This is a step by step blogging for beginners guide which will cover every single thing in detail you need to know before creating your blog. Follow the steps and create your website within minutes.
However, one need to know blogging is a journey not a destination, I means its a continuous process and there is no end. Every beginner think it’s a quick rich scheme or something that will change everything overnight. It may sound rude to you, but i do not want to create a false expectation.
Yes there are opportunities, but there is nothing called free lunch in this world. You have to hard work with smartness and trust me it is possible to achieve your goals.
If you are one who is reading this, I may be wrong but most will be new bloggers or thinking to start blogging. Let me be very clear, it may take 2 days or 2 month to create and do setup for your blog, but the real challenge comes to earn a living out of it.
Please, understand I am not here to demoralize you in any way, I am just making you aware about the reality, I may have said goodie – goodie things in the beginning of the post itself. Most of you would have believed easily, But my conscience does not allow to cheat anyone in anyway.
Having said that, let’s not discuss why blogging is waste? or why it is great? If you have chosen and you think this is what I want to do, than no one can stop you from succeeding.
It may take some time, but things will workout, it is just the matter of time and how much that time you are investing in learning and implementing matters. Enough now no more lecture??, let’s get back to the point.
As a beginner in blogging, it is my advice to start with as low as possible, I am talking about money. You do not need to spend hell lot of money to get started, even if you have spend money wisely and the things which are really required.
Do not worry I will only tell you things which are really necessary and important and where you must spend few bucks rather than buying unnecessary stuff which are not required if you are starting.
I have been through this when I first created my website long back in 2015, when I was not even aware of what blogging is? and I know how some websites try to sell you with links every now and then.
So without wasting much time lets go step by step and understand how as a beginner you can start blogging and what are the things which are required.
Note: I have tried to use as much low jargon as possible and things will be explained not in technical but in simple
Blogging For Beginners Step 1
Get a domain. If you are not aware aware of what domain is, let me explain in you in layman terms. If I ask you what is your name or how people call you, your answer may be Richard, Keshav, Priya, Julie etc. so this is your identity and people know you by this.
Similarly, domain is a name of your website/blog and this is how people will know it online/offline. Just like your parents choose best name they can (in their thoughts?) likewise now it’s your turn to name your baby, your website or blog.
As a suggestion if possible try to name your blog related to your work, for e.g. if your blog is related to technology you can name it techwire.com, or if its related to politics you may name it fightforright.com. Take them just as an example, I don’t even know if this are registered domain or not.
Another things is extension of the domain, there are many domain extension available either based on country like .In for India, .CA for Canada, .Au for Australia or special domains related to a particular field like, .blog , .academy , .careers, .clothing, .online etc.
The famous ones are related to your country like .IN or a globally accepted and most used .com, however one need to understand that it all depends on the traffic you are targeting. If global traffic will come to the website than go for .com or if you are targeting your country specific for with .IN .CA .AU etc.
Choosing domain name or extension is not that important, what is important is the content of your blog and how you market it. Still if you are finding it difficult to name your blog you can use automatic domain name generator like nameboy or namemesh.
Now, coming back to domain, once you have decide the name you have to look that whether that name is even available to register or not as your domain name.
I Use and prefer either Namecheap or bluehost for buying domains and hosting for any websites of mine.
Just to let you know it’s not only me, Bluehost is an official ‘WordPress’ recommended hosting provider. When I say wordpress I am talking about wordpress.org not wordpress.com.
You can read bluehost review here
WordPress.org is an open source (free) software by which you can use to easily create a beautiful website, blog, or app. They account of more than 39% of total websites in world. You just need a domain name and web hosting.
You can install plugins or customize your blog in anyway and its all free and most importantly make money from your blogs.
Let me tell you the reason why? Bluehost is not the only one which I have used personally, prior to it I was using Namecheap, I have also used Hostinger services and many other and still I use them.
With some have been really pathetic experience and I felt like cheated, just because I thought it’s little cheap. The most important part of blogging or creating your website is a hosting service, as I said in the begging I am not telling you to spend your money in any other specific services getting offered online at the start.
But, you should spend little more money on your domain and hosting provider. If you are serious about your blogging career.
If you ask me who is best among them I would prefer Bluehost anytime. Trust me guys, just because someone selling you something cheaper than others does not guarantee the quality of the product and you might spend more than what you should have.
However, Namecheap is something I would recommend at second, following the Hostinger.
Let me show you how you can buy best domain names on bluehost:
Go to Bluehost website by clicking on this link
Bluehost sells a wide array of domain extensions. Including but not limited to: .com, .in, .co.in, .net, .org, .biz, .co, .online, .club, .me, .info, .host, .site, .co.uk, .asia, and .design. Plus many more.
