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Are you interested in learning how to start a blog? Do you have a passion or something you want to share with the world? If so you are in the right place!
There are many platforms available online where you can start a blog for free such as Blogger, Tumblr, Squarespace, Wix, and WordPress.com. If you want to blog as a hobby that’s okay. But if you want to be a professional and make money, I highly suggest you purchase your own domain and be self-hosted.
Today, I will show you how to set up a blog with your own domain using WordPress. All it takes is a few easy steps and you’ll see that it’s quite simple.
Purchase Web Hosting
The first thing to do when you start a blog is to sign up with a web hosting service. I’ve had my hosting with Sitegroung for years and so far I’ve been extremely pleased with their service.
Their service is extremely affordable and there are so many different plans available for you to choose from depending on your specific needs.
Learn More About Siteground
I’ve been using Siteground for years. This is why I recommend them to everyone:
1. Reliable service. Their service has always been reliable. My website is consistently up and running, which is very important when choosing a web host service.
2. Customer service. Siteground is always available and ready to help you 24/7 if you have any questions or are experiencing a problem with your site.
3. Fast speed. Having a site that quickly loads for your readers is really important! Siteground even offers tools to help minimize downtime and speed up your site.
4. Affordable Prices. Their self-hosted plans start as low as $3.95 per month which is great if you’re a beginner.
How To Get Started With Siteground
First, click here to go to Siteground. You will see a page where it shows their hosting options.
Now, pick a web hosting plan that suits your needs. If you are starting a blog from scratch for the first time, you will most likely only need their Startup Plan.
Press the Get Plan button and you’ll be taken to the next page where it’ll tell you to enter your domain name.
You can either register a new domain with them or input a domain name if you already own one.
Once you enter in your domain name, you’ll go to the check out page.
I highly recommend purchasing hosting for the 36 month period because the introductory price of $3.95 per month can only be applied to your very first invoice. Once that period is over, you’ll have to pay the regular price which is much more expensive. You’ll also want to pay for domain privacy unless you want your contact information available to the public.
Installing WordPress
Now that you’ve purchased hosting and a domain name, you’ll need to install WordPress.
After you get your welcome email from Siteground, you’ll be able to login to your cPanel at https://yourdomain.com/cpanel. This is the main hub where you will manage your site.
The first thing to do is to click WordPress Installer.
Next, Siteground will lead you through the installation of WordPress. Click Install Now.
Under the Software Setup section, you will have these two options:
- https://www.yourdomain.com, or
- https://yourdomain.com
Next, in the In Directory field, you can input the location of where you want to install WordPress.
- You can either leave it blank, so that when you enter https://yourdomain.com, WordPress automatically loads at the root directory, or
- You can enter a subdirectory name such as blog, making your blog address https://yourdomain.com/blog
Now enter the admin and site information that you want to use each time you log in to WordPress.
Then click Install.
The installation will then begin and should last around a minute. You’ll be able to log in to WordPress at https://yourdomain.com/wp-admin with the account details you entered in during the installation process.
Start Blogging
After you log in to WordPress, you will see your Dashboard. This is where you will be able to write new posts, moderate comments, change the appearance of your blog by installing and customizing themes, and add plugins.
Now that you’ve set up your domain and web hosting, all you have to do is set up your WordPress theme and write your first blog post.
Once you get the hang of things, check out this post about the best blogging tools and resources.
