Getting Started With A Blog

You’ve decided that you want to start a blog and you’ve picked out the niche. But now what? It’s time to set up a blog. You may think that you’ll first go sign up for a domain however, there’s a little more to it. Here are steps that will help you make sure you have everything you need so you are successful getting started with a blog.

5 Steps to Get Started With A Blog

1. Create a Brand Board

Creating your brand is important to make sure that you have consistency. Pick out a logo, the colors that you’ll use on your blog, the inspiration for it, fonts that will be used and brand images that you will use on the blog and other social media platforms for things like your profile id. I suggest doing this first because it gives you an idea of what you want the blog and brand to be. Having this information gives you a checkpoint to make sure that you are still on the correct path.

2. Choose a Platform

Second, you want to choose a platform for your blog. There are many different platforms that you can choose from. WordPress.org, WordPress.com, Blogger, ect. You want to choose something that will be easy to use, doesn’t have a big learning curve to get started and will allow you to grow. WordPress.org is my platform of choice because it is so easy to use, has a ton of features and allows you to grow. WordPress.org can start off as a blog or a full website. It’s a CMS that allows for easy updates to your content which is always a plus! Find out more about why WordPress is awesome.

3. Select a Host

Third, you want to choose a host. This is very important, you want a reliable host that is going to keep your site up and running. There are a variety of differences in hosting plans and offers and don’t be fooled by the “unlimited” feature- it doesn’t translate into fast load times or a server always being available.

4. Get A Domain Name

The fourth step is to lock in your domain name. You can do this either through your hosting company which typically offers a domain option or you can set it up independently of your hosting company. I always recommend setting it up separate of your hosting company (even if they offer you a free domain). That way, if you ever decide to change hosting providers then you don’t have to fight over using your same domain name. Even if you wait until your contract is up with the hosting provider it can be 60 days before they release your domain name if you set it up directly through them.

5. Design It!

The last step is where it all starts to come together! The Design step! This is another place where WordPress shines because of the availability of themes. You have options for free themes, premium/paid themes, and custom/customized themes. You can build and customize your site yourself or work with a designer/developer to build the site for you. Whether you are building and customizing the site yourself or having a designer do it this is where your brand board will come into play so that you can verify that the site is still in line with your vision of your blog.