How to Create a Blog in WordPress

Share Your Winning Ideas with the World

Welcome to 2020 and congratulations on starting your blog! In this age of transparency blogging is a powerful action you can take in sharing your opinions, hobbies, and expertise on subjects with the world. Writing about your passions is fun and super easy while learning how to create a blog in WordPress.

Here are 5 steps you need to take to start a blog using Managed WordPress web hosting.

1. Decide on your niche market
2. Choose a domain name for your website
3. Sign up with a web hosting service
4. Choose a keyword for your blog
5. Write your blog post

Decide on Your Niche Market

The first blog was created in 1994 when the internet was in its beginning stages. Since then the number of websites has grown worldwide to about 1.7 million that feature more than 500 million blogs (source: Blogging.org).

That being said, choosing a target niche in a subject for which you have knowledge, or a passion has never been more important. Your blogs will more than likely show your interest and your site visitors will tend to gain usable knowledge and insight during their site visits. Examples of blogging subject categories include:

• Personal interests are hobbies or topics that interest you and will likely interest many others around the world too. Common examples are photography that can be shared with a wide audience. Articles about exposure and darkroom techniques are sure to be an interest to many others. Travel is another example where you can blog about the places that you have visited which can generate lots of articles: places to stay, sights, and photo ops. Cooking and sports are two more blogging topics that are sure to draw many readers.
• Life’s challenges are another topic that you can share with readers. For example, Alzheimer’s is a controversial topic and I have friends that are facing that challenge. Blogging about your experiences and the latest treatment options are an excellent way to connect with others that are experiencing the same challenges.
• Sociopolitical issues like global warming, poverty, and fair taxation are great ways to share your views and connect with others.
• Personal stories and anecdotes are always interesting to share with others. Telling an interesting story reveals the lessons you learned and captivates your readers. Sharing a good story encourages comment exchanges.
• Niche marketing is rapidly becoming a popular way to make money online. Generally, people do tap the internet for solutions to their problems or answers to their questions. Thorough research is a critical step in preparing to promote a product or service. This includes the source of the product (Amazon, Target, Walmart, etc.) and the target audience to whom you will promote those products.

Who would you love helping with their pains, frustrations, desires, and needs? Are they willing to pay a fair price for your products, services, or information? This is how you define your niche market.

It’s important to understand the needs of your target audience and how they view their concerns. Refer to my article Finding My Niche Market for more details on how to find your niche market.

Choose a domain name for your website

A good domain name is an important representation of your chosen niche and your brand. Domain names have a huge impact on the click through rate for your website. This includes the search results on social media, referring links, and even offline advertising. Choosing a domain name wisely leaves a brand name impression on your site and will attract return visitors.

Free online tools are available that can help you brainstorm domain names based on the keywords that you enter. Jaaxy is a great tool and easy to use.

Benefits of Creating Keyword Domain Names (Source: DesignLab):

• Direct searches by visitors that search on the term that uses your website URL. For example: autoinsurancebrokersinlosangeles.com will come right up on the first page if that is your website URL.
• Increases organic search traffic as one of the search qualifiers that Google uses in searches include domain names.
• Increases click-thru rates as visitors are more likely to click on a website that matches their query.
• Helps build brand recognition and credibility.

Take your time deciding on a domain name as it’s your real estate and closely identifies the purpose of your website. In the end, your domain name will be one in which you are proud to call your own.

Sign Up with a Web Hosting Service

There is an abundance of companies that provide WordPress web hosting services with competitive services and pricing. BlueHost, WordPress, and DreamHost are three of them. In my opinion, the quality of the service is pretty close to equal among these three providers.

WordPress blogging packages start at an introductory price of less than $5 per month. Be advised that the trial periods range from 1 to 3 years and regular rates apply after the trial period ends. DreamHost stands out with a 97-day money back guarantee.

The WordPress hosting platform that I would eagerly recommend is Wealthy Affiliate as web hosting is included with your membership along with many other tools for your blogging. What’s even better – you can launch your own website for free without even touching your credit card. Here are some of the web hosting features and why I think Wealthy Affiliate is the best deal:

• SEO Optimization
• 30 GB of Space
• Average Load Time 1.3 Seconds
• 500,000 Visitors Per Month
• Free SSL Certificate
• Daily Website Backups
• 24/7/365 Access to Tech Support
• Multi-Layered Site Security
• 1 Website with free membership; 10 websites (with premium membership)
• Over 2,400 mobile-ready templates
• Free domain emails
• And Much more

Whether you are just starting your online business or looking to grow several different businesses to new levels, a robust web hosting platform, SiteRubix is only one of the many benefits you get with your Wealthy Affiliate membership.

In the video below, Kyle Loudoun, co-founder of Wealthy Affiliate will demonstrate how to create a free website when you sign up as a Starter Member with Wealthy Affiliate.

Choose a Keyword for Your Blog

Choosing the right keywords and keeping your content relevant to your chosen keyword is critical for good SEO rankings. Everyone wants their blog posting to come up on page one of the search engine result pages (SERPs).

