How Do I Create a Blog?
Create Your Own WordPress Blog
When you start blogging, it is not a bad idea to look at what others have done before you. Bloggins has been around for a while. This post is actually from 2008 but we’ve updated it so we published it again.
After reading this blog, you should be able to set up a blog on your own and impress all of your friends! (If they get impressed by EASY stuff because that’s what you’re going to make it look like!)
This article will also cover picking a good domain name and how to host.
So, this mlm reviews blog is not good unless it also helps you learn how to rank and bank from your already existing online opportunity.
The very First Few steps in creating a blog is choosing what you will call yourself:
How to choose a name for your Blog:
The Domain Name of your blog should match your blog name. It is a huge deal to choose a good domain name for your blog and the name can, in some ways, affect your online visibility. You domain name will become your brand, so make sure it’s a name you can live with for a long time.
The domain name will be the first thing that your readers will see and therefore it is their first impression of you. You want to make sure it’s not something that will turn off your readers and make sure that it is easy to remember and spell.
Even though you want to assume you have intelligent readers, not everyone has a good memory nor can they spell well but they may, nonetheless ,be extremely intelligent.
Just take a look at apple.com for the computers. So easy and know worldwide now!
Choose Hosting for your Blog
After choosing your domain name, you will want to find a good hosting service. These are pretty easy to come by but be forewarned that not all hosting sites are the same quality. Hosting plans will vary too. It is best, for your first blog to go with a well established hosting company like godaddy or hostmonster.
The hosting is equivalent to the engine in your car. It keeps your blog going day in and day out and it can impact how well your blog succeeds.
Many domain registrars also offer web hosting which makes it easier to buy and host all in one step. It keeps your billing easy and you don’t have to worry about pointing domains etc.
Starting the Blogging Process
Learning to blogging can sometimes be confusing. You may be reading this wondering what the heck is a domain name? Hosting?
We get it.
So let’s define some basic terms you will need to face your blogging challenge head on.
First of all, domain names is the internet address or your blog and is generally the name you are recognized by. You have to pay for domain names on an annual basis and hosting is a separate charge.
It has been argued that paying for longer term “leases” on domains and hosting may actually improve your rankings in the search engines. We have not tested this so we can not attest to any truth in that.
You can get domain names for about $12.00 or so (sometimes cheaper if you buy hosting with it) and you can set it up to autocharge your bank or credit card on a yearly basis.
Domain Name Variations
Just like names of people, domain names come in many shapes and sizes. The first part of the domain is called a TLD or a top level domain and they offer information on the location of the domain itself.
The most common domains in the world are the “.com” names and then you can also get .net, .org, .info, etc…
The above examples are more worldly and you can be geographically specific. For example, if you are in london you can own a .uk site and if you are in Canada a .ca site. Some domains have restrictions too. You can not purchase a .ca site without proof of residency in Canada.
Make sure you pick a good site and don’t get too hung up on it. If you find a simple one that you like, go for it.
Naming Your Blog
Deciding what to name your blog is hard and can be downright annoying. This is where you might hit the proverbial “writer’s block” and never end up writing a single thing because you are essentially stuck on one of the first steps in blogging.
Ugh.
Once you choose your name, it will be hard to undue because it will likely be infiltrated throughout your blog and the more you post, the more you will be branding yourself to whatever name it is that you have chosen as a blog name.
Here are some tips on choosing a good blog name:
- Think about all the things you like and what you want to write about in your blog. Write them down and sicuss with friends. You’ll be surprised at what people will think of when they hear your ideas and you want to make sure whatever goes through their mind is something appropriate to your brand. I know a guy who named his website boysell to sell websites and he didn’t think twice about it. I however, thought it sounded like a messed up escort service. Brainstorming is a good idea. Let your friends and family help!
- Be Unique. Don’t try to copy someone else and make sure you won’t be mistaken for someone else. Even if you think you have a completely original idea, someone else might have had it, so you need to do a little research about the name you want to be. People might want to find you and end up finding someone else with a similar name as yours. Don’t do that. Also, if you do take on a familiar name, you look like a poser and very few people will take you seriously or trust your site.
- .coms rule. Period. The .com extensions are used all over the world and make an impact on your dominance on the internet. A lot of search engines automatically put the .com on the back end of the web address for writers so you want to make sure they are directed to you with a .com address.
- Keep is Simple Stupid. This was already stated but can’t be expressed enough. Make sure you choose and easy to remember and spell website name. Don’t make people overthink and overly search for you. Give them straight access to you with a straightforward name.
- Branding is important to keep in mind. Keep it fun and reflective of your sole intention and purpose.
- Don’t go too long. Long domain names can be easily forgotten. Use one word, two words or the absolute max of three words.
- Do NOT steal from others. Make sure your name is not a trademarked named. There is a government website that allows you to search for trademarks. As you grow, you’ll be happy you did your homework on this.
- No numbers. No hypens. People will mess it up.
- Stay away from trends. These come and go and so will your blog if you choose to associate your whole work to it. Be better and more clever. Stay true, like a diamond, and give yourself a classic and easy to remember name.
- Make sure your name is open in the social networks such as facebook. You’ll want to eventually build out to include your blog to these sites.
A quick note on Premium Domain Names:
Premium domain names are names that might have some age and have already been owned by someone. The site can go up for auction. You might be able to find the domain you are looking for but expect to pay more money. You can ask to be contacted about the site you want, offer bids and bid at auction on already used names.
Some names will have some “juice” on them while others have nothing to offer different than a completely new website name.
Web Hosting
Ok. Time for hosing. Choose the hosting company and pay for it. Generally it is easiest to do this with the same company you have decided to buy your domain name from.
Of course you can try the free hosting but they are not the best decision and I recommend against it.
If you end up with a bast web host you’ll waste hours being annoyed online or on the phone trying to fix your problems.
Looking for 24/7 customer service within your hosting provider should be a priority.
Check online reviews to see if their customer service is any good OR call them up yourself and see how they handle your call.
Selecting a Good Web Hosting Provider
- As stated already, make sure they have good reviews. Check for negative remarks and make sure you have contact information easily accessible. Hosting sites who make it hard for you to find this type of information should go on a list in the garbage. Don’t risk it.
- 24/7 Support. Thank me later for this.
- Uptime is optimized. Make sure your hosting provider keeps your blog up without a lot of interruptions. You need to be visible as often as possible and hosts who are constantly down updating their servers will cost you time and money.
- Refunding. Getting your money back from a bad hosting experience will lessen the annoyance. Good companies who are confident in their product will have no problem offering this to you.
- Lots of Features. You might not need them all now, but eventually you might. Keep your options open.
- Site Back up and Security – Make sure you have these. They are essential. Nothing is worse than having your site go down do to whoever’s error and losing all of your information. Back ups are 100% recommended. As you grow, security will become more important. Hackers may try to take over your blog and use it in bad ways that can harm your reputation or worse, destroy all of your hard work.
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