If you’re here you’re wanting to learn how to start a blog.
You’re also probably feeling a bit overwhelmed, which believe me, you’re not alone. Blogging is a great way to start sharing your ideas, building an audience, and yes, even making money online.
I know there are lots guides on how to get started blogging, whether it’s how to plan your blog posts or advice on what you should write about but many leave out the actual nuts and bolts of getting your blog published.
That’s why I’ve put together this simple, step-by-step guide to help beginners start a blog in 2026, quickly and easily. No fluff, just the details you need to get your blog live today.
How to Start a Blog in 9 Exact Steps
Here’s the breakdown of this post.
It covers a lot of useful information, but don’t get overwhelmed, work through each step and you’re on your way to owning a successful blog.
- Step #1: Pick a niche (topic) for your blog
- Step #2: Choose a blogging platform
- Step #3: Choose a domain name and get blog hosting
- Step #4: Start a blog by setting up WordPress
- Step #5: Select a theme and design your blog
- Step #6: Write and publish blog content
- Step #7: Optimize your blog for search engines
- Step #8: Promote, market, and grow your blog
- Step #9: Make money blogging (optional)
FirstSiteGuide is a free resource that is 100% supported by readers.
We’ve spent more than 10 years helping people start their own blogs.
Disclosure: If you purchase products through links on our site (i.e. Bluehost services), we may earn a commission. It comes at no extra cost to you, but it supports us in creating more useful content.
More than thirty thousand people have started their blogs using this free guide.
This in-depth guide is 8500+ words. I share everything new bloggers should know for starting a blog in 2026.
Take your time and read at your own pace.
⏳ Short on Time? → Quick Start with Bluehost
If you want to skip the intro and have Bluehost’s AI builder help you launch a WordPress blog, use the link below:
Jump to Step #4: Start a blog by setting up WordPress software
P.S. Questions? Get in touch.
Before you move into action, here are some valuable facts about why you should start a blog.
Firstly: Is blogging still relevant in 2026?
Short answer, yes!
Longer answer, it looks different than it used to, but starting a blog is still relevant, even in the age of AI.
If you’ve come across an AI written blog post you likely picked up on it immediately and went somewhere else to get your information.
Search engines are continually getting better at cracking down on poorly written content which is to your benefit.
The lower those AI posts show up in the search results page the better for those of us that put effort into planning blog content and writing quality blog posts.
Now, think about why you’re starting a blog
Are you wanting to share your ideas? Practice writing? Build a portfolio? Build a community? Make passive income?
A blog can help you to accomplish all of these things if you put the time and effort into it. Blogging isn’t a get rich quick play. It’s a long game that pay dividends down the road.
Here are some common reasons why people choose to create a blog:
- Have an outlet for creative expression.
- Establish expertise and build an audience.
- Network with others and grow a business.
- Enhance writing and thinking skills.
- Become self-employed or make more money.
Blogging has a lot of benefits, and for some people, it can be a great way to earn extra income online whether you monetize through display ads, affiliate income, or use it to sell your own products and services.
But we’ll in get to all that later…
A quick primer – Blogging for beginners
All in all, there are four important steps to understanding how to make a blog quickly. If you’re familiar with these things, you can set up a blog in 15-20 minutes (or even less):
- Pick a blogging niche (topic)
- Select the best blog platform
- Get a domain and web hosting
- Set up your WordPress website
Creating a blog is your first step in entering the blogging world. However, to be successful online you have to be a lifetime learner.
We have more than 100 free guides and resources on FirstSiteGuide covering everything from how to write a blog post to where to find content ideas.
Step #1: Pick A Niche For Your Blog
Choosing the right blog niche is the first big step in this process.
A niche defines what you’ll write about and helps attract the right audience. To make blogging enjoyable (and sustainable) start by listing topics that you could talk about for 20 minutes with no real preparation.
These topics could be:
- things you’re passionate
- professional knowledge
- hobbies you love
- skills you want to share
- even things you’re eager to learn more about
If you enjoy photography, coding, or cooking, all of these could be great niche ideas. The key is to pick something you won’t get tired of writing about.
People may have many reasons to start a blog, but having a clear niche makes it easier to grow and monetize.
Whether you want to blog online for fun or build a business, choosing the right topic makes blogging success a lot easier.
Next Steps:
- List 5-10 topics you could talk about for 20 minutes without preparation
- Research existing blogs in your potential niches using Google and Pinterest
- Choose one niche that combines your passion with proven audience demand
💡Don’t overthink your niche choice! You can always evolve and refine your focus as you grow. Consider a balance between a topic you enjoy and one that your research has shown others have monetized.
Step #2: Choose a blogging platform
At this stage, you’ll need to decide on the best blogging platform for you and determine the type of blog management software you’ll use.
When it comes to blogging sites, you have a few options. Based on the most recent blogging statistics, the large majority of sites are built with WordPress (see below).
WordPress software is by far the most popular technology for blogging, with over 95% market share in the U.S.
This post you’re reading now is managed by WordPress, and I recommend building your blog using the self-hosted WordPress blog setup that I share in this guide.
Going with WordPress as your blog platform gives you complete ownership, control, and endless ways to customize your blog.
You’ll set up your blog using a custom domain name and web hosting (it’s not as technical as it sounds, we’ll show you how in the next step).
It just costs a few dollars per month for the webspace (hosting account) and around fifteen dollars per year for a domain. The actual blogging software is free and open source.
What About Free Blogging Sites?
We’ll admit, for new bloggers it’s tempting to start a blog using free-hosted platforms such as Blogger, Tumblr, or even Substack.
However, it’s important to understand that “free” always comes with limitations:
- First, your blog name will be set as a subdomain (e.g., blogger.yourblogname.com) vs a custom domain with WordPress (e.g., yourblogname.com)
- Second, you’ll be subject to their rules and restrictions.
Free options come in handy for testing a blogging platform.
But if you’re serious about starting a blog, you’ll have to start paying for full services and a custom domain name sooner or later.
Luckily, the cost barrier to entry is very low.
Next Steps:
- Decide whether WordPress.org is the best fit for you
- If needed, review other popular blogging platforms
- Choose where you’d like to start your blog
Kind words from top bloggers and influencers:
“If you’re just starting a blog or want to level up your skills, make sure to check out @firstsiteguide.”
“Blogging guide for beginners via @firstsiteguide. Super helpful!”
“New to #blogging or looking for additional blogging resources? Check out @FirstSiteGuide.”
Step #3: Choose A Domain Name And Get Blog Hosting
To make your blog using WordPress.org, you need two important things: a domain name and a web hosting company.
Tips for Choosing Your Blog Domain Name
Your domain name will be the name by which you’ll be known online, no matter what niche you choose.
It’s your blog’s unique address on the Internet.
Here’s what you should consider when choosing a blog name:
- Make it short, catchy, and easy to pronounce and type.
- Relate it to your blog’s niche.
- Use a combination of your first and last names if you’re using your blog to build a personal brand.
The general rule is to choose a widely recognized domain extension (like .com), but other options can work too. The key is to be memorable.
If a unique extension helps you stand out, don’t be afraid to break the rules!
Have a name idea for your blog? Use this quick domain search tool powered by Bluehost – our recommended web hosting provider (I’ll explain why in a moment).
If you can’t find a domain name you like, don’t worry. Bluehost lets you choose a free custom domain later. That’ll give you time to do some thinking and research.
Blog Web Hosting
After choosing a domain name, selecting a reliable hosting service is one of your most important decisions.
To a great extent, the functionality and performance of your blog will depend on your hosting provider.
Think of your web host as the memory storage for your blog. It houses all the actual data and information that your readers will access (your blog posts, your blog theme, graphics or images, etc).
It’s also your host’s job to make sure that your blog is available 24/7 to potential readers.
If you’re a new blogger, I suggest using Bluehost hosting.
Here’s why you should be confident going with this company:
- Ease-of-use: With Bluehost, you’ll be able to set up your blog with a few clicks of a button.
- Good value: You get reliable service with excellent customer support at an affordable price.
- Room to grow: They offer a great set of features that you need to start, run, and grow your blog.
- Security: Free SSL certificate included and pre-installed to keep your blog visitors data safe.
- Verified provider: Bluehost is a recommended hosting provider on the official WordPress.org website.
- Used by many: I use their services, as do many blogger friends and family members.
- Survey winner: Based on our research, Bluehost is a top choice in the opinion of many blogging experts.
How much does it cost to start a blog?
Below are the costs of a 1-year Bluehost basic hosting plan and what extras you get with it. I was able to negotiate a special deal only for our visitors.
Use this link to get an exclusive 60% discount with 3-year hosting.
| WordPress.org + Bluehost | |
| Blog hosting service* | $2.79 per month (billed for 1 year) |
| Domain registration | First-year free (after $19.99 per year) |
| SSL Certificate | Free SSL certificates |
| Storage space* | 10 GB |
| Bandwidth* | Unlimited |
| Total price | $33.48 (for a 1-year plan) |
Get A Blog Hosting Account (+ free blog domain name)
Because we know that tech overwhelm can get the best of anyone, let’s walk through the sign up process for your web hosting account.
