Learn how to start a blog on Bluehost! Bluehost is great for beginners as no web design or development experience is necessary. Whether you’re interested in starting a blog professionally or as a hobby, I’ll show you why you need a Bluehost blog. Learn how to start a WordPress blog on Bluehost in 2023, including step-by-step instructions, pricing, and more!
Today you will learn how to create a WordPress website with Bluehost. Learning how to start a self-hosted blog allows me to work from home with a completely flexible schedule.
If you want to turn your blog into a business one day, it’s easier to monetize WordPress.org compared to free blogging platforms. (This includes Wix, Blogger, Blogspot, and WordPress.com.) Your WordPress blog and Bluehost will also look more professional if you need a professional website for your business or service.
This article is about Bluehost for beginners, so let’s start with some definitions. Here’s what you need to start a WordPress blog on Bluehost (or other host):
- Hosting plan: Your website You have rented space on the web. Your web host is who you rent the space from; in this case it is Bluehost. Some describe thinking of their hosting plan as their owner, a good analogy.
- Domain name: The name domain name is the actual address your visitors pass through. Right now, you are visiting me on my domain name, SummerYule.com (Welcome!) If you don’t pay rent (host), you won’t be able to access your address (domain name). This leaves your domain open to be “rented” by others.
- Blogging Platform: Your blogging platform is the behind-the-scenes map where you add content and other “home improvements” to your website . It’s a place where only you go, not your website visitors. Here we are using WordPress as our blogging platform.
Jump to:
- Why Use Bluehost for WordPress
- How do I start a WordPress blog on Bluehost 2023?
- How to set up a WordPress site on Bluehost
- How do I get a free WordPress theme with Bluehost?
- WordPress Blog Tutorial
- Additional Tips on Starting a WordPress.org Blog
- WordPress Plugins
- Other Blogs from WordPress Must-Haves
- How to Backup a WordPress Site to Bluehost
- Bluehost WordPress Alternatives
- Bluehost Web Hosting Alternatives
- Is Bluehost good for blogging? ?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Other Useful Articles You May Enjoy
- How to Start a WordPress Blog Using Bluehost Video
- 💬Feedback
Why Use Bluehost for WordPress
Bluehost is not the only paid host you can use for a site with ads and affiliate marketing. So why use Bluehost for web hosting? Why not use AWS, SiteGround, A2 Hosting, BigScoots, GoDaddy, or another host?
The main reason to go with Bluehost when deciding between BigScoots vs Bluehost, Bluehost vs GoDaddy WordPress Hosting or another platform is price.
Shared hosting on Bluehost isn’t the fastest, but it has little downtime and is one of the cheapest options for blog hosting. Most bloggers I know, including yours, start with Bluehost.
Start a blog on Bluehost
Here are other reasons you might want to start a blog on Bluehost:
- Free Domain Name: Yes, your domain name is free with hosting at Bluehost. (Note: some domains have an additional cost). This can save you $10-20 per month or more!
- Easy to set up: I’ll walk you through step-by-step instructions on how to start a blog with Bluehost and WordPress. I think you will be surprised how easy how to start a WordPress blog is.
- Customer Service by Online Chat or Phone: If you have any trouble learning how to start a WordPress site on Bluehost, customer service The customer is available 24 hours. /7. You can contact Bluehost by online chat or by phone. I have used both in the past, and Bluehost’s customer support team was always helpful in resolving my issues.
- Free Personalized Email – A wonderful feature of Bluehost is that they offer free personalized email. For example, I can use Summer at SummerYule dot com so I don’t have to use my personal email address. This looks more professional and is another way Bluehost saves you money.
- Free trial site: You can also create a free trial site with Bluehost. Staging sites are areas where you can experiment with changes to the site, rather than experimenting on your live site.
- 30-day money-back guarantee: Bluehost offers a 30-day hosting money-back guarantee for new users. This means that you can test your hosting service risk-free. What do you have to lose by trying them?
To sweeten the deal a bit more, I partnered with Bluehost to create a special deal just for readers. For a limited time, you can access it by clicking the button below:
How do I start a WordPress blog on Bluehost 2023?
Are you ready? to learn how to start a WordPress blog with Bluehost in 2023? Here’s your handy guide to setting up a website:
1. Visit Bluehost and choose your web hosting plan.
Plans start at $2.95 per month for the basic plan. This is what I started with and what I would recommend to most new bloggers. However, there are other plans if you are running multiple sites or have other needs.
Click the button that says “Host Your Site” or “Shared Hosting” in the dropdown menu on the Tab of hosting.