As you can see in the image above the charges seems very nominal, yes you can get little cheap domain name from Hostinger and Namecheap as well, but there is not much difference (Less than 100 Rupees difference). You can also Add Domain Privacy + Protection to each domain for ₹449.00 per year.
WITH DOMAIN PRIVACY + PROTECTION Your personal information remains private and protection is added to your website to help prevent against risks or attacks.
WITHOUT DOMAIN PRIVACY + PROTECTION Your personal information will be listed in the public WHOIS database for anyone to search and view.
Every domain name has public information tied to it about the owner of the domain. The name, email address, phone number, and even home address of the owner is publicly available online in the WHOIS database.
Domain Privacy is a service Bluehost.in offers that will hide your personal contact information from the public WHOIS database and replace it with generic Bluehost.in contact information instead.
You are still the owner of the domain name, but your personal contact information can be kept safe.
However, you forget that you do not need to buy a domain name if you starting a new website instead of transferring your old domain name, Yes Bluehost India gives you the domain name for free for the first year with hosting services.
keep in mind sometime it may happen that domain name might not be available because it has already been taken by someone. Don’t lose hope try something new, keep experimenting. Once you have selected the domain name your first part is completed.
Having said that, Namecheap offers domain name as well hosting at lower rates than bluehost, so you can prefer namecheap any day without any second thought. Similarly, Hostinger is another option without any doubt.
Blogging For Beginners Step 2
Get A Hosting. If you are not aware what hosting is, let me tell you, In simple terms , if is ask you where you live chances are you will tell me your home address likewise you registered name for your blog/website and that blog may include thousand of files and data, which will require a space.
This is what hosting does it gives you a space, so that if someone decide something to search on the web, the data related to the search which is stored online to a hosting company can be easily accessible. Hosting is just like buying a home where you live with all your belongings.
Just like there are different types of ways you can have a home, it may be on rent and you are sharing it with someone or you may own a small flat as there are less people in your family, or it may be a big bungalow, depending upon your need you decide which is suitable for you.
To let you understand I am choosing bluehost as an hosting provider by the way there are are many companies such as Namecheap, BigRock, Hostinger which offers domain and quality hosting services at much affordable rate than siteground.
Below are the Hosting services offered by Bluehost:
Having said that, Pro web hosting is just a more upgraded version of shared hosting, It is just that this plans are specifically optimized and designed for wordpress users.
Whereas WooCommerce is just a specific plan which suits certain website related to E-commerce website. Therefore let us focus on three main type of hosting i.e. Shared, VPS, & Dedicated.
How to know which web hosting plan I should choose?
There are several points to consider before choosing the right shared web hosting plan for your website, some of these important points to consider, include:
– How much traffic are you expecting on your website?
– What kind of information will you require from website visitors?
– How many websites do you need to host?
– What level of technical skills do you own to manage your website server needs?
– What are your website storage and bandwidth requirements?
– What additional features/support do you need from your hosting plan?
Shared hosting is similar to renting a home with someone. You will have a home but you have to share the resources of the home like space, kitchen, washroom etc. If you are a beginner this is a popular option for launching small websites and not appropriate for large-scale commercial projects.
A virtual private server (VPS) is a step up from shared hosting. It’s like having a small flat of your own. This is best for Medium sized business.
Hosting on a dedicated server is like having a bungalow, It’s a more expensive option and best for websites who have more traffic or launching something commercially and big.
Hosting companies sell theirs plans by naming them in different way, they might lure you by showing different features for every plan.
As we are concerned about the beginners it is always advisable to opt for the basic plan and than with time and more traffic, you can upgrade it.
Let us check about the pricing of these hosting plans at bluehost India with different features.
Bluehost India Shared Hosting Plans and Pricing:
Shared Hosting is one of the most popular hosting packages because it provides an affordable way to get your website online. Shared Hosting works by allowing multiple users to share space on a single server maintained by the hosting provider (Bluehost).
A Shared Web Hosting package can include multiple offers or combinations of features as offered by their hosting provider. Bluehost Shared Hosting is perfect for blogging, hobbies and small business websites.
If you’re just getting started online, a small business or a personal website, Shared Hosting is the right option for you. When you purchase a Bluehost Shared Hosting plan it also includes an SSL certificate, domain name and much more!
That is why I have said in the beginning its ok to have spent a few buck in hosting rather than spending it on any other thing.
That’s it the process is completed now, after getting the domain and hosting, its time to do the setup by installing the wordpress on the panel and start building your blog.
If you ask me which blogging platform is best?