I’ve included screenshots of the pages to take you through the process.
Step 1. Visit the Bluehost homepage
Go to the Bluehost.com website. Then, click the “Get Started Now” button.
Step 2. Select your hosting plan
You will start by picking a hosting plan.
If this is your very first blog, you can go with the Personal plan. You can always upgrade to the Starter or Business plan as your blog grows.
Explore what each plan offers, e.g. Starter Plus plan comes with more storage and some extras.
Step 3. Set up your domain name
Your domain will be your blog’s address, so you should take your time to come up with something unique and memorable.
Just type your desired name into the “new domain” box and Bluehost will show you whether it’s available or not. If not, it will provide you with a list of similar names to choose from.
Don’t worry if you can’t find a good name right away. You can skip this step and pick a name once you start a blog.
If you’ve already purchased a domain name somewhere else, you can use that name. Just check the “Use a domain I already own” box.
🫠 Feeling overwhelmed by the technical setup?
Block out 2-3 hours on a weekend and power through steps 3-5 in one session.
Having everything set up at once prevents you from losing momentum
Step 4. Register with Bluehost
After you choose your domain, Bluehost will take you to the registration page where you can fill in your personal info, payment details, or create your account with Apple, Google, or GitHub account.
Select your hosting package
At this point, it’s time to select an account plan from the available options. Bluehost offers 12, 24, and 36-month packages. You can also go month-to-month but this is by far the most expensive option.
The longer the hosting package you choose, the better price you get for your hosting.
We recommend getting at least 12 months of hosting so you can be committed to building your blog for a year (as these are starting prices only).
Package extras
Review the recommended add-ons, including the professional email services that’s added by default.
None of these are strictly necessary to start with and you can always add extras later if you find that you need them.
After you’ve decided on your add-ons you’re ready to go, simply hit the “Submit Payment” button.
Bluehost will send you a confirmation email when your payment goes through with information on the next steps in setting up your account.
Next, we’ll get into the Bluehost dashboard. You’re one step closer to starting a blog!
Step 5. Explore the Bluehost Dashboard
After payment, you should be taken directly into your Bluehost dashboard.
There’s not a whole lot going on here yet, which takes us to our next step…
Getting set up in WordPress!
Next Steps:
- Brainstorm 10-15 domain name ideas using the three naming strategies
- Check domain availability using Bluehost’s domain search tool
- Purchase your hosting plan and domain bundle (budget: ~$36 for first year)
Step #4: Start A Blog By Setting Up WordPress
From your dashboard, you’ll want to navigate to the “WordPress Admin” area. This is where you’ll set up your new blog.
Bluehost now offers an AI website builder assistant to walk you through the process of creating your website and getting your blog online.
This is the route to take unless you have an existing site you’re wanting to transfer over.
Four steps blog set up assistance process:
Step 1.
- Use the AI Site Creator option Bluehost offers.
Step 2
- Provide Bluehost with the details about your site.
- The more description you give the better the AI website builder output will be.
- Select Personal as the site type unless you plan on having an online store with your blog or using your blog as part of you existing business.
Step 3
- If you have a logo for your blog, add it here. If you don’t have one yet, no worries, you can add it at any time later.
Step 4
Your WordPress site is being created!
Select your comfort level with WordPress while you wait.
The types of walkthroughs and help you get once your WordPress site is live will change depending on what you check here so if you’re unsure, just choose ‘Beginner’.
Check out the suggested themes from Bluehost and see if you like any of them (if you don’t see a theme you like, skip this step).
You can always change your theme and use a different one later. More information on this further on.
Step 5
Based on your description, you should have three options to choose from for your blog. These are your first theme options.
You can preview any of these to see how they look and navigate around them.
From there, choose your favorite one and either:
- Customize it with AI
- Publish the site as-is (you can edit or change the theme later)
I chose to customize the theme just a bit which is done through an AI chat interface.
You can make as many adjustments to your website theme and overall look as you want. Once you’re happy with the result save your changes.
Launch your blog
At this point, your WordPress blog is live!
You can open your live website in a browser using the shortcut in the top menu. If it doesn’t look quite right when you first open it, that’s okay. This is just the first draft.
This is also where you can preview your website on desktop or see how it looks on mobile or tablet devices.
Inside the WordPress dashboard, you’ll be able to apply changes and add some content to make it look polished and complete. I’ll show you how to do this later!
You can always access the WordPress blog dashboard from your Bluehost account by clicking the “WordPress Admin” button in the websites area of your Bluehost account.
OR
If you’re editing your site, you can find it by clicking the WordPress logo in the top left corner of the page.
Did you start a blog yet? → Click Here to Get Started
Next Steps:
- Complete Bluehost setup
- Access your WordPress dashboard and bookmark the login URL for easy access
Step #5: Adjust Your Blog Theme and Customize
Even starting with a solid theme, there are lots of elements you can adjust to make the theme feel even more suited to your blog and your brand. You can even change the theme all together, so let’s start there.
Want to delete your AI generated theme and start from scratch? Here’s how.
You’ll only want to do this before you’ve added any content to your site (blog posts, pages, images, etc) because this deletes everything from your WordPress site.
If you’ve already added content or made changes, then you’ll want to just delete your existing theme, in that case, skip to Step 5.
Step 1. Navigate to Your Bluehost Dashboard
Login to your Bluehost account and you’ll see the option to view your websites.
Step 2. Manage Your Website
Click the “Manage” button for your website to go into the management dashboard for your site.
Step 3. Select Advanced Settings
Choose the “Advanced” settings option on the right side of the screen.
Step 4. Delete All Content
Next choose to delete all the content from your website. This is why you shouldn’t do this if you’ve already started adjusting or adding to your site.
Step 5. Delete WordPress Theme
Deleting this content from your WordPress site will take a bit of time, so you’ll need to wait from that process to be completed.
Then you’ll be able to enter back into your WordPress dashboard by clicking ‘WordPress Admin‘ in your Bluehost dashboard.
Once there, you’ll want to navigate to Appearance > Themes and view the details of the theme you want to delete.
You should see the delete button at the bottom of the detail page.
Now you’re ready to start fresh with a new theme. We’ll cover finding a theme and customizing it in this section.
Installing a new WordPress theme is exciting and fairly straightforward.
Inside the WordPress dashboard, under the “Appearance” tab, click “Themes”. Here you’ll see the themes that you currently have downloaded.
You can click on the WordPress.org Themes button and search for free themes. There are thousands of themes available on WordPress.org.
The look and feel of your new blog rely on the theme you choose. Your first-time readers will notice its overall appearance before they even look at the content.
Select a theme that looks great, but also works for your specific needs.
If you have specific elements you’d like for your theme (like it being a blog specific theme) you can sort the available themes based on their qualities.
Here are some more tips for choosing your WordPress theme:
Read the description
- Most themes have a short description of features and functionality. Reading it can help you to figure out if the theme matches your needs.
Preview the theme
- Preview the theme (demo) to get an idea of the overall look, layout, and how customizable it is.
Check the ratings
- Star ratings will be visible in the preview and under theme details to give you a clear idea of how good the theme is.
If you can’t find a theme that you absolutely love, don’t worry. Settle on one that you like, and you can always change it in the future.
Once you install a theme, don’t be surprised if it still doesn’t look quite right. It’s just a skeleton of a blog. You’ll have to fill it in with content (text, photos, videos, etc.) to make it appealing.
Should You Choose A Free Or Premium Theme?
I think there are more than enough free WordPress themes to choose from for any blog topic.
Remember, you can always pick a different theme later as you continue setting your blog. All the pages and unique content you create will be transferred automatically to a new theme layout.
If the current stash of free themes does not satisfy your desire, you can check the premium themes available.
These themes are usually designed by third-party companies and sold on different WordPress theme sites.
The price range for single-use licenses ranges from $30 to $500, depending on which premium theme you choose.
Blog Theme Customization
Customizing your blog’s theme is the first step in making it truly yours.
Your WordPress dashboard is where you’ll manage your entire blog, from design tweaks to functionality upgrades.
While WordPress offers endless customization options, I’ll focus on the key changes every beginner should make.
For this guide, I’ll use the Twenty Twenty-Four theme as an example to help you get started quickly and easily.
Make your blog’s logo
If you didn’t have a logo in your blog setup, now’s the time to get one created.
Luckily there are lots of tools your can use to create a logo, everything from ChatGPT to Canva’s free logo maker. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy or polished right now.
You’ll probably end up changing your blog logo later but having at least a place holder logo is good for you to understand the styling and display of your website.
We’ve rounded up the top AI logo makers (some paid, some free) to help make it easy to get your first blog logo created.
