are lacking of different themes/layouts and plugins – In other words, your blog will look really blank and boring.
If you want additional themes or plugins to customize your blog, you have to
pay… a lot.
You
have NO control over your blog –
Your blog is hosted on another site, thus you are not the “owner” of this
property. If moderators decide that your blog does not fit with their policies
(which can happen quite often), they can actually delete your blog without any
warnings. In short, all your hard work and time spent on the blog will be
vanished within seconds.
You
are not able to earn money via blogging – Yes, you CAN make money with blogging, lots of people
are. If you ever decide to earn money with your blog, you are unable to do it
on a free blog. They simply don’t allow you to do that. Even if they do, they
want their own cut, which is usually 50%.
However,
if you are on a budget and don’t plan to blog more than few months then
definitely start with a free blog. A self-hosted blog on your own domain (yourblog.com) is by far the better
option. It gives you full control over your blog and you’ll look more
professional. It’s also a great choice for people who want to blog long-term,
share their knowledge, become a blogger and earn some money from it.
WHAT
IS THE COST OF STARTING A SELF-HOSTED BLOG ON YOUR OWN DOMAIN?
Not much. You will need a domain that will
cost approximately $10 a year and a hosting (service that connects your blog to
the internet) is around $4 – $7 a month (less than a movie ticket). To sum this
up, it’ll be around $50 a year. The good thing about self-hosted blog is that
you don’t have to be committed. If you feel that blogging is actually not your
cup of tea, you can cancel anytime and many services have 90 days money back
guaranteed as well.
3)
CHOOSING A DOMAIN & HOSTING, AND SETTING UP A WORDPRESS BLOG ON YOUR OWN
DOMAIN
If you decided to go with a self-hosted
blog on your own domain, smart choice.
Finding
a great domain name can take a while, but it’s worth it. I suggest you pick something brandable and easy to
remember. Let’s say you are planning to start a fashion blog. www.fashionblog2013.org or www.all-about-latest-fashion-trends.com is not a
great idea. But why?
People
simply cannot remember long domains and when they want to return to your blog
they are likely to forget your domain name. It’s much better to choose
something memorable, such as www.fashionologie.com,
www.vivalafashion.com or something similar. As an alternative,
you can just use your name, for example: www.MikeWallagher.com
In
short, your domain name should be:
·
Catchy
·
Easy to remember
·
Unique
WHERE
CAN I GET A DOMAIN NAME AND HOSTING?
I
usually suggest people to get a domain and hosting from the same place, in that
way you’ll save some money and time. In the past few years while I have been
creating and managing blogs, I have discovered that there are very few
reliable hosting companies.
To
be more clear, I’ve used several hosting companies in the past. Just to mention
some of them: Bluehost, Fatcow, Hostgator, Dreamhost. BUT… I wasn’t
really satisfied with them. Their customer support wasn’t really
professional and it took a lot of time to get in touch. Quite often my blog’s
speed (page loading time) was ridiculously slow. The reason was quite simple
(they aren’t that bad, actually): THEY WERE OVERSELLING their services. They
focused on getting more and more new clients rather than improving their
services, support and valuing their current customers.
One
of the most reliable ones (also the one that I’m currently using) is Web
Hosting Hub. Their service is quite cheap compared with others and they are
well-known for their great customer support via email and phone (24/7). Web
Hosting Hub is also good for beginners too, as they have a “1-Click-Blog-Installation” feature that is focused on
WordPress blogs and websites. You simply click few buttons and your self-hosted
blog on your own domain is ready.
Of course, you can use any other hosting
company and I have included a tutorial on how to install your blog manually as
well. If you decide to go with a different hosting company then make sure they
offer unlimited bandwidth and unlimited disk space. That will help you to avoid
problems later on.
You
have two options to install your blog to your own domain:
·
A) With “One-Click-Installation” using
WebHostingHub (You’ll get a domain from there as well).
·
B) Manually.
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