We all have our unique ideas and talents that we want to share with the world. In the past, ideas remained ideas and uniqueness unshared, because people were unable to find a medium to voice their thoughts. But today, blogging platforms have not only provided us the medium to share our thoughts, but are also a great source of information and communication. So, give a voice to your thoughts and start a blog by following the instructions below.
But before I share how to start a blog, I would like to answer the most popular question almost everyone has in their hearts, that is, Why Blog?
- It has become one of the most popular and most effective ways of communication.
- It is a great way to express your ideas and share information with others.
- Your writing skills get enhanced to a great level.
- You can get a lot of recognition through your blog.
- Lastly, you can make good amount of money through it.
1. What To Blog About
The first step to blogging is to decide what to blog about. It may be noted here that your blog is your space and you can fill it with anything. Presently, people like blogs on fashion, lifestyle, technology, food and health, but sky is the limit. You can blog about any subject that interests you.
Blog about what you enjoy the most. It could be about your hobbies, books, your favorite travel destinations, your passion or anything you enjoy etc. I am focusing on the word “enjoy” repeatedly, because if you enjoy writing about a subject, people would enjoy reading it for sure.
After you decide the topic of your blog, the next step is to name it. The name should be linked to what the blog is about. It can be funky, classical or anything that you desire, but bear in mind that it must correlate to the subject of your blog. The blog name is the first attraction for visitors to click and open it. For instance, if it is a blog on cars, the word ‘car’ or ‘auto’ should be a part of the domain name.
2. Choose your blogging platform
A blogging platform is the service you use to publish your content on the internet. There are loads of them, but most popular names include WordPress, Blogger, Weebly, Wix and Tumblr. My personal favorite and most professional medium for blogging are WordPress and Wix. What makes them special? Let’s first talk about WordPress:
- No complicated signup process
- The instructions to signup are clear and vigilant
- It is free to use
- You have a 24/7 online support forum
- You have the liberty to pick free themes
- Content publishing is as easy as ABC
So why do I recommend Wix?
Wix comes with free and paid membership options and provides an easy drag and drop editor to help start a blog within a few minutes. It renders you secure web hosting, 24/7 customer support and last but not the least SEO ability. Let’s talk about its salient features, which make it the best blogging platform online.
Drag and Drop Editor
The incredibly easy to use drag and drop editor of Wix has made it one of the most successful blogging platforms for users. You can simply cut paste different elements. No technical knowledge required! Some of the new yet powerful features included in the editor are shared below:
- Commerce
- Mobile editor
- Video backgrounds
- Social media integration
- Advanced blog capabilities
Stunning Web Templates
Wix has an awesome library of professionally designed web templates. They retain a team of over 100 designers, who work day in and day out to provide for the gorgeous and modern templates. The templates can be customized to adjust according to your needs. Unlike the other blogging platforms, it also allows you to finish a site in a pixel-perfect way.
Add Animations
The powerful Wix web builder lets you add animations to make your site attractive and engaging for users.
Integrate with Apps
There are 100+ third party apps available to integrate and enhance your web’s functioning. Some of the popular third party apps include an email marketing service (Wix ShoutOut), online booking widgets, live chatting software etc. Since all these are third party apps, you cannot complain to Wix in case they start malfunctioning.
Supports up to 16 Languages
Wix editor supports up to 16 different languages to help you set up multilingual blogging sites.
eCommerce Solutions
Wix also provides an ecommerce website solution included in its eCommerce package. There are different pricing plans for creating an online shop. Additionally, you can monetize your blog by applying for Google Adsense and other ad networks. Overall, Wix is suitable for all and sundry looking for a platform to present themselves in style.
3. Free hosting or Self-hosting
Though platforms like WordPress and Wix offer you free hosting on their servers but professionals need their own domain name and hosting. Free hosting does sound really cool, but it has its own limitations.
- URL Dominance
On a free blogging platform you are bound to own the host name, which means you work with their name. You also have minimal control on selecting the name for your site.
[yourblogname.wordpress/.com] sounds unprofessional, right?
Now consider this:
www.missknowitall.com
OR
www.allaboutfashion.com
- Limited Features
The free hosting platforms do not allow users to use the best it has to offer. It can be the catchy themes, restrictions on long videos, limit to video posts or chats, whereas paid users can use all the features. The paid users get free pass to use all the functionalities of a platform. WordPress and Wix also offer hosting solutions for a minimal fee.
- Ownership
I call it the most disturbing thing for free users. They don’t own their blog. Yes! They don’t own the word and effort they put on the screen. It is the host’s property and they can delete it any time they want. Apart from these risks, free blogs can get easily hacked and are almost impossible to retrieve. I wonder how heartbreaking it would be for anyone who has worked hard on their blog and was unable to login into it suddenly one day.
On the other hand, paid users own their blog completely and have all the power to keep their blog safe.
Do Checkout the Video For more info:
4. Choosing Host and Domain for your blog
This is a tricky part because most people are not familiar with the host and domain. If you Google them you will find difficult definitions that may ask for canceling your idea of starting a blog, but wait, I have it handled.
Domain is simply the name of your website. Twitter.com, Google.com, Yahoo.com are all domains. A domain name could be anything you want it to be, it has no limitations. We have discussed it in the first tip too.
Host is the company that puts your domain /url /website on the internet for everyone to access it. It is like your advertising agency. Choosing a host can be difficult, as they are in abundance with every host having its own plans. iPage is one of the most conventional hosting providers that charges only $1.99 per month with a free domain name registration. Now that is what you call a really good deal!
Once you have bought a hosting plan, go to the control panel and install WordPress, tumblr or any other blogging platform you wish to use for your site. It’s a one click installation, do not worry. Now read on for easier understanding:
- Sign up to ipage, Namecheap, Bluehost, Hostogator or any host you like
- Choose the domain name
- Install your desired blogging platform and your site is up and running.
5. Publishing Your Blog
The technical work ends here and the fun work begins. Choose a theme, customize it and publish your first blog. You can either use Wix instant publishing platform or go for the free wordpress hosting solution, but be ready to compromise on lots of functionality if you decide to go with free wordpress solution.
This is how you can start your personal blog. Now get set BLOG!