Easy steps to start a successful blog

Easy steps to start a successful blog

Many people would wish to run a successful blog but lack the skills and knowledge on how to start one. Some might have the skills but lack the recipe for applying their skills. In this article, I will break down the step by step process of how to start a successful blog.

The article will cover the following sub-headings:

Select a blogging topic
Choosing your blogging platform
Why you shouldn’t blog on a free platform
Choose a domain name for your blog
Web Hosting
Host your blog (WordPress installation)
Add posts and pages

Select a blogging topic:

Before starting off on your blogging journey first you need to know what your blog will focus on. In this initial step, you need to lay down the foundation for your blog. Think of it as a business plan.

How exactly will you pick a blogging topic?
Well, there are many topics to choose from but it all depends on something that never makes you bored. The topic that you will decide to blog about should be related to something that excites you or something that you already have a vast knowledge about.
Here is a list of examples to get your mind jogging.
• Educational
• Charity
• Activism
• Music
• Celebrities
• Personal Stories
• politics
• bacon
• Recipe
• Beginner guides e.t.c

Choosing your blogging platform

Among the easy steps to start a successful blog is choosing your blogging platform. This step comes in second after choosing a blogging topic that best suits you. Blogging platforms are many and the reasons behind selecting one against the other might depend on specific needs or personal preference. Some of these blogging platforms include WordPress which is the most popular online, Drupal, Blogger, Tumblr e.t.c
Apart from being the most popular blogging platform, here are some more reasons that make me recommend WordPress for your first blog:
• First of all, WordPress is a free platform. (It’s an open-source platform)
• Setting up is quite easy and fast, with many theme templates to choose from. (You won’t need to be a web developer to get started)
• WordPress has an active and regularly updated support forum
• Due to the high number of WordPress users, it’s software is always updated making it secure and hack free.
• Anyone can easily tailor a website to suit his/her needs using WordPress.
So before you decide to go with other platforms consider WordPress especially if you are starting out. Bear in mind that 50%+ websites on the internet are powered by WordPress including this one.

Why you shouldn’t blog on a free platform
Creating your blog for free is a nice option. However, it has many limitations compared to its advantages. In fact, it has no advantage except that it is cheap. This is true since you will be limited in how you design and make a personal look for your blog. In addition, your blog will lack uniqueness and it will look cliché and boring.
In addition to the above-mentioned disadvantages, free blogging platforms carry other problems along, which include:
• You have limited control to your own content
• Your domain name will lack credibility since it will be something like (yourawesomename.wordpress.com) instead of your own tailored address which should be (yourawesomename.com).
• Limited storage space.
• You will not be allowed to monetize your website to its full potential
If you are serious about blogging, I strongly recommend that you avoid free platforms and instead opt for a self-hosted blog on your own domain name. If you still wish to head on to the free platforms, here are two best options to choose from:
https://www.wordpress.com
https://www.blogspot.com
But just before you leave keep reading to know about paid platforms and their numerous advantages.

Choose a domain name for your blog

A domain acts as a gateway to your blog. In this case, it needs to be neat and one that summarizes your brand. But let choosing a domain not give you a headache. You can later Optimize your Blog for Search Engines and the domain name won’t matter so much. However here are some tips to consider while choosing a domain.
• Make it easy to type
• make it pronounceable
• Keep it short
• Try to use broad keywords
• Avoid numbers and hyphens in your domain
• Ensure that the blog name makes sense
• Don’t use other company’s brand names or trademarked slogans.
Check whether your domain name is available using the tool below. It will give you some relevant suggestions if the address is unavailable.

If your domain name is available, don’t purchase it just yet. I will show you how to get it for free.

Web Hosting

As we discussed earlier, Web hosting is the service that makes your blog accessible to your audience on the internet. (If you missed this article, here is a link to follow.) Think of it as remote storage for all the content that you will create for your blog. While choosing the right hosting company for your blog you should keep several things into consideration:
• The speed of its servers which will determine your blog’s page load speed
• Uptime
If you were to research and pick a hosting company that best suits you, it would take you days if not weeks to search through tons of them on the internet. Since I have had the first-hand experience with most of them, I recommend using BLUEHOST as your host. If you would like to know more about Bluehost, read my review on Bluehost here.
If you don’t wish to use BlueHost as your web hosting company, check out this list of other web hosting companies and their features in a nutshell.

Once you choose your Hosting company, here is a simple step by step guide on how to proceed.

1. Sign up with the web hosting
2. Choose the hosting plan

3. Pick a domain name for your blog (If you choose BlueHost, the Domain Name is free)

4. Complete hosting registration and payment
5. Install WordPress

After setting up your hosting with Bluehost, now it’s time to install WordPress. With BlueHost, WordPress installation is done with a single click. Here is how:
◦ Login to your Bluehost control panel at my.bluehost.com
◦ Once you are logged in, you’ll be redirected to your Control Panel. From there, choose “Install WordPress”
◦ This leads you to the next page where you can choose your blog destination URL. I recommend using your root domain (www.yourawesomename.com, not www.yourawesomename.com/blog/), so you just leave the field on the right empty.
6. Log in to your WordPress installation and start creating posts. And this will mark the last step in our “easy steps to start a successful blog” article.

That’s it on how to start a successful blog. Make sure you subscribe to our newsletter for more knowledge and useful information. If you found this guide useful, leave a comment, share and start a blog today.

Also, check out Bluehost hosting plans here.