A Simplified Method On How To Start A WordPress Blog Differently 2022.

Originally posted on September 27, 2021 @ 9:18 pm

Have you ever thought on how to make a WordPress blog the right way? Well to create a WordPress blog can be intimidating, especially when you are not a web designer.

In this post today, I will guide you through the whole process on how to make a blog on WordPress.

I have helped many beginners on the steps to start a blog.

This best WordPress Blog guide is comprehensively written to guide everyone who wants to start blogging using WordPress platform and without any programming or coding skills.

I have made it possible for anyone, irrespective of the age.

Requirements on How to Make a WordPress Blog

For you to create a WordPress blog, you need three things:

• Your unique domain name (this will be the name of your blog i.e. yourdomain.com)
• A web hosting service provider (this is the service that helps your website go live on the internet)
• A WordPress Blog themes (Recommended: StudioPress themes)

These three things are the most important, to get you started.

Let us get started with the six steps.

Step 1. Choosing The Right Platform for Setup

For most beginners who wants to start building a WordPress blog, they are victims of choosing the wrong blogging platform.

Better for you friend, I know with this guide you would not make such mistake. For most WordPress users, it is most benefitting to make a WordPress blog on the self-hosted one (WordPress.org)

Against the free WordPress platform (WordPress.com). This is the reasons

WordPress.org is:

1. Free to use.
2. You can install plugins.
3. You can customize your blog design.
4. You can make money from your blog without any boundaries.

35% of most blogs and websites on the web use the WordPress, this makes the WordPress the number one website platform for most successful bloggers.

Quick Reminder: WordPress is free. Yes, it is free. Because you need to set it up and host it yourself.

6 vital facts about WordPress:

1. It is an open source.
2. It is free.
3. It is the most important self-help way out for website building.
4. It is a multipurpose platform – it can run any type of website.
5. It is optimized, fast, and secure.
6. It is built for SEO – making your visibility easy.

Now that you have chosen the right WordPress platform, what next now is to choose your domain name.

Choosing Your WordPress Blog domain name

Choosing the right domain name is the first step to make a blog on WordPress. The name you choose must be clear and easy to understand. Make sure you choose a name associated with your niche.

Moreover, if you do not know what niche to blog or you are confused on how to go about it.

I have a comprehensive post on the 10 best niches to blog and make money online.

Therefore, after knowing your niche, you can carve out your blog name base on your niche. An expression that is associated with the niche you are in.

For instance, I use my domain name (marketingblogo.com) from what I intended to do.

Alternative, you can use you name as your domain name (neilpatel.com).

Tips To Choosing A Perfect Domain Name And Web Host For Your WordPress Blog

No matter what name you choose, be it yourname.com or domainname.com.

Make sure to follow these tips.

1. Make it easy – Make it easy for people to find you on the internet.
2. Let it Communicate – Do not use complicated spellings, or creative misspellings.
3. Make it short – Let your characters be less disturbing for user.
4. Try to use niche-related keywords – For example, if your WordPress blog has something to do with business, it will be nice to have “business” included in the domain name; it works the same in non-business industries as well.

In addition to the above-mentioned tips;

1. Make sure your blog domain name is unique – It should be discerning to the user and Google!
2. Do not use numbers and hyphens – Adding these parameters will confuse people, and makes it difficult to put in plain words your domain to others.

Ensure to use domain name extension such as .com, .net or .org if your goal is international visitors.

Moreover, use a domain name extension such as .de, .fr, .ng, uk or .ru If you want a country-targeted visitor.

Using a Web Host for Your WordPress Blog

There are different companies on online that you can register a new domain name and hosting package.

Nevertheless, let us not complicate things for ourselves by buying domain name and hosting from two different companies.

Let us get everything done in one place; this is why I recommend Bluehost.

This is my reasons for recommendations:

• Bluehost is a highly regarded web host company and highly optimized by WordPress.
• It is one of the three companies recommended on the official WordPress.org website
• It is cost effective for every beginner (from $2.95/month)
• It is easy to navigate and has a beginner-friendly features
• You get a free domain name whenever you buy any of their hosting package

Let us get started – this is how to get a web host for your WordPress blog

This is a systematic guide.

First, click here to go to Bluehost’s homepage.

Here we are on the page, click on the “Choose Plan” button.

Pick up the Basic plan – this is going to be enough. It is only $2.95/month.

Then enter the domain name that you have made up your mind to use for your WordPress blog:

After that, make available your personal details:

Confirm the details you have provided for the hosting setup that you have chosen.

This is located beneath the section of your chosen hosting package:

Reminder; you will only get lowest price if you purchase your hosting package for at least 36 months.

Now that you have gotten here, click the SUBMIT and conclude your purchase.

Step 2. Installing the WordPress Software for your Blog

Follow these steps to install your WordPress for your WordPress blog.

First step is to log in to your Bluehost account with your credentials

Then click on “My Sites”

Locate “Create Site” and click on the button

Make available some basic information about your site, after which the WordPress installation will start.

This installation is autopilot.

