In 2021, it’s quite easy to start a blog that can generate a chunk of money for you. Even if you have scant knowledge of coding or web design, you can create and run your blog in less than 30-minutes. Another misconception about starting a blog is that you should be a proficient writer to become successful. But the truth is far different from this. People read blogs to get a personal standpoint on things and that’s why bloggers use informal and conversational styles to attract readers. To know more about blogging, you should join the best digital marketing course in Ahmedabad.
In this article, we are going to mention the step-by-step guidelines for setting up your blog.
Choose a Name for Your Blog
The best way to find a perfect name for your blog is to start with brainstorming. Unbridle all your ideas and turn them into a name. Take a pen and paper and write down every name that comes to mind. Start combining words and create 5-10 potential names. Use Bluehost’s domain name checker to see whether your selected domain name is available or not. Follow some tips while choosing a domain name for your blog.
- If possible, choose a .com
- Try to avoid using numbers, hyphens, and homophones
- Keep your domain name short and terse
- Easy to spell and understand
- Avoid intricate and commonly misspelt words
Find the Right Blogging Platform
You may sign up with free blogging sites or platforms such as Blogger.com, WordPress.com, and Tumblr.com. But if you are passionate about blogging, then choose a self-hosted blog platform. There are an array of downsides (limited monetization, customization, traffic, and no control) for free blogging sites. That’s why you should opt for a self-hosted blog. A plethora of statistics has claimed that WordPress (free and open-source platform) is the most favourite blogging platform in 2021. Why is WordPress the best option for you?
- It’s an open-source platform
- It’s very flexible and comes with hundreds of free blog themes
- It has a large developer community
- Update regularly
- You will have full control over your blog
Domain name cost in WordPress is around $10/year and web hosting cost is $4/month.
Set up your Blog Through Web Hosting
Many experts recommend choosing Bluehost as a blog/web hosting and domain register for years. By using Bluehost, you will get
- The customized domain name (free for the 1st year)
- Website hosting ($2.75/month+)
- Simple, one-click install for WordPress
- Free email accounts, like your.name@yourdomain.com
After signing up with Bluehost, you can install your WordPress blog. Here’s what you need to do to get to install WordPress on Bluehost
- First, log in to your user profile at Bluehost.
- On the “Home” page click on the blue button “WordPress”
- WordPress installation starts within a few secs
After installation, Bluehost will encourage you to choose your admin login and password for WordPress.
Design Your Blog by Choosing a Theme
Another prime feature of WordPress is that you can get a top-notch look for your blog (irrespective of how proficient you are in designing). WordPress has many free themes that you can customize easily. For this, go to your WordPress dashboard and navigate to Appearance → Themes. Once there, click on “Add New”. Then, switch the tab to “Popular”. Here we can see the most popular free WordPress themes in the market and you can install any of them as per your need.
You can install your favourite theme onto your blog by clicking on “install” next to the theme’s name, followed by “activate”. With WordPress, you can change themes frequently without any hassle.
Customize and Optimize Your Blog
Customization
WordPress has a chunk of plugins that can improve the functionality of your blog. You may use plugins to add forums, contact forms, or sliders. These plugins are not available by default.
- The first step is to click the “Customize” button on your active theme.
- Based on your selected theme, the menu option will vary. The main category to edit is “Site Identity.”
- Here, you can add the name of your blog and a tagline if you want.
- After finishing, click the “Save and Publish” button.
Optimization
With WordPress, you can simply optimize your blog in terms of technical aspects. You can download a plugin called” Yoast SEO”.
- Search for “Yoast SEO” in the search bar and it will be the first result that comes up.
- Click the “Install Now” button.
- Then, hit the “Activate” button after the installation is completed.
You can access the plugin’s settings from the new SEO menu in the sidebar or by clicking the icon at the top.
- From the dashboard, go to “Your Info” and set the foundations for your blog. Write properly your website name and tagline.
- Then, identify yourself as a company or person.
- Click the “Save Changes” button and go to the next step.
- Next, go to the “Webmaster Tools” tab and click “Google Search Console.” Google Search Console is a webmaster tool that helps you to submit your site to their search index and optimize visibility.
- Sign in to your Google account
- After login, click the “Alternate methods” tab and select “HTML tag.”
- A new drop-down will appear with your search console meta code. Copy the alphanumeric string without quotation marks.
- Next, paste your meta code into the Google Search Console text box and click “Save Changes.”
- Finally, click the “Verify” button.
Brainstorm a few blog topics
Once you have completed all the technical sides of your blog, you need to find out some intriguing topics for your audience. While selecting a topic, consider the below-mentioned things
- What are the challenges my readers are facing?
- What excites or intrigues my readers?
- Who are my readers?
- What are my readers expecting from my niche?
- What are the things my readers hate about my niche?
Try to use some catchy lines to get the attention of your readers. Also, embrace them with 2-3 punch lines in the rest of the content.
Write Your First Blog
Now, you are ready with the topics, what are you waiting for? Write an impeccable blog with some pictures and illustrations to entice your customers. After finishing your writing, click on “Posts” in the left sidebar. To create a new entry, click the “Add New” button at the top or in the sidebar. You can start typing the body of your article in the large text area and to add an image, click the blue + sign, then select the “Image” block. Choose “upload”, “select image” (if it’s already uploaded to your site”, or “insert from URL.” Once your image is uploaded, you can resize it.
Create compelling SEO titles and meta descriptions that will explain what your post is about. When you begin to optimize your title and description, the Yoast SEO plugin will provide real-time feedback.
Read More: E-commerce Conversion Optimization Tactics to Boost Your Sales
Create an Editorial Calendar
Because of inconsistency, most bloggers fail to create an impression on their readers. While writing blogs, you should remember new readers want more and exciting information from your blog. So, you should be consistent in terms of posting and publishing. Make a date calendar with topics and when you are going to publish them. Prepare the calendar at least 2 months in advance so that you can write some intriguing topics and post them on a regular interval basis.
The above article gave you an idea of how to set up your blog step-by-step.
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