Do you want to learn how to start a blog?
In 2010 when I was learning how to create a blog, I spent a lot of time searching for helpful information online. I was only able to find it piece by piece on a variety of websites. To save you time, I’ve created this free step-by-step blog tutorial to teach beginners how to make a blog quickly and easily. It’s not as complicated as many people think!
Disclosure: If you purchase products through links on our site (e.g. Bluehost services), we may earn a commission. It comes at no extra cost for you but it helps us to create more useful content.
More than eight thousand people started their blogs using this free guide.
This guide takes 20 minutes to read (6550 words). Yes, that might be a lot of reading, but I share everything new bloggers should know for starting a blog in 2021. You can take your time and do it at your own pace!
I will show you how to build a WordPress blog with one-click install.
Jump to “Step #5: Starting a blog on WordPress”
P.S. If you have any questions about this guide or get stuck with the steps, I am more than happy to assist you. You can get in touch with me and ask for free advice.
- Step #1: Select a perfect niche for your blog
- Step #2: Choose a blogging platform
- Step #3: Pick a domain name
- Step #4: Get a web hosting account
- Step #5: Starting a blog on WordPress
- Step #6: Select a theme and design your blog
- Step #7: Write and publish blog content
- Step #8: Optimize your blog content for SEO
A quick primer – Starting a successful blog fast
There are five main points that you need to know for creating the blog of your dreams. We will focus on how to start a blog on WordPress later (Jump to Step #5). For now, you should review this info so that you can get a blog online in 20 minutes or less.
- Picking a niche and a name. Your blog’s niche is the particular market (topic) you will be targeting. Choose a topic that you are passionate about. When it comes to naming your blog, you can use your name or a descriptive combination of words.
- Selecting a blogging platform. The next step is to find the best-suited blogging site to start building your own blog. There is a wide selection of platforms. I suggest using self-hosted WordPress blog software if you are serious about blogging.
- Securing blog hosting and a domain. A web hosting company acts as the foundation for your blog and makes it available online 24/7. A domain name is a name by which your blog will be known online. It’s a unique web address on the Internet.
- Building and designing a blog. These days, you don’t have to be a professional web designer or developer to make your blog look beautiful! Once you install WordPress software, you can choose pre-designed themes based on your preferences.
- Creating useful and unique content. Now, you can start writing and posting information online. When you work on your blog, keep in mind that it’s all about making useful content that your readers will love and want to come back for more.
Starting a blog is your first step in entering the blogging world. However, to be successful online you have to learn more. We have more than 100 free guides and resources will help you to succeed on the web!
Ready to start? Go through each step of this guide. And make sure to read the last section if you want to make money blogging!
Step #1: Select a perfect niche for your blog
To start a blog and make it as a blogger, you have to select the right niche for your blog.
- First, make sure to pick a niche that you are the most interested in—the one you are passionate about.
- Second, you need to make sure a niche has enough audience interest—topics people searching for.
That way you will follow your passion, find your readers, and enjoy your blogging journey.
Once you select a niche, I also suggest you validate it. Below is a 3-step formula to confirm your niche for success.
A 3-step blog success validation process:
- Check niche size.
- Explore competitors.
- Analyze monetization potential.
This process will help you obtain a clear idea of the size, competition, and monetization potential for your proposed niche. If you are not sure how to select and validate a blog’s niche, read our detailed guide.
Step #2: Choose a blogging platform
At this stage, you’ll need to look at the available blogging platforms out there and determine the type of blog management software that you are going to use.
I recommend building your blog using the self-hosted WordPress blog setup that I share in this guide.
When it comes to blogging sites, you have a few options. Below are usage statistics showing the distribution of blog technologies in the United States.
WordPress software is by far the most popular technology with a 90%+ market share in the U.S.
Let’s look at the top 3 solutions and I’ll explain the main difference between them.
Self-hosted blog solutions (e.g. WordPress.org)
You don’t have many choices when it comes to self-hosted blogging systems (also called a Content Management System or CMS). As you can see from the graph, the most popular is the free and open-source system WordPress.org.
Self-hosted platforms allow you to set up your blog and run it using your own domain and web hosting. You’re fully in charge of your blog and its contents. It will cost just a few dollars per month for the webspace (hosting account), and around ten dollars per year for a domain. The actual blogging software is free.
If you want total control of your blog, or plan to run ads, sell products and services via your blog, then this is the best way to go.
Hosted blog solutions (e.g. Blogger and Tumblr)
For many new bloggers, it’s tempting to start a blog using free hosted platforms such as Blogger.com or Tumblr.com.
However, it’s important to understand that “free” always comes with limitations:
- First, your blog name will be set as a subdomain (examples: “yourblog.blogspot.com” or “yourblog.tumblr.com“).
- Second, you’ll be subject to their rules and restrictions.
Free options come in handy for testing a blogging platform. But, if you’re serious about starting a blog, you’ll have to start paying for full services and a custom domain name sooner or later.
How much does it cost to start a blog?
Below are the costs of a 1-year basic hosting plan with a custom domain name to install WordPress.org CMS. For hosting services, I will show the Bluehost company’s pricing plans. If you decide to use another service, prices will vary but it shouldn’t be more than $100 per year.
| WordPress.org + Bluehost | |
| Blog hosting service | $2.75 per month (billed for 3 years) $4.95 per month (billed for 1 year) |
| Domain registration | First-year free (after $17.99 per year) |
| Custom email | Free Web-Based E-mails/ Forwarding |
| SSL Certificate | Free SSL certificates |
| Storage space* | 50 GB |
| Bandwidth* | Unlimited |
| Total price | $99.00 (for a 3-year plan) $59.40 (for a 1-year plan) |
To make your blog using WordPress.org, you need to decide on two important things: a domain name and a web hosting company. If you are a new blogger, you should try using Bluehost, a company that powers over 2 million websites worldwide.
I was able to negotiate a special deal only for our visitors that includes:
- Free domain name.
- Discount price of $2.75/month.
- 30-day money-back guarantee period.
- Set up a blog with a one-click install.
→ Claim Your 65% Off Discount + Free Domain ←
Step #3: Pick a domain name
Your domain name will be the name by which you will be known online, no matter what niche you choose. It’s your blog’s unique address on the Internet. It will be yours as long as you continue paying the annual fee ($10 to $15 per year for a .com).
Users who know your domain (URL – uniform resource locator) can simply type it into their browser’s address bar. Others will be able to discover you through search engines such as Google and Bing, so you definitely need to find a unique blog name.
Your domain name may be the highly popular “dot com”, or it may be country or niche-specific. The general rule is to get a “dot com” domain, but some of the other extensions can be used too. For example, “dot net” or “dot blog”.
If you can’t find a domain name you like, Bluehost will let you choose one later. That will give you time to do some research and thinking before you start your blog.
Recommended quick domain search tool:
In the end, it’s about being memorable, so if a different extension or country code helps you be memorable, then break the rules!
Step #4: Get a web hosting account
After choosing a domain name, selecting a reliable hosting service will be one of the most important decisions you make.
To a great extent, the functionality and performance of your site will depend on your blog hosting. The host makes sure your blog is available 24/7 to potential readers and it’s where your contents and files are stored online.
Most hosting companies will also provide you a free domain for the first year when you buy their services.
The wrong web host can cause many problems with your blog. Just imagine choosing a mobile company that has no reception. Your web host is a major piece of the puzzle to creating a blog that is well-functioning. Therefore, you must choose a reliable provider.
Based on our research and information available on the official WordPress website, Bluehost is a top choice in the opinion of many blogging experts.
