Whether you simply want to share your passion, make some additional money, or a little bit of both, starting a blog is an excellent option. Blogging is a great way to share something you care about with the world whether it’s cooking, traveling, saving money, etc. Through blogging, you can connect with other people who share your same interests and potentially make some extra money.
Sounds great, right? However, unless you’re super tech savvy, knowing how and where to start a blog can be pretty confusing.
I would know. Years ago, when I was starting Freebie Finding Mom, the thought of building a blog was pretty intimidating. In fact, words like “domain” and “hosting” were completely foreign to me. I felt like I was in a new world where I didn’t speak the language.
However, by doing research and through trial and error, I eventually figured things out. Believe me, there were plenty of speed bumps along the way, but I persevered and now have a successful blog. And so can you. I promise.
Even if you are tech savvy, when you’re building a blog there are a lot of options to choose from. Figuring out which is right for you is pretty tricky. Hours and hours of research can still yield confusing results. That’s why I decided to offer up these tips to start a blog. Once you read this article, you’ll know how and where to start a blog and get writing!
Ready? Let’s go!
Step 1: Select a Domain Name
“What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare
Before you can figure out where to start a blog, you need to do a little planning.
If you’re reading these tips to start a blog, I’m assuming you already have a blog idea in mind. If not, you’ll want to take a quick break from How and Where to Start a Blog and Get Making Money From Home!and come up with your basic blog idea. Don’t worry, I’ll wait. 🙂
Got it?
Okay, so now that you know what your blog is going to be about, what are you going to call it?
Coming up with a blog name is important in the process of selecting a domain name. Ideally, your blog name will correspond with what your blog is about. In addition, in an ideal world, your blog name will also be your domain name. This is good for branding and consistency.
Tip: Your domain name is your URL. It is the web address someone will use to get to your site.
Be aware that because websites and blogs are so prevalent, there is a chance your preferred domain name will not be available. You can check domain name availability on Bluehost.
Tip:When I started Freebie Finding Mom, I usedBluehostas my hosting provider and I highly recommend them. They’ll even give you a free domain name to help you get set up!
If your preferred domain name is taken, you’ll need to either change the name of your blog or get creative. However, I do not recommend getting too creative. Don’t misspell words, add random characters, or insert numbers to your preferred domain name just to get it. This can be confusing to visitors and hurt you from a search engine optimization standpoint. A good example would be as follows:
Let’s say you wanted to start a body building blog. You want your blog to be called “Body Building”. Unfortunately (but not surprisingly), bodybuilding.com is already taken.
What now? You wouldn’t want to do bodybuilding123.com or possibly misspell “building” just to get the domain. Instead, consider something like bodybuildingblog.com.
For more tips on selecting the perfect domain name check out 12 Rules for Choosing the Right Domain Name.
Selecting a domain name is a super important step because this is part of your blog’s identity. Don’t take this portion of How and Where to Start a Blog and Get Making Money From Home!lightly.
Step 2: Register Your Domain
Now that you’ve picked your URL, the next tip to start a blog is to register your domain. As mentioned above, if you’ll be using Bluehost as your hosting provider, you’ll register your domain name through them. (This will be the easiest and cheapest option.)
I recommend sticking with Bluehost for domain registration since it is free if you use them for hosting! Plus it’ll keep things simple when hooking up your domain and hosting.
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