A Quick Beginner Guide to Setting Up WordPress Blog – Part One

So, after reading about and knowing about the monthly income of Harsh Agarwal (CEO of ShoutMeLoud), you must be thinking to start your own blog to earn some money online, right?

But…how and where do you get started? There are thousands of blogs writing such articles, and everyone’s sharing and writing different things. Whom should you listen? Where’s the starting point?

If you are really serious about learning the blogging techniques and know how to set up a WP blog, then you’re at the right place!

I promise you that in this article, I will provide the step by step guideline while enlightening you about the tools and resources that you need to achieve success with your blog.

Luckily, in 2017, setting up a blog in WordPress is easier than any other platform.

It does not require any skills like HTML, CSS and PHP. In fact, it’s as simple as creating a folder in your local system. You just need to follow simple instructions during its installation and setup time.

Over 500 college students have already used my instructions to start their own WordPress blogs after attending my blogging summit in Jaipur. And now I am writing this post to share the same secrets with you without charging even a penny.

Still if you get stuck with anything, feel free to contact me and I’ll help.

The only thing I want from you all is to just promise to let me know if you find this guide useful and that you will share with others to help them out to start their career in blogging.

So, let’s get started!

What do you need to start a WordPress blog?

There are 4 main things you need to start a WordPress blog:

A domain name idea (You can purchase one of the available domains from Namecheap.com or NameSilo.com both are good domain name provider)
A web hosting account (You can choose between shared, cloud or WordPress hosting from SiteGround or BlueHost)
A WordPress package setup (You can download it from wordpress.org)
A beautiful theme (You can buy or design a custom blog theme using StudioPress, Elegant Themes, ElmaStudio, Tesla Themes)

And in this guide, we will talk about:

How to Register a Domain Name
How to Register and Buy Web Hosting
How to Install WordPress Package on Hosting
How to Change and Use Your Theme

Ready? Well, let’s get on with it!

Step I: Register A Domain

Domain name is a web address. For e.g. www.wedigtech.com is my company domain. To have a domain you should register it with a domain registrar, like Namecheap, NameSilo.

If you don’t have a domain, go to any domain provider and enter a new domain name you wish to register. If that domain will be available, you can get it easily by paying one or two-year subscription fee.

Refer the image below to get a clear picture. Note: For the purpose of this guide, I will register a new domain. If you are using an existing domain, the process is mostly the same.

Step -1 On this screen you’ll either choose a brand-new domain and hit the search Button.

Step – 2 If your domain will be available, you just need to add it to your cart and click continue to cart.

Step- 3 In the last step select the subscription plan and pay for your domain name before proceeding to checkout. On the next page, fill in your bank account info.

Note: If for any reason you don’t want to use Namecheap, you can choose another domain registrar like NameSilo.

Step II: Select a Blog Friendly Web Host

What is Web Hosting?

Web Hosting is the form of activity or business to provide storage space and access for blog. Here you can store all the files, images and CSS, JS and content that your blog has. To run your WordPress blog, you have to register for a web hosting space and selecting a hosting provider is one of the most significant decisions that you need to make.

Here’s a simple step-by-step guide for setting up your blog on Bluehost (or any other web host):

Sign up for a new account on Bluehost or any other web hosting provider (SiteGround, WP Engine, Media Temple)
Choose the hosting plan (you can pick the WordPress Hosting or any shared, cloud, Virtual server).
If you don’t have any domain name yet, don’t worry. Web hosting platforms provide it to you free.
Make Payment by providing your contact and billing information.
Use the 1-click install to get WordPress ready.

Let me explain these steps using an example to make it easier for you:

Visit Bluehost.Com and Click The “Get Started Now” Button

Choose The Hosting Plan (You Can Pick the Cheapest One)

After setting up your account and click on get started button Now it’s time to choose your hosting package.

There are three options: Standard, Business and Pro

The standard option is perfect for single blog. The other two aren’t really needed until your blog becomes famous and you will get thousands of visitors on your posts.

Choose The Domain Name

After selecting a hosting plan, it will redirect you to choose new domain (they’ll give it to you for free) or enter existing domain (if you have any for your blog setup). You can choose among different ccTLDs (country code top-level domains) such as .net, .org, .blog, .co.in and .in if your first choice isn’t available with .com.

If you already have a domain name, then simple enter your domain name in the second form on the right – “I have a domain name”.

Enter Your Contact and Billing Information to Checkout

There are three parts to this final step – the first is Your Order Summary information. Second your Contact Details and third would be Payment Options.

Step III: Install WordPress Package on Hosting

After setting up your hosting with Bluehost or with similar hosting provider now, you need to install WordPress. If you are using Bluehost then you don’t need to download WordPress set from WordPress.org because Blue Host provide in build 1-Click WordPress install.

Here is the step-by-step guide to install WordPress on Bluehost:

Login into your Bluehost hosting control panel at: my.bluehost.com
In control panel, go to website section where you can choose the option to “Install WordPress”.

It will redirect you to next page where you can choose your blog destination URL. Choose your main domain (www.YourDomain.com, not YourDomain.com/blog/).

Step IV: Login to Your Blog to Setup a Theme

Now that your blog is ready to go live, hit your domain name to see how your blog is looking. You can customize your theme by logging in to your admin panel by visiting the URL that would look like: http://ift.tt/2tOLlQa Enter your username and password that you have chosen while setting up WordPress.

After logging in, you’ll see the welcome page of the admin panel.

I am sure you must have been able to setup your own WP blog by now and a ready to post your own first article. Keep visiting this post to learn more about how to customize your blog, choose a theme and create posts and pages.

If you found this guide useful: share with others, like and comment.

About Ashish Sharma

Ashish Sharma is a Key Account Manager, looking after Marketing Strategies and building new business tie ups at WeDigTech - A hub of Skilled Mobile App Developers in India. Focused on helping enterprises StartUps from domestic to MNCs.

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