WordPress without any doubt, yes there are several other platform such as bloggers , but nothing till now have even come close to wordpress in terms of overall websites and blog development users.
Bluehost will also send you e-books and stuffs which are required for a beginner to workout building your blog easily. You can also use the site builder tool which is free to create your website.
Blogging For Beginners Step 3
Once you are logged in using your bluehost credentials you will see a pop-up asking you if you want to Start a new website on your account. Select that option and click on the WordPress button.
Incase if you face any problem you can contact bluehost customer support services which are available 24X7. They are best industry. Most of my issue got resolved instantly.
Bluehost India has a customized cpanel of their own instead of using the old cpanel, the user interface is clean and easy to understand. Cpanel or control panel allows you to manage your websites and hosting orders through a web interface.
Using cPanel you can access and manage your add-on domains, enable backup for your files, get timely updates, ensure the security of your files, FTP connections and much more.
Taken any hosting such as shared, cloud, VPS, reseller, dedicated server, you can manage them all via your cPanel, for example: Email, Security, Files, Databases, Domains, various 3rd-Party Software’s, Metrics etc.
Bluehost comes with the Simple Scripts add-on on cPanel so where clients can access various applications such as Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, Zen Cart, OS Commerce cart, and many more.
- Through graphical interface it is easy to navigate and to look for correct information
- Bluehost Cpanel allows easy backup of your files
- You can set up and manage Email accounts
- Different software modules available for use
- Upload and manage files in easy steps
Click on wordpress install and manage and login to the admin area of your wordpress.
How To Install A Theme In WordPress?
The first thing you need to do when you want to install a new WordPress theme is to login to your site admin page. Once there, go to Appearance -> Themes.
Here, you will see all the themes you have currently installed in your application. To add another one, simply click on the Add New button.
On the next page there are two ways to add a new theme. You can either use the search field which will return results from the WordPress.org theme directory or you can upload a theme from your local hard drive.
The easiest way to install themes to your WordPress site is if they are listed in the official themes directory. This allows you to search for the theme you need directly from your site admin page.
Each theme in the official directory has to have Tags that describe its functionality allowing you to easily search for the right theme.
If you know the theme’s name, you can simply search for it. There are premium themes available under paid or pro version, as mostly the free themes have limited functionality.
You can Use Astra Themes they have more than 900,000+ users as of now and are one of the fastest growing themes. It is also available in free version.
However, if you are just starting out, and does not have much money, use a free theme and with time you can upgrade to a better version.
You will now see all themes that meet your search. Hover over any of them and you will see two options – to see a demo of the theme or to install it. Once you choose which theme you want to use for your site, press the blue Install button.
Your WordPress application will download and install the theme for you. Simply click the Activate button on the same page to activate the theme.
That’s all – you can go to the front page of your site to see its new look.
Upload a theme you have already downloaded:
If you have a theme that’s not listed in the WordPress.org directory, you can simply upload it from the Themes -> Install Themes section in WordPress. To do this click on the Upload Theme button at the top of the page.
Now, click the Browse button, select the archive of your theme from your local computer and press the Install Now button.
In a few seconds, WordPress will upload and extract the theme archive for you. All you need to do next is to press the Activate link under the message to enable the theme on your website.
That’s it! You can now go to the front end of your site and see the newly activated theme.
On case you need any other assistance siteground customer services are easily accessible for your help.
Once the them is installed go to appearance – customize from here you can easily design your website by seeing the live changes happening on your site.
How to install plugins in WordPress?
WordPress plugins can be installed from your WordPress Dashboard under Plugins -> Add New.
Plugins is what adds additional functionality to your website or blog.
To install a plugin you just need to put the plugin files into the wp-content/plugins directory. Once a plugin is installed, you may activate it or deactivate it from the Plugins menu in your WP administration
Browse to the plugin archive and select it. Then click Install Now and the plugin will be installed shortly.
The removal is also straightforward go to Installed plugins- checkout the list and select the plugin which you want to be deleted.
Till now we have learned:
- How to register your domain name?
- How to Get the best hosting service?
- How to install wordpress and themes?
This are easy part when starting a blog and can be achieved within a hour. But the most important part starts is when you begin creating content for the site. Let us see how to do that.
How to Create Post In WordPress?
Now comes the hardest part for any blogger, content creation. How great your website or blog looks without content nothing can be achieved. Let us see how to write posts in wordpress:
Access your WordPress admin dashboard area -> Posts -> Add New.
This is how it looks if you are using the wordpress classic editor:
You can also use wordpress Gutenberg blocks editor to build your blogs which is a new editor based on blocks. You can switch the editor from classic to Gutenberg easily on a click .
