How To Start A Blog in 2024 From Scratch | A Step By Step Blogging Guide For Beginners

Want to learn how to start a blog and get paid by blogging?

Great Idea! After all, What’s better than following your passion and making money along.

 Here are several reasons why many people start a blog and enjoy blogging:

• To Establish as an Expertise/ Brand
• To Share Knowledge & Learnings
• To Make Money Online & Passive Income
• To Sell Affiliate Products or own Products & Services
• To Generate Leads for Information Products
• To Get Free Gadgets & Stuff for review
• To Enhance Writing and Thinking Skills

…may be other more reasons.

But..how to get started? There’s so much information out there on the internet, and sometimes quite confusing. Where’s the starting point?

Starting a blog is not as complicated as it looks, but all you need is a step by step guidance, which helps you to start a blog in 2024.

Before you go to action steps, let me give you an honest suggestion. To make it easier for you to take action, I’m recommending only those options in terms of platform, hosting which are working and being used by most of the successful bloggers. 

Just follow the steps to start your blog and avoid analysis paralysis.

Step 1: Choose a Perfect Niche for Your Blog

 

To become a successful blogger, you will have to choose the right niche or topic. This is most important and crucial for the success of any blog.

Did you know? That 99% of blogger fails in the first year itself. Around 75% of fail in the first two years. And, of those that survive for his long, around 50% fail before they reach the fifth year. Why? Because of the wrong selection of Niche or the topic. 

Most of the people think that good ideas are already taken and there is no topic left to start with.

But this is not true, there are an infinite amount of ideas that can turn into successful websites and online businesses, even within saturated markets, you just have to spend time figuring it out.

Let me simplify it and help you to select your perfect niche.

 

While selecting your niche, you have to focus on three points to find your perfect profitable niche

• Passion – Do you love working on your niche?
• Skill – Are you an expert in your niche?
• Monetize – Can you make money with your niche?

Money drives passion, more than passion drives money!

Here are few successful niche sites that make millions of dollars in each single month

• Four Percent– Owned by Vick Strizheu and is one of the best blogs for traffic strategies.
• Smart Passive Income – Patt Flynn has started this blog named SPI, where he shares strategies for online business. It is one of the most successful blogs today.
• I Will Teach You To Be Rich: This blog is about personal finance and owned by Ramit Sethi. The reason for his blog’s success was picking the right niche.

Be very careful while selecting your niche, as it is an important step to start a blog and become a successful blogger.

Step 2: Choose a Domain Name For Your Blog

A domain name is the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) of a blog that a visitor will use to find and open your blog. It’s your unique address on the Internet.

Your domain name will be the name by which you will be known online. A domain name can be on the niche name or topic you have chosen or on your own name.

Keep these points in mind while selecting your domain name:

Do’s

• Keep the name short, simple and catchy.
• It should be easy to pronounce, easy to remember & easy to type
• Use the main keyword in your domain name. Preferably, your niche or topic should match with your domain name
• Use TLD (Top Level Domain) Extension. I prefer .com above all extensions. This will make your presence globally.
• For personal brands, use your name or a variation of it.

Don’ts

• Don’t use too long domain names as it would be difficult to remember and type.
• Don’t use domain extension like .biz, .info, .net and so on, because they are difficult to rank.
• Don’t use numbers or hyphens in the domain name as it would be difficult to remember.
• Do not use a misspell brand name (like Wordpresh.com) or any combination of brand-name (like WordPressTutorial.com). This is a copyright infringement.

You can find premium .com domain names here:

• HugeDomains.com
• BuyDomains.com
• Sedo.com

Premium domain names are a bit costly. You can find plenty of lowcost .com names that are available with different combinations of words at LeanDomainSearch

Check availability on Bluehost:

Step 3: Find a Good Hosting Provider

Web hosting is a place where your blog is stored online. Meaning, all files, images of your blog are stored and keep available 24×7.

Many beginners and newbies get confused with the domain name and hosting providers.

The Domain name is only the internet address of your blog and Web hosting is where your blog is stored on the server.

Now selecting reliable Web Hosting would be one of the most important decisions you make. To a great extent, the functionality and performance of your site will depend on your web hosting.

