How To Start A Wordpress Blog The Right Way!

Do you want to launch a blog on WordPress but find the entire thing confusing?

If so, you have come to the proper place.

I am going to share with you my ultimate step-by-step guide to not only creating a blog in minutes but creating a lucrative one.

You will be learning the very first steps, every new blogger should complete, which will help you get your blog started and up and running smoothly.

You’ll also soon understand what a self-hosted blog is after you read through this post, and before you follow the basic step-by-step directions to launch one.

But in short, you are probably wondering what a self-hosted blog is, and how you can benefit from having one?

So before you carry on reading, you must know that every blog (in my opinion) needs to be self-hosted to have complete ownership of their blog.

Having a self-hosted blog is a crucial step to starting your blogging journey and is paramount if you want to have FULL control of your blog.

And you’ll soon understand why owning your self-hosted blog is important, before you take the easy step-by-step guide to create one.

Speaking from experience, I know what went wrong when I first began blogging, I made a few crucial mistakes when I chose how to design my site and who to go with, so hopefully, from what I’ve learned, this guide can help steer you in the right direction.

I made the mistakes so you don’t have to, and I was able to adapt my passion from blogging, into a profit stream across a few fundamental avenues.

So I’ll also talk about that with you and tell you why it’s absolutely important that you own a self-hosted WordPress blog in order to do the same.

Are you ready? If so, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to get your first WordPress blog (!!) up and running in a few minutes, so you can develop your new blog into a profitable blog like I did, someday.

Owning a self-hosted blog will be a significant turning stone on your blogging path, and I will walk you through it!

Let’s get started!

How to create a blog in minutes.

My Short Story In A Nutshell!

Before I launched this blog (in September 2018), I worked at a job that I hated, and I mean really hated… I was downright miserable and everyone around me knew it!

I couldn’t stand working for someone else, I would cringe at the thought of working with specific co-workers, AND I always knew that there was something out there that was a better fit for me. In short, I always knew that blogging was for me but it was a long road to get here and I am SO happy to say, I’ve found my true calling as a blogger.

Blogging is creative, fun, very lucrative, and I love it, but part of the journey is taking guides. So in order to OWN the life that you wish to have, I’ll now tell you why blogging was my answer creatively and how to start your own one too!

Here’s Why Blogging Was My Answer!

To be honest, I’ve never really had a job that I’ve enjoyed enough to say otherwise and working from home (in my opinion) definitely beats ANY other job.

And since I always had this inner calling towards creative writing and wanting to help others achieve their goals, I knew deep down that the only way to spark my imagination and give me my daily zest, which I had to do something about it, the answer was simple, I knew I had to start a self-hosted blog!

But, as I said before, It was a long journey to get here.

I tried my hand at blogging back in 2006, 2010, and 2013! Yes, I blogged and then stopped, three times before I came across WordPress.

And since I had no idea how to get those previous websites up and running properly, I failed at blogging on three separate occasions.

I was afraid to invest in certain tools, I was choosing to use free (build your own blog) sites that limited how my blogs looked and operated, and all of those things drove me crazy!

I never started with WordPress, and I was ALWAYS working on the technical side of blogging and that was my biggest regret of all!

Not only that, but I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to write about either, or how to layout my blog posts because I was laser-focused on my site’s design and its functionality. And don’t even get me started on monetizing those old blogs, because I had no clue how to do that back then either.

In short, I took my frustrations out on myself, thinking that I wasn’t cut out for blogging, and quit. Can you believe that?

I actually thought that blogging wasn’t for me, and with the limited information that was out there at those times, I became very confused and irritated with the whole darn journey.

Back then the resources (like this guide) were very limited, and I could only WISH to have the guides and mentors that are available today (for free) that are online.

C’est la vie (that’s life!), and since you know that I’ve made critical mistakes when I first started and that every successful blogger has taken a blogging guide (like the one at the end of this post), know that…

I’ve been in your shoes and I know how you feel!

I want you to know that I’ve been there, I know what it feels like to feel lost and confused when starting out on a new path. It’s a terrible feeling to feel lost and have no direction but you know what?! Ii I knew that I could do better, I KNOW that you can do better too!

I now make money, EVERY SINGLE DAY, because I took a blogging guide that outlined how to OWN my blog! I now make money on weekends, birthdays, vacations, and not a single day goes by where I don’t get paid.

And I want that for you!

(*on Dec 17th, 2019, I made $560 USD in ONE DAY! It’s real money, and it’s growing steadily, and you can do the same!)

Now another reason why owning your blog is paramount, for the success that you will create, is that you’ll be able to monetize your blog.

I make money off of two fundamental avenues, which are display advertisements (Mediavine, which I’ll explain further down below), and I also make money off of affiliate marketing and why you need to start a blog with WordPress for that (also explained further below).

I’ll also quickly tell you why you need a WordPress blog for these two profit streams, and then I’ll leave it in your hands to decide if blogging really is for you.

And if you wish to skip the guide and would like to start a blog right now, this minute? You can get hosting for so cheap but only through my special link right here.