After this is completed, Bluehost will display you the installation and login details.

Make sure to save this information anywhere safe.

Just as WordPress is setup, then you are set to customize your WordPress blog and make the appearance your own and begin blogging.

Step 3. Selecting Your WordPress Theme

Your theme is the skin that covers your WordPress software (skeleton) and makes the appearance of your blog beautiful.

Therefore, after your WordPress’s installation, your first blog theme looks something like this:

Default WordPress theme

For most beginners, it is not appealing

There are tens of hundreds of WordPress’s pre-made themes provided for every blogger to install.

Some of them are free themes, while others are paid.

I will recommend you using either of these premium themes from StudioPress, Themeisle and ThemeForest.

You can modify your theme by going to your WordPress dashboard, then click on Appearance » Themes.

Add new WordPress theme

Go ahead and click on the Add New button.

On this part, you will able to find about 7,000+ free WordPress themes that are available in the WordPress.org themes directory.

You have the categories – popular, latest and featured where you can sort,

As well as other feature filters (i.e. industry, layout, etc.).

Select a theme

Hover through any theme of your choice, and click on Preview button

To see how the design will look on your WordPress blog.

Preview theme

This is what you should look for in any theme – Minimal Design, Colors, Typography, and other elements.

Make simplicity in design your excellent WordPress theme criteria.

This will help you maintain a clean, clear and good users’ experience.

If you have seen a theme you like, click and install it.

Then activate your theme.

Immediately you have installed and activated your theme, the next thing is to customize it to your taste

This can be done by clicking on the Customize link under the Appearance menu.

If you need help selecting a theme, I have a detailed guide on things you should consider and how to customize your WordPress theme.

Now that you are done with the selection of your WordPress blog theme,

It is time to install and customize the appropriate plugins

Step 4. Installation and Customization Of WordPress Plugins

Before you write your first blog post, you need to add some essential plugins on your website.

Plugins such as contact forms, MonsterInsights, RathMath SEO, newsletter subscription form and Social shares are very essential to make your blog on WordPress go viral etc.

These plugins will help you make your blogging on WordPress easy.

WordPress plugins are software that help you to insert new features to your blog on WordPress without the need of programming skills

The WordPress plugin directory is having about 55,400+ WordPress plugins available for bloggers.

Therefore, there is no limit to what you can achieve with these plugins.

Create a Contact Form in WordPress for Your Blog

Congratulations that we have come this far.

Let us make contact form for your WordPress blog.

One basic feature of every WordPress blog is a contact form. This form allows your users to contact you through email directly. For you to create one, you need a WordPress form builder plugin to make and add a contact form on your WordPress blog.

For an awesome contact form builder, I recommend you use the WPForms Lite plugin.

This is the same form I am using a this blog’s about and contact page

This is a free version of the popular WPForms plugin, and the best contact form plugins for WordPress.

An alternative to this is the Ninja Plugin.

WPForms has 3 000 000+ users

Start your installation by going to Plugins » Add New page and typing WPForms in the search box.

After that, you need to click “Install” and then “Activate”.

After activation, quickly head to WPForms » Add New page to create your first form.

Adding a new contact form in WordPress

This will open the WPForms builder interface.

Step 1: Enter a name for your contact form and then click on ‘Simple Contact Form’ template.

A simple contact form will be created for you with all the required fields.

Either of these field to changeable, it also allows you to add a new field from the left column.

When you are through editing the form,

Click the save button at the top right corner and then exit the form builder.

Make a new page in WordPress now by going to Pages » click “Add New” and call it ‘Contact’.

On the edit screen, you need to enter the WPForms block into the editor.

Subsequent to that, pick the form you created earlier from the drop down menu and it will be loaded on a live preview of the form in the editor.

At this moment, you can now save and publish the page you just finish creating. Afterwards, you can visit it in your browser to see your contact form in action.

Now you are through creating a contact form and its page. Let us set-up Google Analytics.

Setting up Google Analytics Tracking for Your WordPress Blog

Google Analytics is a tracking plugin by Google. This plugin helps you see and track how many people are visiting your blog, their location and what are their activities on your website.

Google Analytics is best to install on your WordPress blog when making it, so you can see the growth of your WordPress blog.

Let us get started;

To start with, sign up using your Gmail account for a free account on Google Analytics website

Google Analytics sign up

Provide your information and website URL into the appropriate field. After that, a tracking code will be assigned to your WordPress blog by Google Analytics.

Now that you have gotten your Google analytic tracking code: It is time to go back to your WordPress admin area to install and activate the site kits plugin by Google.

This is the best free Google Analytics plugin for WordPress; this plugin helps you add Google Analytics, Search console, AdSense and PageSpeed on your site with ease.

2 million websites on the internet trust this plugin, so it is the best for you.

After installation and activation,

Go fast to Insights » then to » Settings page to configure the plugin settings.

Connect Google Analytics using Google Kits

On the settings page, click ‘Connect’ button to connect Google Analytics to your WordPress blog.

Complete the setup by following the on-screen instructions.