Consider these criteria while selecting your hosting:

• Reliability and Performance
• Data Transfer (Traffic/Bandwidth)
• Multiple Domain Hosting and Subdomains
• Web Server and Operating System
• SSL Certificate
• Price & Payment Plan
• Technical support

Chose Shared Hosting if you are a beginner, instead of Dedicated or VPS Hosting, which is costly and not recommended for beginners.

I am using Bluehost multidomain hosting on Linux OS with SSL since 2016 as it was the cheapest and popular of all.

For beginners, Bluehost is unbeatable with its low price and free domain name and free SSL.

To be honest, you really don’t need anything more at this stage. Once you get over 25,000 visitors to your blog in a month, then you can consider upgrading, but Bluehost can scale with you.

I recommend Bluehost to start with, as most of the top bloggers also recommend Bluehost Web Hosting for beginners.

I believe in complete transparency. If you sign up with Bluehost using my referral link, I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you. In fact, you will save money with my special link.

You should go for it. Here are the benefits:

• Free Domain Name
• Free SSL Certificate
• 1-Click WordPress Install
• 24×7 Support
• 30-Days Money back guaranteed

Grab The Special Offer On Bluehost  

Why Bluehost?

Because this is not only recommended by the pro bloggers like Syed Balkhi (WPBeginner) or Harsha Agarwal (ShoutMeLaud), but also the WordPress itself recommends Bluehost as the best hosting provider. You can check here.

Trust these experts, and you will not regret your decision. So let’s move on.

Follow these steps to purchase hosting for your first blog. Let’s Open up Bluehost in a new window and follow along.

1. Click on the green Get Started Now button to get started.

2. Now, on the next screen, select the plan you need – basic or choice plus is suitable for beginners.

3. Now select your new domain name (It’s Free) or type in the domain name if you already have or skip it to create later

4. Now, create your account by filling in details or sign-in using your Gmail account.

5. Next, you need to select the plan. I recommend going with the 36-month plan because that’s the best value. You can skip a few things to save money.

(PS: You may see the price of the basic plan as $3.95/mo, but not to worry, you will get a pop-up to claim 70% Off  (price at $2.65/mo) while filling in your account details, or you can move the mouse pointer to outside your browser window towards the exit, if not getting a popup as below)

6. Now click Claim Savings to apply 70% discount.

→ Get 70% Discount Now

7. Finally, under the payment information, you can pay via credit/debit card or via PayPal. You can click on More payment options.

Once you completed this, you will receive an email for validation and other details within a few minutes.

You’re done!

Congratulations! You have successfully purchased a hosting and domain for yourself. You have completed the most important step on your way to starting your blog.

There is a lot of blogging platform which you can use to make your blog, but I recommended you to go with WordPress.

WordPress.org offers free to download Content Management System (CMS) software for self-hosted WordPress hostings.

Means, you can download WordPress software for free from WordPress.org and install it on your shared or dedicated hosting.

Bluehost offers a 1-click WordPress install feature and even auto-install it for you. 

WordPress is the world’s most popular blogging software (37% of the world’s website created on WordPress). Because of this self-hosted WordPress version offers great flexibility and control for a blogging platform.

In WordPress, you have many options for plugins and themes available, which gives you more scope for customization and control to make your blog outstanding

So I think you can get an idea of why WordPress is the best blogging platform.

Let’s move on to the next step. 

Step 4: Setup Your WordPress Blog

Once you complete the hosting purchase, Bluehost will automatically install the WordPress software on your domain name. That’s why I recommend it for beginners, as it does most of the initial setup automatically and get your blogging platform ready to use.

Now you just need to login to your newly created Bluehost account and then click the Login to WordPress button to get started.

Also, you can log in to WordPress Dashboard by direct URL – https://yoursite.com/wp-admin/.

Or through cPanel URL – https://yoursite.com:2083.

Remember these URLs or bookmark them for future use.

Before moving further, let’s do some basic settings.

On the WordPress Dashboard, Click on Settings > General. 

Now update your Sitename, site tagline, URLs, email as shown below:

Also, change the language, timezone and date/time format as per your requirement, as shown below and save the changes.

Now again, click on Settings -> Permalinks and select the ‘Post name’ option. This is an important setting for the SEO of your blog post.

Now move to the next step.

Step 5: Select a WordPress Theme for Your Blog

The theme is essentially meant the design of your blog.

