About two years ago, I looked EVERYWHERE for information on how to start a blog & it took a while to get everything together and going. So, I wanted to share not only how to start a blog but also things I wish I knew when I first started. I have a in-depth blog post that focuses more on running social media platforms and blogs here that I would recommend to read after this or after you have all of your basics set up!

Related Post: Social Media Guide

How To Start A Blog

Step #1.) Choose a name.

First things first, you need a name. You literally can’t do any of the other steps before you have a name. Your name should be something that will be easy to remember. You can name your blog after your name or do something catchy or maybe include what it will be about.

For example, my full name is Linda Anna Maria Fipe Penitusi (YUP) so obviously, I wasn’t going to use my full name and I also didn’t want to use my last name because it’s a Samoan last name so it’s uncommon & people would have troubles finding my page. My first blog name was XO and all of my initials so it was xolamfp (shout out to anyone reading this who’s been following me this long & remembers that!) & I honestly chose that because I couldn’t think of anything else I wanted to name my blog & the one catchy blog name I liked was already taken. So I just went with that one because I knew no one would have it and I had a email with the same initials, but it just looks like scrambled letters. & I think I changed it within a month to LA Plans & I LOVE the name. Although, I knew my blog was going to be a Lifestyle Blog, but I still wanted Plans in my name because my blog started as a planner page, I was still going to do planner posts and I love how it sounds like “plans for when you’re in LA” so it was more memorable. The “LA” in “LA Plans” combined my first two initials because I go by either Linda or Anna (Fun fact: more people actually call me Anna than Linda). So I found something that correlated with my name and also mentioned one major part of my blog (planning).

I also recommend that you check ALL platforms and a domain registrar to see if your name is taken. A marketing best practice is to have your user name the same on every platform to make it easier to find all of your channels. For example, my blog is LA Plans, my domain is laplans.co, and then all of my social media handles are @laplans.

Step #2.) Plan it out.

Before you begin the full set up process, it’s important to have your basics figured out because it will save you time. So make sure that you determine your niche (what you’re going to post about) and then think of the content that you want to create (maybe decide what your first few blog posts will be), what kind of photos you are going to take, etc. & then build from there. Look around for different blog themes (your website layout), plug ins (features/add ons) you would like to use, & take a few initial photos. This will REALLY help in the next step but also give you a feel for the content you are going to create.

Step #3.) Buy your domain name.

Having your own blog/website is very inexpensive & I highly recommend to purchase a domain name for legitimacy.

I purchased my domain name through Google Domains. My Google Domain is $30/year but that’s because I have “.co” (at the time .com was taken & I don’t want to change it now) but otherwise it would be $9 or $12/year.

Step #4.) Choose your blogging platform.

So there are two main blogging platforms: WordPress & Blogger. Blogger is definitely easier to use but WordPress is more commonly used and more customizable.

Blogger is hosted by Google. It’s simple & easy to set up. Blogger is also the cheaper option. All you need is a gmail account & you can sign up to start blogging on Blogger.
WordPress is a bit more complicated. There’s wordpress.com and wordpress.org. WordPress.com is a simple version of WordPress and easy to use but your domain would be username.wordpress.com and you will have ads on your page. WordPress.org is what you would want to set up because it will allow you have your own domain name & has the customization options. However, you will need to purchase a hosting plan in addition to a domain name.

I actually started my blog on Blogger because it was very simple to purchase my domain name through Google and then set up my Blogger account. I switched to WordPress about 6 months later. Part of the reason I switched was also because I was still in school for Marketing and wanted to learn how to use WordPress because it’s used by most companies. I also loved all of the different plug in options. I use Bluehost as my host & it is very easy to use. Bluehost also has WordPress integrated and what they call a “one click WordPress install” so it easy to navigate to your WordPress from Bluehost. Bluehost is also very affordable, they have different plans ranging from 1 to 3 years. I selected a 3 year plan for $106.20 ($2.95/month) because it wasn’t that big of price difference. As of right now, they have an offer where you can get your domain name free for one year when you sign up for hosting.

If you go to the Bluehost website then hoover over WordPress, click WordPress Hosting or click here, and I would recommend the Basic Plan because it’s all you really need.

If you’re still trying to determine which to use, this is where I mentioned in Step 2 to look for a theme and potential plug ins that you would want to use because it could help with your overall decision. I LOVE Empress Themes & all of their plug in options. They also have set up guides and help guides. Also, I HIGHLY recommend making sure that whatever theme you use has support or guides especially if you’re new to WordPress because you will need them.

Once you select which one you want to use then you will set up your domain with your host.

Step #4.) Design.

After you’ve set up the back end then it’s time to set up the front end and finally design your blog! You can set up blog your theme & start creating different pages. I would recommend setting up these first:

About Page: A brief introduction of who you are and what your blogs purpose is.
Contact Page: So that people know how they can contact you.
Sidebar: Make sure that you have your different categories and popular posts on your side bar and that they are easy to find. It’s also nice to have a photo or a logo (if you have one) with a brief excerpt about your blog.

Also make sure:

That you link all of your social media profiles.
Have a colour scheme that reflects you and the content that you want to create.
That everything is easy to navigate and easy to find.

Step #5.) Write!

Now that everything is set up, it’s time to write your first blog post! It’s best practice to have an introductory blog post (similar to an about me) for your post with a sample of the content that will be on your blog. But it’s YOUR blog, DO WHAT YOU WANT & just continue to write and prep your blog posts!

I’d recommend creating a schedule for consistency and to help you! I still stick with my same weekly Sunday blog posts, but I do have other posts for collaborations, special occasions and just because!

Step #6.) Promote Your New Blog.

Now that everything is ready, it’s time to promote your blog! Let your friends & family know about your blog & get social! Use Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, which ever you want to create content on and promote your new blog and first blog post! Also, make sure to use relevant hashtags so that others will find your page.

Congratulations on your new blog!