Do you need a blog and want to create one? So you are in the right place. Learning how to start a blog is a question I get asked a lot and instead of answering a little bit here and there, I decided to gather everything I know about creating a blog and create a definitive resource to reference anytime.
It's very difficult to create a blog. When I created my first blog I complained and struggled to understand why it didn't work for me. Besides, I didn't know how much it would cost, where to go to get what I needed, and ended up spending a lot of money needlessly.
With a lot of trial and error, I noticed that I was creating a systematized list to save myself time each time I create a new blog.
After getting several requests for exactly how do I start a blog, I took my checklist, polished it, and decided to share this guide with you. So if you're looking to learn how to create a blog from scratch, here's your step-by-step guide.
Which tool to use?
Imagine you want to write a book, now do an exercise with me: mentally list the entire structure of a complete book. What can you think? Cover, summary, content… Ah, it has a preface! Missing the title page! What is colophon again? Right. now write this book and assemble it, complete. Will it be excellent?
Now imagine a second scenario, You want to write a book, and you have access not only to a complete book skeleton to fill out but a community of writers to help you when you need it. Much easier, isn't it?
Today there are hundreds of different tools for creating a website or blog. But one of them is responsible for no less than 60% of all internet content.
And experts and experienced people are all over the world spreading knowledge and asking questions about how to use the tool: WordPress. You may have heard of him. It's unavoidable for any digital creator today.
For that reason, the rest of this guide on starting a blog assumes you're going to use the WordPress framework, okay?
1. Find a killer name for your blog.
First of all, in order to start a blog, you need to brainstorm names for your domain.
If you can, keep your domain name short. Unfortunately, most one-word domains are already taken. But, fear not, there are still plenty of good domains out there.
Okay, so how do you think of domain name ideas?
Free services like Hostinger Domain Checker can help generate domain ideas and see if they're available. Just type in words that you want your domain to contain and soon the site will provide you with several available domain options.
Don't fall into the trap of thinking you need a .com or a .in the domain and no other will suffice. According to the Alexa Ranking, several sites ending in “.net” and “.org” are among the TOP 100 traffic sites worldwide. So it's not the end of the world if you can't get a .com. It is more important to find a domain name that is memorable and easy to spell.
2. Buy your domain before creating a blog
Once you've decided on the best name, you need to register it so the Internet will know it's yours. Making an analogy to the real estate market, if you just bought a lot, registration is like paying taxes.
Should I choose a .com or a .in address?
This end of the address is called a domain extension. And actually there are dozens of extensions for a domain: .com, .in, .org, .net. So how do choose the domain extension?
The short answer is: buy as many as you can. The fullest answer is: It doesn't matter in terms of SEO (how search engines interpret your site). But it makes a difference to your audience's memory.
Remember that “ .in” is the most common extension of Indian websites and it is common to assume that the address will have this purpose. There is also a tendency to choose extensions that make up the blog name.
For example: if you have a blog called “Subscribe”, you can buy a “ .uk ” extension (typical for the United Kingdom) and get the blog “ SUBSCRIBE.UK”! So I still recommend that, if you can, buy the domain “.com” to avoid losing visits.
3) Choose a Hosting Service
Once you buy a domain name, you need a place to store your files. Going back to the real estate analogy, you're entitled to your lot, now we need to pay for the space, where you're going to build the house.
Now, there are a ton of different hosting options out there for your new blog. And the choice can be a little difficult because there are several factors that determine the quality of the service and the weight that each evaluation criterion receives depends on the type of website being created.
Beware of the question “which is the best hosting on the market ” and beware of megalomaniac developers! They can offer you a service that is way beyond your need and leave you with an account worth tens of thousands of reais!
I'm going to list what's important to you who are creating an initial blog, without major requirements:
Service
Hosting technicalities can be very complicated and if your hosting does not give friendly support it can make it impossible to manage without expert help. But you don't need it! Choose a hosting that has personalized service (no generic chats and FAQs) and is fast.
Backup Service
When a problem occurs and even a viral attack, you will miss a backup of your blog, with all the posts, comments, etc. Even if it costs a little more, be sure to hire backup services, especially if you don't have a developer helping you throughout the process.
Technical Details
Linux hosting
- 256MB of memory (possible with less but if you have a lot of plugins installed it may be slow or not enough)
- 1Gb of storage
- Support for PHP 5.6 or higher
- MySQL database
- (optional) cPanel control panel.