Once you’re happy with your blog logo design and have it downloaded to your computer we can move on to customizing your blog design.
Customize your blog
Getting your blog to look and feel just right is key to making it stand out. In this section, I’ll walk you through the essential customizations.
These are things like uploading your logo, tweaking your blog title and tagline, adjusting colors, and setting up your homepage.
To help get your blog looking professional, head to your WordPress dashboard, find the Appearance tab, and click the Editor option.
If you’re using a different theme, the options might vary slightly, but most themes offer similar customization features.
In my case, I’ll show you the customize options for the Twenty Twenty-Four theme.
On the left-hand side, you’ll see the following Customization menu options:
Styles
This is where you’ll set your blogs main colors, fonts, background images, and blocks.
Editing the blocks for your site allows you to control how different elements of your site’s layout look.
Explore this section as you can adjust how your author bylines, reader comments, header text, and images display (in additional to a number of other elements of your site).
Navigation
Navigation is more simple, this area allows you to format how your site menu displays.
Once you have more pages (home page, about me, contact us, etc) re-visit this section to organize them.
Pages
This area allows you to see all the live pages for your blog and easily add new pages. Pages are considered to be the more static areas of your website like your home page, about me, privacy policy, etc.
Pages vs. Posts
Your blog content is considered a ‘post’, not a ‘page’, and is written and formatted in the “Posts” area of your WordPress menu.
You can choose a template for your new website page. The template is the overall layout of the page (we get into the specifics about these in the next section).
From there you can preview what the live version of the page looks like (using the laptop icon in the upper righthand corner) and edit the page further.
Templates
Templates are pre-formatted pages (or posts) provided by WordPress and through your chosen template.
These templates make it easy to spin up new pages and customize what your blog posts will look like.
You can explore the available templates and then customize them further if you’d like.
Once you’ve decided on the look you want, you can then use that template with your new blog posts.
Patterns
Patterns are pre-designed sections of your website that (think like the footer at the bottom of a website) will be the same across multiple pages.
That means that once you update a pattern, the update will apply to everywhere that pattern is used on your site.
This is where you’ll come to edit you header to add your logo and your footer to add your social media links, blog email, etc.
Now there are a LOT of options contained within this menu and WordPress does have a bit of a learning curve so you’ll need to set aside some time to explore the different areas and test different changes.
The default editor with your new WordPress blog is called Gutenberg, which is a drag-and-drop editor.
Simply put, that means you don’t have to know how to code to adjust and customize your blog.
Also, because you’ve signed up with Bluehost, you have Wonderblocks on your WordPress site which gives you even more ways to customize the look and feel.
Confused by all the WordPress terminology? Here’s the simple breakdown:
- Blocks = Individual pieces (like a paragraph, image, or button)
- Patterns = Pre-made combinations of blocks (like a “hero section” with headline + image + button)
- Templates = Full page layouts made from patterns and blocks (like your homepage or blog post layout)
- Pages = Your actual content that uses those templates
Think of it like building with Legos: Blocks are individual Lego pieces, Patterns are pre-built sections (like a castle wall), Templates are the instruction manual for the whole castle, and Pages are your finished castles with your own content inside.
For beginners: Just pick a template you like and customize the colors/text. You can explore patterns and individual blocks later.
Add plugins to your blog
Plugins are how you get added functionality to your blog. WordPress is, by design, a blank slate so installing plugins allows you to continue to customize your website and blog.
In the plugins area you can install new plugins, deactivate, delete, and update them.
Below, I’ll show you some suggested plugins that you should be using.
Note: Some of these have already been added by Bluehost during your setup.
List of recommended plugins for bloggers
To save you time, I’ve selected some important plugins (free) for your immediate blogging platform needs:
- MonsterInsights – Google Analytics plugin for WordPress to monitor and analyze your website traffic.
- Yoast SEO – A comprehensive SEO plugin for your blog, to optimize your content for search engines.
- WP Super Cache – Helps with the load time of your WordPress blog and delivers content to your readers faster.
- Akismet – Protects your comments and contact form from spam and prevents your site from publishing malicious content.
- Contact Form 7 – A contact form with flexible email options. It supports CAPTCHA and Akismet spam filtering.
- Disqus – An alternative to the basic WordPress comment system with advanced administrative and comment capabilities.
- YARPP – Creates a related blog posts list at the end of each piece of content automatically to encourage people to continue browsing your site.
Keep in mind that you CAN have too many plugins. You want to avoid more than one plugin that has the same function and install only ones that you really feel will make a measurable different on your site.
As with anything, read the reviews before adding any new plugin to see how it worked for others.
Congratulations, you just learned how to customize your blog and make web design changes!
The next step is to learn how to write content for your blog.
Next Steps:
- Browse WordPress themes and pick 2-3 to test
- Choose one that fits your niche and activate it
- Create a simple logo with Canva or a dedicated logo maker tool
Step #6: Write And Publish Blog Content
Once you’ve set up your domain, hosting, and blog theme, it’s time to bring your site to life with content.
Writing a blog post is where you share valuable insights, experiences, or ideas that attract and engage readers. To start a blog and make it successful, your content should be clear, informative, and engaging.
WordPress CMS is structured in a way that you can publish your content as Posts or Pages.
Before you begin publishing posts (day-to-day writing) on your blog make sure you fill in all the important static pages with content (such as About us, Contact, etc.). Let’s explore those types of pages.
Prepare and publish content on main pages
Depending on your individual needs you can decide what pages to publish.
All bloggers will likely need to following pages:
Homepage –
This largely depends on what type of layout you choose. Generally there are two types of home pages:
- Static blog homepage – your homepage doesn’t change i.e. you aren’t displaying your more recent blog posts dynamically on your homepage. It has a stable (static) design and the same content is always displayed.
- Dynamic blog homepage – your homepage has elements that update and display your new blog posts (e.g. your most recent posts or your posts on a certain topic)
Depending on how you share your blog, it’s likely that people will find their way to individual posts more often than your homepage so the design of your homepage is really a personal preference.
About us page–
The most traditional page on any blog is the “About us” page.
This page tells new visitors what it’s all about, who you are and why you run a blog about your niche topic.
Contact page–
This page allows visitors to your blog to communicate with you.
It can be a straightforward page with your email address plus your social network links, or you can use a simple contact form that visitors can use to communicate with you.
Products, Services, Resources –
Static landing pages with any additional information that you want to include on your blog.
How to publish a new WordPress page:
As we touched on earlier, a blog page provides static content or information to the readers, like the ones we outlined above.
A page also can be a cornerstone (or evergreen) content with information that continues to be relevant to its readers. For example, this guide you’re reading right now is a page.
To create a blog page:
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard admin area using your login details (username and password).
- Hover your cursor over the “Pages” menu item on the navigation menu located on the left-hand side of the Dashboard.
- Click “Add New”.
Write Your First Blog Post
Creating blog posts inside WordPress is nearly the same as creating pages. However, for a blog post WordPress lets you select categories and tags while pages don’t.
Categories and tags serve to organize your blog posts. You can also use these to display your posts dynamically (like we mentioned on blog homepages).
Say you run a food blog and it’s the Christmas season so you want only your Christmas recipes to show on your homepage.
That’s an easy setup if you’ve tagged and categorized your Christmas recipe blog posts.
But back to the basics, let’s outline out to write well-performing blog posts.
Here is a simple 3-step approach to making great content of any type:
- Point – State your main blog topic idea that you are covering.
- Prove – Give an example of the idea you are covering.
- Perform – Give a simple way to execute the idea.
How to publish a new WordPress blog post:
In your first blog post, you can take a moment and introduce yourself or your brand.
Tell your readers who you are, what motivated you to blog, and what you’ll write about.
The goal here is to get something published so you don’t get stuck in the preparation phase. Your first blogs posts will each be little experiments so don’t put too much pressure on yourself for your first one.
To create a new blog post:
- Navigate to the Posts menu item in your WordPress dashboard.
- Hover your mouse cursor and select “Add New”.
Here’s where the templates we discussed before come in handy. Feel free to play around with your blog post templates if you don’t like the way it initially populates.
Next, I’ll talk about how to optimize your content for search engines.
Next Steps:
- Write your About Page, Contact Page, and Privacy Policy
- Draft your first blog post using the 3-step approach (point, prove, perform)
- Publish your welcome post introducing yourself and your blog’s mission
Step #7: Optimize Your Blog For Search Engines
SEO helps drive traffic to your blog by making it easier for people to find your content on search engines.
Recent data shows that over half of website traffic comes from organic search [.pdf], proving how important it is to optimize your blog.
To improve your blog’s visibility and grow a successful blog, focus on these basics for every new blog post:
- Use Keywords Wisely – Add relevant keywords naturally to match what people are searching for.
- Optimize Meta Tags – Write clear and engaging titles and descriptions to boost clicks.
With these simple steps, your blog can reach more readers and stay competitive online.
