How to Start a Blog in 2024: A Beginner’s Guide to WordPress

Are you ready to take your writing to the next level? If so, read on and I’ll show you how to start a blog the right way. We’ll talk about my recommended WordPress themes, plugins, and hosting so you’ll never get in trouble in the long run and you’ll get the best bang for your buck!

Yes, you could start a blog completely FREE but I don’t recommend that. Free domain and free hosting are not just worth it. Sooner or later, you’ll have problems with SEO, plugin support, scaling, and e-commerce integration.

Trust me, I’ve been there and I migrated my blog from Blogger to WordPress. And the difference is night and day. WordPress is so much better in all aspects.

Why Start a Blog?

Whether it’s to share your culinary adventures, tech wisdom, or travel escapades, a blog serves as your digital canvas, inviting the world to see through your lens. In a nutshell, starting a blog is about making an impact, one post at a time, in a space where your voice matters. In the best-case scenario, with the capability of monetizing your content, you can make a living full-time from your blog.

How to Start a Blog

Kicking off your blogging adventure is simpler than you might think! Follow the steps below along with my recommendations.

Step 1: Choose your niche

• Cost: Nothing
• Recommended niches: Travel, Finance, Tech, Food, WordPress

Don’t worry too much about what niche. The reality is, it doesn’t matter. You can experiment with what you want to write and you can always PIVOT as needed. Your greatest enemy is to start. Don’t overthink this part.

However, avoid gambling and casinos. These niches will not be supported by ad networks like Adsense.

Step 2: Buy a domain name

• Cost: $10-20 per year
• Recommended providers: Cloudflare or Porkbun (I preferably use Cloudflare. It’s the cheapest!)

The domain name will be your blog’s identity. It could be your name (e.g. johnsmith.com), a wordplay (e.g. wisetraveller.com), or your niche (e.g. veganfoodrecipes.com).

There are no rules. You can use anything you want. Just make sure that it aligns with your brand.

I recommend you use popular top-level domains like .COM, .NET or .ORG. If you’re from the Philippines, you could also use a .PH domain.

Why Cloudflare?

Before, I bought my domains from GoDaddy and Namecheap. It’s been great! However, when I found out about Porkbun and Cloudflare, I realized I wasted extra dollhairs on them.

Here’s a comparison of domain prices from popular registrars.

Step 3. Buy a web hosting plan

• Cost: $2-20 per month
• Recommended providers: Chemicloud and WP Engine (Juan Investor is hosted with Chemicloud and it loads up fast!)

You need web hosting to store your blog’s resources like text, images, videos, files, etc. A Shared Hosting is fine and it’s the cheapest option possible. Even this blog uses shared hosting. And I tell you, it loads up fast with proper hosting and setup.

To save more, buy a 2 or 3-year plan. If you have the budget, a WordPress Hosting is faster and better, but it’s more expensive. It’s not recommended for someone who is just starting out blogging.

Why choose Chemicloud?

My first web hosting was with Hostinger. It was fine and it’s the cheapest hosting by far. However, their support sucks! If you reach out to them through chat, they’ll probably respond in 1-2 hours. Yes, that long! And worse, it would take them years to figure out what’s wrong, plus another hundred years to resolve the issue.

With Chemicloud, the response time and level of support is 500% better. They’ll respond to you via chat in less than a minute! Also, their customer support is very knowledgeable and they could help you in a few minutes. If you’re not convinced, try them now. You can refund within 48 days if you’re not satisfied.

Step 4. Connect your domain to Cloudflare

This step is easy and straightforward. Simply follow the steps below.

1. Create an account or login to Cloudflare
2. In your dashboard, click “Add a site” and enter your domain name. Click “Continue“
3. You may choose a plan, but let’s choose the FREE plan at the bottom. Click “Continue“
4. Cloudflare will scan the DNS records of your domain. Review the records then hit “Continue“
5. Copy the assigned Cloudflare nameservers. The nameservers should look similar to this.
   • gareth.ns.cloudflare.com
   • shane.ns.cloudflare.com
6. Go to your domain registrar and access the DNS Settings
7. Delete the existing nameservers and update with the assigned Cloudflare nameservers

And that’s it! You’ve just connected your domain name to Cloudflare. Take note that it may take up to 24 hours to process nameserver changes. To check the status of your nameservers, you may go to dnschecker.org.

Why use Cloudflare?

Cloudflare provides a FREE content delivery network (CDN) to your blog. A CDN is a network of interconnected servers geographically distributed to reduce latency and speed up webpage loading by storing website content closer to users.

But there’s more than that. Think of Cloudflare as your blog’s superhero sidekick. It does these things in the backend:

• shields your site from bad guys (DDoS attacks)
• speeds things up like a jetpack (faster loading times)
• saves you cash (FREE plan available!)

Plus, it’s super easy to set up – imagine clicking a few buttons and suddenly your blog is faster, safer, and happier!

Step 5. Connect your domain to your hosting provider

Once your domain name is connected to Cloudflare, now it’s time to connect it to your hosting provider. Here are the steps.

