How to Create a WordPress Blog in 5 Easy Steps

Whether you want to become a full-time blogger or an online copywriter, having your own blog is probably the first and best foot forward. If you really want to make money online, having a blog will take you many steps forward in that direction.

Building a blog is not a one-time process; you have to be at it continuously as long as you continue blogging. However, before you monetize your blog, here are the first five steps that you through creating your very first blog. So, here we go:

Step#1: Choose The Platform

Technically, blogging platform refers to the application software where you create your blog. There are several blogging platforms out there, but choosing the right platform is critical to your blogging experience as well as online exposure.

Some of the blogging software applications are available for free while the rest are paid. Obviously, you’re not supposed to go for the paid ones as you need to spend some time on learning the ins and outs of blogging until you know how different platforms affect your blogging experience.

Speaking of free blogging platforms, both Blogger.com (by Google) and WordPress.com (Open source software) are immensely popular across the bloggers. However, with the invention of social web (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn), the popularity of WordPress blogging platform has gone off the roof. Again, as a novice, WordPress.com is more likely to offer you a better blogging experience than Blogger.com. Therefore, choosing WordPress software for your first blog is always a smarter option.

Step#2: Create A WordPress Account

When you log on to www.WordPress.com, you can the home page filled with some chosen WordPress blogs from various bloggers. If you work hard and smart, someday your blog could show up on the home page, who knows!

Anyways, on the right side of the home page, you will find WordPress’s message for you that says, “Express Yourself and Start a Blog”. All you need to do is click on the Sign up Now button and fill in the necessary steps to compete the signup requirements to create your first blog. The good news is WordPress understands your concerns on how to go about starting your very first blog, so it offers you a step by step guide here.

Step#3: Choose A WordPress Theme

Once you’re done with the WordPress account creation process (I hope you didn’t have to face much problem), it’s time to dress your blog with a theme that appeals to your blogging needs. The choice of the right WordPress theme is important for several reasons. First, a proper theme inspires you and your audience aesthetically. It’s worth mentioning that the first impression of your potential visitors typically stems from the theme, images and post headlines you have on your blog. Therefore, you have to be thoughtful and innovating about how you present your blog by choosing the theme that most appropriately associates your blogging ideas with it.

The only bad news is that, WordPress.com doesn’t allow you to choose a theme of your choice. But then you can’t get everything you want for free. So, let’s make the most of what we have at our disposal, right? The good news, however, is that you can modify your existing theme to suit your blogging requirements. But that’s an advanced step and let’s not get into that as of now. Just choose the right them that represents your blogging philosophy. If you’re still confused on how to go about it, here is the link to help you.

Step#4: Plan Your Monthly Blogging Schedule

One of the most common responses from first time bloggers is they tend to go overboard with the blogging planning. You may feel like you’re ready to write several posts a week, but eventually, this fad might not last as long as you thought it would. So, get real and plan your writing schedule realistically. Maybe, just 3 posts per week? How about that for a great start!

Since you can’t plan your annual blogging schedule in one day, you can probably prepare a weekly or monthly schedule of 12 posts. Just write down the probable topic titles which you’re going to write on across the month. It helps a lot to stay focused and saves a lot of time that you would spend in pondering over what your next post should be about.

Step#5: Write Your Very First Post

Since you have a blog, you can write anything you please? Never start blogging until you have a plan in place. Your very first blog post requires as much deliberation as your annual blogging schedule. So, before you jump into writing your first post, hold back and make a plan on what you’re going to write and how frequently you can write your posts.

Assuming that you’ll listen to my advice and write 3 posts a week, your first post should talk about what you’re going to offer to your audience in general and a generic introduction of what your blogging plans are.

So, there you have it, your very first WordPress blog. With a little bit of discipline, planning and resolution, you can sure make it a hit across the Web. In future, we’ll talk about how to make your blog more interactive by creating audience-centric content.

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