Hi, My name is John. If you are looking for a beginner blog tutorial then you are in the right place. Since I was also a blogger from zero to now without any technical experience, if I can make it so do you. This guide will show you how to start a blog step by step, from start to finish without coding knowledge, let’s dive in.
Here the summary steps of starting a basic blog.
1. Picking Up a Domain Name for Your Blog
Before you pick up your blog domain you need to think about what topic did you want to write and passion about it, then pick up some keywords to register your domain. Then go to the Namesilo register account and buy a domain name that you have decided.
Recommended choose the .com domain will good for SEO. Namesilo provides free whois privacy protection that you will not often receive spam emails.
When you purchase and checkout the domain for the first time you can fill the letters “soho” in the coupon area and will get a $1 discount.
2. Getting Your Web Hosting Account
Choose the right web hosting is very important for your blog or website since it will influence the visitor’s user experience. A fast and stable web hosting will help you rank higher on google and get more traffic. Currently, for most of the bloggers and the internet marketers liked web hosting was Siteground, It was officially recommended hosting by WordPress and welcome by many users, see a real poll on a Facebook group for the best web hosting they use. It obviously the Siteground.
For the hosting plan I recommended choose GrowBig plan, since it can hosting unlimited websites as you want. You can add other websit in this web hosting.
Input your purchase domain name from Namesilo.
Fill in the relative information as requested of below picture and paid the cost.
Till now, you have complete the domain purchase and get the Siteground web hosting. Then you need set-up domain point to your Siteground hosting.
3. Set-up Domain Point to Siteground Web Hosting
First, log in to your Siteground account, and click the Website tab as below image shows.
Then you will jump into the site tools and will see the notice that your domain not pointing to the Siteground name servers as below image shows. Copy that two name servers words.
ns1.giow1058.siteground.us
ns2.giow1058.siteground.us
Second, log in to the Namesilo account and click the Account domains, choose the domain you need to change the Name servers as below image shows.
Choose the domain you need change the Name servers as below image shows.
Change the two lines to Siteground name servers and delete the third line. After submit on Namesilo will take around 24 hours to propagate, you also can go to the Siteground account >>Website>>Site tools to check and refresh if works.
Name Server 1 -> ns1.giow1058.siteground.us
Name Server 2 ->ns2.giow1058.siteground.us
Name Server 3 ->Delete
4. Install the WordPress Kits
After 24 hours propagate, the domain has pointed to the Siteground. Log in to your Siteground account and choose Website tab>click the relative domain Site tools.
Enter into the Site tools, choose the WordPress>>Install&Manage and input the relative information as below image shows and ready to install the Worpress Kits.
Click the botton and log in to your blog and the interface will look like below, you almost finished. Well done!!
Move the mouse over to the My WordPress then will appear Dashboard and click, you will enter into the admin dashboard as below images shows.
As you can see that the primary website was looks not good, then we need install a WordPress theme to design it.
5. Install a WordPress Theme to Design Your Blog
Click dashboard, Find the Appearance>>Theme>>Add New. Input the Astra in the search bar, and click install and activate the Astra theme.
Then upload your logo for your blog, you can go to the constantcontact.com to make free professional logos.
After install the Astra theme we also need install a good SEO plugin called Yoast SEO.
6. Install Yoast SEO Plugin
In order to optimize our blog and get more traffic, we will install some plugins to the blog, the most useful and recommended SEO plugin Yoast SEO. Click the plugin>>add new and input Yoast SEO on the search bar, install and activate. You also can check this article for how to configure the best Yoast SEO settings.
7. Start Create Pages and Menu
A new blog will have no pages and menu, in order to offer good user experience we need to create a homepage and relative pages about yourself or your service. Go to dashboard>>Pages>>Add New.
First, we create our Home/How To/Contact/Blog/Resource pages as below image show method. You can create pages as you want.
Second, create the blog primary menu as you demand per you write content. Go to the Appearance>>menu>>Select All pages you create as above steps then click add to the menu and save the menu, action steps as below image shows.
After saving the menu then move the mouse over the top corner left the front area and click visit site, you will see the blog like below image shows.
8. Write Your First Post
If you have following the steps and then you are almost finished, you can start writing your first post. Back to the dashboard and find the post and click add new as below image shows.
9. Optimized Your Blog and Consistent Update Content
Well done, you will know how to start a blog now, and in order to generate more traffic to your blog you need to learn how to do SEO and let your article rank higher in Google search result.
Stay tune, I will keep sharing more experience for blogging and SEO tips in the future. If you have any questions you can leave comments below.