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If you’re ready to start a blog of your own, on an amazing platform, at an amazing price, then you’re in the right place.

In this post we’ll be going over:

• Picking out a domain name
• Purchasing reliable, affordable hosting
• Installing WordPress
• Where to find a theme
• And how to monetize your blog!

Let’s get into the steps! 🙂

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase from one of the links below I’ll receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting this blog! 🙂

1. Pick out a domain name for your blog

The key to getting this part right is first deciding what you’re going to be writing about.

Fashion? Maybe include closet, clothing or fashion in your website name.

Food? Maybe something with recipes, diet, or the name of a food/spice.

Essentially, you want the name of your blog to embody what you’re going to be writing about. So if you plan on writing about many different topics, it would be totally fine for your blog name to be more general. You can also use your full name for your blog domain.

Once you’ve picked out a name for your blog, it’s time to see if it’s available and put in about $10 to purchase it. I personally love NameCheap and use them for my domain names. Their customer support is helpful and their site is by far one of the most intuitive for me to use.

***If you’re going to be using the hosting company I mention in the next step, you can get your domain name for FREE when you purchase a hosting plan.***

2. Choose a Hosting Plan

Now that you have a name for your blog, it’s time to purchase hosting. Personally, I use and love SiteGround. It’s one of the top hosting companies around right now and is known for having incredibly helpful customer support. SiteGround also comes highly recommended from bloggers like Mommy On Purpose and The Beautified Life, just to name a few.

What are the perks of hosting with SiteGround?

• Your new site will load FAST and be able to handle more traffic than if you were to go with another hosting company. Which is great because having a speedy site is crucial to keeping readers on your blog. In the graphic below, you’ll see that on average it takes just about 2 seconds for a blog to load when it’s hosted with SiteGround, while a blog hosted with another popular hosting company can take up to 8 seconds.

• Your blog will receive protection against hackers, so you can rest easy at night knowing that SiteGround will keep your blog safe.
• You won’t have to wait to get help. You can call, email or live chat with a real person and get your questions answered in a timely fashion.

• They have affordable hosting plans for bloggers of all levels.

Let’s get your blog hosted!

First, you’re going to want to go to SiteGround’s homepage and pick a hosting plan that works for you. I recommend going with the StartUp plan and then upgrading as your blog grows.

After you’ve chosen you’re hosting plan and clicked Get Started, you’re going to type out the domain name you chose in step 1 and click Proceed.

Now you’re going to review your plan + hosting details and purchase your hosting. Super simple, right? Now it’s time to install WordPress.

3. Install WordPress

WordPress is the platform you’ll be using to write content for your blog, as well as handle the backend of your new blog. You’ll be able to download a theme, upload photos and download helpful plugins all within your WordPress dashboard.

How To Install WordPress on your blog

Log onto your SiteGround hosting account and click on My Accounts tab. And then click Go to cPanel.

Once you’re in the cPanel, you’re going to click WordPress under the AutoInstallers tab.

From here, you’re going to click Install Now and proceed to enter in a few details about your site. Like whether or not you want the ‘www’ to appear at the beginning of your domain name. You’re also going to be setting your WordPress admin username and password. You’ll be using these every time you log into your WordPress account so be sure to write them down and keep them safe.

And voila! Your blog is live and ready to go!

4. Purchase & Download a Theme

Here are a few of my favorite sites to look for blog themes:

• Restored316
• AngieMakes
• CreativeMarket
• Etsy

You can also browse through the Appearance section of your WordPress dashboard for a free theme. But they won’t have much functionality and can take a bit of work to make look like the demo.

5. Blog Monetization Ideas

1. Ads: A couple of ways you can start posting ads on your site is by joining Adsense, Media.Net or Sovrn. They all are really easy to set up and once you’ve joined a program you can start placing ads on your blog within seconds. In my experience, this is the easiest and most passive way to start monetizing your blog.

2. Affiliate marketing: Once you’ve tried a few products or services that you think your audience could really benefit from, start sharing the deets with your readers! Write reviews, how-to’s and share your favorite products with your audience via affiliate links. Just be sure to let your audience know that you’re using affiliate links.

3. Sponsored posts: After you’ve started growing your blog’s traffic and have a solid reader base, join networks like IZEA to scout sponsored post opportunities. IZEA helps brands connect with you and view your stats to see if they’d like to work together. Once you’ve landed a deal, you’ll typically test out a product or write about your experience with the brand’s service in exchange for compensation.

4. Create a product: Do you have a cookbook in you? Or maybe some awesome travel advice for people looking to save money? Get paid to share your knowledge by selling an ebook, guide or course to your readers. The key here is to make sure that your content is helpful, actionable, something your audience is curious about, and priced at something they can afford.

Final Thoughts

Following the steps listed above, you should have your new blog up set up, congratulations! You’ve just taken on a new page and entered into the world of online blogging.

It can be very rewarding and with hard work can make you a part or even full-time income! Bloggers who are making a living from their blogs include Mommy On Purpose, Melyssa Griffin and House of Brazen, just to name a few.

What did you end up naming your new blog? I’d love to know in the comments. 🙂