There are many factors you should take into account before you can set up your own WordPress blog. These include choosing a domain name, choosing a hosting service, choosing plugins, and creating the layout for your site. However, you first need to register a domain name and get your domain going by choosing a web hosting provider such as Bluehost. After this, you can begin choosing plugins that help make your site more functional and, hopefully, encourage others to subscribe to your blog. You can either purchase your own domain at an affordable rate or use one that’s already set up for you. Fortunately, today’s guide will outline the seven key steps you should know to take you from an idea to an up-and-running WordPress blog for your niche or passion.
Step 1
Hosting is one of the first and most expensive (in terms of time and effort) tasks you will undertake as a blogger. So, you need to get right if you intend to use this service for anything other than personal blogging. Purchasing a WordPress host ahead of time helps make the process of buying and setting up your domain name easier overall. You should always ensure that you’ve selected a reliable and professional provider for this.
If you want to purchase a domain name through WordPress, you will get an automatic $30 credit added to your hosting account. For example, if you purchased a web host, you would get an automatic $30 credit toward any monthly hosting fees you may owe. You can even use this credit toward future purchases through the same software provider. Just make sure you use the extra credit toward something you will use and make the most of rather than saving it up for something that may or may not happen.
Bluehost is a highly popular hosting service with a vast selection of excellent hosting plans for individual and family websites. There are a huge number of features available with BlueHost web hosting, including SSD caching, CDN, Virtual Private Servers (VPS), and much more.
Step 2
The second thing you need to do to get started with your new website is to download and install the free (for non-commercial use) or paid (commercial use) WordPress blogging software. You can do this via your computer’s standard web browser or through a terminal when you connect to a localhost server. If you’re using Windows, you’ll want to use the downloaded installation file rather than the randomized compiled version that could cause problems. When the installation is complete, you will see the option to launch the software within the browser. If you haven’t installed software before and don’t know where to install it, go ahead and download WordPress from this page and follow the prompts for installation instructions.
Bluehost’s signup wizard is one of the most vital aspects of your new site’s online life. Not only does it sign you up for Autodesk customer support, but it also provides you with several methods to quickly get up and running on your new blog. Once you’ve completed the sign-up process, you will then be redirected to the production section of Bluehost’s site, which includes a section that helps you deploy your new site.
Before creating your new blog with Bluehost, you will need to download the configuration file. This location might differ depending on your hosting provider. You will find three sub-directories within this directory: wp-config.php, plugins/wp-config.php, and records/wp-local.php. Within each of these files, you will find several variables that you need to complete before running the installation wizard. Make sure you do this before starting your Bluehost application.
Step 3
The second thing you need to do to get started with your new website is to download and install the free (for non-commercial use) or paid (commercial use) WordPress blogging software. You can do this via your computer’s standard web browser or through a terminal when you connect to a localhost server. If you’re using Windows, you’ll want to use the downloaded installation file rather than the randomized compiled version that could cause problems. When the installation is complete, you will see the option to launch the software within the browser. If you haven’t installed software before and don’t know where to install it, go ahead and download WordPress from this page and follow the prompts for installation instructions.
Bluehost’s signup wizard is one of the most vital aspects of your new site’s online life. Not only does it sign you up for Autodesk customer support, but it also provides you with several methods to quickly get up and running on your new blog. Once you’ve completed the sign-up process, you will then be redirected to the production section of Bluehost’s site, which includes a section that helps you deploy your new site.
Before creating your new blog with Bluehost, you will need to download the configuration file. This location might differ depending on your hosting provider. You will find three sub-directories within this directory: wp-config.php, plugins/wp-config.php, and records/wp-local.php. Within each of these files, you will find several variables that you need to complete before running the installation wizard. Make sure you do this before starting your Bluehost application.
Step 4
Perhaps one of the most significant benefits of using WordPress is its huge collection of themes and plugins. While you could start out by using just one theme, several are common since each provides slightly different features.
What’s more, there is no age limit to use a theme or plugin with WordPress, though most will have a sign-in process that verifies a user owns a valid credit card before they can begin using the theme.
In addition to themes, plugins are undeniably a prominent part of what makes WordPress the powerful tool it is — an open-source project with thousands of plugins for almost everything you could need. Once you install a new plugin, you can enjoy instant access to a ton of additional content, whether that’s extra features, new source codes, or anything in between.
The best place to find a theme for your WordPress blog is through the wp theme directory, which is effectively an ultimate list of themes for beginners to get started with. All these themes have one thing in common – they are all free and ready to download.
To install a WordPress theme, hover over Appearance–>Themes and click “add new button.”
Whenever you select a free or premium theme for your WordPress site, it will download and install a copy of that theme’s code onto your computer. This is similar to how internet users install software or updates onto their web browsers. Fortunately, the installation process for both WordPress.org and most premium themes requires no special actions or attention from the user other than clicking through to the download page on the developer’s website.
Step 5
You can customize almost every aspect of your WordPress site, from the layout to the front-end styles. However, the truth is that not every customization is meant for you. Sometimes, you’ll be better off sticking with the default settings, especially if you know what you’re doing and it’s something that you’ll often be using. Choosing the right colors for your menu and primary content, for example, isn’t something you should quickly switch around unless you know exactly what you’re going to accomplish by doing so.
Choose WordPress Customize by going to Appearance → Customize.
Once you have opened the WordPress Customize tab, you can begin to make changes by clicking the relevant buttons. These demonstrate each option with an article preview but do not force you to save the change if you don’t like it.
For example, if the preview looks good, but you aren’t sure whether you want to change something or not, clicking save will save your changes and display a different preview the next time you visit the article. Then, when you’re ready to publish this new theme to the world, click the publish button. Save buttons can also be used when editing images in WordPress — drag and drop an image in the editor while holding down the shift key (or right-click and choose Save As).
Step 6
When it comes to your blog, functionality can be a subjective term. What features are important to you may not be necessary to others, and vice versa. With that in mind, it’s essential to consider your site’s data carefully. This step can help you determine what the most popular plugins and themes are that may make your life easier while building your website. This way, if you feel like you need something added or changed, you can talk to others who have already built their own site or plugin to find out what their experiences might be.
Plugins allow you to add advanced functionality to your platform, such as contact forms that enable non-technical people to interact with businesses. Social networking buttons help improve the search engine rankings of sites (without necessarily making everyone a Facebook friend). Moreover, backups can restore your website to a previous state in the event of a hack or website downtime. Finally, improved SEO helps pull in new visitors and organic traffic when implemented.
In short: the WordPress community offers over 50,000 free plugins and thousands of premium plugins, so there’s surely something for everyone.
Step 7
- To install a plugin, go to Plugins–> Add New
- After choosing the plugin name, click install.
- If purchased, select “upload plugin” and upload the ZIP file (which you should have received when you purchased the plugin)
When you create a WordPress blog, there are several things you can do. For example, you can choose to optimize the blog for search engine optimization (SEO), create a personal website, or even sell ad space. The decision is simple: just follow your passion and go with whatever is best for you. No matter what your passion might be, WordPress is a great place for it. Plus, it’s easy to get started with a few little-known plugins that make life so much easier. Think of everything you want to achieve as a jumpstart to your career—building a website is only the first step in this process.
