How to Start a Blog: A Complete Guide

It's not the first time I'm extolling the benefits of starting a blog. Anyone can gain immensely from the simple art of hitting publish. Luckily, setting up a blog isn't hard at all.

In this post, I'll show you the exact steps to set up your own self-hosted Wordpress blog.

For an explanation on why self-hosting your blog is better than using a free platform like Blogger, go here.

The directions below (the entire act of setting up your first blog) shouldn't take more than 10 minutes. Tops.

There are a few major companies that do self-hosting. There's Hostgator, which has burned me more times than I can remember. There's GoDaddy, which I've also used and think is: "Meh."

And then there's BlueHost, the host that most bloggers these days recommend because of price and service. It's also way easier to set up than using other hosts -- believe me, I've used some real doozies.

Going with a hosting company (like BlueHost) means that you'll be "self-hosting" your website using your own .com address. Although this costs some money (< $50 a year), I firmly believe this is a better route than going with free options like Blogger.com. For a full explanation of why I believe paid hosting is the way to go, see this post.

So let's review what you need to get going:

• A host. As I said, I believe self-hosting on your own URL is the way to go. I've done the other thing, and don't recommend it for most. (For about $4 a month on Bluehost you can create and unlimited number of websites).

• A domain name. Got a name for your blog? Great. Now turn that into a domain name. (Domain names look like www.ClaireDiazOrtiz.com, www.FlipFlopFestival.org, or www.PeanutButterforDogs.net). BlueHost will ask you what yours is when you're setting up your blog.

• A credit card (or Paypal). As I said, there are free ways to blog, but for most people I don't recommend them. Here's an explanation of why you (usually) shouldn't use free blogging platforms.

So go ahead, get going. Watch this video or read the directions below on how to follow the Bluehost signup process and get your first post published!

This video will walk you through exactly how to set up your new blog.

Don't like videos?

Follow these steps.

1. Go to BlueHost. Click on Sign Up Now.

2. It will ask you for a domain name. I'm going to go ahead and (for now) assume you don't have one and need to buy one. So think of one. What do you want to call your site? SimpleMuffins4eating.com? DuckDynastyRecipes.com? Think hard.

More tips?

• Avoid dashes. Go for peoplelovelongcats.com, not people-love-long-cats.com.
• Don’t use weird punctuation. Avoid iloveu2much.com. Go for iloveyoutoomuch.com.
• Get a .com if you can. If you can’t, don’t worry. Get what you can.

3. Enter your final idea in the box "I Need a Domain Name" to see if it's available. If it is, it'll say, "Congratulations!" Now fill in your personal and billing information.

4. It'll tell you "Congratulations!" again. Now it needs a password. Set that up.

5. Now log into your new account. Click on "Websites", the blue icon in the middle of the screen.

6. Once you click there, you'll see a screen saying "Wordpress" on the left hand side. It has a big logo. Click on "Wordpress".

7. Click Wordpress, and it'll ask you to install. Unclick the extra things it selects for you. If you get an error that says "Oops! That directory exists!" -- ignore it. This is only for folks who are installing Wordpress on a site that is already live. That's not you. Go ahead and click the box saying you accept this will override any existing files. Deselect those plugins again if you need to.

8. It'll tell you you've successfully installed it. Now click on the link it gives you for the new blog and put in your password.

9. On the left-hand side of your new blog (once you're logged in), click "Add New" under "Posts".

10. Write your first post. Now hit "Publish!"

You did it! You are a real, live blogger.

Now it's time to think about the next step.

Now what?!

Next Steps

To make your nifty new blog even sweeter, here are a few things to consider:

• Choose a Theme. Under "Appearance", click "Themes". One good free one is called Platform. Here are more free Wordpress themes. I use a great paid theme called Genesis.

• Download plugins to make your site act cooler. Some of my faves are Askimet (to prevent Spam), Google Analytics (to see stats about your blog), and Contact Form 7 (for a simple way for folks to contact you).

• For more tips on using Wordpress to get your site great, try WP101.com.

So remember, if you want to do it with BlueHost, just follow the directions above. Blog!

Want to download a PDF version of these steps? Go here. (Or, if you want ongoing tips on turning your blog into a business, signup here.)