Learn how to start a blog from scratch on either a free platform or a self-hosted platform.
Starting a Blog from Scratch
Ready to start a blog? It may seem like a daunting task, but I’m going to help you along the way.
But first: Do you know whether you want to start on a free platform or a self-hosted site? (Not sure what I’m talking about? Read this tutorial. LINK)
I’m going to be honest here. At this point, we’re going to divide into two camps.
Camp 1: If you aren’t sure yet if blogging is for you and you just want to try it out, start with the free platform.
Camp 2: If you are hoping to earn some money from your blog and have total freedom of how it’s set up, then start with a self-hosted site.
The choice is yours.
I’m going to include instructions for both camps, although I may need to direct you elsewhere for some of the set up requirements depending on where your site is going to be.
Buckle in, and take a deep breath. This may be a bit of a bumpy ride, but I’ll guide you almost every step of the way. These are the steps I took when I set up my own blogs.
Note: I suggest reading the whole post before you make your final decision.
This post contains affiliate links.
How to Start a Blog from Scratch on a Free Platform
This part is for those who choose to start with a free blogging platform.
(Camp 2, skip ahead)
Time to choose a platform. Some of the most popular ones include:
- Blogger.com
- WordPress.com
- Wix.com
- Weebly.com
- and more.
Each of the links above will take you to a set-up tutorial. Most of the instructions will say the same thing: choose a layout, choose a theme, choose colors, choose font, enter your blog name, etc.
I would open up the instructions in a separate tab in your browser so you can easily switch back and forth.
Remember these things about free platforms:
- They have limited themes and backgrounds to use,
- They don’t have custom domain names (their domain name is included in yours, like YourSite.domainname.com, unless you pay extra),
- They either have very limited or no plugins to use,
- They limit advertising or don’t allow it at all,
- They limit the kinds of statistics you’re able to see.
- They essentially own your site, so if they feel that in any way you violate their Terms of Service, they can shut down your site without notice.
I’m not saying those things to down play free platforms. In fact, I started out on one myself! I just want you to understand that if your plan is to have freedom to create the site as your own or to make money blogging, then you may want to use a self-hosted platform instead.
If you’re okay with all that comes with a free platform, go ahead and set up your site on a free platform. Congrats on your new site!
How to Set Up a Self-Hosted Site
(Camp 2)
To be clear, a self-hosted site will cost money. But what you get with a self-hosted site is very much worth the money:
- You get control over almost every aspect of the site.
- You get countless free and paid custom themes to choose from.
- You get to design the layout so that it meets your blog’s needs.
- You get to add free and paid plugins to help enhance the functions of your site.
- You get to monetize it in almost any way, with ads, ad networks, sponsored posts, affiliate links, and more.
- You get to link your blog in Google Analytics and get accurate statistics.
- You get to optimize your text, titles and images for search engines.
- You get to make your site appear more professional, which may help you bring in more revenue.
So what are the start up costs?
You will need to pay for a hosting service, some of which are inexpensive while others can be quite expensive (example $3.95/month to $50+/month).
You will also need to pay for your domain name, but at least it’ll be your own and not tied to another platform’s name (MommyKnowsWhatsBest.com vs MommyKnowsWhatsBest.blogger.com).
Don’t have a domain name yet? Visit this post to help you decide on a domain name. (Tip: some hosts give you a free domain name for a year. See below for more details.)
There may also be some other optional costs, like paid plugins, paid custom themes, etc, but those all depend on how you want to set up your site.
Ready to start?
First, you’ll want to know what to look for in a host:
- Free SSL Certificate service (http vs https: helps to keep your site secure in Google’s eyes. Very important.)
- 24/7 support
- Help setting up platform (ie WordPress.org)
- Free email (email address connected to your site)
- Offers for backups
- Offers for updates/security
No worries, because most quality hosts will have these things!
I’m going to share with you two hosts that I have the most experience with: Bluehost and Siteground. I’ll share what they offer and why their plan might be good for your site.
NOTE: Prices listed below may be introductory prices that can change after the initial start up fees. Please read all relevant small print once on the sites. If offered, I highly recommend Domain Privacy as an extra expense, to protect your private information from the general public who can gain access to that information at any time.
Blogs Link Up is not responsible for anything that happens once you purchase a hosting plan. Please contact the host’s support.
Bluehost Hosting for New Bloggers
Bluehost is a great starting off host for new bloggers. Plans start at just $3.95 a month and include a FREE domain.
This is a great plan for beginner bloggers as it will get you started with everything you need, including:
- your domain (www.YourBlogName(dot)com)
- hosting
- WordPress installation
- Free SSL certificate (needs to be updated every 3 months)
- backups
- 24/7 support
- and more.
Once you have established your blog (have 3-5k views per month), I suggest Bluehost’s Optimized WordPress plan. This is the plan I used for Mommy Knows What’s Best at first until my pageviews grew beyond 10k views a month.
Siteground Hosting for Bloggers
Siteground plans start at just $3.95 a month.
The StartUp Plan is a great plan for beginner bloggers as it will get you started with everything you need, including:
- your domain (www.YourBlogName(dot)com) (no fee if already purchased, extra fee if it is new)
- hosting
- Free WordPress installation
- WordPress Autoupdates
- Free SSL certificate (auto-updates)
- Free email
- Free daily backup
- 24/7 support
- up to 10k pageviews
- staging tool (can be used before you publish your site officially)
I currently use the Grow Big Plan for Mommy Knows What’s Best, which includes a few more Premium Features, but is a tad more expensive. I have had ZERO issues with Siteground and ZERO downtime since switching to them for hosting once my site had over 10k pageviews per month.
Visit Siteground to see what plan is right for you.
I Have a Hosting Plan. Now What?
Congrats on getting a hosting plan! Now it’s time to get to work building your site.
Once you’ve purchased your hosting plan, you will need to set up WordPress.org and start building your site.
The video below can walk you through how to build a website using Bluehost and WordPress. If you’re logged in to Bluehost, you can start the video at 5:02 to find out how to build your site. (You can also watch the whole video if you prefer!)
Important to note:
- As he says, you may want to bookmark your WordPress.org login page (admin access) for future reference!
- He mentions a site to find themes. You can use that or I recommend checking out Restored 316, where I have my themes from or StudioPress, where I have also purchased themes.
(He goes a little quick, so feel free to pause and rewind when you need to.)
The video tutorial below shows you how to use WordPress from the Siteground CPanel. If you skip ahead to 4:50, you’ll be shown how to log in to WordPress. (He goes a little quick, so feel free to pause and rewind when you need to)
Important to note:
- As he says, you may want to bookmark your WordPress.org login page (admin access) for future reference!
- He mentions a site to find themes. You can use that or I recommend checking out Restored 316, where I have my themes from, or StudioPress, where I have also purchased themes.
I Have WordPress Set Up. Now What?
One of the best things I ever did when I switched to WordPress was to explore every menu. I didn’t change anything, but I became familiar with everything in the dashboard so I knew where to look when it came time to make changes.
Note: Be careful when making changes! Unless you know what you’re doing or you did your research, it’s best not to mess with things just yet.
For one of the most in-depth explanations of WordPress.org, I highly recommend the Understanding WordPress Course from iMark Interactive.
Ready to Write Your First Post?
In your new WordPress dashboard, locate the left menu and click on Posts, and then Add New. You can add your first new post from there. If you’ve been following these posts from the beginning, you might already have a list of blog ideas and can get started right away!
Congratulations on starting your blog! If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.
