The desire to share ideas, reach a global audience and maybe win over some fans is the reason why several people have taken to blogging these days. Blogs are very effective for a couple of reasons. Four out of every five internet users read blogs so, yes, you have your audience waiting for you. The truth is that there is plenty of space on the internet for everybody. Building a personalized website for your content is not difficult at all. It only takes a few steps to get started. Here are some tips to help you start your own blogging site.
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Choose your blog name and get your blog hosting
Your domain is like your blog’s permanent address and the type of name you choose for your domain is very important because it creates the first impression. This should be the name of your blog or your URL. It is also your address on the web. For example, www.kitchencondiments.com would mean that the name of your blog is kitchen condiments.
After choosing a blog name, you can go ahead to register it for hosting. Hosting is the process that powers your site and there can’t be a website without a host. You can make a purchase for your domain and hosting at the same time but you will need to be sure that no one else is using the domain that you are going with. Many people like to use Bluehost. This is also recommended for new WordPress bloggers. It’s affordable, you get a free domain, and it offers enough performance to get you started.
Install WordPress software
This may sound like some very technical process but it is actually quite easy to install the WordPress software. It is said that WordPress is mainly a blogging platform but it can also be used as a perfect platform for building other sites that are not for blogging. It takes just a few minutes to install. You can use HostGator for a quicker process. Start by typing your domain name into your browser.
However, you have to make an adjustment to the domain name to look like kitchencondiments.com/cpanel. It could take some time to set up though. Once it has been set up, log in with your username and password to display your control panel to you. The next step is to look in the software section and click on the WordPress manager link. If you think this might be too much for you to handle, you can employ the services of a website design firm to help you create a perfect website for your needs. You can pick your domain name yourself or the design firm could still help you with it once you tell them what your website will be used for.
Choose a theme to customize your website
One very good reason to use WordPress is the several different options of themes available for you to use. With this theme, you don’t need any knowledge of CSS or graphic design skills to change the look of your website. Remember that some people can get attracted to your website’s design first even before they start reading your content and so if you need to draw traffic, you will have to do very good work here. The theme is basically the template for your website. It will only change your site’s look but your content remains intact.
Introduce plugins
Creating a good website is a fantastic idea and using WordPress brings a lot of functionality with it. However, the website you created for the blogging purpose can be more effective when it works with plugins. A plugin is a piece of packaged code that adds functionality to your website. Installing plugins is straightforward. If you are using WordPress, almost every plugin you could need will be in the plugin repository. That means you wouldn’t need to upload any plugin file before installing. You just need to search for it on your dashboard and install it. Be careful not to go for the plugins with low star ratings as they may open your blog to attacks. Ninja forms, WP super cache, updraftplus, WP mylinks are examples of very good plugins you can use. Make sure to activate your plugin after installation
Start Blogging and make your website better with SEO
Search Engine Optimization is the process that ensures that you appear more in Google searches. You have to be attracting the numbers and have fans that visit your website regularly before you can say you are a successful blogger. This can make your website a working website for you. Apart from using SEO techniques to make your site more successful, you can also optimize your site’s speed, security, navigation, and typography. SEO can be a complex business and it would be better if you collaborated with SEO professionals who know the business very well.
Continue Reading: How to create a blog that gets high volumes of repeat traffic
Final word
If you really want to go into blogging, you will need an office where you can operate from and where people can visit you. This office is your website. Now, how you beautify your space and how welcoming it looks will go a long way in making you a successful blogger. First impressions always matter most and you need to do a lot of work on your website to win over those who visit you at first sight. These tips here will definitely get you a great website to go with your blogging business.
