How to Start a Blog in 2020
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Are you wondering how to start a blog? Well, today I'm going to show you how to do just that—in four easy-to-follow steps!
How to Start a Blog in 4 Steps:
If you follow my four-step guide you will have your blog set up in no time! Here are the four steps in order:
- Choose your blogging platform
- Choose a hosting platform
- Choose a blog name
- Setup and customize your blog
Step 1. Choose a Blogging Platform
The first thing you'll have to do to create your blog is to choose a blogging platform.
The best blogging platform by far (in my opinion) is WordPress.
Why WordPress you ask?
Well, here are some WordPress statistics that you need to know:
- WordPress powers 26% of websites on the Internet
- WordPress users publish 41.7 million posts each month
- 1.1 million new domains are created with WordPress every 6 months
WordPress is a titan of a blogging platform—as you can see from the stats.
And there are countless plugins and themes you can use to customize your blog in every which way.
Alternative Blogging Platforms
Here are some of the alternatives to WordPress.
Blogger – People have said that Blogger is the next best thing to WordPress.
Tumblr – Tumblr is basically a blogging site and social media site in one.
All blogging platforms have their advantages and disadvantages—and now I'm going to explain why WordPress comes out on top.
Why WordPress Is the Best Blogging Platform
Here are some reasons why you should create your blog on WordPress:
- It's super easy to launch your blog with WordPress
- It's easy to customize your blog with themes and plugins
- WordPress is SEO friendly
- It's easy to manage
- It's a safe and secure blogging platform
- WordPress can handle different media types
Now that you have (hopefully) chosen to launch your site with WordPress it's time to get onto the next step in launching your blog!
Step 2. Choose a Hosting Platform for Your Blog
There are a few ways you can launch your blog, and it's important that you read this section carefully. Your hosting method will affect the level of freedom you have with your blog in terms of design and monetization.
Self-hosting vs launching a free blog
Launching your blog for free on a site like WordPress.com (not to be confused with WordPress.org), Tumblr or Blogger has a few advantages.
Namely, it's free! However, there is a big list of disadvantages in launching your blog this way—as I will now explain.
1. You can't get your own domain name
The number one reason to avoid these free blogging platforms is the lack of freedom to properly name your blog!
Free blogging platforms force you to use their suffix at the end of your domain name—so your domain name might look something like this:
- yoursite.wordpress.com
- yoursite.blogspot.com
- yoursite.tumblr.com
Yeah, that's NOT what you want.
2. Free blogs have other restrictions
Some people have trouble fully monetizing their blogs with display ads as well as affiliate links. And you won't be able to upload certain images and videos.
You can't even access the free themes offered at WordPress.org—if you're hosting your blog for free at WordPress.com.
3. You don't actually own your blog
I don't own my blog? What?
Yeah, you heard me.
Since your blog is hosted on someone else's platform (WordPress.com, Blogger.com, Tumbler.com) it's technically their web property and they can delete it if they choose to.
You could potentially lose thousands of hours of work if your blog is deleted!
Benefits of Self-hosting
You won't experience these issues if you self-host your blog.
This way, you are the owner of your blog and have the power to name it whatever you want (assuming that name isn't already taken!).
You will also be able to give your blog a professional look, with a domain ending in .com,.net,.com.au ect.
Launching a blog is cheap—and you can launch your own blog for about 10-15$ a month.
If you'd like to buy your domain separately (like I did) then you can buy it from somewhere like GoDaddy.com (where I bought mine).
Step 3. Launch Your Blog On Your Domain
I'm going to continue this guide assuming you're going to launch your blog with WordPress.org—which you should!
So, now that you've decided to launch your blog with WordPress—it's time for you to choose your domain name and hosting platform.
Where Should I Host My Blog?
There are only a few great hosting platforms and the one I recommend is Siteground.
They are my website host and I have had only great experiences with them. They were founded in Bulgaria in 2004 and host over 2,000,000 websites.
They offer different plans depending on how much traffic you expect, which is great if you want to start off small.
How to Access Your Blog
Once you have installed WordPress you will be able to sign in and access the backend of your site here: www.yoursitenamehere.com/wp-admin.
You can write a post by clicking the “Post” menu and selecting “New”.
Step 4. Setup and Customize Your Blog
Here's the fun bit, and the bit that most people spend way too much time trying to perfect!
To choose a theme click Appearance > Themes. You can either install a free WordPress theme or buy a premium theme and follow its own installation procedure.
I personally use the Avada theme and am loving it (for the most part) so far!
I would eventually like to redesign my site—but I will wait until I have the budget for a professionally designed custom website!
Blogging Resources for Beginners
Here are some great resources to help you get your blog started right:
If you need any help setting up your blog feel free to email me and I'll try my best to solve any issue that you may have!
I don’t even know the way I finished up here, however I thought this publish was once great. I don’t recognize who you are however certainly you’re going to a well-known blogger should you are not already 😉 Cheers!