Ultimate Guide to Start a WordPress Blog

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There was a time when you need to know some basic CSS and HTML coding to create a website. Now the things have changed, with the help of CMS (Content management system) software like Joomla, Drupal, and WordPress, you can easily build a self-hosted website or blog yourself within minutes. Yes, minutes!

The best thing about WordPress is, you can build any type of Blog or Website without writing a single line of code. Yes, that easy it is! That’s why everyone is attracted to WordPress. If you’re new to these terms, don’t worry; these things might sound little technical, but actually, it is way too easier than you think.

Beginner’s Guide on How to Start a WordPress Blog

Today, I’ll explain the step-by-step guide on how to start a WordPress blog. Just follow the below steps carefully.

What is WordPress?

WordPress is a CMS (Content Management System) that allows you to create and run any type of website or blog easily. You don’t have to worry about any coding stuff, you can easily customize and design your WordPress site as you like.

Let’s get Started

This guide is about creating a Self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org), not to be confused with WordPress.com. There are many advantages of creating a self-hosted WordPress blog over using a free blog platform like Blogspot.com or WordPress.com. In this guide, I’ll provide step-by-step tutorials for creating and managing a Self-hosted WordPress blog.

How to Get your own Domain Name

A domain name is an important part of your website; it should represent your brand. For example, theblogmetrics.com is my domain name. When a visitor types this domain name on his browser, he’ll find my site. Once you pick your domain name, you need to register it; for this, I suggest you use GoDaddy or NameCheap. While Registering a domain name, it’s important to consider many things, read the below post to know more.

• How to Choose a Blog Name in 2023 and Beyond
• Important Things to Consider While Registering a Domain Name
• 13 Best Domain Registrars to get your Business Online
• I Have Purchased a Domain Name. Now What?

How to get Web Hosting

Once you register your domain name, you’ll need to buy a web hosting space to host your site contents so that people can access your site through the Web. I recommend and use Cloudways for web hosting as they provide quality service at an affordable price. It’s always wise to choose a good quality and reliable web hosting for your website, read the below posts before buying.

• 3 Best Fastest WordPress Hosting I’ve personally used
• 17 Best Managed WordPress Hosting Companies

How to Install WordPress

Once you bought your domain name and hosting, you need to install WordPress software on your hosting cPanel. Many popular Hosting providers offer One-Click WordPress installation, with this you can install WordPress within minutes. Once you install WordPress on your domain, your site will be live.

• How to Install WordPress on Hostgator Web Hosting
• How to Link Godaddy Domain Name with Hostgator Hosting

After Installing WordPress

After Installing WordPress on your domain, there are lots of important things to do like Installing Themes, Security Plugins, SEO plugins, a Logo, a Privacy policy, Disclaimer pages, etc.

• Major things to do after setting up your WordPress blog

Choosing WordPress Themes

There are millions of free themes in the WordPress themes directory, but it’s recommended to use Premium WordPress themes. Premium WordPress themes give more security and stability to your WordPress site.

With Premium WordPress themes, you can convert your blog into any kind of site like; eCommerce, Magazine, Music, Sport, News site, Portfolio, Medical, Photography, Real Estate, Restaurant, etc. You can also use some WYSIWYG Visual Editor WordPress Plugins to design your blog the way you like.

• 17 Best Places to Buy Premium WordPress Themes
• 7 Best SEO-Friendly WordPress Themes

Recommended Premium WordPress Themes Providers:

• GeneratePress
• Astra Theme
• Kadence WP
• Elegant Themes

Installing WordPress Plugins

One of the best things about WordPress is its Plugins. With Plugins, you can add various features and functions to your website without touching any codes. You can find thousands of free plugins from the WordPress Plugin Directory. You just need to Install and Configure the plugins. Here is a list of some Important plugins to Install on your WordPress blog:

• Akismet
• Rank Math SEO
• Broken Link Checker
• Pretty Link Lite (To cloak Affiliate Link)
• W3 Total Cache
• Wordfence Security
• WP Smush.it (To Reduce Image Sizes)

Some Recommended Premium WordPress Plugins if you need extra features:

• Thrive Architect
• Elementor

Securing your WordPress Blog

When it comes to security, WordPress sites are the first choice for hackers. There are many bad guys who constantly try to take down your WordPress site by using automated and manual hacking techniques. So it’s wise to take care of your WordPress Blog’s security. I always recommend you take regular backups of your blog. Here are some posts on WordPress Security.

• Secure Your WordPress Blog With These Security Plugins

WordPress SEO

Even though WordPress is a very good platform for SEO, without SEO plugins it’s incomplete. There are many SEO plugins but WordPress SEO by Yoast is one the best and recommended SEO plugins. If you’re new to terms like SEO; don’t worry. Below are some essential posts on SEO and its Plugins.

• Basic SEO Mistakes to Avoid for Long-Term Success
• How to do SEO for Your WordPress Categories
• 7 Best WordPress Cache Plugins to Improve your Core Web Vitals

Some Blogging Tips and Tutorials

After Setting up your WordPress Blog, you can start publishing your posts or articles immediately. For writing, I use proofreading tools like Grammarly.

If you’re new to blogging and wondering how to start, don’t worry. Here are some blogging tips and tutorials to start your Blogging Journey.

• The Ultimate Guide to Getting Started with Guest Blogging
• Blogging Communities to Promote and Drive Traffic to your Site
• Advanced Keyword Research: Top 5 Tools to Use in 2023

Final Words

Creating a self-hosted WordPress blog is not that difficult, it only takes a few minutes. I hope this guide on how to start a WordPress Blog is helpful. If you found this post useful, consider sharing this post on social networks.