How to Create a Blog in WordPress Step-by-Step
Do you want to learn how to create a blog in WordPress step-by-step but think that you don’t have the technicals skills or knowledge?
After all, isn’t building websites just for geeks?
Well, not these days it isn’t!
By using WordPress, one of the current day website builders and a little bit of training and support… ANYONE can have their own WordPress blog up and running in no time at all.
In this blog post, I will show you how you can create a blog in WordPress… step-by-step.
Why WordPress?
So why use WordPress to build your blog?
Simply, because it’s the best!
For ease of use, it’s hands-down the best platform to run a blog.
It’s also FREE!
Using Wordpress.Org, WordPress is free to use, and you can monetize it however you like.
But you do have to set it up yourself and the first thing you will need is somewhere to host your WordPress site.
But BEFORE you do that, you have to decide what you are going to build your blog and website about.
You have to pick your niche!
What is a niche?
A niche is a distinct segment of a market, or an “audience”.
When choosing a niche that fits you, you should be choosing something that is ideally an interest, a passion, a hobby, a problem, a need or a want.
Almost anything you can think of is a niche and that is why you should choose YOUR niche based on things that you are interested in.
You can earn money online from absolutely every single niche because there are billions of people out there searching every day.
This video below will help explain in further detail:
Hosting
Now back to hosting!
Hosting is a little bit like paying rent, or maybe a better analogy is it’s the land that you build your house on.
Fortunately, hosting is relatively cheap.
Some alternatives include GoDaddy, BlueHost and HostGater, and costs can vary between 10-50 dollars a month.
There are also some free options such as Wix, but I personally host my websites using Site-Rubix on the Wealthy Affiliate platform and you can start with a free option.
Domain Name
Next, you will need a domain name.
This is essentially the address of your website.
The address of this website is www.myroadtofinancialfreedom.com and my domain name is “My Road to Financial Freedom”
If it’s available you can choose whatever domain name you like for your website.
Domain registration is also relatively cheap at around 10-15 dollars a year, and once again some good options are GoDaddy and NameCheap.
I use both for some of my domains, but In the future, I will use Wealthy Affiliate’s hosting and domain service, which allows hosting of up to 50 websites for less than $50 per month.
With their free platform, you can also have two free websites using the Site-Rubix subdomain, without the need to purchase a domain name.
This is a really good option when you are first starting out.
Choose a theme
There are literally thousands of beautiful themes you can choose for your website, and adding and changing a theme is a very simple process.
Watch this short video below and I will walk you through this process.
Setting up your site
Next point of call is to start setting your website up for success.
Setting your website up for search engine optimisation (SEO) so google can find you, optimising Keywords, and adding different plugins will help build out your site and help it run more efficiently.
This is where a lot of people can get scared off and think that it is too difficult and technical, but in reality, it is not that hard.
There are hundreds of different plugins that you can add to your site that can do all sorts of amazing stuff, but first up you only need a couple to get up and running.
One that you definitely need to start with, is the “all in one SEO” plugin, and this will fix 99% of your SEO problems.
One that isn’t a plugin, but is an awesome tool is the keyword research tool Jaaxy.
With Jaaxy and the SEO plugin at hand, you are ready to create your first blog post!
Write your first blog post
Now for the fun stuff… creating your first blog post!
This is as simple as going into the “back office” of your WordPress site, clicking on Posts > Add new, and writing out your first post!
You can add videos, images and all sorts of cool stuff… and you can write on any topic you want… it’s YOUR blog! 🙂
When you know how you can also monetize your blog very handsomely as well!
Need some help?
So there you have it!
How to create a blog in WordPress step-by-step.
But do you want some extra help?
My partners at Wealthy Affiliate have a free video training course that will walk you through the process of building your WordPress website, setting it up and monetizing it!
They will even throw in a free website!
To learn more, click here and visit my getting started page.
If you have any questions or comments feel free to leave them below.
To your success,
John W. Newman
Helping you create TIME AND FINANCIAL FREEDOM by building a PROFITABLE Business Online!
Dream It… Believe It… Then Achieve It!
Love social media? Join me on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and Instagram.
Hi John, Thank you for sharing this information.
I agree 100%. WordPress is a fun and very to use content management system. It is also is very customizable right down to every line of PHP/HTML code in it. Not to mention the countless themes and plugins available. Once you get started, your WordPress site grows with you and takes on your personality.
Cheers and best!
– Oren
Thanks, Oren!
Yes WordPress really is the best tool for building Websites, cheers 🙂
Hello John,
I like the examples of analogy which you clearly emphasize on. Like having a host is like having a land and paying domain fee annually is like an annual rental charge. Although I am aware of this before reading your post, I think it is important to have a very clear step-by-step explanation and simplicity for the newbies. Well done, John! By the way, I just followed you on Twitter!
Thanks Tar, much appreciated! 🙂
I must say, after using Wix I much prefer the WordPress as an easy start for anyone trying to create their own blog.
Buying a domain name is a commitment so people should always make sure that they’re committed to making that real estate a profitable source, otherwise you’re buying a house without living in it and that doesn’t make any sense, am I right?.
I think I know what you mean ha ha 🙂
Having your own domain is definitely the way to go long-term and it IS like owning your own piece of real estate on the net!
The great thing about the starter membership at WA is you can start building a free site, learn as you go and later on you can transfer over to your own domain if you wish.
It just removes the cost factor to having a website and starting a business online.
It’s funny, I was watching “shark tank” last night, and a guy was wanting an investment of $20,000 to build a website and I was gobsmacked!
I was screaming at the TV saying you can build one for FREE!
Why would you pay someone that much when you can do it yourself for next to nothing?
Crazy!!
Great job with his post and it is so awesome to see how word press makes it so easy for persons to build their own website. Gone are are days when we had to pay so much to build a website, we can now do it form the comfort of our own homes with out having to pay so much. Great infromation on blogging. All the best to you.
Yes, the cost factor has definitely gone down ob building websites these days Norman!
The funny thing is that a lot of people still think you have to pay thousands to a web designer to build a site, but with the right training and support, you can build your own beautiful website for next to nothing.
I wish more people would take advantage of this and take the time to learn this skill.
It is the way of the future for sure!
Thanks for your comment! 🙂
This is such a great post, that will really help to clarify the common questions we all have when starting out, its just a shame I hadn’t happened upon your site sooner!
I am sure this will definitely help others out there who are a little unsure of where to start, and to be honest I found out everything the hard way, so well done for this informative post and thank you for sharing.
Melissa
Thanks Mel, unfortunately most of us find out things the hard way!
Most of the members of Wealthy Affiliate found it after being scammed online and wish they had found it sooner.
But that’s life I guess!
Thanks for your feedback 🙂
Hi there John,
Terrific site buddy. Great article thanks for sharing it with us – appreciated.
It is thanks to WordPress that making websites is incredibly easy! I’m pretty sure my grandfather can do it! After that it is just all down to learning the process of making money online – which is not all that difficult either!
Thanks for your feedback Derek, I appreciate your kind words 🙂
Yes, WordPress has definitely made the process of building websites and blogging very easy, but as you point out, monetising your blog is a different kettle of fish!
This is where Wealthy Affiliate can help out and teach you the right steps to making money online.