How to start a blog is a question that many new webmasters find. And this guide will treat everything!
Starting a blog is one of the best things you can do today. Whether you have a small business, an online store, or just want to do something new, blogs can have many benefits:
Personal growth. Many people start a blog as a way to express their ideas and deepen their knowledge. A well-established blog can be a demonstration of your skills and knowledge whenever you look for a job or work as a freelance.
More people will know about your brand. Whether you run a business, large or small, the brand will be an important part of the trip. With the correct execution, a blog can take your business to new heights.
Blogs have the potential to become a user acquisition platform. When it comes to attracting new users, many acquisition channels require you to invest a lot of money (for example, GoogleAds). While the growth of the blog can take time, once the traffic begins, it will have a solid platform that can drive new sales and improve conversions.
Greater visibility in search engines. Blogs are one of the main ways to make the best use of organic search. Remember, maintaining a constant flow of traffic is a vital part of any online project!
Although it requires dedication, time, and proper preparation. But just because you’re investigating how to start a blog means you’re on the right track!
In this article, we will cover everything you need to know to create and develop a successful blog that provides a constant flow of organic traffic, from:
- What blogging platform is better for a new blog?
- How to choose the right accommodation.
- How to set up your blog and succeed.
How To Start A Blog (In 6 Simple Steps)
Let’s show them in more detail and provide interesting tips that will make your blog stand out from the crowd!
Step 1: Choose Your Blog Niche
If you are executing a project or company, writing about the services, products, and objectives of the company is a great approach. In this way, it will attract people interested in what it does. A victory for all!
If you want to start a blog as an individual, there is a greater variety of options. A world full of possibilities surrounds you. From travel, technology, news to food, music, shoes: there are many things you can choose as the main theme of the blog.
As it is one of the most important steps, try to avoid hasty decisions. Take the time to research your options and finding a blog niche will be much easier!
Although, ultimately, your best option is to write about something you like. When you do something you like, the results are always better. And your audience will notice.
If you’re still not sure what to write on the blog, don’t let that press you. The most successful blogs tested various approaches and themes before reaching the goal.
Our best advice is to dive deeply and never look back!
Step 2: Choose A Blog Platform
The next step is to choose the platform on which you will do all the work. Because blogs are primarily content, consider using a content management system (CMS).
Choosing a CMS as your blog platform will allow you to:
- Create a blog without coding knowledge.
- Publish and conveniently create new content.
- Focus more on writing, not on technical aspects.
- Add new functions easily with the help of Plugin and modules.
- Find a beautiful website design in a large library of free themes.
Not only that, but content management systems have gained a lot of popularity. They feed much of all the sites in the world. Worldwide usage statistics for popular content management systems.
you can see, there is a great variety of them. And some candidates are way ahead of the crowd. Without further ado, the three main blogging platforms we recommend are:
- WordPress
- Joomla
- Drupal
The most impressive part is that you can install all these platforms with just one click on any hosting server. No extra effort is required!
Let’s take a look at each one in more detail to find the right option for your blog.
WordPress
With the title as the most popular CMS in the world, WordPress is a solid platform to start your blog. It is extremely easy to configure, use and requires no coding knowledge!
| Pros | Cons |
| Beginner friendly. | Frequent updates. |
| Huge library of free plugins and themes. | Requires maintenance from time to time. |
| Easy SEO and management. |
Joomla
Joomla is another open-source platform that drives many blogs worldwide. It is also one of the biggest competitors of WordPress.
The CMS configuration is fast and can escape without any coding knowledge. Some even argue that publishing content is easier with Joomla than with other platforms. But you can be the judge of that.
With an extensive collection of free extensions and Plugins, Joomla is a reliable place to start any type of blog.
| Pros | Cons |
| Beginner friendly. | Less flexible compared to WP or Drupal. |
| Intuitive admin dashboard. | Had security flaws in the past. |
| Multilingual (over 70 languages). |
Drupal
Drupal, one of the most advanced content management systems, occupies a special place in the heart of all web developers.
It offers some of the best customization options when implementing complex functions. Although you must know how to do it.
If you like coding and want to have a highly flexible blog, Drupal is the perfect combination!
| Pros | Cons |
| Developer focused. | Harder learning curve. |
| Has the potential to add complex functions. | Requires technical expertise. |
| Flexible and secure. | Smaller community. |
Step 3: Find A Web Host
When it comes to choosing a blog hosting platform, there are some things to keep in mind:
- How much traffic do you expect?
- How fast is the configuration?
- Is there support?
- What features will you make to make your blog stand out?
- What is the cost?
The good thing is that you don’t have to look far, because we have exactly what you are looking for!
Not only that but there are many options to choose from depending on the scale of your blog project. Let’s see what’s on the table!
Shared Hosting
One of the best places to launch your first website or blog, shared hosting can be compared to public transportation or a student dormitory.
Host multiple sites on a physical server. All resources (such as disk space, RAM, bandwidth) are shared between each site from a single group.
However, the servers are perfectly optimized and monitored 24 hours a day to ensure that all sites are running at full speed.
This is what you need to know if you plan to start a blog about shared hosting:
| Pros | Cons |
| Affordable and easy to use. | You’ll share server resources with others. |
| Uptime and server updates are handled by the host. | Limited configuration options. |
| 24/7 live customer support. | No root access. |
| Features 1-click blogging platform installation. |
Cloud Hosting
Served for business owners and larger projects, cloud hosting aims to provide the power of a virtual server while maintaining the simplicity of shared web hosting.
It is a solid and reliable platform to start a blog, as it will have many resources to handle incoming traffic.
