How to Set Up a WordPress Blog (Quick and Easy)
WordPress is the most flexible and most-used blogging platform on the planet today. It’s used by more than 478 million websites, and powers roughly 44% of all sites on the entire internet.
Best of all, Google absolutely loves this platform. So it’s by far the best CMS for blogging, especially if you want your content to be SEO-friendly.
But for such a popular platform, getting your WordPress blog up and running can be intimidating for new bloggers. It’s not quite as user-friendly out of the box as basic website builders where you get everything under one roof.
To simplify things, I put together this easy-to-follow guide that will walk you through everything you need to set up your WordPress blog.
WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org
Let’s get this out of the way quickly, as it can be confusing for those who don’t know the difference.
WordPress.com includes managed hosting from WordPress. You pick a plan, and have what you need to get started from the jump. While this may sound simple, I actually don’t recommend it.
Instead, use WordPress.org. It’s a free and open source CMS that requires an extra step to get started (getting your hosting from a third party) but provides so much more flexibility and control for you down the road.
The Only 2 Things You Actually Need to Set Up a WordPress Blog
You can sort out all of the minor details, pages, and customization options at any point. But there are two non-negotiables that you need to get immediately before your blog can exist on the web:
- Web hosting
- Domain name
I’ll show you how to get each of these below, including a shortcut to get both of them at the same time.
Web Hosting
All websites are hosted on servers. Without hosting, people wouldn’t be able to navigate to your website. It simply wouldn’t exist as a live site on the internet.
Hosting comes in all different shapes and sizes, with varying prices and features depending on the provider you choose. Speaking of which, there are more than 330,000 web hosting providers out there.
For brand new WordPress blogs, keep it simple. Just go with a basic shared hosting plan. It will be cheap, and you can always upgrade down the road as your traffic increases.
I use WP Engine to host my site. I like it because they offer managed WordPress hosting, and they have plans to support sites of all sizes. But other solid options include Bluehost, Hostinger, HostGator, SiteGround, and Kinsta.
Domain Name
Your domain name is the address where people find you on the web. Rather than having to remember a unique IP address (which is a random string of 32-bit numbers), we use domain names as a shortcut. Apple.com, Nike.com, Forbes.com, McDougallInteractive.com…these are all domain names.
Invest a few dollars in purchasing your own domain name. If you put up a free WordPress blog, your blog will be located at http://yourwebsitename.wordpress.com, which is less powerful for SEO results, less memorable, less brand-able, and less secure. Domains are very inexpensive, so purchase one and buy a hosting package for it if you are not already setting up the blog as part of your existing site.
If you have a domain that you really like, grab it ASAP while it’s still available. You can purchase it through a domain registrar like GoDaddy, Domain.com, or Namecheap (amongst thousands of other options)
How to Get Web Hosting and a Domain Name Together
Most of the best web hosts will give you the option to purchase a domain name when you’re signing up for hosting services. In many cases, they’ll even give you the first year of registration for free.
While the renewal rate of your domain might be slightly more expensive than going directly to a registrar, those few extra dollars can be well worth it for the simplicity.
For example, if I go to Bluehost and select one of their shared hosting plans to sign up for, the very first thing I’ll be prompted to do is set up a domain name.
While the exact steps and look will vary slightly depending on the hosting provider you choose, this will almost always be an option.
So rather than having to manage your web hosting account with one provider and your domain name separately, you can get everything you need under one roof and through a single checkout flow.
Next, Install WordPress
Once you’ve secured hosting plan and a domain, you need to install WordPress.
Your web hosting provider will likely have a “one-click install” option for WordPress. If not, do a search for “WordPress manual install” and find directions, or contact your web hosting provider for further assistance. They may be able to install it on their end. But most major web hosting providers offer you the option to install WordPress with just a few clicks.
If you go with a WordPress-specific hosting plan, WordPress might even come pre-installed.
Either way, this is a super quick step that takes minimal effort on your part. You can always reach out to your web host’s support team for assistance, and they may even handle it on your behalf.
Now You Can Set Everything Else Up
By now, your WordPress blog can go live on the web and start getting actual visitors. But you’ll still want to set up the rest of your site so it looks good and professional.
The timeline for this is totally up to you. It’s pretty easy to add and customize things whenever you want, so don’t let this stop you from blogging.
Admin Settings
Once WordPress is installed, you need to set it up and add all the details. Under the “Administration” section, start going through each page. Flesh out your profile and your details. Under the “General” page, add a tagline for your site and other general site information. The “Writing” and “Reading” sections will help you customize how your readers navigate and read your content, and how you will be creating it. The “Discussion” page then gives you the options for handling comments, and whether or not you want them at all.
Web Pages
How do you want your WordPress blog to look? Common pages include:
- Home
- Blog
- About Us
- Services
- Pricing
- Contact
- Meet Our Team
You get the idea. But if it’s just a blog, don’t worry about everything else right now. Just make sure you have a basic homepage and a separate page for your blogs.
WordPress Theme
Once you have a few pages of content created, and posts written and published, go to “Appearance” and play around with different themes for your site. You can also search for and install other ones. If you search for “free WordPress themes” you can find even more that you may like. It’s important to have some content and pages created first so that you can see how your content will be viewed in the theme.
Alternatively, have a web designer create a blog “look” that harmonizes with your company branding and existing website. Famous premium themes (meaning you pay to use them) that are great for SEO and are very flexible include Thesis and Genesis.
Plug-Ins
Check for plug-ins, which are extensions to your WordPress installation that can offer additional functionality, like built-in contact forms. They install in the same manner as themes do, and you can search the web for useful plug-ins.
Look for plug-ins that integrate seamlessly with Facebook and Twitter especially, and start moving your content around by simple sharing options. Yoast.com is a great source for SEO plug-ins. “Social” by MailChimp is an awesome plug-in for allowing comments that encourage retweets and Facebook shares. Don’t just install any plug-in you find, however, as they are often a source of security breaches. WP Plugin Security Check on wordpress.org is a good tool that checks plug-ins for bad practices and possible security holes.
Final Thoughts
Setting up a WordPress blog is easier than it sounds.
In reality, you just need to have a web host and domain name. From there, you should be able to install WordPress with a single click.
Customizing the look and feel of your blog isn’t super important early on. I recommend getting up and running as quickly as possible, and you can always tweak that stuff later.
Happy blogging!
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