A well-chosen keyword will boost your SEO rankings for your blog as you are likely to achieve higher rankings with search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo. To select the best keywords for your blog, you will need metrics that will help you decide the best keyword for your blog. Here are some keyword search tools that offer free trials and reasonable rates:

• Google Keyword Planner
• Keyword IO
• Ubersuggest
• Google Trends
• SEMRush

My #1 recommendation for a keyword search tool is Jaaxy. It’s a powerful keyword research tool that can generate a ton of keywords with only one lookup query. The utility provides useful metrics about the keyword or phrase that you enter: average monthly queries, competition, and domain name extensions that are available to use with the entered keyword.

The metrics in the above sample keyword results display statistics that are critical to your blog’s rankings on Google, Bing, and Yahoo search engines. Below is a more detailed description of each of the columns in the above display:

• Avg – The average number of searches that the keyword receives per month.
• Traffic – The number of visits to your website if you achieve first page rankings in the search engines.
• QSR (Quoted Search Results) – This is the number of web pages that are ranked in Google and competing for this exact same keyword.
• KQI (Keyword Quality Indicator) – A color-coded indicator where Green is great, yellow is OK, and red is poor.
• SEO – A score on a scale of 1 to 100 that is based on traffic and competition. The higher the score, the more likely you will rank for this keyword on the first page.
• Domains – This column displays the available domain extensions (“.com”/”.org”/”.net”) in which your exact keyword can be used as a part of your domain name.

The best keywords are the ones on the display with the highest average number of monthly searches (AVG) and the least number of sites competing for that keyword (QSR). Low-hanging keywords are recommended that have a QSR < 100.

Check out my Jaaxy Review 2020 page for a complete description and tutorial on how Jaaxy can help you create the best blog.

Try 30 free searches on Jaaxy and see for yourself. There is no credit card required or a time limit on the free trial.  See if you don’t agree with its convenience and ease of use.

Type a keyword or phrase in the box below and click the “Find Keywords” button to see your results.

Write Your Blog Post

Several resources are available both online and offline for research a multitude of subjects for your blog. These include e-books, periodicals, and images. Many of these resources can be accessed free of charge. Refer to my Best Free Blogging Research Resources page for more details.

Writer’s Block?

We all have times when we just can’t think of a topic on which to write a blog post. This is where your connections in the Wealthy Affiliate community are a great resource. Several articles have been written by members that provide answers to any questions or problems you might encounter as a blogger.

“How to cure a writer block, 101 blogging ideas” is one example article contributed by one of our Wealthy Affiliate members. This article features a list of topics that is guaranteed to help generate an endless flow of ideas and get most anyone writing again.

Outline Your Blog Post

Creating an outline of your blog post before you start writing will map out your key sections and help you to stay focused on the topic.

Checking Your Work

Take your time and check your blog post for spelling and grammar errors. Also check for unintentional plagiarism and make any corrections there. There are several plagiarism checkers that you can use to ensure your content is original: Copyscape, Grammerly, Dupli Checker, and many more.

A Final Note

Creating a blog in WordPress is a step-by-step process and takes thought, time, and effort. Having a goal in mind before you start your blog helps in the planning and final product. Ask yourself why you are writing a blog and what you want your blog to say to the world. When you have established the foundation of your blog, the rest falls into place more easily. Then it’s time to choose a domain name that reflects your idea or your brand. Then have fun writing and reaching out to the world with your ideas.

 

---

Blogging Q & A

What is a URL?

A domain name defines the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) which is the official address that people will use to get to your website. The URL also specifies which protocol to use when retrieving that resource like HTTP, HTTPS, or FTP, etc.

What is the difference between a page and a post?

What is the difference between Shared and Managed WordPress Hosting?

• Managed WordPress hosting is a WordPress site that includes maintenance services such as WordPress installation, automated daily backups, WordPress core updates and server-level caching.
• Shared Hosting is exactly what the term implies: your site shares the server and network resources with other sites on the same server. Shared hosting leaves much of the maintenance work like backups, optimization, and upgrades up to you.

What are plugins and how are they used?

A plugin is a third-party software application that adds functionality to your website. Note: Too many plugins on your website tend to slow performance in terms of load times. Ultimately, this can affect your Google ranking. WordPress offers close to 60,000 plugins for you to use to enhance your blogging website.

Where Can I Find Topics to Write About?

Blogs are written on just about any topic imaginable to share personal knowledge with a specific group of readers – more commonly known as your niche. The key to a successful blog is to build an audience with interactive exchanges by inviting the readers to leave comments about your post. Answering the comments within 24 hours forms a relationship with the readers and eventually builds trust.

What is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org?

The key differences between WordPress.com and WordPress.org are listed in the chart below.

 

---

Thank you for browsing my website. Feel free to share your own new domain names or any questions about how to create a blog in WordPress below and I will respond to all of them.