If you have decided to start a blog or thinking about starting a blog but you have no clue how or where to start? Then this is the article for you to understand the basics of blogging and its requirements. If you are a total beginner and have no clue about what the Blog even is, then we highly recommend you to understand the concept of blog first by clicking HERE which would make it easier for you going forward into your blogging journey. Coming back to the main purpose of this article, lets get started with how you can actually start a blog.
STEP 1: Selecting Suitable Niche For Your Blog
First and the most important thing you would need before even you start a blog is selecting a Niche. Niche is nothing but the subject or topic you will be making your blog or website on. Most popular niches on internet being Technology, Science, Food blogs, Traveling blogs, News etc. So, its really important for you to choose a niche in which you have some amount of expertise or you are passionate about.
So, now assuming you are clear about your niche, lets move forward and discuss the next important steps to shape and structure your blog/website.
STEP 2: You Need A Domain And Web Hosting
The domain is the name of your website also called a URL. For example, the domain for YouTube is youtube.com. Web Hosting is like a physical store for your new website where all the data of your blog or website such as articles, images are stored. You are essentially buying a space on the internet for your website so that people can visit that particular website. Following is the list of some of the popular domain and hosting providers.
- Godaddy
- Namecheap
- Hostgator
- Hostinger
- Bluehost
- Dreamhost
- Siteground
- A2 hosting
- GreenGeeks
- InMotion
- WPEngine
- Nexess
NOTE: You do not necessarily have to buy both domain and hosting from the same provider. If you are getting your domain at a cheaper rate from one provider and cheaper hosting from some other provider then you can go ahead and buy your domain and hosting from those 2 respective providers.
STEP 3: Connecting Domain name with Web Hosting
The next important thing you need to do after purchasing the suitable domain name and web hosting is to connect the domain to your web hosting. The process of connecting domain with hosting is simple, you just have to replace the default name servers of your domain name with your hosting servers.
To do this, just log into your provider account from where you have purchased your domain, then select manage option next to your domain, then go to name servers and replace them with name servers of your web hosting. You can get the hosting name servers from the provider by logging into your account or just search on Google for the name servers of that particular hosting provider.
NOTE: It takes about 24 hours to update the name servers once you replace them, even though most often it only takes about an hour or 2 for the changes to take place. So wait for few hours before moving onto the final step.
STEP 4: Installing WordPress For Your Website/Blog
Once you have completed the step 2, the last thing you need to do is installing WordPress for your website. Again it is an easy process, to install WordPress, log into your hosting account, then go to CPanel. Once you enter the Cpanel dashboard, scroll down to the section called Softaculous App Installer as you can see in the image above and select WordPress.
You will be directed to installation page where you need to select your domain name for which you need to install WordPress and just click on install button at the very bottom of the page. After the WordPress is installed successfully, you will get your login link for your WordPress dashboard. WordPress dashboard is the place where you can manage all your website functions such as writing posts, adding images, setting suitable theme for your website, installing required plugins etc. If you still have any doubts or questions, feel free to contact us by clicking HERE.
