How to Start a Blog on WordPress for Beginners

After setting up your WordPress blog, it’s crucial to choose a visually appealing theme that reflects your brand and engages your audience. Customizing the design elements, such as colors, fonts, and layout, can help make your blog stand out and attract more visitors. Additionally, regularly updating your blog with high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience will keep them coming back for more and help establish your blog as a valuable resource in your niche. How to Start a Blog on WordPress for Beginners

Engaging with your audience is also key to growing your WordPress blog. Encouraging comments, responding to feedback, and incorporating social media sharing buttons can help foster a sense of community and increase the reach of your content. By interacting with your readers and actively promoting your blog on social platforms, you can attract new visitors, build a loyal following, and establish your blog as a reputable source within your niche.

Furthermore, utilizing search engine optimization (SEO) techniques can help improve your blog’s visibility and attract organic traffic. By optimizing your content with relevant keywords, meta tags, and descriptive URLs, you can increase your blog’s chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages. Implementing SEO best practices, such as creating quality backlinks and improving site speed, can further enhance your blog’s online presence and reach a wider audience.

Step 1. Start Your Blog Name and Platform

The most common error newbie bloggers make is selecting an inappropriate blogging platform. Luckily, you’re in the right place and won’t fall into this trap.

For the vast majority of users, WordPress.org, also known as self-hosted WordPress, is the smarter choice. This is because WordPress is a free, open-source platform, allowing you to add plugins, tweak your blog’s look, and most importantly, earn money from your blog with no limitations (see the contrast between WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org).

WordPress is also the top choice for all successful blogs, including ours. To put it into perspective, 43% of all websites on the web use WordPress!  You might be curious about why WordPress is free. What’s the catch? There’s no catch. It’s free because you’re responsible for setting it up and hosting it yourself.  In essence, you’ll need a domain name and web hosting.

A domain name is the URL people use to visit your site. It’s your blog’s online address. Think of it as google.com or w1beginner.com. Web hosting is where your site’s files are stored. It’s your blog’s residence on the internet. Every blog requires web hosting.

A new domain name usually costs around $14.99 per year, and web hosting plans typically range from $7.99 to $20 per month.

This can be quite expensive for beginners just starting out.

Fortunately, Bluehost, a recommended WordPress hosting provider, has agreed to provide our users with a complimentary domain name and a special discount on web hosting.

You can also opt for other well-known WordPress hosting services like SiteGround or Hostinger, and still adhere to our blog setup guide. We suggest Bluehost for beginners due to its long history in the industry and its status as the leading brand in WordPress hosting, hosting millions of websites, including many of ours.

On top of everything, Bluehost has been collaborating with WordPress since 2005 and is dedicated to supporting the community.

Step 2. Install WordPress Software

By signing up with Bluehost through our provided link, they will automatically set up WordPress for you, allowing you to begin building your blog immediately. To get started, simply log into your Bluehost account and click on the Login to WordPress button.

Bluehost Login WordPress

You can also access WordPress by visiting yoursite.com/wp-admin directly from your web browser. If you’re using a different WordPress hosting service such as SiteGround, Hostinger, WP Engine, etc., our detailed guide offers step-by-step instructions on how to install WordPress for that specific provider. Many of the mentioned hosting companies now include WordPress installation as a feature to assist users who are not tech-savvy in starting their blogging journey.

Once WordPress is up and running, you’re ready to design your blog pages, personalize your blog’s appearance, and begin writing.

Step 3. Choose Your WordPress Theme

The visual look of your WordPress blog is determined by the theme you choose. Upon visiting your blog for the first time, it will appear something like this:

Default WordPress theme

This design might not be appealing to many. Customizing your blog’s aesthetic is arguably the most thrilling and gratifying aspect of setting up your WordPress blog.

There are thousands of ready-to-use WordPress themes available for installation on your site. Some are free, while others require a payment.  To switch themes, navigate to your WordPress dashboard and click on Appearance » Themes.

Add New WordPress Theme

Press the Add New Theme button. On the following page, you’ll find over 11,000 free WordPress themes in the official WordPress.org themes directory. You can filter by popularity, newest, block themes, and other criteria such as industry or layout.

Step 4. Creating Your Initial Blog Post

To begin creating your first blog post, select the Posts » Add New option from your WordPress dashboard. You’ll find an editing space where you can start writing your initial blog post.

Writing Your Blog Post

WordPress employs a block-based editor that enables you to design attractive layouts for your blog posts. To get acquainted with this editor, we recommend checking out our tutorial on the WordPress block editor. After you’ve finished writing, click the Publish button located at the top-right corner of the screen to make your blog post available to the public. How to Start a Blog on WordPress for Beginners

Publishing Your Blog Post

On the posts screen, you’ll see various sections like Categories and Tags. These can be used to organize your blog posts into different categories. We suggest reading our article on the difference between categories and tags, as it provides a comprehensive understanding.

To make the most of the posts screen, it’s beneficial to read our guide on how to add a new post in WordPress (with a video included).