After that, your blog analytics report will start displaying straight from your WordPress dashboard under the MonsterInsights tab.

Website stats reports in MonsterInsights

Step 5. Create Your First Blog Post

This section is most delicate part of any WordPress blog.

Blog post is the key to becoming a successful blogger, without quality content on your blog on WordPress, visitors will not value it.

I have written ways to write a great content for your blog and the proven ways to promote you content

This will help you create quality and SEO kind of content.

To get started, click on the Posts » Add New menu in your WordPress dashboard.

An editor area will show up; this is where you will start writing your first blog post.

Block-based editor is the new technology deployed by WordPress where each element is a block.

With this new block-base editor, you can make beautiful content layouts for your WordPress blog posts.

After writing, ensure your post is grammatically free and check it using Copyscape for duplicate content.

Locate the Publish button on the top-right corner of the editor and click on it to make your WordPress blog post publicly available.

Publish blog post

Beneath the post bar, you have other sections like Categories and Tags. Use this categories and tags section to classify your blog posts into sections.

Step 6. Optimize Your Blog on WordPress for SEO

Our next discussion on this post is how to make a blog on WordPress optimized for SEO. Most mistake new bloggers do is not to optimize for SEO when starting a WordPress blog.

SEO is an acronym for search engine optimization; it helps visitors discover your WordPress blog in google search engines.

Optimizing your blog for SEO from the beginning help in driving more to your blog.

I have a comprehensive and detailed post on 10 proven ways to boost your website search engine visibility.

Let us get started; to begin with, install and activate the RathMath SEO plugin. This is the complete WordPress SEO plugin that will help you optimize your blog.

A good alternative is the Yoast SEO plugin.

Immediately after activation, new menu item labeled ‘SEO’ will show up.

Click on it to take you to the plugin’s settings page.

RathMath SEO settings

Follow the plugin’s quick configuration wizard to the set up your WordPress blog for SEO.

Other plugins I recommend are;

Backup – UpdraftPlus: This is the WordPress’ most excellent backup plugin. You should always create backups of your WordPress blog in case something ever goes wrong.

Security – Sucuri: This is WordPress free Security scanner for your WordPress blog.

Step 7. Proven Tactic to Monetize and Money from Your Blog

Wow! It awesome that we have arrived here.

Moreover, this is part most bloggers love to engage in, because making money online is the key in recent times.

Now that you have created your WordPress blog and customized it to your taste, let me show you tips to make money from your newly created blog.

There are many different ways to monetize and make money from your blog.

Quick reminder:  Let no one deceive you that there is a get rich quick scheme.

Do not be bamboozled by the galleries of expensive cars and mansions because they are all fake.

I have created a well-detailed guide on how to monetize and make money from your blog.

Make Money Online Blogging with WordPress

Remember, there are no shortcuts to making money online.

Ensure to employ commitment and passion as you run your WordPress blog. In a short while, you will earn thousands of dollars from you blog and make a living.

Some of The Proven Ways to Make Money from Your Blog.

1. Google AdSense

Google AdSense

Google AdSense is the best advertising platform on the internet platform for bloggers and publishers.

It acts as an intermediary between bloggers and advertiser.

Google permit advertisers to bid for keywords relating to your content. Helping you get the best rates for the ads on your blog.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate Marketing

The second most common way to earn from your WordPress blog is Affiliate marketing.

Affiliate marketing is a form of online marketing where you are being paid a commissions for directing traffic or sales to an online retailer.

You can start earning money immediately from your WordPress blog

By promoting all kinds of companies’ products, services and promotional offers online.

The key factor in running affiliate marketing is to recommend high-quality products and services that you before now have used and you trust.

There are plenty of affiliate marketing programs you can.

These programs will help you make more money when promoting their products.

I have a complete step by step on affiliate marketing for beginners, that will help you get started.

3. Online Store

Another way to make money from your blog is adding an online store to your WordPress blog.

You can start selling digital product directly from you blog. As a lot of bloggers make money online doing same. You can start selling physical products; digital downloads like eBooks, artwork, music, and more.

WooCommerce is the best ecommerce plugin for WordPress. So I recommend it for every f my readers.

This is also the most commonly used ecommerce plugin on the web. There is no limit to what you can do with your WordPress while blogging with it.

Your blog can be specifically for reviews, food blogging with recipes, fashion blogging and many more.

Every blog niche has its own ways of making money online.

If you don’t know what blogging niche is start with, these blog niche ideas can help you get started.

Final Take on How to Start a WordPress Blog

At last you have just learned how to make a blog on WordPress and make money blogging.

From the above guide, you can see that you do not need to hire anyone to create a blog using WordPress for you.

This is a DIY (Do It Yourself) guide. Creating and starting a blog WordPress as your platform is the most budget-friendly solution available online.

If you have any questions about how to you can create a website from scratch, feel free to ask in the comments below.

If this guide helped you, please share on twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn.

He is Digital Marketer who is passionate about blogging. MarketingBlogo was birth has a result of misconceptions about the reality of online marketing for business growth.