Keyword optimization
To get your blog up and running (and ensure it gains traction), you need to focus on keyword optimization. This means researching and using the right keywords that your target audience is searching for.
By naturally incorporating these keywords into your blog writing (titles, headings, and content) you improve your chances of ranking in search results and even showing up in generative engine results (ChatGPT, Claude, etc).
The better your optimization, the more visibility your blog gets, helping it grow faster and reach the right readers.
While keywords are important to keep in mind and optimize for, your primary goal should be to optimize for your reader.
Make sure that you’re answering the question they came searching for. If you do a great job of answering their question, it’s likely that you’re already optimizing your keywords.
This is called matching the user intent and is more valuable than stuffing your post full of tons of keywords and information that might not be relevant to the reader.
A caveat about organic search traffic:
Search engine traffic is a long term traffic strategy. Search engines have to determine that you’re a credible website before they start displaying your posts prominently in search results.
Plan on at least one other form of blog promotion to grow your blog traffic because, while SEO is important, it’s not an instant source of readers.
SEO meta tags
When you publish a new blog post or page, you will need to add SEO meta tags for each piece of content.
These are the SEO title and SEO description tags. These tags are not seen on the actual page, but Google will use metadata to better understand what the webpage is about.
If you want to start ranking your content in search engines, this is an important step to complete.
SEO tags should be prepared and added when you create a new page or a post inside WordPress. You’re already set up to do this with the Yoast plugin on your site.
The title tag length should be between 50-60 characters (this is what Google typically displays) and the meta description tag can be between 50-160 characters.
Next Steps:
- Set up your Yoast SEO plugin
- Set up Google Analytics to track your blog’s performance
- Research keywords using the keyword cluster method
Step #8: Promote, Market, And Grow Your Blog
Starting a blog in 2026 is a great way to share your ideas, build an audience, and even generate income.
But simply creating content isn’t enough: if no one finds your blog, all your hard work goes unnoticed.
That’s why promotion is key.
The 80/20 rule still applies: spend 20% of your time creating content and 80% promoting it.
This is especially important for beginners looking to drive organic traffic. From SEO strategies to social media marketing, you need the right tactics to get readers back to your blog.
In this section, I’ll cover the best ways to market and grow your blog effectively.
Before you start promoting your blog, check if it’s ready:
- Make sure that your content is live and ready for promotion.
- Test your blog on different devices (desktop, tablet, mobile) and browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge) to check that pages open correctly.
- Check your contact info and test your contact form to see if it works well.
- Test your social sharing buttons so that people can easily share your content.
- Write at least 5 blog posts that are related to each other so your reader has another post to read.
- Ensure that you interlink your related content so that people can easily find other important information on your blog.
- Give your visitors one or more ways to connect with you and subscribe to your email list.
- Set up Google Analytics to track your blog’s performance and visitors.
Let’s look closely at the basic promotion and marketing activities that you can apply to grow your audience once you build a blog.
Let Everyone Know About Your Blog
Get started by informing your friends, family, and colleagues about your new endeavor.
Basically, you should let anyone know who might be interested in reading your content.
You should also do the following:
- Include your blog name (URL) in your email signature.
- Include it in your social media accounts or any online communities you’re involved in.
- Use every opportunity to get the word out about your new undertaking.
Be Active Within Your Niche
Get active on relevant blogs, forums, groups, and social pages.
Blogger communities are a good way to connect with other bloggers in your niche. You can engage, build friendships, and help each other in spreading content.
Here are some popular activities you can do:
Blog commenting
Start posting comments on other relevant blogs. It’s a great way to build relationships with top bloggers within your niche.
Social media marketing
You should make use of the social media avenues that best fit your own niche and style.
Choose the one (or ones) that best fit your needs and start promoting your content to grow your audience.
Some of the most popular social media networks that bloggers use on a daily basis are Facebook, Instagram, X, and Pinterest.
Guest blogging
Take the relationship a step further and offer to write guest blog posts for another website.
Just be sure that you guest post on reputable sites and that the content is directly related to your niche. Guest posting is an excellent way to build an online presence.
Promoting Your Content Through Other Platforms
To expand your blog’s reach and attract a broader audience, it’s essential to promote your content across various platforms.
Utilizing a diverse blog content strategy not only enhances visibility but also encourages readers to come to your blog for more insights.
Here are some effective techniques to consider:
Bookmarking sites.
Submit your blog content to bookmarking sites that can offer your content to a lot of potential viewers who are searching for information within your niche.
You should do this every time you publish a new blog post to spread the word.
Some popular social bookmarking and content curation sites are:
Content republishing
You can publish slightly repurposed content on platforms such as LinkedIn, Medium, and Substack.
It’s best to publish content on your blog first, wait a few days while it gets indexed by search engines (Google), and then you can start posting it on other platforms.
Also, make sure to link back to your original article as a source. You can learn about a republishing strategy here.
Repurpose blog content
You can repurpose your content, create graphics, tweets, audio files, or even videos and publish it all on the platforms that support different content formats.
Here’s how you can make 64 pieces of content in a single day (PDF).
Getting Organic Traffic From Search Engines
By now, you already know that it’s important to optimize your content for search engines but this goes beyond just Google.
In order to increase your organic traffic, you will have to learn how to get your content to rank higher in search results among different search engines.
You have the likely culprits for search like Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo…
But you also have the search engine adjacent options like Pinterest (huge with bloggers in highly visual niches), Reddit, Quora, and the like.
There’s no magic formula for higher rankings on any platform, but you should focus on the following factors:
- Create useful content for
search enginesyour readers. - Consistently create fresh and quality content.
- Make sure that the user experience is flawless.
- Ensure that your blog is secured (HTTPS), mobile-friendly, and loads quickly.
- Interlink your content and work on getting external links (links to your blog from other websites).
Interlinking content is incredible important for search engines and for the user experience.
Interlinking essentially just means that within each of your blog posts you’re providing links to other related blog posts on your website.
This serves multiple purposes:
- Gives search engines multiple pages to “crawl”, or read, to understand your niche and your knowledge level
- Gives readers additional posts to read that are easily linked for them
- Increases the engagement on each of your posts by increasing the number of pages each reader visits
With that said, Google is no longer a reliable source of traffic, at least not as your only source. In other words, don’t put all your traffic eggs in Google’s basket.
Plan for an additional source of traffic whether that’s pinning your blog posts to Pinterest or taking your blogs posts and turning them into long form YouTube videos.
Advertising on the web (paid traffic)
Appropriate and well-informed use of paid media can help you to gain exposure and attention before your organic (naturally derived) traffic takes hold.
Paid traffic avenues include:
- Social media advertising on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.
- Search engine advertising via Google Ads, Bing Ads, or Pinterest Ads.
- Content discovery platforms such as Outbrain or Taboola.
Remember that you can always find other ways to promote your new blog.
Start Building Your Email List
After starting a blog, you’ll begin attracting new readers and visitors.
The best way to make sure that you can reach those readers again and bring traffic back to your blog is to get them on your email list.
I firmly believe that the best time to start and email list for a new blog is before your first post goes live. You should have that infrastructure in place to collect emails from day one.
This opens up not only repeat traffic but also an potential additional stream of revenue for your blog.
If you choose to monetize with affiliate links you can share those to your email list. Want to create a course or a membership? Great! Tell your email list.
I’ve never met a blogger that was upset because they started collecting emails too early, they’re mad they didn’t start sooner.
Let me get up on a little soapbox about this:
Social media and search traffic to your blog are both versions of borrowed traffic. If your social media account gets shut down or search engine algorithms change, your traffic could disappear.
Traffic from your email list is owned traffic. Even if your Pinterest account gets shut down, you can still send an email to your subscribers when you publish a new blog post.
Rely on the blogging fundamentals:
- A clear and well-functioning blog
- Focused and helpful information
- Engaging conversation
- Practical advice
Your authority will come from helping and giving advice to your audience.
Next Steps:
- Decide the main platform you’re going to use to promote your blog based on your niche
- Create an email signup form and add it to your posts
‼️ These two things are critical
- Start building your email list from day one! This allows you to own your audience and depend less on organic traffic.
- Commit to the 80/20 rule. Spend 20% writing and 80% promoting your blog content. Most new bloggers do the opposite and are left wondering why no one finds their content.
Step #9: Make Money Blogging (optional)
Monetization is the process of translating your blog activity into earnings.
You should keep in mind that blogging isn’t just about making money. It is about creating useful content and writing blog posts that will attract readers and make them come back for more.
If you want to monetize you would start with the end in mind.
Do you want to sell courses?
Are you a coach looking to promote your services?
Are you a local small business trying to grow their audience?
Do you want to sell physical products?
Maybe you’re thinking affiliate income?
Whatever it is, try to have at least a general idea of how you want to monetize your audience (once you have one). This makes planning content much easier and helps you avoid creating random content that doesn’t work toward your ultimate goals.