One thing you need to keep in mind the when you install the wordpress by default it comes with this new block editor. However you can download the classic editor as a plugin. This is how it looks:
Now, few things which you should keep in mind while writing your content:
Keep it simple and avoid using lot of jargons
Use proper grammar and build short sentence you can use Instant Spelling And Grammar Checker
.
Use Good SEO based content for better ranking, you can use this tool to find the competition in your niche and ranking for different websites.
Use rich and good visual images for your blogs (you can download instant images plugin it’s free).
Create at least 1000 word long post, do not keep it below 600 words in any case.
You should use best SEO plugins whether free or pro version like YoastSEO or Rankmath SEO.
How To Setup Google Analytics For Your Blog?
If you are serious about blogging than google analytics can really help you in know various details about the traffic coming to your website. Sign up for google analytics easily by logging to your Gmail account and do the setup for your website.
You will be asked to provide your information and website URL. After that, you will be presented with your Google Analytics tracking code. This code you need to paste in your Theme Html code section, don’t worry you can use the free plugin of google know as Google Site Kit.
You do not need to do it manually just install the plugin and integrate your wordpress with sitekit.
How To Setup Google Search Console For Your Blogs?
Google search console is very helpful to show you the trend of your website, it contains all the data such as your post keywords, how it ranking on search engines, total impressions on your blog etc.
This also can be done using the free wordpress plugin google site kit. All the above steps are must even before you start publishing your content. So, please do it as soon as the website is setup.
My Recommendation:
Apart from this if you want your website/blog to be available to all the users across the world or you want to get it converted in your native language than you can use GTranslate.
Security of your website is of utmost important, In the world where we work and live chances of getting your website hacked or ruined is easy.
To avoid any such mischievous activities always keep your security at best, you can use Sucuri. It is a free security scanner for WordPress.
One big thing is the data backup of your website, you need to create regular backups of your website in case something ever goes wrong. Thanks to Updraftplus , it is one of the best wordpress plugin to keep a backup of your content easily in few steps.
Speed of the website always matter for users as well as search engines, that is why I recommend using SG Optimizer to enhance the speed of your website.
Keywords optimization is must for any blog to survive for a beginner i would recommend you to use free google keyword research tool, it has limited capabilities, but it is best for you as a beginner.
However if you to advanced keyword analysis and want to know the how your competitor websites are ranking than you should use Semrush.
How To Earn Money From Your Blogs?
All we are doing at the end of the day is just not our of passion or creation only, it is money which is also the prominent motivating factor in our blogging journey.
There are a various, different ways to successfully monetize your blog. However, you need to know that it takes time there is no such thing as free lunch in this world.
The time and energy you have consumed to build a beautiful, useful content for user will be paid but it may take some time. For that you should know the resources and tools from where you can earn by blogging.
Below are some of the best ways to make money from your blog easily.
Google AdSense:
Google adSense is a perfect way to monetize your blog through ads. They are the largest advertising platform for bloggers and publishers.
You can use your own Gmail address or google site kit plugin to integrate the ads easily on your blog. However getting approved for AdSense may be little time consuming. As well as google AdSense have strong policies which may make a new blogger getting declined.
But do not worry in case you are not getting approved, there are many advertising companies where you can apply. Most of them will approved you either instantly or within few days. Best Alternative for google AdSense is Adsterra, Propellerads , Infolinks.
There are no charges for joining it and it will get you approved instantly after verification of your website.
Affiliate Marketing:
Affiliate marketing is the most used monetization strategy for new to experience bloggers. In affiliate marketing, you need to recommend your favorite products or services to your readers, and if they make a purchase you get a referral commission out of it.
Make sure you recommend high-quality products and services that you already used and trust. There are many affiliate marketing companies you can try any of them. However the best ones such as:
Create Your Own Online Store
If you want to sell your own physical products online, it can be books, e-books, art, music, grocery etc. To do this you need to create a woocommerce website.
Conclusion:
Blogging For Beginners can be a daunting task, but ‘when there is a will, there is a way’
You will feel excited at first, after spending some time you may start feeling discouraged, that is why it has been said “patience is a virtue”. Do not lose hope and continue with making new experiments and strategies.
One of the most important thing is to keep learning, the time will come if you are putting enough efforts.
So, whether you are a beginner or already own a website, do not hesitate to take the services with Bluehost India at all, bluehost India is legit safe and reliable domain and hosting service provider, trust me you won’t regret it later.
Check moneycontain Namecheap complete review here.
Get cheapest domain name as well as hosting services, read moneycontain review on BigRock here.
If you are looking for some other stream of income online than read this amazing stock market guide for beginners.
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