How To Start A Blog In 2020

Last year made ten years since I started my blogging journey and if you told me I’d still be here doing what I loved so many years later, I wouldn’t believe you. This journey has been nothing but easy, but it has been so fulfilling and so rewarding in ways that I couldn’t even imagine. Through SHESOMAJOR.com, I have been able to meet and work with so many amazing and talented writers and creatives and readers who are now apart of my forever family. I have been thrust onto so many stages and platforms and worked with so many international brands due to this little blog and have been able to see and travel the world, all because I decided to put a few words together. I am so incredibly proud of what I have been able to achieve over the course of my blogging career and the lives that I have touched and I can’t wait to do this for 10 more years!

When I first dived headfirst into this new “internet thing”, called blogging so many years ago, there wasn’t much information out there, and there weren’t a lot of people doing it. I woke up every single day not knowing what the hell I was doing, and some days, I still feel that way! But, so much has changed. Blogging has launched tens of thousands of careers and has literally changed the way we market and promote, blogging is an industry and bloggers are essential.  Every week I get emails questioning me on how to start a blog, and I wanted to share that information in an easy to digest way.  I want to be a source of encouragement for anyone out there who wants to start a blog because I don’t want you to have to struggle the way I did!  This easy to follow free guide will give you all the necessary steps to start your blog in 2019!

If you’re looking to kick start your blogging career, make money on the side, create a full-time income, pick up a new hobby or just do something different, let’s do this! Start your blog now!

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How To Start A Blog In 2020

• Choose your domain name: Your domain name is your blog’s web address, it’s how your readers, friends and family will find your blog. Choosing your domain name can be tricky but it doesn’t have to be. When choosing your blog’s domain name, ensure that it reflects what your blog is about, is short, catchy, easy to spell and memorable!  Brainstorm as many ideas as possible and hold a focus group with your close friends and family. Narrow your choices down and then make a decision! Pro tip: Before nailing down your blog & domain name, do a quick Google and social media check to ensure there’s no one else with your blog name. When you’ve decided, it’s time to purchase your domain name. I recommend securing your domain name with Bluehost, you can score a free domain with them when you sign up for your blog hosting! It makes the process of setting your blog up so much easier when you purchase everything from one company!
• Choose your blog platform: There are tons of blogging platforms, but today I’m going to be teaching you how to set up a WordPress blog. WordPress.org is the go-to for professional bloggers. While it’s certainly not the easiest to use, it gives you the most control over your blog, is the most versatile, loaded with necessary tools and features and most importantly gives you the opportunity to make money from your blog. If you are looking to start a side hustle, grow your business, start a business, or market yourself, I recommend a self-hosted WordPress blog.
• Purchase blog hosting: What is hosting? Hosting is simply the place where your files, media and all technical aspects of your blog will live. Think of it as purchasing a plot of land, and your blog is the house you’re building on it. Hosting is one of the most important aspects of your blog, a good hosting company will make or break you. Imagine logging on to your favourite blog and it’s constantly slow, sluggish and down, you’re probably not going to stick around for it to load. This is why my first choice to new bloggers is Bluehost. Bluehost is a renowned web hosting company that is recommended by WordPress itself. They are reliable, customer service is amazing and the prices are budget-friendly! (I know the struggle!) You can purchase 12 months of hosting at $2.75 a month! If you’re not happy with the service, you can also get a full refund within 30 days! Remember, you also get a free domain when you purchase a hosting plan for 12 months or longer. Super Savings!  If you’re ready to take it to the next level, you can purchase hosting, through my personal Bluehost link, here!  Thank you for the support, it’s how I keep the lights on around here! 🙂

A lot of people get intimidated by the tech side of blogging, and I know it’s scary, but I’m right here to hold your hand and walk you through the process, so, let’s do this!

1. Visit Bluehost.com
2. Hit the green “Get Started Now” button.
   
   
3. Select the Basic, Plus or Plus Choice hosting plans. As a new blogger, I would recommend the Basic plan, as it is sufficient for your needs. If you begin to grow, you can always scale up to fit your needs.
4. Remember by signing up with Bluehost, you get a free domain. By now you should’ve decided on your domain, this is where you add it. If you don’t need a new domain, you add your domain name to the “I have a domain name.”
5. Fill in the required fields with your account and contact information.
   
6. We’re getting closer! It’s time to choose your package. Bluehost offers four basic packages. 12 months, 24 months, 36 months and 60 months. I highly recommend the 36-month plan because it’s the most valuable and once you purchase 36 months, you set it and forget it! No worrying about forgetting to pay your hosting bill, your credit card declining or expiring and risking your blog being shut down. When looking at costs associated with starting your blog, this will be the most important. If you can’t cut 36 months, at the very least get the 12-month plan.
   
