Starting a WordPress Blog

It can be intimidating setting up your first blog.

I know. Not so long ago, I was in the same boat. I had no idea either.

So in this easy to follow post, I thought I would break it down into easy steps for you.

First I am going to go over how you can buy and setup your WordPress Blog in just a few minutes. (ok it might take ten minutes, but no more).

And if you are not up for reading, there is a video I found that shows you the same steps!

Setting Up Your First WordPress Blog

I use Bluehost for my two blogs and have never had any issues with them.

So I am going to go ahead and show you how easy it is to buy a domain name and install your first blog.

If you would rather just follow along with a video, here is one from Bluehost (the only minor point to note is the Account options they choose are different from mine)

1. Head over to Bluehost

Once you get to the BlueHost homepage you will see this:

Click on the “Sign Up Now” Button which is highlighted in red above.

2. Choose your domain name

Now you can choose your website name and see if it is available.

*If you want to check for domain names beforehand, you can check it on GoDaddy – Don’t buy it there though, it comes free with your BlueHost account

Type your domaind/site name into the box shown below (inside the I Need a Domain Name area). Leave the “.com” (unless you are going for another type – but I don’t recommend it).

If the domain is available, you will see a confirmation message at the top of the next page (see it in the image below – “The domain you have requested …. is available”).

3. Sign up for Blog

This next page is quite long, so I broke up for you to easily understand what is required.

Account Information: fill out your details

In the top part,  you  just fill in your details (name, address etc):

Package Information: choose your hosting plan and options

This is the most complex part, but it is actually quite simple.

First choose your account plan from one of the first 3 options show below (12, 24 or 36 month):

If you are sure you want your blog for a long time, go for the 36 month – it’s obviously cheaper.

If you are not sure, just go with 12 months and Bluehost will contact you towards the end of the year to remind you to renew.

The rest of the options I would ignore such as:

• Site Backup Pro
• Search Engine Jumptstart.

Why? Because there are lots of free things you can add to WordPress once it’s installed.

*Note: I personally do go for the Domain Whois Privacy (already checked), because this hides your name and address from the public (otherwise anyone can search for it).

Billing Information: your credit card

This part is also quite standard (shown below) simply fill out your payment details and click the big “Next” button.

3. Installing WordPress

Once you have your account all signed up, you want to

• head to the Hosting tab (highilighted in red at the top)
• go to the Website Builders section
• click the WordPress icon (also highlighted in red)

This will take you a minute while they load the mojo scripts, then you get the following screen:

*Note: If this does not happen for any reason,  go to Minute 2:00 in this video from Bluehost (there are a couple more steps to get here)

Simply click on the “Start” button (yes the big green one). And then you will see the following:

 Now you should see your purchased domain name (website address / URL) in the drop down list. Leave that, and click “Check Domain”.

The result is the next page, where I recommend opening the “Show Advanced Options” section by checking the box – which is shown below:

Now you can choose

• your blog name
• the admin login and password
• the email for the admin (you will get notifications to this address from your blog sometimes)

Bluehost automatically fills this in, but you can change any of these if you want.

Now check the “I have read the terms and conditions” check box (agreeing with the license for WordPress).

And Click “Install Now”

You will see an “installing WordPress” screen for a little bit then it will show your web address, admin URL etc.

WRITE THESE DOWN SOMEWHERE

4. Your blog is ready

Assuming your have installed your blog under your-chosen-domain.com you can now access your blog and admin screens under these addresses:

Blog: http://your-chosen-domain.com

Blog Administration: http://your-chosen-domain.com/wp-admin

The blog Administration screen will ask you for a admin login/password which you got earlier (you did write it down?).

Use these to get into WordPress, and you will see this screen…

Congratulations you have a blog!

photo credit: Sebastian Mary via photopin cc