The design of your blog will determine that the visitors will love your blog or not. It is the most important aspect as it attracts and hooks your audience.

So a good theme selection is equally important for the success of your blog.

There are plenty of Free and Premium themes available for WordPress. I always recommend to go for a premium theme because you will get all the supports and updates, and moreover, you will have a quality and professional design for your blog.

A piece of genuine advice – Never ever use nulled /cracked premium theme as it can be easily compromised and can create trouble in the long run.

Treat your blog as a business and make some investment in the stuff that is essential.

So on which theme should you invest in and why?

Let me help you chose your theme. The best theme is based on the fact that,

• It should be lightweight so that the blog loading is fast.
• The theme should be compatible with your latest WordPress version.
• The theme should be responsive (For Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile Devices)
• Support should be excellent (like Generatepress and Astra Pro)

I personally use and recommend the GeneratePress theme mainly because

• Fastest loading
• Stunning design
• SEO friendly
• Compatibility

Now let me tell you about some of my favorite paid themes that most Pro bloggers are using.

Some of my Favorite Multipurpose Themes (Used By Pro Bloggers)

• Genesis: This is one of the best professional theme frameworks by StudioPress. It provides the most secure and search-engine-optimized foundation for WordPress.
• Astra Pro: This is a lightweight and easy to customizable theme, which offers the template for all kinds of blogs.
• OceanWP: This is a multipurpose WordPress theme. Mostly used for eCommerce sites.
• GeneratePress: This is the most favorites and best choice for pro bloggers.

You can find more themes from ThemeForest on Evanto Marketplace, but for beginners, it may confuse to select it from 48K themes. Just go with GeneratePress.

After selecting the theme for your blog, now let’s install it on WordPress:

Login to your WordPress dashboard and go to Appearance -> Themes -> Add New

Now upload the theme (in .zip file) and install it.

Upload Theme -> Choose File -> Install Now

And finally, Activate your theme.

Installing and activating the theme is an easy task, but the main and important task is to customize it. Click on appearance -> customizes, and now you can customize your theme according to your need.

Tips- Selection of the right theme is an important step to start a blog, as it is responsible for the loading speed and on-page SEO of your blog.

Now let’s install some essential plugins that are recommended for WordPress users.

Step 6: Install Essential WordPress Plugins for Your Blog

Plugins are important as they can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress blog.

There are plenty of WordPress plugins out there. Here are a few plugins which you should have on your newly created WordPress blog:

WP Rocket – WP rocket is the plugin, which helps you optimize your blog’s loading speed and make it faster. I strongly recommend you to have this plugin.

Elementor or Thrive Architect – These are the page builder plugins used to design your blog page and posts. These plugins allow you to create a professional landing page through its easy-to-use drag and drop feature.

Rank Math – This plugin is a must-have for every WordPress blogger. This is essential for any to rank higher in search engines. This helps you to optimize your blog for search engines to drive free traffic from search engines. RankMath is very user-friendly and more features available with this plugin compare to other SEO plugins available out there.

Social Snap  – Social snap is a social sharing plugin. This plugin important to drive traffic from social sites like – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and many more platforms.

Akismet – This is an official WordPress plugin to prevent spam comments in WordPress. This plugin will automatically move those comments that it considers spam into the trash can (deleting them permanently after a period of time). You just need to create a free profile on WordPress.com. and get the API.

Short Pixel– This plugin helps to optimize images. If you are writing an informative article with a lot of images in it, this plugin will optimize your images and make them lighter and by this, your website loads faster.

I don’t recommend you to go with nulled or cracked plugins as it can be compromised. If you want to be a professional blogger, then keep the investment mindset and treat your blog like a business.

Installing a plugin is an easy task; let me show you how

• Go to your WordPress dashboard
• Then go to Plugins -> Add New
• Then upload your plugin zip file and click on the “install now” button.
• After installing, click on the “activate button” to activate that particular plugin.

You’re done

Now let’s move on to the next step.

Step 7: Write and Publish Your First Blog Post

Are you excited to write your first blog post and want to share it with the world?

Before writing, research the topic you want to write and use long-tail keywords to rank your article easily and faster.

