Yesterday was the one year anniversary of our very first blog post.  I remember being nervous, excited, and clueless.  Now, I love it.  I used to struggle with technical things on the theme, what to write, how to add plugins, etc.  But I have to admit that I have learned a lot.  Also, because of the blog, I take more pictures, do more research about the places we visit, and I have begun to find my writing voice.

If you have ever considered starting a blog, maybe this tutorial will help.  I can only talk about the things that I have personally used.  But it can be a starting point and you can research other options by doing google searches.

5 Steps to starting your own blog

1.  Decide on a domain name.

____________.com or ________.net, etc.

You can check Bluehost to see if the name you want is available.  If it is not available, they will give you suggestions of similar names that are available.  Once you decide on your name, then you need to buy it.  We have bought names through both namecheap.com and Bluehost.com.  They range in price from about $6.95 to $thousands.  But most of the names we looked at were about $12.  You purchase the name for the year, and then just pay to renew at the end of the year.

*My recommendation would be to buy your domain name from the same company that is doing your web hosting.  This saves you the step of having to transfer your domain name.

2.  Set up with a web hosting company.

We use Bluehost.com because we read about their great customer service on someone else’s blog.  I have needed to use their help on several occasions.  They are easy to reach by phone or by email and they have always been very friendly and fixed my problem.  However, there are a number of good web hosting companies to choose from.  Please see this ARTICLE comparing and reviewing web hosting companies in 2013.

Just to give you an idea of the costs of one year of web hosting.  It ranges from $60 on up.  I just checked Bluehosts costs and they are advertizing $5/month, which is $60/year.  Add the cost of your domain name at about $12 and your total first year cost of blogging is about $72.

*I do not receive compensation for recommending Bluehost or anything else that I recommend in this post.  But since they are the only companies I have used, they are the ones that I will talk about.

 

3. Install WordPress

WordPress is a tool that manages and helps you organize your content.  It is a great tool for bloggers.

To install from Bluehost when you are logged into your account:

• Go to your cPanel and scroll down the page to Website Builders.  Click on WordPress
• You will get a pop up screen from Mojo marketplace.  Click [start] to start the installation.
• Write down the username and password information they give you.
• See tutorial link below for changing your password.

4.  Install a theme

I have tried many themes.  It is kind of fun like re-arranging the furniture.  In wordpress there are many free themes and many themes that cost money.  The theme I currently use and the one I recommend is Weaver II.  But it is quick and easy to switch themes.  So you can try several and see which one you like best.  The longer you blog, the more you will figure out what features you want and you can find the theme that works best for you.

• Go to your website:   for example  www.yourname.com/wp-admin  (this takes you to the login page for your wordpress website.
• Enter your username and password information.  Then you will land on your “Dashboard” page.
• You will see a big blue button that says Customize your site, under that button, click where it says change your theme completely.  (wordpress has an automatic theme to start with, but it is very boring with limited options.
• There are two tabs at the top of the next page.  Click on the tab that says install themes.
• In the search box at the top of the page, type Weaver II.
• You will see pictures of Weaver and Weaver II themes.  Click on the install now words under the Weaver II theme.
• On the next page, click Activate
• That is it!  The theme is now installed and you can start to customize colors, backgrounds, headers, etc.

*When you are first learning how to customize your theme it is very helpful to see online video tutorials.  I did a lot of youtube.com tutorials.  Do some searches in youtube like:  customize wordpress weaver II.  And you will get lots of results and they will show you exactly what to do.

5.  Install plugins

Plugins are extra tools that you install into your theme.  Some plugins put extra features into your website and some give you tools to use.  WordPress usually has the plugin Akismet pre-installed, but you need to click activate to get it working.   Then follow the directions to complete the activation process.  This plugin is a huge help in preventing spam comments on your blog.  You would be surprised how much spam will show up without this plugin.

To install plugins

• From your Dashboard, move the curser over the Plugins button on the left column of the page.  Several options will pop up.  Click on Add New.
• There will be a search box at the top of the next page.  You can do random searches or search for specifics.
• when your search results come up, you can click on Details to read more about it.  Or you can click on Install Now. 
• Once you click to install, you will need to click Activate on the next page.
• Some plugins will work automatically once installed and others will require adding some information or putting into place, like in the side column.

Some of the plugins that I use and recommend are:

• nRelate related content
• Pinterest RSS widget
• Facebook widget
• Signature watermark
• WP-pagenavi

 

Some tutorial links to help you get started

• How to install wordpress from Bluehost cPanel
• Changing themes and appearance  (also includes how to change your password)
• Creating a static page
• Create a page for blog posts

 

*Of course the final step is all you!  Write, upload pictures, rant, rave, review, and have a blast! 😉

 

Please comment if you have recommendations for other themes, plugins, web hosts, etc.

And let me know if you take the plunge into the world of blogging.  I would love to hear from you!