As we continue this series on blogging…have you read the previous articles on why it’s important to blog? If not take a minute to read these:
Attention Bloggers or those who need to be blogging
4 Tips to Boost your Blogging Creativity
I want to ask you if you have a few tools that will enable you to blog.
Not only enable you to blog, but enable you to make good use of your time and give you some pointers in a direction that will benefit you, especially if you value your time!
The next few blog posts are going to be informative tools that won’t break your bank in order for your to blog quicker, more efficient and to meet your goal of- blogging MORE frequently. BUT we have to start with the basics, with the foundation. The foundation is setting up your blog from the ground up.
If you haven’t SIGNED-UP for the newsletter you’ll want to go do that NOW! It’s off to the left of the blog home page, right under my profile picture…on Tuesday of next week I’ll be sending out a promo code for an upcoming tool I use to blog with. I’ll be discussing Blogstomp and it’s benefits and ease…plus in the newsletter you’ll receive a promo code so you can purchase it at a discount. You don’t want to miss it!!
So lets get started. From Ground ZERO. Some of you maybe able to skip a few steps…others who are JUST starting out need to go in this order!
1- Get a web hosting company. I recommend ” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>Blue Host (and yes this is an affiliate link and I’d say thank you if you used it and signed up). Go step by step to set up your hosting services.
2- Set a domain name. What will your website address be? You can purchase this through ” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener”>BlueHost.
3- Sign up for Wordpress. It’s free. It’s the blogging platform you will want. I started with blogger 7 years ago. It did the job back in the day…but times have changed and 4 years ago I jumped over to Wordpress. No regrets.
If you currently have blogger and are wanting to take your current blog to Wordpress. I HIGHLY recommend contacting Julie with Fabulous Blogging…she’ll save you lots of time, heart aches and headaches. Pay her to do your switch-a-roo and get it done. Jump from Blogger to WordPress.
4- Once you have your hosting company and domain name secured you can then add WordPress to your account. Each hosting company has slightly different steps to adding WordPress but with their help and tutorials you’ll nail it. (Remember youtube can be a great resource for these steps as well!)
5- Install your theme. A Theme is the look and layout or the feel of your blog. Where your header is placed, where pictures are placed where you might have your navigation bar etc. Wordpress comes with free built in themes. If you choose a different theme from an outside source you need to upload it to your hosting account and blog. You can do this through your WordPress dashboard by selecting Appearance–Add New Themes–Upload. You can also upload new themes through your hosting account if you prefer.
Don’t feel overwhelmed…if you are breaking these steps down into a task every couple of days you’ll be all set. Check each off of the list as you move along.
6- Now it’s time to set up your header, footer and sidebars. Making sure the information you want for YOUR blog is there. That it’s cohesive to you and what your blog is about. Once it’ all set you’ve got a blog. Now it will be getting into the nitty gritty!!!! Which will be coming in a future blog post.
Again if you haven’t signed up to receive the newsletter you’ll want to, I’ll be sending out the promo code through the newsletter for a tool called Blogstomp. This tool will NOT break your bank but will save you ENORMOUS amounts of time. I wish I had known about this tool 4 years sooner than when I found it! It’s one tool I can say is worth every penny!
What blogging questions do you have? If I don’t know the answer we’ll find the answer for YOU. Comment below
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