Why Having Full Control Over Your Blog is Important.

Okay, now we are going to talk about money! Because when it comes to blogging and helping others online, we all would like to make a little or a lot of money for all the hard work that we do.

So here is the first reason why you need to be self-hosted with WordPress. If you have full control over your blog with being self-hosted, you will be able to monetize your blog down the road!

The big reason for this is that free hosting sites on your blog.

Why free Hosting Sites will Limit You.

Free hosting platforms will really hinder your success.

Free hosting sites like BlogSpot, Blogger, or WordPress free domain, DO NOT, and WILL NOT allow you to monetize your blog if you grow it to a lot of readers and pageviews. Meaning they won’t allow you to place advertising from ad providers or even affiliate links on your blog!

These free blogging platforms, actually own your blog, and they also limit the bandwidth to grow your viewers so if you do happen to grow your readers, and then would like to transfer your blog over to be self-hosted (like you are going to learn today!), you can’t do that either!

That’s because these free blogging sites don’t want you to leave them, and you’ll have to start from scratch with a new theme and insert your already written posts one-by-one. if you decide to not start your blog with a self-hosting provider like Bluehost, from the start.

Why Drag-and-drop build your own sites is worse than WordPress.

If you are considering building your blog with drag and drop blogging platforms, don’t!

Don’t start your blog with build your own drag-and-drop sites and here’s why…

First of all, drag and drop blogging platforms don’t compare to a simple WordPress theme, (that is already designed for you),. plus they will also waste your time!

Second, if you happen to see something on someone else’s blog that you like, say the ‘sharing is caring’ feature. You can’t get that feature with a drag and drop build it platform!

In fact, if you see fun little things all over online that you would like to add to your blog, nope you can’t do that with a build it yourself platform, and that’s because these little features are called plugins, and these plugin’s actually PLUGIN to your WordPress theme and are ONLY compatible with WordPress sites.

My First Mistake When I First Started Blogging Was…

Now my first mistake when I first started blogging was that I chose WIX.

Yes, I started my website with WIX then transferred it over to a WordPress theme on Bluehost.

Since I’ve moved it, I’ve had to put far less emphasis on running the technical side of my site and Bluehost even walked me through the whole process of transferring it over. They are that good!

Also, like I was saying before, being self-hosted allows you to place affiliate links and advertisements on your blog and I would not be where I am now if I didn’t transfer to Bluehost after Wix.

You have to make sure you have total control over your blog.

Because by making sure that you have a total of 100% control over your blog, it gives you free reins to advertise and MONETIZE your blog with whomever company you choose, and also as a bonus you get to design your site exactly how you like it!

You really should learn from me and start the blog of your dreams the right way, instead of wasting your precious time with the technicalities of your site.

All you have to do is invest in a good hosting provider like Bluehost, for under 8 dollars a month (!!) and you can have a sense of relief that your blog will be protected, with also the future possibility of making a passive income from it (!!).

Bottom line, free hosting sites have total control over your blog and, drag and drop build-it sites are not even close to having a WordPress blog (since you get to choose amongst loads of Plugins), and also some blogs have even been known to just disappear with free hosting sites!

I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t imagine having all of my hard work go for nothing. Yikes!

Now I want you to not just take my word for it, but also from other successful bloggers!

Look At The Blogging Greats and you’ll see who they first started their blogs with…

Since you’ve already figured out that owning your blog is vital for success, the next thing you should do is look at the trailblazers, that have already paved the way for you!

Because as much as being self-hosted is so important, that’s not the only reason why I chose Bluehost…

Bluehost was recommended to me by my most favorite bloggers, and that’s the real reason why I chose Bluehost after my Wix debacle!

These are what I call ‘Blogging Greats’ and you’ll notice that they were all Self Hosted with Bluehost when they first started!

I couldn’t resist signing up after the likes of blogger giants like;

Rosemarie Groner (The Busy Budgeter)
Sarah Titus (Sarahtitus.com)
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner (Making Sense of Cents)

ALL of these top three bloggers all give Bluehost such amazing reviews. They all started with Bluehost, and I personally give Bluehost a great review because it was SO reliable for me.

In fact, when my traffic soared and got to 250,000 pageviews a month, Bluehost still held up!

Plus, if these three blog giants are super successful after being with Bluehost and recommending it, following in their footsteps might be a good idea if you ask me 🙂

If you want to skip the guide and start on your own? You can get hosting for less than a cup of coffee, but only through my special link here!

What does the Bluehost company provide?

A hosting company is where you stow all your blog’s memory, pictures, videos and it’s essentially where your visitors go to visit your blog. It’s important to choose the right host, so you still own your blog.

Your WordPress Theme being supported by Bluehost will be the best blogging decision that you will ever make!

If you take the necessary steps today to start the blog of your dreams?

Know that self-hosting is your best chance for survival and success.

So before we start, I know that signing up for new things can be really scary in the beginning.

But I can assure you that my blog (this blog!) was using Bluehost until I reached the level of success to transfer my site and I wouldn’t recommend it to you if I wasn’t absolutely 100% happy with their services.

