Have you ever wanted to start your own blog but didn’t know where to begin?
The fastest and easiest way to build your website is through the WordPress platform, a free and open-source software. WordPress has been around for more than a decade, and it is the most popular blogging platform on the web. WordPress powers almost 60% of all active websites. It is easy to manage, and you don’t need any previous coding knowledge or skill.
We created our WordPress blog, twinsontoes in 2021 and have been consistent in our posts since then. We started with zero views and a year later, we received 500+ monthly views. Blogging is a slow process and on average, it takes about 3 years to build a successful blog. This timeline is generous and can only be considered if you are consistent by publishing at least once every week.
Take it from us, never wait for the right time. Instead, treat the NOW as your right time. Here are eight reliable and simple steps to create a WordPress blog from scratch.
Create A WordPress Blog From Scratch
1. Pick Your Niche
To start off, what is a niche? Niche is a specialized topic or area that you focus on while creating content. This helps you easily connect with like-minded people, thereby growing a loyal audience along the way.
Two important things to remember before picking your niche:
- Choose a niche based on your interest/passion. This will help you in the long run.
- Choose topics with which you have prior experience or fundamental knowledge to start confidently.
There are different types of niches – beauty, food, health, parenting, and finance, to name a few. Every niche has competitors, so to stand out, you need to provide your unique perspective on your desired niche. For instance, travel is one of the most popular and broad niches, that has a huge & reliable audience. To stand out, you can narrow it down to a particular subject like backpacking, caravanning, hiking, cycling, solo travel, etc., following which, you can start producing content that voices your own experiences, thoughts, and perspective, to ensure your content provides a refreshing and engaging take on the niche.
2. Choose A Domain Name & Secure The Social Media Handle(s)
A domain name is a unique name that helps prospective audiences find you online. It is important to be distinct, as a domain name is a representation of your brand or business. You can find the domain name in the URL tab of any browser. E.g. twinsontoes.com.
Once you decide on your domain name, check if it is available for purchase and make sure that it is available on other social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Don’t choose anything after a successful travel blogger because they will always outrank you in any search engine. For instance, if you’re going with a travel blog, don’t use already overused words like “travel with”, “backpacker”, and “wandering”. Keep the domain name short and avoid numbers, hyphens, or any special characters. Use appropriate domain name extension. For example, .com, .org, .net.
Usually, “anything.wordpress.com” is free. But we recommend purchasing the domain as it ranks better compared to the free ones. Certain domain registration service providers offer free domain names for the first year or when you purchase from a specific pack.
So, if you’re wondering why we choose TwinsOnToes? You can read about it here.
3. Buy A Server/ Host
After you purchase a domain name, the next step is to host your content on the internet. If you plan to be consistent, opt for the higher time duration plan (preferably, yearly plans) to save money. As the website grows, you might want to update or switch later. If your website is image-heavy or video-heavy, then you can select your server space accordingly. Shared hosting or WordPress hosting is best, to begin with.
We currently use Hostinger, and we recommend the same. They provide good customer support. Most of the service providers have welcome offers but keep in mind that the price is double when you renew the plan. If you need more information before you are sure you want to sign up, go ahead and read this Hostinger review.
4. Set Up Your WordPress
We recommend learning basic WordPress by watching tutorials on YouTube. This will greatly help you in getting comfortable with the platform.
Start by creating the WordPress account and following the instructions given by the hosting provider. Choose the basic theme initially, don’t worry, this can be changed later. Customize and design your website as per your needs, before you launch it.
Note: wordpress.com (free/paid but limited options) is different from wordpress.org. Create your WordPress blog from wordpress.org (self-hosted & free but you will have to spend for domain and hosting) so you have the luxury to fully customize it.
If you want to sign in again, go to www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin, and the WordPress login screen will be displayed.
5. Pick A Theme & Customize
It is easy to customize your website if you install a WordPress theme. The best part is you don’t need any prior coding knowledge. Although there are a lot of free themes available, we highly recommend purchasing an SEO-friendly theme at the start because changing the theme later will be tedious, challenging, and expensive.
Before you purchase a theme, check if it has a responsive design on all devices and its compatibility with AMP (Google Accelerated Mobile Pages), Woocommerce, and Elementor (Live page builder plugin). Buying a theme that has a one-time payment or lifetime access is a plus.
On a personal note, we purchased the Soledad theme from Envato market, and they provide good customer support, but it’s only for the first 6 months.
6. Install Necessary Plugins
To put it simply, plugins make your blogging life hassle-free. For any non-techy person, plugins come in handy to complete several of the blogging tasks in just a few minutes by installing and configuring the settings. Few plugins even help you enhance user experience and boost SEO. However, it is important to keep in mind that a few might affect your website’s performance and speed. So, only install truly necessary plugins.
There are countless plugins out there which makes it a challenging task to choose. So, here’s a list of plugins we use that is crucial, don’t adversely affect performance, and can be used on any website.
7. Create Content
Content is the King!
People stay on your website for the information you provide. Add images, videos, audio, or anything that aids in keeping the reader interested and engaged. The length of the content, correctness, and readability plays a vital role in ensuring that people connect with your blog. The usage of focus keywords helps you to rank your page higher in organic search results on Google. This increases visibility and adds traffic to your website.
Consistency is the key!
The more new content you publish, the more audience you will gain. We recommend you publish at least one new blog post per week. As the website thrives, analyze and understand which related topics get more traction from the visitors and focus accordingly.
Not everybody is a born writer. You can improve your writing skills by practising every day. Read lots of books to improve your vocabulary and expand your language usage. Refer to other blogs that compliment your niche and use them as inspirations.
8. Launch Your Site And Start Earning
Congrats! You have now come to the final step. Before you launch your website, have at least 10 blog posts for the readers. Put a countdown and announce it on social media to make it more exciting, and it also helps generate more prospective readers.
Pro Tip: Every website should have a home page, about page, and privacy policy page.
After the successful launch, you are ready to monetize your blog. Although you can blog as a hobby, creating a side income motivates you to write more. This is especially true when you have a demanding schedule or full-time jobs like us. There are different ways to earn money through blogs; some include ads, affiliates, and brand collaborations. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t get the expected results in the first one or two years. Blogging is a journey, and it grows gradually over time. Many people are starting as you are and need help.
Most importantly, regardless of the output, keep creating content. It cumulatively adds value to your blog.
If we can, then anyone can too. All you need to do is, just start and don’t wait for the right time. We all learn and grow over time. Ask for feedback frequently and improve. Let us know in the comments if these 8 simple steps helped you in successfully creating your WordPress blog site. We are happy to hear from you.
As always, for more information & tips on blogging, traveling, or anything adventurous, stay in touch with us – the Traveling Twins.