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Hello my friends!
In my time spent blogging, I have had many people ask me how they might start one too. Now I will say that I am flattered AND I will say that I am no expert. In fact, I regularly panic and blow up Chris’ (Josh’s cousin who set everything up for me WAY back in the beginning) phone with nonsensical questions.
BUT I have learned some things on this journey, and I find blogging to be quite fun and encourage everyone who even considers the idea… to just do it! I mean, what do you have to lose? There are so many free options for blogs as well. Everyone should have one! 😉
SO, when I started my blog I knew nothing about how any of this works. And some of the people that come to me don’t have a “Chris” like I do to set everything up for them… so I will explain this in the way that it made sense to my non-technical mind when it all started.
First things first…
1. You Need a Domain
The internet is a weird place, and in order to “own” your own piece of it you have to buy it. You can purchase a domain name from approximately a million and one different places. Currently my domain is registered with Bluehost.
Your domain is what you type into the address bar. www.motherhoodandconfetti.com is my domain.
2. You Need a Hosting Package
There is also a million+ of these. Also recommending Bluehost here, mostly because they have 24/7 support that rocks my world. Because when I want an answer to a question, I want it right now. 😉
3. You Need to Install WordPress
WordPress is the platform on which your blog runs. When you log into the admin panel of your site you are accessing the WordPress Dashboard.
You install WordPress from your Bluehost account.
4. You Need to Customize
Now, when I said there was a million+ sites that will offer you domains and hosting packages, I was exaggerating. But when it comes to themes, there is probably actually millions. There are plenty of free ones too, so this part doesn’t even necessarily require a purchase.
A theme, in my opinion, is the best part. It is what makes your blog look the way that you want it to. All of the pretty headers, and menus, and layouts, are subject to your theme.
Nearly every blogger I know uses the Genesis Framework, as do I. My child theme was purchased from a designer on Etsy for about $30. You can find designs on Etsy, Google, just about anywhere.
5. You need to discover the next million and one question that you are going to have about WordPress, SEO, Google Analytics, and everything else.
Enjoy! And leave me a link below so I can read your blog too! 🙂