Don’t WASTE your money paying higher rates when you should be building your blog up to great page views before you even think about transferring your blog to faster servers.

Again, I actually waited until after my blog had 250,000 pageviews a month (which is a lot of traffic) to spend more money with stronger and faster servers!

So Stick with Bluehost as I did. Trust me on this!!!

It’s not worth your money to go with something more expensive since you’re so new and just starting out. Save your money!!

Now, why not bite the bullet and start your blog today!

Discovering all the possibilities is just a simple step by step guide away… and you are here, so that really means something! Just go for it!

TIP: <– Click this link and a new tab or window will open so you can easily follow along on your desktop!

STEP #1. Start by signing up with Bluehost to make it official!

Start by signing up with Bluehost to make it official!

Once you get to Bluehost, click the green ‘get started now’ button.

Step #2. Choose blogs & portfolio.

Step #3. Choose the Basic Plan.

Start by choosing the BASIC plan, which you can only get through my special link here.

The Plus and Prime plans are for when your site gets a lot of traffic, so for now, just choose the basic plan as I did.

Step #4. Choose Your Blog’s Name (URL) and hosting ‘3 years’ in the drop-down box.

Once you sign up for Bluehost, you’ll be asked to create your domain name. This is extremely important because this is your blog’s name!

Your domain name is the identification and the location of your blog & your blog’s domain name is part of your URL.

Example: http://your blog’s name goes here.com.

How exciting!

I highly advise you to pick a name that can be easily remembered, not too long, and something that can be easily typed out on most smartphones.

Also, make sure you secure the name you choose on all the appropriate social media platforms, especially Pinterest!

Step #5. Fill out Package Info with code guard.

When you fill out your package info, make sure that you double-check that your plan is for 36 months and only select the domain privacy protection. Also, after you are done make sure to check out this post where I tell you some FREE plugins that will protect your site. You don’t need anything more than this. This is what I did and it was fine for me!

Step #6. Fill in your billing Info.

Your basic info goes in here. I know it can be scary filling out your personal info online and I can assure you, I was nervous too, but you are in good hands with Bluehost and this guide that you are following along with.

Step #7. Provide Payment Info.

Fill in your credit card information, make sure to click the ‘I have read and agree to Bluehost’s Terms of service’ and then click the green ‘SUBMIT’ button.

Remember, I took these exact steps and I make well over $5,000 a month blogging from home now. You can do it!!

Step #8. Create your secured password.

If you used my links for Bluehost, then WordPress is going to be automatically set up for you. This will make your life so much easier.

First, you’ll just need to set up a password for your account.

You will receive an email confirmation from Bluehost…

Go to your email provider
Confirm your email with Bluehost
Create a strong password that you’ll remember

Step #9. Sign in to your Bluehost account with the password that you created.

Now you can finally sign into your new Bluehost account!

Sign in to your Bluehost account with the password that you created. Fill in your username or domain name and enter the password that you chose. Click the blue ‘submit’ button to enter your Bluehost Cpanel.

Step #10. Install WordPress with the one-click install in Bluehost.

Once you’ve finally signed into your new Bluehost account!

Now that you are in Bluehost you will want to find your c-panel now, which can be found in the “Accounts Tab” so we can install your new WordPress blog.

- In your c-panel, you will see a ‘Website’ TAB, with an ‘INSTALL WORDPRESS’ icon. Select the ‘INSTALL WORDPRESS’ icon and press ENTER.
- Next, you will have to enter your domain ‘site name’ and site info (pretty easy)
- You will then need to find your domain name in the little drop-down menu to click it.
- Click “INSTALL”.

Step #11. Login to your WordPress admin dashboard.

Enter your website domain in the browser with “/wp-admin” at the end. It should look like the above image!

Example… http://www.YOURBLOGSNAME.com/wp-admin

This is what it looks like for me every day I log into my blog!

Step #12. YOU DID IT! You Now Have A Blog, Congrats to you!

That’s it!

Congratulations, you now have your very own blog space that is only reserved for you. Now go start creating great content, you can do it!

How exciting!

If you’ve gotten to the end of this post, you can sign up for Bluehost here, if you haven’t clicked on the sign-up button yet.

Starting a profitable blog may seem daunting at first, but I encourage you to push past the comfort.

I had absolutely no idea how to use WordPress and Bluehost when I started, and that’s why I am so passionate about teaching others what I’ve learned. Start with Bluehost, you won’t regret it!!

Now, if you need any help while you are taking this guide, please do not hesitate to contact me, and I’ll do my best to assist you!

PSST – LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT BLOGGING? MAKE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY RESOURCES PAGE ON WHAT I PERSONALLY USE TO POWER THIS SITE! 🙂

Author: Everything Abode

Welcome to Everything Abode, your daily inspiration for every activity at home!

Our goal is to inspire you to live an elegant and chic lifestyle from the comfort of your home.

We’ll help you express yourself through authentic style, aesthetic beauty, and stylish home decor.

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