Tips on Blogging For Beginners in 2021
Tips on Blogging For Beginners in 2021
So you want to start a blog, huh? Good idea!
But … how the hell do you start? There is so much information on the internet and everyone tells you to do different things. Who are you listening to? Where is the starting point?
Damn, maybe you should just forget about it – it’s too confusing!
Well, wait a minute. I was also a blogging newbie. I had the same problems. I started my blog way back in 2006, and I knew nothing about blogging. In fact, it wasn’t until a week before I learned what a blog was.
Now I know a ton of them, and my blog is doing a pretty good job – I get over 300,000 unique visitors per month, which makes me think of myself as someone you could listen to and learn from when it comes to building your own blog. I’m not some kind of guru, but I certainly know the basics.
I promise you it will be simple, relatively easyand certainly easy to understand (no stupid jargon). Sounds good?
Great, let’s move on.
Why You Should Create a Blog and Join the Blogging Community
Below, I’m going to describe exactly what you need to do to get started and set up your own personal blog. But before we dive in, I really want to talk about WHY you should build a blog.
Note: If you already have a good idea of why, skip this and go ahead with the guide.
- Blogging has quickly become one of the most popular ways to communicate and distribute information and news. There are literally millions of blogs online (don’t worry, you can make yours stand out and get noticed!).
- It’s a great way to express yourself and also a great way to share information with others.
- You become a better person and a better writer.
- The best reason? You can earn money with it!
I bet you already knew all that, but it’s nice to be reminded.
One last thing before we get started: create
your own blog can take a while, probably 30 minutes. So grab a cup of coffee or a juice (whatever you want) and let’s get started. If you need help during the installation process, please contact me here and I will help you as best I can and answer any questions you may have).
Disclosure: This guide to starting your own blog has some affiliate links. If you purchase a service through one of these links I can earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
The steps covered in this blogging guide scratch
It’s not nearly as difficult as setting up a website from(very little technical skill is required here). In fact, no encryption is required by you. Good news, huh?
Starting a blog in 5 steps:steps
There are five main things you need to take to start a blog. If you follow this guide exactly, you’ll have your own blog set up in 30 minutes or less.
- Choose a great one
- Choose a web host for your blog Set up
- a blog on your own domain
- Design your new blog
- blogging platform Useful blogging resources got it
So we’ve got it. Relief. Better late than never! So without further ado, let’s jump to step 1.
Step 1 – Choose Your Favorite Blogging Platform
Choosing where to build a blog is pretty much the first thing you need to do. I’m going to take the plunge and assume you’ve heard of WordPress, and this is the platform I’m advocating for. It’s huge.
It is by far one of the largest blogging platforms in the world, with tons of plugins and add-ons and almost endless ways to design and format your blog.
There are over 82 million active WordPress users = a lot, actually.
Even though WordPress is bigger (and probably better) than those two, here are my reasons why you should go for WordPress:
- anywaySuper Easy Install & It’s Free to Use
- Tons of free themes and layouts (I’m not kidding, there are gazillions ).
- There’s a huge support forum in case you get stuck (you won’t, but it’s nice to have it there if you need it).
- Your blog will be insanely fast and it looks too . Functionality and shape – perfect!
- People can communicate with you easily. Your content can be shared, commented on, and so on.
Here is an article on various blogging platforms (including WordPress), read it: blogging platform
How to choose one – (updated for 2021)
Now, step 2 (look, we’re moving fast now!)
Step 2 – Self-hosted or a free alternative?
Whoa, slow down there! This is the biggest decision you need to make before we proceed. You have to decide whether to pay for your blog or grab a free blog.
WordPress, Tumblr, and Blogger all offer free blogs for everyone. Amazing, right? It’s perfect for those of us who aren’t that serious about blogging. But it does have drawbacks:
1) You can’t get your OWN domain name
On a free blog, your blog’s web address (your URL) will be ugly. Really ugly. Basically, create a free blog with any of the above free blogging services and it looks like this:
- yourblog.wordpress.com
- yourblog.blogspot.com
- yourblog.tumblr.com
I know, ugly right?
2) Limits and more limits
There are some limits to free blogs. You can’t make full money from it and you don’t have the option to upload all those videos and images that you want to show to everyone – it’s all limited. Even worse, you don’t even have access to the free themes offered by WordPress.
3) YOU DON’T HAVE A Blog
It may sound strange at first, but you don’t really own your blog. It is hosted on someone else’s web property and they can remove it if they wish. They have done this in the past and will continue to do it in the future. Which means that all your hard work on your blog, all those countless hours writing blog posts might be gone in seconds. Sad …
On the other hand, with a self- hosted blog on your own domain name – you are the REAL owner of your blog. You can name your blog whatever you want, for example “YourName.com” or “YourAwesomeBlog.com. You can end it with .com, .co.uk, .net, .org or just about any other web suffix. Add with that unlimited bandwidth for videos, images and content plus the free themes and you have a winning combination.