7. Extras! Do you really need all of this extra stuff? No, I suggest you deselect all EXCEPT Domain Privacy Protection. I prefer my contact information to remain private, the Internet can be a strange place. If you’re ok with your information being public then you can deselect the option.
8. Enter your credit card payment details, agree to Bluehost’s Terms & Services and click submit!
9. Annnnd just like that, you’ve taken the necessary steps to realize your dream of becoming a blogger! You’ve purchased your hosting! Now it’s time to create your Bluehost password for your account. Remember to create something that is secure and strong and also something that you can easily remember! If need be, write it down or save it to your notes! Hit Set Password!
10. After creating your password, hit next!
11. After creating your secure password you can log into your account for the first time! Congrats on making it this far! Simply, click the blue “log in” button and let the Bluehost magic work!
12. After hitting “Log in”, your screen might turn white, and you might think you’ve broken something, but it’s ok, it’s ok, everything is fine. After the screen goes white, ‘Alright, world, time to take you on” message pops up!
13. Bluehost will then proceed to provide you with a few WordPress theme options to choose from. WordPress themes are simply templates/designs of what your site will look like. If you find one you would like to use, you can select one, or you can “skip this step”. Choosing a WordPress theme for your blog is not easy, it takes a lot of time and patience, so I would simply skip this step.
14. Once you skip the step or choose the theme of your liking, Blue Host will install WordPress for you.
15. By clicking the Start Building button you will be taken to the WordPress dashboard! You have the option to choose whether you are building a Business or a Personal website or you can choose, “I don’t need help”. It’s up to you, I choose “personal”, because it’s a Personal Blog.
16. After choosing, you’ll be asked to give your site a title and a description, honestly, you can skip this step if you wish, but if you’d like to include it now, your Site Title is the name of your site and the Site Description is what your site is about. Ex: The current name of my blog is, SHESOMAJOR and the site description is, A Lifestyle, Travel + Inspiration Blog by Sherice Major. Hit “Next Step” when you’re done!
17. “Next Step”, finally brings you to your main dashboard. This is where you will spend the most time creating content and fixing up your blog.

The final thing that I will teach how to do in this blog post is how to log into your blog! Logging in to your WordPress blog will be different than logging in to your Bluehost account. While you can access your blog from your Bluehost at all times, I find it easier to just log in from your blog. I know this has been super long, so I’ll keep this short and sweet!

• How To Log In To Your WordPress Blog Via Bluehost

1. Log on to Bluehost.com.
2. Hit Login (Top right hand of your screen).
3. Choose log in to Hosting Login.
4. Enter username or domain name. This information was emailed to you when you created your account.
5. Enter your password. The one you signed up with.
6. Hit Submit.
7. From the Blue Host Portal, hit Log into WordPress.

• How To Log In To Your WordPress Blog 

In order to login into your WordPress blog, you have to create user profiles. While one is already created for you, it’s not advised to use the regular “admin” profile as it is susceptible to hacks. I’ve been hacked before, it’s not fun!  My advice is to ditch the user “admin” and create something unique.  So let’s do this.

1. If you’re already in your WordPress dashboard, great. If you’re not log in via Blue Host.
2. On the left side of your screen, navigate to “users”, hit “add new”.
3.  Fill in the empty screens with the required information. Choose a new user name, fill in your email and of course create a strong and easy to remember password, and most importantly, ensure that you choose Administrator for “role”. Then hit, Add New User.
4. Log In to your WordPress blog via your WordPress login URL:  http://insertwebsiteaddress.com/wp-admin (Mine would look something like http://shericemajor.com/wp-admin). Enter your username that you just created and your password and hit Log In.
5. And just like that, you’ve logged into your WordPress account!

You did it! You successfully started your WordPress blog all by yourself! It will take some time to get it to look exactly the way that you want it to, but the heavy lifting is done! A lot of people quit before they even get started because it all seems so difficult, but it’s not! We proved that!

I hope this How To Start A Blog guide was helpful and if you stumble, get lost or hit a roadblock when creating your blog on Bluehost, let me know and I will do my best to help you, just drop me a line at [email protected]!

There is so much more than goes into creating and running a successful blog but I wanted to provide this free guide to get you started on Bluehost!  If you are interested in taking your blog a step further and learning more about the ins and outs of the blogging world, strategies to attract readers, how to create meaningful content and so much more, then be one of the first people to sign up for my upcoming course for new bloggers! I pour my heart soul and 10 years of experience in this course because blogging has completely changed the course of my life. I wouldn’t have it any other way and if you think this is the path that you want to take, let me help! The course will be ready SOON, and if you’re interested, sign up today to be the first to know when it’s ready!