Congrats on your decision to make a blog!!! Starting a blog is one of those life moments that is both scary, and exciting at the same time. Blogging has literally changed our lives and we are so excited that you have taken a leap to start one too! Not only can you make money with a blog, but you have the opportunity to connect with people! And that’s what life is truly all about. We love being able to help others follow their dreams and make them a reality. In this post we will share how to start a blog in less than 5 minutes using GoDaddy and WordPress.
How To Start A Blog Video
Sometimes, watching a video can be WAY more helpful that just reading through a blog post. So, we’ve decided to record this tutorial on how to start a blog using WordPress just for you!
1. Setting Up Your Domain + Hosting
The first step is to choose your domain name and set up hosting. While this may sound intimidating and require some technical skills, it is actually quite simple. Don’t believe us? Just check out the steps below.
I'm thinking about starting a blog...would would you read it? Click To TweetSetup Your Hosting
We use GoDaddy for all of our websites and we highly recommend them. Of course, there are other options available, but GoDaddy has always been super reliable.
- GoDaddy offers great hosting for a very reasonable price at less than $5 a month.
- Their customer support is fantastic! We always hear back within a few hours when we send in a ticket via email.
- They can answer all of our questions without making us feel dumb. Thats a good thing.
Visit the GoDaddy website, click Hosting at the top in the navigation bar, then choose Web Hosting from the drop down menu.
Select Your Plan
If you are planning to only have one website (your blog) then we would recommend starting with the Economy hosting package for WordPress. We use the Ultimate hosting because we manage several websites other than this one. The Ultimate package gives you the hosting space you need for less than $8 per month – that’s a steal.
GoDaddy will now ask you how long you would like to pay for hosting. If you plan on sticking with your blog, I would recommend paying for more than a year, it’s way cheaper!
Choose Your Domain Name
Next, you’ll need to choose a domain name. If you haven’t made one yet, just type in your desired website name, and GoDaddy will give you the price for each name. Try to choose something memorable and not hard to spell.
Finish Registration
Yay! You did it. All that’s left now is to fill in your details and complete registration. Hint : you don’t need all that extra stuff they try to sell you, so you can uncheck the boxes if you like. It’s completely up to you of course.
2. Installing WordPress
Once you’ve signed up for hosting, head to your GoDaddy cpanel and click the featured web application Wordpress.
Select the domain you want to install WordPress on (if you have multiple websites), and click Check Domain. Leave the text box blank that allows you to install WordPress on a separate page like mywebsite.com/blog. You don’t need to fill it out.
Yay! You’re done installing WordPress! Just wait for the installation to complete, and you should be sent an email with all of your installation credentials. Make sure you keep this or write down the information somewhere.
To login to your new website, visit your WordPress dashboard by going to http://www.yourdomainname.com/wp-admin.
3. Install A WordPress Theme
Now that WordPress is installed on your site, it’s time to make it look good! Find a theme that will best display your content and meets your needs. Using a premium WordPress theme is probably one of the best investments you can make when starting a new blog. The price tag mayhem high ad first, but you can easily customize it to look custom built without hiring a designer. There are many places online to buy WordPress themes, but two of our favorite places are Theme Forest and Creative Market.
To install your theme, go to your WordPress dashboard and head to Appearance > Themes. Select Add New and then Upload Theme. Upload the .zip file for the theme you chose, and click Install Now.
Time To Launch
Your WordPress blog is now LIVE! Feel free to pop the champagne and celebrate. You’ve successfully set up your hosting and installed WordPress in less than 5 minutes. Now it’s time to write an awesome post, and share it with the world!
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR FREE HOW TO START A BLOG CHECKLIST RIGHT NOW.
Include a link to your blog in the comments below or tweet at us @moosestudio – we can’t wait to see your new blog!
Disclaimer: Some of the links used in this post are affiliate links, meaning we’ll make a small commission if you make a purchase using them. We only use affiliate links for products that we have experience with. There’s no additional cost to you for using them!
I haven’t used WordPress since I was involved with a group blog about 8 years ago. Everyone keeps talking about how easy it is to use these days which was not what people said years ago. I’m in the process of moving to a self hosted blog, so perhaps, I should consider it.
I haven’t used WordPress since I was involved with a group blog about 8 years ago. Everyone keeps talking about how easy it is to use these days which was not what people said years ago. I’m in the process of moving to a self hosted blog, so perhaps, I should consider it.
I migrated from Blogger to WP awhile back and that took a lot longer than anticipated haha. Sometimes I wish I had just started a brand new blog bc it was such a struggle.
xoxo, Jenny
I migrated from Blogger to WP awhile back and that took a lot longer than anticipated haha. Sometimes I wish I had just started a brand new blog bc it was such a struggle.
xoxo, Jenny
This is a quick and easy tutorial to help anyone get started with a Word press blog. Thanks for sharing this valuable resource!
This is a quick and easy tutorial to help anyone get started with a Word press blog. Thanks for sharing this valuable resource!
Great post! My mom is actually thinking of starting a blog, so I’ll have to share this post with her!
Great post! My mom is actually thinking of starting a blog, so I’ll have to share this post with her!
I’m about to jump from free WordPress to buying my own domain. I’ve bookmarked your blog post, Josh and Michaela as a guide :) Thank you so much for sharing!
I’m about to jump from free WordPress to buying my own domain. I’ve bookmarked your blog post, Josh and Michaela as a guide :) Thank you so much for sharing!
starting a blog is very easy but later maintaining it is a big task
starting a blog is very easy but later maintaining it is a big task
that’s quite useful information there. keep it up
that’s quite useful information there. keep it up