For those of you hoping to start a WordPress blog, I understand how overwhelming it can be. The flood of information on the internet can send you into overload fairly quick, there are new terms and words to learn and not to mention the technical ins and outs to make everything work and look appealing to visitors.
My goal here is to break it down in a simplified way so you can overcome the hurdle and get your blog up and running right away!
Please note that this post includes affiliate links to Bluehost which means I make a commission if you make a purchase through my links. I only recommend products/services that I personally use and love.
How to Start a WordPress Blog Using Bluehost
Step 1: Select a Hosting Company for Your Blog
Before we can talk about your hosting company, you’ve got to know what hosting is.
Hosting is a necessary component and your blog’s success can depend on the web host you choose; a bad web host results in a bad performance. Hosting is a service provided by a company or vendor that offers a physical location for the storage of your web pages and files. In essence, they rent physical space on their server so that your webpages can be viewed on the internet.
When choosing a host for your blog you want to consider; performance, reliability, affordability and reputation. Bluehost is the number one WordPress recommended hosting provider, here’s why:
- Bluehost’s WordPress install is user friendly and makes it easy to set-up your WordPress blog.
- Great price, affordable. Comes with a money back guarantee
- You get a free domain name for a year
- You get round the clock WordPress technical support
Bluehost is the hosting company I use both for this site and for Painted Teacup.
Now that we’ve covered why you should go with Bluehost, I’ll walk you through How to Start a WordPress Blog Using Bluehost.
Step 2: Get Bluehost (with Free Domain)
- Go to Blue Host Sign-Up, it’s a promo link. Use this link and you’ll get a discounted rate for the service. Click on the ‘Get Started Now’ button.
2. On the next sign up page you’ll need to select a plan; Starter, Plus or Business Pro. Personally, I recommend the Plus plan over the Starter plan; the Plus plan offers the free domain, free marketing coupons and you can add up to 10 websites. It’s definitely the best value. However, if you’re looking for a cheaper alternative and only looking to add one blog the Starter plan will do (you can always upgrade your plan later).
3. Choose a domain name or add in an existing domain name, enter your account information and choose an account plan (36-Month is the best value). You can uncheck the other available options such as SiteLock, Search Engine Jumpstart etc. You won’t need those to get your WordPress blog started. Complete your payment and then you’re ready to set up your blog.
Step 3: Install WordPress on Bluehost
Bluehost makes set-up super easy with their One Click WordPress installation. In just a few minutes, you’re blog will be set-up and you’ll be ready to share your first post.
- Login to Bluehost and go to your Control Panel (aka CPanel). From the CPanel scroll down until you get to the Install WordPress icon, click on it and select Install.
2. Enter the domain name (it might provide you with a drop down menu, if so select your domain) where you’d like to install WordPress. You have the option of choosing with or without WWW, I suggest using the standard WWW format.
3. When everything is ready to go it will ask you to install WordPress. Check ‘Show Advanced options’ and enter the Site Name, Admin username and password before clicking on ‘Install Now’.
4. Check the box that says “Automatically create a new database for this installation”; this will ensure you get a clean install. Click on “Install Now”
5. It will start to install WordPress on your server. DO NOT close the page until it tells you “your install is complete”.
6. An email will be sent to your email address with login information for your WordPress dashboard.
Step 4: Start Blogging
Once WordPress is installed your blog is ready for you to start using. To enhance your blog here are some features to know:
- Adjust the look and feel of your blog by adding a Theme. To do this go to appearance on the left sidebar and then click themes; Appearance>Themes. There are free and paid themes to choose from.
Click on Appearance and Widgets to add information or to add items to your header, footer or sidebar.
Create a post by clicking on the “Posts” button and selecting “Add New”. You can save as a draft to continue working or choose Publish when ready to post.
Use the “Add Media” button to add pictures to your WordPress blog post.
Hopefully, this tutorial helped you start a WordPress blog with Bluehost If you need any help or have questions, feel free to comment below and I’ll see what I can do to help. Welcome to the blogger world!
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