How to start a blog

You’ve finally decided to start a blog, hurray! and we are here to make your journey as easy as possible. One thing you should know as a beginner, is that your blog should echo your brand, be search engine optimized (SEO), earn you money and adequately satisfy your readers as well. Blogging might sound all bourgeoisie but one thing is certain, it’s pretty easy with the right tools. 

Simply follow these simple steps:

1. Select a website hosting company

Think of a website hosting company as the provider of a ‘house’ for your blog ‘contents’ so your blog readers can access your blog posts. This ‘house’ is called a Server.

WordPress web hosting companies like cubithost provide space on a server for your website. We at Cubithost have a one-click WordPress install, support all WordPress features, and offer round-the-clock professional technical assistance. Also, joining Cubithost is simple and economical. First, click on the “Get started now” button on the cubithost website.

Next, choose the website hosting plan suitable for you based on your estimated site traffic and your budget. Cubithost offers three hosting plans namely shared hosting, web hosting, and dedicated word press hosting. If you are new to blogging, we advise you to start with the shared hosting plan because it is perfect for low monthly traffic and is more pocket-friendly. The different hosting plans have different benefits to suit your site needs. 

 After selecting your preferred hosting plan, the next thing you should do is choose your domain name. Cubithost will alert you to available domain names after checking through the database of all domains. Also, you’d be allowed to pick some top-level domains (TLDs) to choose from, such as “.com”. Finally, after selecting your domain name, fill in your basic account information, and your payment information, choose any add-on services you desire, and press ‘submit’.

After completing these, your hosting account has been officially created and you’re ready to install WordPress.

2. Install WordPress

To save you from stress, Cubithost has made it easy to install WordPress directly from your Cubithost control panel once you’ve been logged in.

Click on the My Sites tab from the side navigation menu to the left.

• Click the Create Site button.
• New windows appear for two highly recommended website builders.
• Click the Start Building button under the WordPress option.
• Enter the Admin Information.

Within the Admin Information, there are several fields you need to fill in:

• Site Name – This will be the name displayed on your site. This is not the URL but simply the name used on your site.
• Site Tagline – This should briefly describe your website.
• Advanced tab – You can set up your login detail for your website in this tab, including:
•  Email Address – This will be where your login information will be sent.
•  WordPress Admin Username – The desired login name for your application
•  WordPress Admin Password – The desired password for this application.

Once you have followed these simple steps, your new WordPress blog would be set up. Then you can log in to your blog and customize it to suit your taste. 

WordPress makes it simple to log into your blog. Add “/wp-admin” to the end of your domain URL and press Enter to access the login screen to access your website directly. 

For instance, if you enter “www.WhateverYourNewDomainIs.com/wp-admin” in the address bar, Enter your admin login and password after pressing Enter.

You can also log in to your blog directly from your cubithost account.

• Click on the My Sites tab from the side navigation menu to the left.
• Hover over the site you wish to manage, and click Manage Site.
• On the upper right-most corner, click Log into WordPress.
• Fill in your login details

3. Choose your blog theme

To give your blog a customized memorable look, you need to select a word press theme. It controls the look and feel of the design and all other front-end elements of your website.

To do this, you can select a free theme from WordPress, but if you want something more elaborate, you can buy an affordable WordPress template in your cubithost control panel.

To select an appropriate theme for you, follow this guide:

Select one that has easy-to-read fonts (Arial, Courier, and Verdana are always safe choices).

• Make sure it is mobile responsive.
• Choose a customizable theme so that you can inject your personality.
• Choose a fast and lightweight theme so your blog loads fast.
• Only purchase a theme that provides proficient customer support and regular updates
• Choose a theme that supports popular plugins. Plugins are an important part of your websites, so your chosen theme should be compatible with your themes.

The best way to set up a theme for your blog

An admin dashboard with all the tools you need to set up your site is included with every new WordPress installation. You can select a theme for your website from the hundreds of free themes in the WordPress theme directory from the dashboard or you can buy a custom theme from a wide choice of independent designers. 

Some WordPress themes are optimized for particular uses, like writing or blogging, while others are made for general use. Using the “filter” option on the WordPress directory page, look for themes with the features you want. Make sure your chosen theme is responsive. When you locate a theme you like, you can install it with a single mouse click after viewing a live preview of it on your website.

How to Customize Your WordPress Theme

Using the tools in the WordPress admin dashboard, anyone can customize both free and premium WordPress themes. From this point, users of all skill levels can quickly change features like the header, fonts, and page layout. 

Accessible via the files part of the hosting dashboard, WordPress source files, and style sheets can be used directly by users with greater design and development experience.

a) Add Features With Plugins

Although the WordPress platform already includes all the components required to set up a basic website, users can add extra features that are specific to their site’s requirements using plugins, which are small pieces of code that can be added to any compatible website. 

You can buy and install bespoke plugins created by independent WordPress developers or choose from hundreds of free plugins in the WordPress plugin directory that comes with your WordPress installation. Tools for social sharing, cross-posting to other websites, managing email lists, tracking analytics, and contact forms are examples of blog-related plugins. 

Additionally, keep in mind to promote your blog. The most popular theme to help you effortlessly increase traffic ensures that you’re maximizing your presence in leading search engines like Google. Yoast SEO plugin. 

b) Create and publish posts

Pages and posts can be created using the tools found in the WordPress admin panel. Posts are used for often publishing timely articles that make up a blog, whereas pages are used for static informational content like your site’s “About” page or policies and disclaimers. 

For instance, choosing “Post” launches the blog post content editor, which has all the tools you need to compose and format text and add other components like images or videos.

When a post is finished, click “Publish” to publish it to the site or “Save as Draft” to save it for later editing. WordPress also has facilities for scheduling entries for later publication, and any content that has already been published may be modified and changed as needed—or completely erased. 

WordPress also gives you the option to establish a static page, such as an “About” page, as the home page a visitor sees before viewing any of your posts.

Any self-hosted WordPress site can have an unlimited number of posts and pages, and you can alter the look and feel of the site at any time by selecting different themes and plugins as it develops.

4. Optimize your blog’s SEO and monitor its effectiveness

You can monitor your users’ performance with Google Analytics. Setting up analytics when getting a performance benchmark is always recommended. 

• make sure you have a Google account
• create a GA (Google Analytics) Account
• generate a tracking code
• add the code to WordPress via a plugin

     Conclusion

Well done on starting your very own blog! Before your website goes live, note that you are still expected to install the proper plugins on your site. However, creating amazing content is the most vital thing to do! It’s also acceptable if you find it difficult to write blog entries. Just know that it does get simpler to write blog posts. With regular effort and content that is motivated by values, readers will soon swarm to your blog!

Are you looking for professional advice as you create your blog and add worthwhile content to it? To guide you, WP Live can be started at cubithost.