So, let’s start writing and share your knowledge with the world. Let me help you with a few tips to start with:

• Put an attractive and catchy title of your blog post by using numbers and power words.
• Write your content as if you are talking to someone.
• The content should cover all the aspects of your topic in detail.
• Add some images (royalty-free) in your post to make the article more comprehensive.
• Write SEO optimized content. Meaning, use of longtail keywords & On-page SEO

For creating a blog post, goto Dashboard then click 1. Posts -> 2. Add New -> 3. Add Title -> 4. Write Content -> 5. Publish post

You can use Elementor page-builder to make your blog post more attractive and professional.

Step 8: Add Important Pages To Your Blog

This is what most of the beginners forget to create. Here are some of the important pages, which you should have on your blog from day one.

• About page: It contains the detail about your blog, and you. That’s the page where your readers will get to know you better as a blogger and help to build trust.
• Contact page: It is needed so that the audience /reader can connect with you through the contact form. You can use free contact form 7 plugin to create a contact form.
• Privacy Policy Page: It is recommended to add a privacy policy page to your blog as it protects your blog from legal issues and also helps build trust.
• Disclosure Page: It is a statement page that informs your users about something of relevance to them so that they can make informed decisions.

Moving to the most favorite step of every blogger.

Step 9: Monetize Your Blog

So, are you excited to make your first dollar online?

I am sure, your answer would be YES! So let’s dive in.

There are several ways by which you can make money through your blog.

In this part, I will show some ideas through which you can earn a good amount of money from your blog. Here is the list:

• Affiliate Marketing – Promote other company’s products on your blog and if you get a sale of that product, then you will earn a commission from the product owner. This is my all-time favorite and most effective methods for making money online.

• Offering Service: You can offer services to your readers if you are an expert in any field like Social Media Marketing or Graphic Designing or any other skills. This method, of course, depends on your personal set of skills and expertise.

• Advertising on your blog – Many bloggers are using it to make a decent amount of money by offering the blog space to advertisers. Two leading advertisers are Google Adsense and Media.net, You can apply to there program and make money from there.

• Selling Information Products – You can create your own information product and online courses and sell to your readers, but before that, you have to create trust and build your tribe then only you can sell them your product and services.

These are many more ways that you can use to make money from your blog. However, patience and hard work is the only mantra to success. 

FAQs Related To Start A Blog

How much does it cost to start a blog?

You can start it from as low as $3 per month (Domain + Hosting). I always recommend to go with a yearly plan to get a special discount.   How to start a blog business?   You just need to choose the best hosting for your business need. And rest this guide will let you know how to start a blog from scratch for your business.   

How do I start a blog and get paid for it?

In this guide, I already mentioned in Step#9, different ways to monetize your blog and get paid for it. Mainly, you can get paid by advertising through Google Adsense or Media.net, Affiliate marketing, selling products /services, and many more other earning methods.  

Can I start a blog for free?

Yes, you can start your blog for free using blogging platforms like Blogger, Wix, Tumblr, etc. but I don’t recommend you to go with that, because these platforms have limitations in customization and also you can not monetize the way you want. So if you want to make blogging as a business and earn real money from your blog then you need to understand the power of an investment. Treat your blog as a business.  

How to start a blog in India?

If you want to start a blog in India and target only Indian audience then two points to note: Domain name- You can choose .in domain instead of .com if you want to target only India. This will also cost you less. Domain Hosting- Choose a local hosting datacentre in India. Bluehost offers datacentre in Mumbai. Rest all the steps to start a blog in India is same as mentioned in this guide.  

I started my blog but how can I get traffic?

After starting your blog, you will not get traffic from the day1, it takes time.  You can do some basic optimization and SEO to get some organic traffic. Here is a complete guide to optimize your blog for SEO to get organic traffic to your blog.

Wrapping Up

Congratulation! As You Have Created Your First Blog.

Hope you find it useful and learned how to start a blog from scratch.

Now What Next?

This is not an end, but the beginning of your blogging journey, and you have to learn many things to become a successful blogger.

After creating your blog, the first thing is to bring quality traffic on your blog through SEO. And then build trust with your audience.

I would recommend you to create a learning and investing mindset.

Work your way from top to bottom while focusing on one thing at a time. Be persistent and I guarantee that blogging success will come.

Over to You.

Good luck!

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