Local Service
Hosting is nothing more than a series of computers that are rented for us to place our blogs and websites on them and they are published on the internet.
This means that a website hosted in the United States or India will take much longer to reach your computer than a website hosted in your city. It's just less distance and that makes a difference.
Therefore, prioritize Indian hosting services (if possible, in your city) to maintain your blog. But be sure to check the above items and whether your blog will actually be maintained on local servers.
Some hosting services simply rent larger, more robust computers in other countries and offer the service in English or Hindi and with support. This may cause a price increase and will not help with loading.
CDN (Optional)
Let's assume that your blog will be visited throughout India (or even abroad), you'll want it to be available locally to everyone and to be accessed faster than a server halfway around the world.
CDN is a system that allows your blog to be stored on some server in the region where it was accessed. Then the next person to visit you will receive the blog much faster. The speed compares to when you've already visited a website today and come back to it later.
Install WordPress on your Blog
WordPress installation can be done in several different ways depending on your hosting provider (but all are really simple).
Installing WordPress is very, very simple. In fact, it's so easy that WordPress calls it “the famous 5 minutes install” However if you really don't want to deal with any of that, you can call your hosting support and have them install for you.
Get a theme for your blog-
WordPress itself maintains a catalog of free themes that are very good, but you should be careful not to choose the same theme as billions of other blogs. When choosing a theme, prioritize:
1) If it's responsive, that is, if it's ready to be seen on any screen (mobile phones, tablets, etc. Take a quick test here )
2) Has the opportunity to insert CTAs (the buttons that prompt for action)
3) It has a low load response time (You can check it here )
4) Good navigability, without being polluted
5) There are no programming errors
ESSENTIAL FACTORS OF A SUCCESSFUL BLOG
I'm not the biggest blogger in the world, but after doing this for several years, I feel like I've found a few things that work.
They can suffer from time to time, but these essential factors for starting a successful blog are still worth considering, in my opinion, if you really want to take blogging seriously.
1. DON'T GIVE UP AND BE CONSISTENT
If you like to go out as soon as things get tough, find something else to do because starting and maintaining a blog takes a long time. The main difference between those who start a blog and eventually succeed and those who don't is whether or not they continue blogging.
If you want to know how to start a blog, there is one thing that is really important: don't give up and keep posting frequency and consistency. 2 posts per week is a good start, with texts of at least 600 words.
Seriously, don't give up. Blogging is not for those who give up.
2. GET USED TO THE HATERS
Get used to these words: bland, horrible, I don't like it, and a bunch of more profane ones. If you're going to start a blog, you'd better get used to haters and deal with this simple fact: some people won't like you. This is a reality you will have to get used to.
Differentiate haters of opinions and constructive suggestions from your audience. They, yes, must be taken into account.
3. USE GOOD QUALITY PHOTOS (+ FREE IMAGE BANK LIST)
Attention new bloggers: If you want to start a blog and do something to make your blog really stand out, get good pictures.
Good photos can make or break a website. Great photos can turn a theme everyone has into a semi-pro-looking website that's instantly recognizable as your own.
So many people neglect this area, but putting a little effort into it can be a huge factor in your website's success.
If you can't start taking your own photos right away, check out some of the free image bank sites: Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash, and Freepik.
4. BUILD A BLOG FROM YOUR REALITY
If you want to start a blog, it should flow from what you actually do. This is about being honest and congruent with what you say and what your company has as its values and mission.
At this time, it is important to distinguish your personal opinions from your company's institutional positioning.
5. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO can be summarized as the study of how search engines analyze and rank/list websites. And, of course, how to apply this knowledge so that your website is positioned in the best possible way, that is, it appears to who will be your customer in the future.
Don't miss this complete SEO Guide By me, it will definitely help you in ranking higher on Google or any other search engine.
6. PROMOTE YOUR BLOG ON SOCIAL MEDIA.
The final step is to promote your blog on social media, as it's a brand new blog, that's why it's difficult to get your blog posts indexed and rank on google in the initial days.
So, the best practice to get traffic in the initial days is to promote it on social media platforms.
Some of the best platforms where you can promote are:
- YouTube
- Medium
- Tumblr
And there are many more you can find on google. Well, you can check out this post to get more free traffic to your brand new blog fast.
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