So how much does hosting and a domain name cost? Fortunately not as much as you think. It usually works out to about $ 5 to $ 10 a month, depending on your hosting provider, which is less than a few cups of coffee.
If you still have questions, here’s a little more information to look at:
- Should I choose a hosted or non-hosted blogging platform?
Step 3 – Start a blog in your own domain (if you choose self-hosted and custom domain).
I’m moving forward based on the premise you chose WordPress, and if you haven’t, you should. Seriously, it’s the best .
If you’re still a bit confused by what is by yourself a g ehoste blog,allow me then to explain to and how you can set up one for yourself.
You need to come up with a domain name that you like and also choose a hosting company that can host your blog.
- Domain: The domain is basically the URL of your website. Examples: google.com (Google.com is the domain), Facebook.com (Facebook.com is the domain). See? Easy!
- Hosting: Hosting is basically the company that puts your website on the Internet for everyone to see. Everything is stored there. Think of it as the hard drive of a computer on the Internet where your blog is stored.
Disclosure: I recommend using Hostgator for web hosting. If you click through one of my links and make a purchase, I receive a commission, which allows me to keep bloggingbasics101.com running.
I personally use Hostgator (for my blogging domain and hosting), and I have nothing but good things to say about it.
It’s probably one of the cheapest (under $ 3 a month) hosting providers out there. A domain name costs about $ 10-15 per year, but with Hostgator you can get that for FREE for the first year.
If you sign up with Hostgator, make sure to use the coupon code BB101 as this unlocks the maximum discount they offer on all of their hosting plans.
Big smiles for that!
These are the providers I use for all of my blogs, including the ones you are reading right now.
If for whatever reason you don’t want to go with Hostgator, feel free to choose your own hosting company. Most, if not all, should have a one-click WordPress installation solution from their admin panel.
That button will automatically install WordPress on your blog. Did I say it was simple or not?
All you need to do is sign up with Hostgator (or your chosen provider), choose your hosting plan and a domain name, and on the admin panel search for the one-click WordPress install button.
If at any point you get stuck, this guide can help as it contains screenshots.
WordPress essentials aren’t often needed, but I recommend whois privacy (which keeps all your personal data private) and definitely automated backups (which save your website in case something fails or disappears so you don’t lose it) or very little of your blog).
Start a blog with Hostgator today and get an exclusive 60% discount with coupon BB101
Once WordPress is installed on your website all you need to do is go to your WP-Admin page, usually www.yourblognamehere.com/wp-admin and start writing by adding a new message.
The layout may look confusing at first, but it quickly becomes very understandable. Don’t you worry!
Step 4 – Design Your WordPress Blog
Now, the fun part.
Let’s make your blog look exactly the way you want it. To choose a new theme, go to Appearance> Themes and install a free WordPress theme or go to a website like premium themes ThemeForest.net and buy a theme for about $ 40.
I usually choose something that looks professional and is fairly easy to adjust. WordPress also has this great feature that allows you to change themes in a few clicks. So if you get tired of your current blog template, you can just switch to another one without losing any precious content or images.
Remember that the design of your blog should reflect both you and your personality, as well as what the blog is about. There’s no point in having a football-oriented theme if your blog is about tennis, you know?
Plus, it should be easy to navigate if you want people to stick around. If it is tricky and difficult to move around it, people will not stay. After all, design is a subjective art; which means that everyone likes different things.
But nobody likes ugly websites, and they especially hate websites that require a college degree to navigate. Make it easy for them.
For more information, I have put together 3 blog posts about designing your blog. Feel free to go through them.
- Blog design: keep it organized and
- advice for blog design and blog goals.
- easy to use Is there any software I can use to create my own images, buttons and banners?
Final step! Woo!
Step 5 – Helpful Resources for Beginner Bloggers
Bloggers come to the blogging arena with varying degrees of online and social media experience, but we’ve all made more than a few beginner mistakes – there’s always room for more learning and improvement whether you’re a beginner or you’ve been blogging for years.
These articles can help you avoid some growing pains when it comes to your first blog – have fun !: Blog
- 5 Starting Blog Mistakes You Can Fix
- Choosing a Niche
- 7 Ways to Increase Your Success as a Blogger
And that’s it! I’m more than sure that your first blog should be done and ready to go now, and all of that should have been really easy (unlike my first time, thankfully!). If you are having trouble installing WordPress on Hostgator, this guide can help.
If you get stuck due to an unfortunate circumstance or if you have any questions for me about creating a blog, just contact me or leave a comment below. I will help you with any problems.
Have fun with your new blog!
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