This post may contain affiliate links. See our Disclosure Policy for more information.
Are you thinking about blogging, but don’t know where to start? Are the steps to get started confusing you? Well the very first step to blogging is to create a website where you can post everything that you write. Here I will break down for you the steps to get started with a self-hosted website.
Creating your own website requires three things.
- A Domain
- Web Hosting
- A Website Builder
Let’s talk about what each of these mean for a minute.
Domain
A domain is what identifies your website. Your domain is basically the name of your website, or the address people will type in their browser in order to get to your website. Ours is DreamsandWishingWells.com, which was a play on our last name (Wells) and a blog about following our dreams of traveling and completing our bucket list.
Once you come up with a domain name, you first have to make sure that it’s not already in use. You can do that by using the domain availability search below. Just type in the name you have chosen and click the “check availability” button, and it will let you know if that domain is available.
Once you have a domain name chosen and have found that it is available, you are ready to move forward to the next step of creating your website! Your domain name will have to be registered, but don’t worry about registering your domain name yet, you can do that through your web host, which we will talk about next.
Web Hosting
A Web Host is basically server space that you “rent” to store the content of your website. A web host is necessary in order for your website to be seen online. Choosing a web host is the next step that must be taken in order to start creating your website.
We use Bluehost for our web hosting. We chose Bluehost for several reasons. It had a low introductory rate of $5.45/month for the plus service (the basic service was only $3.95/month, so there is also that option, but the plus service fit our needs better). You can choose to pay yearly, every two years, every three years, or every five years. The cost per month goes down the longer you choose to pay in advance, so make sure you explore your options when signing up so you can choose a package that suits you and your wallet!
Another reason we chose Bluehost is that our domain registration was free for the first year! Bluehost also includes your website builder, WordPress, that is easily installed with one click! (We will talk more about that later). Bluehost is also now offering a 30 day money back guarantee, so if you try it and don’t like it, your money will be refunded.
Most importantly, we chose Bluehost because it was the complete package. It included all three components of creating a website all in one easy to use package. (Web hosting, domain registration, and a web builder all in one.)
There are companies out there that offer free web hosting, which is fine if you are just blogging for entertainment or as a hobby. However, if you are ever planning on making your blog a business, you need to have a self-hosted website, meaning you need to purchase web hosting. If you are using a free web host, you do NOT own your website, someone else does, and it can be shut down at any time. Plus, not only is it more professional looking, but self-hosting allows for monetizing your blog, which free hosting sites do not. So if you want to make money from your blog, we recommend getting started with Bluehost.
Website Builder
Technically you don’t have to have a website builder to create your website, but unless you have experience with coding, like HTML for instance, it is highly recommended. Website builders are basically pre-designed templates that make it super easy to build and design your website. You don’t have to be tech-savy to create a website because the website builder is doing the hard techy stuff for you!
The website builder we use is WordPress.org. (Not to be confused with WordPress.com). WordPress is included with your Bluehost web hosting, and was really easy to learn how to use.
Once you have these three items set up, you are ready to start creating content! Once you have your website launched, leave your URL below so I can check it out!
If you’re interested in taking a free course on how to start a money making blog, check out this 5-day e-mail course by Pete and Heather Reese here: 5 Day Start a Money Making Blog Crash Course
I started with this free course, then continued on to take their 30 Day Blogging Fast Track course as well as their Travel Blogging Fast Track course. Their courses helped me out TREMENDOUSLY while getting my blog off the ground, and I highly recommend them if you want to make money blogging.