Based on my own blogging experience, as well as from working with other bloggers, I’ve learned that specific kinds of content are more effective for generating money.
Here are types of content that you should consider writing and adding to your blog:
- Listicles or top list
- How-to guides
- Tutorials and manuals
- Product reviews
- Product comparisons
Now, let me show you some different ways how bloggers make money.
Blog monetization channels
Our case study of the blogging industry shows that 59.8% of bloggers make money through blogging.
But, how can YOU make money blogging? There are several options available, but below I’ll show you the best ways to earn income from a blog:
Running ads on your blog
There are different ways for you to run ads on your blog. Regardless of your niche, you can opt for ads that are specific to what you’re writing about or ads that simply better serve your advertiser’s purposes.
Google Adsense, Mediavine, and Adthrive are some of the most popular choices for blog ads.
For all of these ad providers you need a minimum number of visits to your blog per month (it’s different for each) so this isn’t an immediate source of blog income.
Enrolling in affiliate programs
Affiliate programs are ways of teaming up with retailers to promote their products and benefit from successfully carrying out sales through a commission.
Some things that you need to consider when enrolling in affiliate programs:
- The number of affiliate sales will strongly rely on the number of visitors you have.
- You need to be credible enough for your visitors to click on your links.
- You may want to consider placing a notice on your Terms of Use page that you do use affiliate links.
There are a few popular online platforms that offer affiliate programs if you want to get started, such as Amazon Associates, Awin, and ClickBank.
Affiliate income is one of the quickest ways to make money with your blog.
Selling your products and services
If you’re creative and entrepreneurial, you could consider using your blog as a venue for selling your own products and services.
This is an option especially as your blog grows in readership, authority, and popularity.
There are WordPress plugins, such as the WooCommerce plugin, that you can easily integrate into a blog and start using to sell products online.
⚠️ Common Monetization Mistake:
Don’t wait years to start monetizing.
Begin with affiliate marketing and small product recommendations early. Your audience needs to get used to you occasionally promoting things or they’ll be surprised when you finally do.
Selling sponsored posts
Collaborating with advertisers through sponsored posts is a proven strategy to monetize your blog effectively.
By featuring content that highlights their products or services, you can generate income while providing value to your readers.
As your blog’s popularity and authority grow within your niche, advertisers are more likely to approach you with sponsorship opportunities, enhancing your blog’s profitability.
Above are the most popular choices to earn money. However, there are more ways to monetize your blog.
Consider the possibilities, and then choose the method (or methods) that best suit you and your audience.
💰 Set your expectations:
A realistic timeline for blog income looks like
- Months 1-6: $0-100
- Months 6-12: $100-500
- 1 year +: $500+
Your initial focus should be on building trust, building your audience, and providing great value in your posts.
As a minimum, you should – from the very start – begin compiling an email list of your readers.
Then, when you’re ready to recommend products, you’ll have ready access to those who want to hear what you have to say.
Next Steps:
- Research affiliate programs in your niche and apply to 2-3 relevant ones
- Set up Google AdSense once you have consistent traffic (25,000+ monthly visitors)
- Plan your first digital product or service offering for month 6-12
Wrapping Up: Your Blogging Journey Starts Now
Congratulations! You’ve taken the first step to start your blog.
Now, it’s time to access your blog, explore the dashboard, and customize it to fit your vision.
A blog is a great way to share your expertise, grow an audience, and even generate income.
Stay consistent, create valuable content, and promote it effectively.
Need more help? Check out our expert resources to turn your blog into a lasting success.
Frequently Asked Questions
Few more things before you get started with your journey. Below are some helpful facts and common questions that many people ask before they start blogging.
Absolutely! Blogging is still relevant in 2026 and remains a powerful way to share ideas, build a brand, and even make money. While digital trends evolve, blogs continue to thrive as valuable platforms for businesses and personal brands.
Success in blogging takes effort—you’ll need to create quality content, engage with readers, and promote your blog consistently. Choosing the right blog niche and focusing on long-term growth will help you stand out. If you’re willing to blog and build over time, you can create a great blog that attracts loyal readers and generates income.
You can start a blog for free on platforms like WordPress.com, Blogger, or Wix, but there are limits. Your blog will have a subdomain like “blogname.wordpress.com,” which looks less professional. Free plans also restrict customization and monetization, and some platforms may place their own ads on your blog.
If you’re serious about building a profitable blog, a self-hosted blog is the better option. Hosting starts at $2.95/month and includes a free domain, SSL, and full control over your site.
If you’re not ready to invest, start with a free platform but plan to upgrade as your blog grows.
Starting a self-hosted blog is more affordable than you might think. With hosting providers like Bluehost, you can begin your blogging journey for as low as $1.99 per month. This basic plan includes a free domain name for the first year, a free SSL certificate to secure your site, 10 GB of NVMe storage, and unmetered bandwidth, allowing your blog to handle as many visitors as you attract. This setup provides an excellent foundation for your blog writing endeavors.
No worries! You can easily switch to a self-hosted WordPress site without losing your content. Most free blogging platforms allow you to export your posts, and WordPress has built-in tools to import them seamlessly.
If you’re using Blogger (Blogspot), there’s a simple process to transfer your content to WordPress. A self-hosted site gives you more control, helps get your blog online professionally, and opens up more ways to monetize. Need help? I’ll show you how to start and even share new blog post ideas to grow your audience!
Instead of chasing popular topics just to make money, choose a subject you’re passionate about. A successful blog is making genuine connections, so pick something you enjoy and know well. This ensures you stay motivated, attract the right audience, and build a brand that lasts—starting with the right name for your blog and a clear guide on how to start.
Instead of chasing trends, choose ablog niche you’re passionate about and research its profitability. Use SEO tools to analyze search volume, competition, and monetization potential—look for niches with high demand but low competition. To make money from your blog, check if brands are running ads for your niche and explore affiliate programs like Amazon to boost earnings.
TBloggers get paid by promoting third-party products through affiliate marketing and ad networks or by selling their own products and services. You can monetize a blog with sponsored posts, digital products, coaching, or consulting. The key to making money from a blog is choosing the right strategy that fits your audience and the goals behind your blog.
Earnings from blogging vary widely based on factors like experience, audience size, and monetization strategies. According to Glassdoor, the average annual salary for a blogger in the United States is approximately $57,097 Top bloggers can earn significantly more, with some making over $1 million annually.
Learning WordPress is easier than ever, whether you’re starting from scratch or improving your skills. You can explore free tutorials, online courses, or dedicated resources that cover everything from installation to optimizing services on your blog. With the right guidance, you’ll be able to create a professional site that’s fully installed on your blog and tailored to your needs.
If your desired domain name is taken, don’t worry—try a slight variation, add a keyword, or choose a different extension. A great domain name should be memorable, relevant, and add functionality to your blog as it gains traction. Many hosting providers, like Bluehost, let you register your domain later, so you can set up your blog first and decide on the perfect name afterward.
To secure your WordPress blog, start by enabling an SSL certificate, which encrypts data and protects it from hackers. If you use a Bluehost account, log in, go to “My Sites,” select your blog, navigate to the “Security” tab, and turn on the Free SSL Certificate—changes may take up to an hour. Once active, check for a padlock icon in your browser’s address bar to confirm your blog is secure.
Yes, you can make $1,000 a month with a WordPress blog if you follow a clear plan: pick a focused niche, create consistent high-quality content, grow targeted traffic, and use monetization methods like ads, affiliate marketing, and digital products.
If you’re learning how to start a blog, prioritize audience research, SEO, and regular promotion to scale income reliably.
If you want to start a blog this guide covers the basics of getting your blog online and links out to additional more in depth articles on blogging topics to plan and optimize your content to grow your blog traffic.
The 80/20 rule of blogging is to spend 20% of your time and effort writing your content and 80% promoting your content. It’s important to have valuable and well-written blog posts but it’s even more important that those blog posts find who they can help. That’s where promotion comes in.
In short – no. AI models have changed blogging drastically but building an content hub, like a blog, is still important. AI models serve and reference blog content so while getting visibility is different for blogs now, blogging isn’t dead.
Common blogging mistakes include inconsistent posting, unclear niche focus, poor SEO, and neglecting audience needs.
When learning how to start a blog, prioritize a clear blog niche, regular content, basic SEO practices, and promotion to build and retain readers.
AI is best used in competitor research and synthesizing information (like helping to create outlines and inform areas that you could expand or improve upon in your blog post).
Stay away from letting AI write your entire blog post. This takes the human element out of writing, doesn’t leverage your personal experience, and will likely get screened out by search engines.
Most blog niches can be profitable if they are well written, and more importantly, well promoted.
Successful blogs are positioned in niches that have multiple monetization pathways like: affiliate income, course or product sales, ad revenue, and sponsorship opportunities.
thank you, guys, for another great post!
