Blogging is a tried and tested online method of generating a solid stream of passive income. Believe it or not, people have been making thousands of dollars every month just by blogging! All you need to become a blogger is a website, a laptop, an Internet connection, and an unmatched passion for the craft.
But, in our experience, even people that have all the prerequisites of becoming a successful blogger fail because they don’t get their website fundamentals right. Choosing the right hosting partner and website editor is crucial to your blog’s success. This is exactly why we suggest you go for the most popular and recommended duo in the blogger’s community - a WordPress blog with Bluehost hosting!
In this post, we are going to discuss the steps you can follow to create your own free WordPress blog using Bluehost as the website’s hosting partner. So, without any further ado, let’s get started!
Here are the steps you should consider if you are looking to create your WordPress blog using hosting provided by Bluehost. So, just go get your coffee and follow through the process!
All right. The very first thing you need to do is log onto Bluehost’s official website. On the home page, you will probably find this screen -
Do you see the ‘Get Started’ button in the window? Click on it and move to the next page. You will be asked to choose one of the four web hosting plans that are essentially Basic, Plus and Choice Plus.
Since this article is only to guide you through the process of building a blogging website, we recommend you choose the basic plan and move forward.
You have chosen the basic plan and now, on the next window, you will have the option of choosing your own domain. Well, you will have two options. You can find yourself a new domain using Bluehost or go forward with a domain you already purchased on any third-party domain registrar like HostGator or Dreamhost.
Let’s go with creating your domain on Bluehost. Type in the new domain, select the appropriate domain extension and hit Next. Now, choose the period of hosting (12, 24, or 36 months), we recommend the 36 month period since it has the lowest price per month. Put all the required account and payment information, and click submit.
Confirm your package and make the payment before you jump to the WordPress installation part.
By now, you have purchased your Bluehost hosting plan, created your own website domain name, registered your account, and made the payment. Now, it’s time to set up WordPress for your blogging website. WordPress can be installed in many ways on a website. There are hard ways and then there is an easy way. We are going forward with the easy way which is the One-Click WordPress Installer.
So, log in to Bluehost and go to the My Sites tab. There, you will have a Create Site button which upon clicking, will make you enter your website info like Site Name and Site Tagline. You can change this later so just fill in the blanks and move ahead. You will then be asked to enter the website domain name and install a few plugins. We recommend you unselect the plugins. Click on Next and you will have WordPress installed for your blogging website hosted on Bluehost
WordPress has a ton of free themes you can choose from. By theme, we mean how your blog website will look. Just go through them and find the design that resonates with your vibe and personality.
To choose a theme, you can log onto your WordPress website and click on Appearance on the left column. Click on the button that says Add New and you will now be able to choose from the many themes on your screen.
Choosing a theme is important because it will reflect your personality or overall idea of your blog. But, you don’t need to worry about it. You can change how your website looks anytime you want.
There are many premium themes for WordPress as well. If you have a budget, you should definitely go for them as not many websites are using them. It will definitely give your blog site a unique look.
Your WordPress blogging website will function well if you install a few plugins. These cost a very small amount of money but will make a huge difference in how your website performs.
To install WordPress-approved plugins on your blog, you can simply click on Plugins on the left column and click on Add New. We highly recommend you install the following plugins -
● Yoast SEO
● UpdraftPlus
● Akismet Anti-spam
● W3 Total Cache
● Wordfence Security
● WP Forms Lite
● Easy Social Share Buttons
● MonsterInsights
● Jetpack
You can even delete these plugins later on if you think you don’t need them anymore.
Well, that’s pretty much it. Now you can go on to live your dream of working at the Bahamas and enjoy life while you make tons of money from blogging. We highly recommend you keep a close eye on recent blogging trends so that you know what’s working and what’s not. Creating a website is one thing. Maintaining it to perform at its best is another.
Wrapping Up
There you have it. We have shared everything you need to know to build your own blogging website using WordPress and Bluehost. Once you are done with setting up your website, don’t just start writing! Blogging is done right only when you plan out your efforts. Have questions? Feel free to contact us. We’d love to hear from you!