1. Log in to your hosting account. I’ll use Chemicloud in this example
2. Access your Server Information and copy your Shared IP Address
3. Log in to Cloudflare and access your DNS settings
4. Create three A records pointing to servers at Chemicloud. (If you have problems doing this, you can reach out to your hosting provider for support)
   • Type (A), Name (FTP), Content (server IP address), Proxy Status (Proxied)
   • Type (A), Name (your domain name), Content (server IP address), Proxy Status (Proxied)
   • Type (A), Name (mail), Content (server IP address), Proxy Status (Proxied)

And now your domain is hosted with your provider. Take note that it may take up to 24 hours to process nameserver changes. To check the status of your nameservers, you may go to dnschecker.org.

Step 6. Install WordPress

• Cost: FREE

WordPress is hands down, the best CMS. 43% of all websites are powered by WordPress. You should use it too. WordPress is free to use and most web hosting providers offer a free installation of WordPress.

If you’re interested to learn more about website builders, read our other post about best Webflow alternatives.

Follow the steps below to install WordPress on your site.

1. Log in to your web hosting account and go to your cPanel
2. Install WordPress (If you’re having trouble doing this step, simply contact your web hosting provider via chat and they can help you out)

Step 7. Install a WordPress theme

• Cost: FREE themes available, $29-179 per year for Premium themes
• Recommended WordPress themes: GeneratePress ($59/year), Astra ($47/year), or Kadence ($129/year)

You don’t want your blog to look like it’s created by a 6-year-old kid, do you? Then, you need to have a WordPress theme. With a WordPress theme, you can customize virtually anything, including the look and feel of your blog.

• Color theme
• Website Layout
• Typography
• Header & Footer
• …and many more

Follow the steps below to install a WordPress theme to your website.

1. Login to your WordPress account
2. On your dashboard, hover to Appearance and click Themes
3. Click Add New Theme
4. On the search bar, type GeneratePress (or any theme you’d like to install)
5. Click Install and then click Activate

But how do you choose a WordPress theme? Well, the top priority should be speed. Second, the ease of customization, and finally, price.

The three recommended themes are superior in terms of these criteria so there shouldn’t be any problem. At all costs, avoid Avada and Divi. These themes will slow down your site.

Step 8. Install WordPress Plugins

• Cost: Free plugins available, $25 to $84 per year for paid plugins
• Recommended plugins: GenerateBlocks Pro ($59/year), Rank Math SEO ($83.88/year), LiteSpeed Cache (Free), Perfmatters ($24.95/year)

The main reason why you need to stay away from Blogger is due to its lack of support for plugins and customizations. If you don’t know how to code HTML and CSS, then Blogger is not for you. It’s messy!

But with WordPress, there are WordPress plugins to help you in every aspect such as SEO, table of contents, caching, tables, and many more.

Must-have WordPress Plugins

The more WordPress plugins you have, the slower your site. Thus, the number of plugins installed must be at the bare minimum. Here are the most important WordPress plugins.

1. RankMath SEO: a lightweight SEO plugin for WordPress. This plugin serves as a comprehensive solution to optimize your content with precision, ensuring your website not only climbs but dominates search engine rankings.
2. LiteSpeed Cache: a WordPress caching plugin. It transforms WordPress sites into lightning-fast experiences. It leverages server-level cache and a plethora of optimization features, making it an essential tool for any website looking to soar in performance.
3. Perfmatters: Perfmatters takes WordPress performance tuning to the next level, stripping away excess bloat and optimizing web efficiency. It’s the secret weapon for those seeking a sleek, fast-loading site, enhancing both user experience and SEO rankings with minimal effort.

Nice-to-have WordPress Plugins

You can run your blog without these plugins. But having them will make your life easier and your blog will look nicer.

• GenerateBlocks Pro: GenerateBlocks Pro offers unmatched flexibility and creativity. It’s a toolkit that transforms basic pages into stunning, responsive websites with ease, making it indispensable for designers aiming to craft unique, professional-looking websites without heavy coding.
• Link Whisper: internal linking plugin. It uses AI to suggest smart, contextually relevant links. It streamlines SEO efforts, enhancing site structure and user navigation effortlessly.
• Ninja Tables: Enables the creation of responsive, visually appealing tables without coding. It’s the go-to solution for displaying complex information succinctly, enhancing content readability and user engagement across various devices.

Step 9. Create mandatory pages

• Cost: FREE

Login to your WordPress account and create these pages.

• Home — this is your main page
• Contact — this is how people can reach you. You can add a contact form or your contact details
• Blog — this is where your blog posts and articles are located
• Privacy Policy — you need this page to comply with Google. Don’t worry, WordPress has a template for this

Step 10. Write your first blog post

Now it’s time to write your first blog post. Simply follow these steps.

1. Login to your WordPress account by going to your WordPress directory. Usually, it’s your domain name + /wp-admin (e.g. https://example.com/wp-admin)
2. Head over to the left sidebar and hover on “Posts”
3. Click “Add New”
4. Enter the title of your post or article (e.g. Hello world)
5. Write a text in the body (e.g. Hello this is my first post.)
6. Head over to the right sidebar and click “Publish”

And that’s it, you have written your first post! Your WordPress blog is now ready!

FAQ

Final Thoughts

Congratulations! You have just created your blog in WordPress. Keep creating engaging content and soon you will attract more traffic. Once your traffic grows, you can monetize your blog through advertising and affiliate marketing. I’ll discuss this later in the next post.