Hi This post is really great! I appreciate all the insights you’ve shared on starting a blog and monetizing it. Your tips on finding a niche and building an audience are particularly helpful. I can’t wait to put this advice into practice. Thanks for the inspiration.
I lik this article Thanks for posting and discussion of the topic start blog, and provide an important information.
Bài viết “Cách bắt đầu một blog trong 9 bước chính xác” là một nguồn tài nguyên vô giá cho những ai muốn bắt đầu viết blog. Bài viết cung cấp đầy đủ thông tin và hướng dẫn chi tiết để giúp người mới bắt đầu tạo blog của riêng họ một cách nhanh chóng và dễ dàng.
Starting a blog and making money involves selecting a niche, creating valuable content, and monetizing through ads, affiliate marketing, or selling products/services, offering a lucrative opportunity for beginners with dedication and persistence.
These guides really help me out. I have been at this for over a year and I’m still a lost duck but I am slowly coming around. Thank you for the great in depth details. They are much appreciated.
Amazing insights for starting a blog, I’m a new blogger and this guide will definitely help me.
I have started habitatmentor.com
KUDOS
Love ❤️ from UK
thanks for giving us this very useful article!
We’re so glad you found it useful!
Thanks for giving me information. Your article is very helpful for everyone.
Your article is very useful; the content is great. I have read a lot of articles, but for your article, it left me with a deep impression. Thank you for sharing.
We’re so glad to hear that!
Hey there,
I really appreciate the work you have done. You explained everything in such an amazing and simple way.
Thanks!
I really appreciate the work you have done, you explained everything in such an amazing and simple way.
Your post is a valuable resource for aspiring bloggers, and it has inspired me to take the plunge and start my own blog. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise! Keep up the fantastic work!
Glad to hear that. Let me know if you need any help!
Thanks so much. Such an in-depth and step by step guide. Found it really helpful.
I love the itemization of the costs in step #2 so that it’s clear how much it would cost to run a blog. This info makes it helpful for setting up a budget. Thank you.
I really appreciate your effort in writing this post. You may never know how much you inspired me with this guide. I’m definitely giving blogging another shot, and I hope it works this time.
Thanks again!
That’s great news. We wish you good luck with your blogging journey and feel free to contact us in case you need anything.
Hi Anya,
Thanks for the very thorough and in-depth article. There’s never been a better time to start a blog. I would add to your promotion section that you should also use Pinterest as a search engine, not just a social network, as it can be the ideal source of traffic for new blogs.
Best Regards,
David
Thanks David for reading our guide. We agree with you, Pinterest is indeed a very good search engine on its own. It might not be suitable for all blogging niches but is definitely worth using as an additional source of traffic.
Wow! Thanks a lot Anya. This post has been a great blessing to me. I plan to start a sports blog and I will definitely be using the information I got from you. Thanks again.
Thanks Joshua. We’re glad that you find it useful and we wish you good luck with your sports blog!
The information you’ve shared in this guide is remarkable. Thanks for sharing such quality information.
Thanks Julia!
Thank you for this great guide. I have three questions.
1. I’m hoping to start a blog that will require a lot of sports images from a major sports team. I see other local bloggers use Getty Images. Is this easy to do? Is there a cost for that?
2. Also, I want to add a message board and
3. live chat functions.
Are those expensive or hard to integrate?
Thanks very much!
We’re happy to hear that you like our guide, Daniel. Hopefully, it helps when starting your new blog.
Answers to your questions:
1. You can find and use many royalty free and stock photos but if you want to up to date sports images you will need to pay. For example, Getty Images is famous for having images from every major sports event but their monthly plans can be expensive.
2 & 3. You can easily add a message board and live chat functions to your WordPress blog via plugins. It’s easy to install and set up.
I really appreciate the work you have done, you explained everything in such an amazing and simple way.
Is there any other information regarding security? Like preventing people from hacking our website and things of that sort . Also , very concise and informative guide! I wish more guides were like this
Hi there,
Not sure what exact information about the security you are looking for, but here is the guide we have – The Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Website Security.
Hi Anya,
Thanks so much for this post – super useful. Just one thing I’m a bit confused about. If the Bluehost and WordPress are both hosting providers – what is the WordPress you are mentioning within Bluehost?
Sorry if this is a bit confusing but trying to understand it properly 🙂
Thanks in advance for your feedback!
Hi Aleksandra,
Sometimes new bloggers get confused. I’ll try to put it simply for you.
1. WordPress.org is an open-source (free) software but in order to use it you need to install it on your own web hosting account. This process is covered in our guide. If you don’t have a web hosting account yet you can use Bluehost (or any other hosting company).
2. WordPress.com is a hosted blogging solution, which means that they offer all-in-one service including hosting and domain name for premium plans. You can check this guide.
Personally, I prefer to use WordPress.org since you get more flexibility that way. But depending on your situation you can go with either option.
Hope I answered your question. Good luck.
Hi,
Thank you so much for such great information.
I have a couple of questions:-
1. How many blog post would you recommend for a new blog before it’s launch.
2. Can you suggest how to come up with new topic ideas? Any step by step method if you can suggest ?
Thank you !!
Hi there,
Thank you for your kind words.
See answers below:
1. You can launch it with one post (or few posts) and keep posting new content. Just keep posting fresh content to grow your blog plus search engines like when new content is added on blogs.
2. Check out this guide -> How to Do Keyword Research for You Blog.
Hope this info will help.
Thanks for sharing such an informational blog which will, surely be a big help to the people who have small medium business.
Thanks John…I hope so too))
Hi Anya,
You have great content on your blog here. Will you be able to tell me if I would be able to add custom javascript/html code to my blogs at Bluehost? Would I be able to export my blogs later should I choose to migrate?
Thanks
Sarthak
Hi Sarthak,
Adding custom code always depends on the theme you choose. Most themes allow you to add custom code to some extent. And for sure, you can always migrate your blog from Bluehost to another hosting provider.
Dear anya,
Thank you so much for this really educational blog, I’ve definitely learned a lot, but I have a quick question, do you think I can start blogging as a college student? I mean, how long doest it take to finish a blog and how many times should i post?
Hi Houmiez,
You can and should start blogging as a college student. The sooner you start the better .
If by finish a blog you mean, how long does it take to launch a blog – you can do it in 20-30 min. Keep in mind that you do need to think about pre-launch content for your blog, such as About page, etc. You can read this guide to get a better idea of what I’m talking about https://firstsiteguide.com/write-content/.
When it comes to blog post frequency it depends on your topic and how much time you have. I would recommend focusing on writing quality content. You can publish blog posts every day or once a week.
Hope this information will help.
Happy blogging!
Dear Anya,
I’ve read this information, which is very educational.
There is no mention of how to have a e-mail associated with the site name, rather than a personal e-mail address (certainly get enough mail there to begin with).
Although you probably know what I mean, instead of “[email protected]” – “[email protected]” and would the inbox be at the host site, or within my allotted size?
Thanks,
Alice
Hi Alice,
Most web hosting providers offer free custom emails ([email protected]) that you need to set up on your own. It depends on your web hosting provider but you should see that option inside your host’s personal account (or cPanel) once you log in to the dashboard.
If you use Bluehost:
Once you have logged into your Bluehost Control Panel:
– Click the Advanced tab from the side navigation menu to the left.
– Click the Email Accounts icon, located in the Email section of the cPanel.
– Click the +Create button and set up your new branded email account.
Once your email account is created you can set it up the way you want to, read this article: https://www.bluehost.com/help/article/email-application-setup
Hope this info helps.
Thanks, this is going to be a very helpful, and relevant guide for anyone looking for informed blogging decisions.
Thanks Robi. I do hope that other people will find it useful too!
Thanks a lot, initially I thought that it would be more complex to start some standard blog, and I was almost in a chaotic situation, but after reading your content I got some handful of ideas. People like you are the ones that I am looking for cause nothing is greater than the valuable words from veterans.
Thanks for such kind words. Good luck with your blog!
This is a detailed blog on blogging in which all the concepts are explained. I was looking for a blog like that, thank you so much for giving such excellent information.
I’m glad that you found it useful Monal. Thanks!
A nice helpful guide for beginners.
Thanks Joseph. Let me know if you need any help with your new blog!
Hi Anya, thanks so much for this wonderful guide! It was so helpful to me! I do have one question: is it possible to secure a domain name so that nobody else can take it, without “publishing” your blog yet or allowing it go live? I would like to secure my domain name, and then hammer out the details of my blog/design the website before letting it go live, but I’m not sure if that’s possible. Thank you!
Also, what is your advice as far as copyright and trademarking your blog or brand goes? Do you recommend doing this immediately or waiting to see growth for your website? Do you recommend copyright, trademarking, or both? Thanks!
Hi Isabella,
In my opinion, you don’t have to worry about copyright and trademarking your blog. We don’t do any of these for our website.
In the United States, you own the copyright as soon as you put the original work on your blog and you won a trademark as soon as you use your name and logo for marketing your business.
