Blogging has so many benefits and has been something that I’ve personally really enjoyed. Not only is it a creative outlet, but it can make you some money, depending on which route your decide to go. You might wonder how to create a blog but setting up your domain and hosting can feel complicated. While I already wrote a post called “Blogging for Beginners“, today’s post is going to go into more detail to help you get your domain and hosting set up as soon as possible! I am going to teach you how to start blogging with Bluehost. It is very quick and easy to get started.
This post contains affiliate links which just means that if you purchase something through one of my links, I may recieve a commission at no extra cost to you.
You may have been sitting on the fence on whether to start a blog or not, wondering if you should wait until you feel more confident and know more about the blogging world. Well, sometimes the best way to learn and to get started is just to jump right in. One of the greatest things about blogging is that you can always go back and revise posts and blog designs as you learn more. So, what do you think? Is this the right time for you to learn how to create a blog?
WHAT IS HOSTING?
Hosting is basically where a bunch of technical stuff happens with your blog and the hosting company takes care of a lot of that for you. I use Bluehost for my web hosting. You might be wondering why I would pay for a hosting company when I can just get it free online. While blogging with free hosting is fine if you want to write for pleasure only, if you ever want to turn your blog into a business you NEED paid self-hosting. When you purchase self-hosting you own your own content, as opposed to Blogger or another platform owning your content.
For self-hosting, Bluehost is an affordable option, at only $3.95 a month and are one of the top web hosting companies. They are also the recommended choice by WordPress.
Bluehost was the obvious choice for me since I like to live frugally. My experience with them has been great. I am very happy with their service.
So, let’s get started walking through the steps.
HOW TO START BLOGGING WITH BLUEHOST
so, after you go through the Bluehost site to sign up, you will be presented with three different packages. The basic at $3.95 a month, the plus at $5.95 a month, and the prime also for $5.45 a month. In my personal opinion, the basic package is more than enough for a beginner blogger.
Once you hit select on the package you desire, you will be brought to a screen that asks you to pick a domain or to choose the “I have a domain” option if you already have one. A domain is your URL, or Blog address. If you are picking a domain, type it into the domain box.
I would recommend going with .com since it is the most popular and easiest one for people to remember who are coming back to your blog and may type your domain name in.
It can be tricky picking a domain name, just try and think of something catchy. Some people even use their name as a domain. I decided to pick a domain that did not include my name since I felt no one would know who I was anyways, and it may not entice them to visit the site.
It is wise to pick a domain that tells a little bit about what the site is about. Since my domain is www.simplelifeofafrugalwife.com you can already guess by the name that I am a wife who is probably talking about simple and frugal living.
If your domain name isn’t available, it will give you a list of other ideas, or you can come up with another one yourself.
Once you’ve picked your domain it will take you to a screen that requires you to fill out all your information, including billing information.
The form will show the account plan you picked and give you a list of extras you can add on. If you choose the 36 month plan you will get the best rate at $3.95 a month, or for 24 months you get a rate of $5.95 per month, or for 12 months it is $5.95 per month. Even at $5.95 per month that is a heck of a deal. When I started I signed up for the 12 month plan just because I didn’t know exactly how blogging was going to go or if I was going to make it a longterm thing.
You will pay the whole amount for the 12, 24, or 36 months upfront, which, to be honest I like better so I don’t have to worry about another monthly expense, no matter how small it is.
You can decide if you want any of the extras, but I would keep it as minimal as possible. Some people pay for the Domain Privacy Protection if they want the added protection , but other than that, you can do without the other options to keep prices as low as possible for yourself.
Domain Privacy Protection hides your personal details in the WHOIS database which lists contact information for registered domains. If you purchase the domain privacy protection your personal contact details will not be made available to the public.
INSTALLING WORDPRESS.ORG
Once you’ve signed up for your hosting and created your password, you need to install WordPress. I need to reiterate that this is NOT wordpress.com. It is WordPress.org. They are two different things. It’s a little confusing, I know. WordPress.org is the one that works with self-hosting, aka, Bluehost.
Hang in there, you are almost in business!
So, once you are up and running in Bluehost, you will log into your Bluehost account, look for the website section and click “install WordPress.” You can’t start blogging until you have wordpress installed.
You will choose the domain name to install it to, which should pop up. Then you click “install now”. Once it is successfully installed it should show a message saying so, as well as sending an email to the email address you provided with login information.
Bluehost has instructions on their site as well for installing WordPress. You can read them here.
And you are up and running! Congratulations! That is how to start blogging with Bluehost. Just log in and start writing. As you can see, when you use Bluehost the whole process of starting your blog is not that difficult and will not take you too long to get started. I am not necessarily teksaavy, and I was able to do it all myself when I started my own blog.
So, what are you waiting for? Click here to start blogging today!
Some things to think about initially are choosing your theme, and figuring out your way around the using WordPress. I remember feeling so confused when I first opened the program but as I explored all the options it didn’t take me long to figure it out. Give yourself some time just to learn your way around. I promise you, it does get easier the more time you spend working on your blog.
A new adventure is always exciting, and blogging is no exception. Enjoy the journey!
Related: Blogging for Beginners