In addition, all resources are dedicated to you and no one else, so you will have plenty of room to grow.
| Pros | Cons |
| Dedicated resources and IP address. | Higher pricing compared to other solutions. |
| 24/7 live customer support. | Limited configuration options. |
| Resources fully dedicated to you. | No root access. |
| Features 1-click blogging platform installation. | |
| Can seamlessly upgrade from shared hosting. |
VPS hosting
VPS, short for a virtual private server, is a unique solution that provides more freedom and control to the tables
Although if you are not familiar with server administration, this solution can be a bit complicated.
If you intend to start a simple blog, it would be better to choose another solution.
But if you plan to get your hands dirty and launch many different projects, having a virtual server will allow you to configure the perfect environment.
| Pros | Cons |
| Grants root access. | Requires technical knowledge. |
| Dedicated IP and resources. | Server management skills are a must. |
| Offers the highest flexibility out of all solutions. | Unmanaged. |
| Gives you the most control. | Has a higher learning curve. |
| Ability to change any server-side settings. |
Free Hosting
If this is the first time you start a blog, the budget is not yet available. Hell, it may take a while for you to taste the waters and discover what works.
That’s why we will show you how to start a free blog! Free hosting is the perfect testing ground for any new webmaster. And whenever you need more power, you can update and transfer your blog to our premium hosting servers without problems.
| Pros | Cons |
| Great testing environment. | Limited resources and disk space. |
| Easy to use. | No email service. |
| No setup cost. | No live support (community forum). |
Step 4: Register A Domain Name
Every website has an address and so will your blog. Choosing a domain name can be tough, but it’s easier with Hostinger, GoDaddy, etc!
Step 5: Set Up The Blogging Platform
Once you have your web hosting and your domain name ready, you will be just one step away from reaching the goal. As we describe three platforms to start your blog, let’s see how to make the initial configuration with each one.
How To Start A Blog With WordPress
Because WordPress is so popular, let’s first see how to start a blog with WordPress.
Installation:
Setting it up is quite simple. Especially if you are using Hostinger, Bluehost. All you have to do is navigate to the Auto Installer section in the control panel.
Select WordPress and follow our simple three-step setup wizard that will get the job done.
Admin area:
To facilitate the administration of your blog, WordPress provides an intuitive dashboard.
You can access it by typing yourdomain.com/wp-admin in your browser.
Themes:
In the Appearance section, you can find many free themes and choose an elegant look.
Plugins:
The Plugin section offers a large library of free extensions. You can see them as a plugin that extends the functionality of your blog.
Here is a list of 3 essential Plugin that every blog should have:
- Yoast SEO will allow you to optimize your posts much more easily with the latest SEO practices.
- Akismet Anti-Spam will keep your comments section clean and free of spam.
- Jetpack offers a set of features related to security, performance, statistics and more!
Create posts and blog pages
The Pages section does exactly what it says. You can use it to create more pages on your blog (such as About Us; Contact Us and the like).
Meanwhile, the Posts section will be your most visited area, since all new blog posts will be created there.
For a more detailed approach, consider reading the WordPress tutorial for beginners.
How To Start A Blog With Joomla
The next one is Joomla, the second most popular CMS to start a blog.
Installation
Setting up Joomla is a walk in the park. All you have to do is follow the installation wizard found in the Auto Installer section.
Admin area
Once this is done, navigate to yourdomain.com/admin URL to access the Joomla administration panel.
Templates
If you go to the Templates section, you can customize the look and layout of your pages.
Modules
If you want to manage roles or resources, the Modules section is the place for you.
Here is a brief list of the 3 best Joomla recommended blog plugins:
- K2 is an extension that aims to improve article management with additional features and improvements.
- EasyBlog is another extension that aims to replace the default item system with a more efficient system.
- Komento helps you manage and moderate comments more efficiently.
Create blog posts
And the most important part for all new blogs: add new posts. You can easily create them using the Articles section.
How To Start A Blog With Drupal
Last but not least is Drupal. This CMS offers robust flexibility and can be a really powerful platform in the hands of developers.
Installation
You can easily configure Drupal using the Auto Installer tool available from the control panel.
Admin area
Go to yourdomain.com/user/login to access the Drupal administration panel.
Themes
To change the look and design of your blog, go to the Appearance section.
Modules
In the Extend tab, you can implement new features and functionalities with modules.
For each Drupal blog, we recommend the following extensions:
- The administrative toolbar replaces the existing toolbar with a more flexible one.
- ShareThis allows you to easily share posts on multiple social media platforms.
- Image Effects allows you to add striking effects to images in your blog posts.
Create blog posts
And finally, the Content tab is where you can create new posts, pages, and all other related content.
Step 6: Publish Content And Grow
To live! Now you know how to start a blog with three of the best CMS platforms.
The remaining part is choosing what you will use to create your blog. We are big fans of WordPress.
As for this last step, it is quite simple: publish, publish and publish!
Because content management systems allow you to create new posts effortlessly, this is its main focus: to provide as many good quality articles as possible.
Taking into account that it usually takes at least a few weeks before new posts begin to show remarkable results in search engines, the sooner it starts, the better.
Ideally, we want our blog to generate traffic and grow over time. To achieve this, you must think outside the box and be prepared to work hard.
That’s why we have prepared 10 of the best tips that will show you how to start a blog and succeed!
Final word
Congratulations Now you know all the right steps on how to start a blog and succeed. The only part left is the execution, so what are you waiting for?
And if you have other questions, questions, or advice related to blogs, see the comments below.
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