However, some people like to use it for certain products and names. You can read our guide – How to Trademark and Copyright a Name or Logo.
Thanks for the kind words, Isabella.
Yes, you can definitely do that. Just go through the process I described in this guide but don’t launch your blog right away. Inside Step #5: Starting a blog on WordPress (Section 7. Launch your blog), you don’t have to click the “Launch my site” button. Instead, you can do pre-launch changes on your blog (design, content, etc.). And launch it when you are ready.
I hope this information will help!
Thanks for this tutorial on starting a blog. I started my blog a while ago but I didn’t understand much about WordPress but now thanks to this information I know more.
Thanks Ronald, glad I was able to help. All the best with your new blog!
Hi Anya! I have a question. I chose a domain name, but that is not what is in the search bar when I am previewing the website. It is a bunch of random words, letters, and numbers. Just wondering if you could help! Thanks!
Hi Sarah,
Your hosting provider has probably assigned you a temporary domain name. It usually takes 24hrs for your main domain to show up.
p.s. sorry for the late answer!
You are a very knowledgable blogger, learned so many things from you. Thank You So Much!
Thanks Zeeshan.
Really amazing Anya! This is a real and complete guide to making a blog from scratch. Very helpful, thank you!
Thanks Marija!
Thanks for your guide.
This is very informative and very simple to start blogging.
You’re welcome Darry!
I’ve read through a lot of “How To Start a Blog” guides and I must say that this one is the most detailed and helpful one I’ve ever come across.
Thanks for sharing this info, it was really helpful.
My friend and I will be launching our blog soon called thefroavenue.com and its all thanks to this guide.
Many thanks!
Thanks Rachel!
Thanks Anya. The guide to starting a blog was well written and easy to understand.
Thanks…glad that you like it!
Hi Anya, that was so informative and clear. I loved your simple language.
Thanks for sharing.
Thansk Harini!
Love the amazing post, keep up the good work.
Thank you Louis!
Thank you for this great content, it really helps.
Thank you for this wonderful and detailed guide. Well done.
Thanks Debby!
This is an excellent guide on how to create a good blog. Thanks a lot Anya for sharing your knowledge.
Thank you Abefe-Balogun! I’m happy that you enjoy my content.
I have read through your Guide for wannabe Bloggers. Quite Impressive, I must say. In spite of the detailed explanations, I still find the process of setting a Blog so complex. I doubt if it is something I can do myself, or will I need an expert to set it for me?
Stanley Moses.
Hi Stanley, the actual process is pretty straightforward if you follow the steps I’ve outlined. You will have your live blog in 15-20 minutes. Keep in mind that after you get your blog online, you need to work on your theme design and content. Feel free to reach out to me via our contact form if you have any questions along the way. Good luck!
A great guide in precise words. I was just thinking about beginning my own blog but had no clue how it works. Thanks for the information conveyed here. It had been a great help.
Thanks Durga! I’m glad that you find all of the steps useful. Let me know how it goes!
Thanks for the guide, easy to learn for a beginner.
Thanks Andy!
Thank you so much for giving me the needed push to get this moving! Your post covers so much information and answers so many questions! Thank you again for sharing.
You’re very welcome Ck!
I am really grateful for this information. It’s so helpful to me as I have been planning to start my own blog for some time now.
I’m happy to hear that Hayinday. I hope my guide will help you get your new blog live. Let me know how it goes and good luck!
Thank you so much for sharing these great tips! I am living in the US now, but will soon return to Brazil. Will I be able to keep my blog running with Bluehost and WordPress? Can I change the payment details later? Do you know if my domain will show up from searches outside the US? Thank you so much again!
Hi Maria. Your blog will work just fine anywhere so don’t worry about it. And with Bluehost, you can always update your payment preferences. All the best!
Thank you so much Anya…This is a very simplified step by step to blogging. I truly want to get started this minute.
I’m happy for you Inetty. Let me know if you have any questions along the way.
Loved your guide. It is super helpful and complete. I do have one question. If you already bought a domain, would you be able to use the hosting service you recommend?
Hi Christine. You can transfer your domain to Bluehost and still be able to use it. When you come to the step of choosing your new domain, just select the option “I already own a domain”. Let me know if you have any other questions!
I really appreciate the content here, thank you so much. Very informative information, easy to understand.
Thanks Desire for your kind words!
Hey Anya,
I hope you are doing well.
This guide on starting a blog is one of the most precise and easy to consume content for beginners. I just started exploring your other content as well and hoping to enjoy it. Be safe and have a nice day there!
Thank you Mudassir! I hope you will enjoy the rest of our content.
This is an excellent guide on how to create a good blog. Thanks a lot, Anya for sharing your knowledge. Really useful!
You’re very welcome Aditya! I hope it helps you start a blog on your own.
I have a question what if I want to write about multiple topics?
Hi Elio! You can certainly write on multiple topics. There are ways to categorize your topics within WordPress.
This was really helpful! The step by step approach was of great help and as a beginner, I got it all clear.
Thanks Mahak! Let me know if you need any additional help. Good luck with your blog.
This is an excellent guide on how to create a good blog. Thanks a lot Anya for sharing your knowledge.
You’re very welcome Grace. I hope it helps you set up a blog. Thanks!
Hi Anya, That’s really a detailed post on how to start a blog and I loved it.
Thank you Niraj!
Thank you. You made it quite simple. As a beginner, this is all we need to know. I got almost all the answers. Thank you again.
You’re very welcome Shree. I’m happy that you found your answers. Good luck with everything.
Hi Anya, I am a novice when it comes to blogging. You have invested a lot of effort and time, to come up with this, “to the point” and “easy to understand” article. I now have a fair idea of what is blogging. Thank you .
Thank you Suresh! I really appreciate it when people recognize the effort…this means a lot to me. Thanks once again.
Wow, this is an amazing guide, keep up the good work.
Thanks a lot Louis…really appreciate it!
Wow! This the best guide ever. I have been wanting to start a blog and now I have an idea. I will start with my research and brainstorming the domain name.
Thank you
Thank you very much for your kind words. Please let me know if you have any questions!
Outstanding post, well done! Couldn’t agree more, your profitable niche is the most important step. Because all keyword and search phrase placement is dependent on that. Without which it will be impossible to dominate search result pages.
Thanks Deon!
This was such a wonderful guide! I’ve been wanting to start a blog for a little while but never knew where to begin. I’m actually excited now and brainstorming a domain name. Thank you for your helpful tips and step by step instructions!
Thanks Shilanda. Let me know if you have any questions and good luck with your blogging!
This is the most comprehensive guide on starting a blog.
Thanks a lot Chandra! Glad you like it.
This was very helpful, thank you! Your step-by-step instructions helped me understand where to start and how to get to where I need to be.
Thanks Samantha!
This is an amazing article that helped me in deciding on how to start my blog. I appreciate the step by step process you went through to explain on how to start for beginners.
Thanks and good luck with your new blog!
Thank you for the information. It is really helpful. Please note you have a small word omission under the sub heading- “Submit your blog to bookmarking sites”.
Bookmarking sites can offer your content …… You should (do) this every time you publish a new blog post to spread the word out. Some popular social bookmarking sites are Scoop.it, Reddit, etc.
Thanks a lot Giovanna! It’s fixed…really appreciate your help.
Amazing! Very nice guide….!
Thanks Rasel! Hope you find it useful.
Your article was very informative and it actually helped me make my decision to start! Thanks Anya
I’m so glad to hear that Angela! Wish you all the best with your new blog.
Thanks for sharing the valuable content!
Thank you Shantanu!
I must confess, I haven’t read an easy-to-implement guide like you have provided here, for a very long time. I’ve always wanted to start my blog and now I’ve found help. Thank you so much!
Thanks Johnson! Let me know if you need any help with starting a blog.
Thanks for sharing! It’s an easy step by step guide for starting a blog. It is very helpful for all new bloggers.
Thank you Kaye! Let me know if you need any help with your blog.
What an incredibly informative article. Im looking to start a blog for my company and i love this article. In fact you are now bookmarked as my blog bible. Any problems i can and will probably run into getting it off the ground you cover. Thank you truly for sharing and helping others take a creative step in the right direction. Im not sure i get evergreen content. I mean i get the gist of it but is it like if i ran a food blog and had recipe for a soup that was popular and people kept coming back for it? Or am i missing the point? Sorry it may be obvious and i am just not getting it.
Thank you Megan for your kind words.
My explanation of evergreen content is this:
Evergreen content is content that continues to be relevant to its readers and gives them value years after the publish date. It remains informative and retains its original quality. As its name implies – it is timeless.
I hope it helps. Feel free to reach out if you need any help!
Thanks for sharing this useful information with us. This is a clear step by step guide for all beginners.
Thanks…appreciate it!