This guide covers embedding videos, adding blog images, headings, tables of contents, sub-headings, bullet lists, call-to-action buttons, social media posts, and other necessary shortcuts.

Many newcomers get confused between the Posts and Pages menus in the WordPress dashboard. To clear up this confusion, we’ve written a detailed guide on the distinction between posts and pages in WordPress.

If you’re looking for inspiration for new blog post topics, here are some useful resources:

– Free blog post idea generator tool by WPBeginner
– 103 blog post ideas that your audience will enjoy
– 73 types of blog topics proven to be successful
– How to write an engaging blog post (including structure and examples)
– How to develop a content strategy in WordPress
– Many professional bloggers strategically select their topics through keyword research. This strategy helps

their content rank higher in Google search and attract more visitors. We offer a step-by-step guide on how to conduct keyword research for beginners using the exact method we use at WPBeginner.

Step 5. Adding Plugins

After completing your first blog post, you might be eager to incorporate additional features to your website, such as a contact page, galleries, sliders, email lists, forums, etc.

To achieve this, you’ll need to use plugins. Plugins are essentially apps for your WordPress website, allowing you to add new features without needing to write any code. The WordPress plugin directory alone contains over 59,000+ free plugins, covering a wide range of needs. This means there’s a plugin for nearly every task you can think of.

We provide a step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

However, before diving into the use of plugins, let’s explore how to leverage them to add crucial features to your WordPress blog. Enhancing Your WordPress Blog for Search Engine Visibility Many novices overlook the importance of optimizing their WordPress blog for search engine optimization (SEO) during its creation. SEO is essential as it enables your blog to appear in search engine results, making it easier for users to discover.

If your goal is to attract more visitors, it’s imperative to prioritize SEO optimization from the start. To begin, you need to install and activate the All in One SEO plugin, which is a comprehensive WordPress SEO tool designed to optimize your blog.

This plugin includes a user-friendly configuration wizard to guide you through the setup process. It assists in creating a WordPress sitemap, crafting effective keywords and meta descriptions, adding schema markup, and more.

We also suggest following our detailed step-by-step guide on setting up the SEO for your blog.  There are various SEO plugins available, such as Yoast SEO and RankMath, but we recommend AIOSEO for its ease of use, especially for newcomers. We utilize it across all our blogs, including WPBeginner.

The free version of AIOSEO is effective and is utilized by more than 3 million websites.

In addition to using a WordPress SEO plugin, you can further refine your blog’s content by employing a keyword research tool. These SEO tools aid in generating content ideas that are in demand for your topic.  You can also examine the keywords your competitors are ranking for, allowing you to create superior content and surpass them. This strategy ensures you maximize your blog’s traffic from the outset. For more information, refer to our beginner’s guide on conducting keyword research for your blog.

Step 6. Earning Income from Your Blog

After you’ve set up your personal blog and tailored it to your preferences, you might be curious about how to actually earn money from it. There are numerous methods to successfully turn your blog into a money-making venture. However, it’s important to understand that there are no quick fixes.

Don’t be misled by images of luxurious cars and homes, as these are often not real. In contrast to other articles on making money online, we’ve put together the most detailed guide on generating income from your blog using WordPress.

This comprehensive guide spans over 4000 words and is essential for anyone looking to earn from their blog. It includes our 15+ years of experience in the digital world. As long as you’re prepared to put in the necessary effort and dedication, the rewards will follow. It’s crucial to remember that there are no easy ways out.

Here are some of the top methods for making money from your blog.

1. Google AdSense

Many bloggers achieve financial success by displaying ads on their blogs. If your blog is designed with monetization in mind, Google AdSense is the premier option for this.

It’s the largest platform for advertising among bloggers and publishers, serving as an intermediary between you and the advertiser. Google enables advertisers to bid on keywords that align with your content, ensuring you receive the highest ad rates available.

For further information, please refer to our article on how to correctly integrate Google AdSense into your WordPress blog.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Is Pretty Links the ideal link management plugin for your affiliate website? Affiliate marketing is the second most popular method for bloggers to earn income. Essentially, you recommend products or services you endorse to your audience, and when they make a purchase, you receive a commission.

The key to success in affiliate marketing is to recommend products and services that you personally use and trust. There are numerous affiliate marketing plugins and tools for WordPress available that can increase your earnings when promoting affiliate products. We suggest using PrettyLinks or ThirstyAffiliates as essential tools.

Additionally, we offer a complete guide on affiliate marketing for beginners, which will assist you in selecting the right affiliate program and strategies to start monetizing your blog today.

Is it free to start a blog on WordPress?

Starting a blog on WordPress is free of charge. This allows users to set up a basic blog without any initial financial investment. However, there are optional paid features available for those who want to enhance their blog with additional functionalities or a more personalized domain name.

These paid features can include custom domain names, premium themes, advanced design customization options, additional storage space, and the removal of WordPress ads. While starting a blog on WordPress is cost-effective, investing in these premium features can help bloggers create a more professional and unique online presence.