It’s such an in-depth guide on how to start a blog. You have given a clear picture of how to start a blog, hosting services, etc. It will be a goldmine for new bloggers.
Thanks Saurav, I’m happy that you like it! Let me know if you need any help.
This is a well-detailed process of starting a blog, and it will be of great help to me. Thanks for this
Thanks Juliet! Let me know if you need any help with your blog.
Hi….newbie here…
It’s really awesome..and helpful…thank you so much…
It’s such an in-depth guide on how to start a blog. You have given a clear picture of how to start a blog, hosting services, etc it will be a goldmine for new bloggers.
You’re very welcome Sara. I’m glad that you found it useful!
Thanks for sharing the content. This is a very useful guide.
You’re very welcome. Let me know if you have any additional questions!
Thanks Anya. The guide to starting a blog was well written and easy to understand.
I’m glad that you find easy to understand! Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions.
This is the most detailed guide I have ever come across. Starting a blog is one of the most difficult tasks for newbies because they are always confused to find the right steps. You explained very well to buy a domain name and hosting for the blog. I am happy to see that you recommended one of the most used CMS WordPress in this article.
Thanks for putting this awesome article.
Thanks a lot Kulwant! Happy to hear that you find it useful.
I wish to start my blog very soon. Thanks for this great guide.
Thanks Juliet! Let me know if you have any questions or need any additional help.
Great content, you really explained every single thing in detail. Keep up the good work!
Thanks Samuel! Glad you like my guide.
An amazingly awesome content. A very helpful guide and thank you very much.
Thanks Rohit. Let us know if you have any questions or need some help with starting your new blog!
This is a very useful guide. Thanks for sharing your ideas…
Thanks Harry! I hope it will help you with your blogging journey.
What an amazing guide about the blog. You have helped many people with this topic. Thanks for sharing this information!
Appreciate your support. Thanks!
Keep going and thanks for sharing this information on how to start a blog…
Thanks Anita. Glad you like it!
Thanks for sharing the nice article. I really enjoyed reading it. This is a very good guide for people who want to start up a new blog.
Happy that you like it. Let us know if you have any questions and we will help you for free.
Thanks!
I recently started my blog after procrastinating for so many years, It has always been my dream. This is so comprehensive and it is helping me through the early phase. Thank you so much.
I’m very happy to hear that you like it. Good luck with your new blog and do not forget to check out our other resources!
Hello Anya Skrba, I really liked your cost-effective guide. I now speak to myself, it’s time to start blogging. Let’s get in touch for more guidance, please. Thank you.
Hi Freedman,
Please get in touch with me if you need any help. I would love to help you with your new blog!
Thanks for sharing! It is a very easy step by step guide for starting a blog. Its really very helpful for all new bloggers.
I’m really glad that you find it useful!
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any trouble with starting your blog – we are here for all blogging newbies 🙂
Hello Anya,
Very Informative post. Your way to guide us is very easy to understand. Thanks!
I’m glad to hear that Rubina!
If you need any additional help on how to start a guide plese do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected]
Great blog!!! Great guide with an excellent idea!Thank you for such a valuable article. I really appreciate this great information.
So glad to hear you find my guide useful Mark!
Thank you for reading it 😀 and good luck blogging!
Hi, I have recently started my own blog and these points would help me a lot. Thanks
Awesome article! Starting my own blog has helped me personally in achieving a lot of goals. Apart from the fact that it makes my personal brand quite prominent in my niche it also allows my readers to get useful and applicable information regularly.
Very informative Article. Thanks for sharing…it will help me to start a new blog.
Thank you for the guidelines. They are clear and easy to understand. Now I’m keen to embark on my fashion blog.
Often, when I speak with people who quit blogging, I tend to get answers that revolve around the hardships in the promotion.
I like the tips listed above as they are very efficient promotion methods.
Great article. Blogging is one of the best freelancing options to work from home and make money. Your post covered all important aspects of starting a blog. Well written.
All the best,
After reading some posts about blogging, and finally this, I start wondering if blogging is also meant for poor writers. Here’s my big question: can a ‘poor writer’ start a blog and hire some persons to create content? How bad does this affect new bloggers?
Hi Jane,
Blogging is in fact supposed to help with your writing. The more you write, the better you will get! And of course, you can always hire someone to help you with the content.
Good luck!
I’m a bit scared to be honest…I’m reconsidering if blogging isn’t a bit of a big step for me… Oh, what to do guys? 🙂 You made it sound like a piece of cake but is it really?
Hi Simon,
I suggest you go over our section “Know why you’re starting a blog” again. I hope it will help you understand the benefits of blogging.
Blogging is extremely intimidating. That’s how I felt, Simon, when I started in 2016. My site, Just Add That, was supposed to be a couponing website. But I didn’t know what I was doing, and I didn’t know where to start. Burn out happened quickly. Off and on for the next year, I tinkered and learned the basics of blogging following articles like this one at First Site Guide.
After learning the ropes, I felt much more confident and continued to build my following and promote my site. Just Add That went from nothing to something in just a few years. Is it work? You bet. Is it worthing? COMPLETELY! Be brave and be bold. You can do it! Good luck, Simon!
Do you really mean that 77% of internet users read blogs? That’s quite a huge audience to tap from! Too bad, I gave up on my blogging career years ago. I’m tempted to give it another shot now.
Choosing a domain should be in line with one’s financial capability and blogging idea, I guess. You wouldn’t want to spend much on renewing your domain plan when you’re yet to earn from your blogging activities.
Blogging appears to be a full-time business for many online entrepreneurs, and they make a good living from it. However, I’d like to know your take on the idea of a newbie blogger going all in, and possibly dropping off a low-paying 9-5.
OMG! 6,7 mill of people are blogging now?! That’s like…wow… I had no idea.
Good idea to point this information in the infographic – the number is astonishing!
I really used to think that starting a blog would cost a whole lot of money. I had a friend who blogs about recipes and I’ll always see her buying stuff, paying for videos and photographs and all that and so I imagined that it was that way with the rest. But I think I understand it better now. Thanks a lot for this simple yet comprehensive guide.
Someone was telling me that I need to have a large number of following before I can be accepted to place ads on my site. I have tons of subscribers but haven’t monetized my blog because I feel I still have a long way to go. After reading this post I have checked some tools and I’m surprised to see that I can do well if I monetize it now.
I used to make and post content on YouTube but honestly, it costs me a lot to make a professional video. Now I’m really thinking of moving to a blog because from this post I can see that it won’t cost me as much as it does with video uploads.
I have a blog which I’ve long forgotten about it because I wasn’t getting traffic as I expected. I’ve always thought I wasn’t cut out for this but right now, I have realized that I didn’t push it out to the public well enough and so I’m going back to give it another go! This has really caused a spark of energy within me.
Thanks for the great article Ogi. I am a great fan of FirstSideGuide’s web design and graphics. Creating a blog isn’t a tough process. The real difficulty is in marketing our website to reach the audience. Though people say you can do that easily with SEO, the competition in each and every niche is damm too big. On the other hand, the low competitive niches have very low traffic volume.
Awesome content! I was looking out for the promotion ideas because I have a blog in Travel Niche but it’s not performing well at all. I’ll have to try paid traffic option. Do you have other promotion ideas you could suggest?
Hi Sandra,
you should check out our guide on blog promotion. Hopefully, you will get some more ideas to help you promote your blog.
Good luck!!
You may never know how much you inspired me with this guide. I’m definitely giving blogging another shot, and I hope it works this time.
Thanks again!
Thanks for sharing this guide. However, you talked about choosing a niche in line with passion and hobbies. Does this make it impossible to choose a niche that “pays” as people would say? Even though it doesn’t dance in tune with one’s passion.
Hi Williams,
You can certainly create a blog to make money off of it. There are various monetization strategies you can apply once you start your blog.
I just really appreciate that you guys covered the costs of starting a blog! This way I know how to manage my budget 🙂
Thanks a lot for this!
Thanks for sharing the nice article. I really enjoyed reading it. This is a very good guide for people who want to start up a new blog.
This is an easy step by step guide for starting a blog. All new blogger needs to read this once. I am sharing this on my social media. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for the great guide. I will use the information provided and pass the word on. Thank you.
What an amazing guide you have shared on starting a blog. I really appreciate your effort in writing this post. Thanks for the great share. I will be sharing it with my new blogger friends.
This will be really effective for me, so thank you.
This is the most comprehensive guide I’ve read so far and I decided to go with it!
I particularly appreciate you guys also covered later development like WP dashboard navigation and content creation and promotion – this helps me a lot with my blog plans!
What are the costs for WordPress.org?
Hi Shawn.
WordPress.org CMS is free. But keep in mind that you need to have a web hosting account to set up a WordPress CMS!
Let us know if you have any other questions. Thanks!
Great information in simple easy language that a non-tech can understand. I was thinking of starting a blog but knew nothing about it as to what to do how to do. Now I know all that is needed to know.
Thanks