Scroll down and select the “Basic” button (or your preferred plan). As of this writing, the basic 36-month plan is the best deal at $2.95 per month. The 12-month plan costs $4.95 per month.
When I signed up with Bluehost, I was able to get the 36-month plan for $2.95/month. However, I only used the plan for 2 years before needing to upgrade (and change hosts), effectively paying for a year I didn’t use. You may find that the one-year plan is fine for your needs.
2. Choose a domain name.
Now it’s time to choose your domain name, that is, the URL of your site. Choose wisely! If you’re still not sure what exactly your blog will be about, it’s okay to use your name. (I did!)
Sometimes the domain you want won’t be available, so you’ll have to choose a different one. If you haven’t decided on a domain name yet, click “I’ll create my domain later”. If not, you can register your domain right now.
3. Fill in your Bluehost account information.
Next, you need to fill in basic information such as your name and address.
Scrolling down, you’ll see that Bluehost offers many potential add-ons. You can easily double or triple the price of your web hosting by selecting a lot of add-on packages.
The only extra I would seriously consider as a beginning blogger is domain privacy protection for $1.25 a month. This removes your name, address, phone number, and other personal information from the whois database that lists website owners. It’s essentially like having an unlisted number.
Here are the other plugins in the package you can choose from:
- Codeguard Basic: Daily backups for your site and capacity to restore your website in one click. ($2.99/month)
- Yoast SEO Premium: Learning SEO to get found in search engines is essential for professional bloggers, and I recommend taking a course. for this. It’s not necessary for hobby bloggers and there are additional keyword tools that I would recommend for SEO anyway. ($2.99/month)
- SiteLock Security Essential: This is an automatic monitoring tool to help protect your site from malicious attacks. I would save money and get the free WordFence plugin for site security. ($2.99/month)
- Single Domain SSL: You get Let’s Encrypt SSL for free with the basic package, which is fine for beginners. I would skip the paid SSL for now. ($3.33/month)
4. Enter your credit card information to sign up with Bluehost.
It’s time to pay and hit send. Your plan will automatically renew unless you call customer service at +1 855 984 4546 to cancel. IMVHO this is a good thing, as you don’t want to lose your website because you forgot to renew.
5. Let your WordPress installation finish.
You did it! Now that you have a web host, let’s talk about setting up a WordPress blog.
How to set up a WordPress site on Bluehost
How do I start my WordPress site on Bluehost? There are two Ways to login to your WordPress dashboard. The first is to log into the Bluehost dashboard and click through to your WordPress dashboard from there.
Go to Bluehost and click “sign in” in the upper right corner of the screen. This will take you to your hosting login (or your webmail login if you prefer).
You can access the WordPress control panel by clicking on “My Sites” in the menu on the left.
My control panel is going to be more complicated than yours since I’ve been blogging for years.However, your dashboard should have an “Appearance” section. One of the first things you should do when starting a blog is to choose a WordPress theme.
How do I get a free WordPress theme with Bluehost?
In the WordPress control panel, find many options for free WordPress themes under Appearance > Themes > Add New. Keep in mind that you may want to switch to a paid theme later if you turn your blog into a business.
Astra and Kadence are considered two of the best free Bluehost themes for blogs. Both are very fast with a simple design. You can upgrade to a paid version of Kadence later if you want.
When I started this blog as a hobby blog, I used the ColorMag theme. I still love ColorMag’s design, but it’s admittedly not the fastest theme out there. If you’re a blogger, I’d just pick a topic you like; it’s easy to change later.
WordPress Blog Tutorial
Once you’ve set up a theme, you can write a post. To get started, click Posts > Add New in the WordPress dashboard. It will take you to this screen:
First, check the column on the right. Decide when you want your post to be published and add the date. Scroll down and add a featured image and category (if desired).
(This is beyond the scope of this review, but I don’t add tags. They create a lot of thin content pages which are bad for SEO. When I was first learning how to start a WordPress blog with Bluehost I created a mess with the tags that took months to fix.)
Next, in the left column you can add your title and start writing the body of the post. If you click below the center of a block, you can see the option to add media like videos and photos.
Here are some quick tips for writing blog posts that look good on mobile devices:
- Keep your paragraphs to no more than 2-3 sentences.
- Keep your sentences to no more than 20 words.
- Split sections with H2 headings.
- Keep the text between H2 headings under 300 words.
- Use bulleted lists and lots of images in your post to help keep things interesting.
These practices are also great for SEO. When you’re done writing, hit the “Post” or “Schedule” button at the top right of the screen. Congratulations!
Additional Tips on Starting a WordPress.org Blog
There are a few more things you should know. First of all, don’t confuse WordPress.org with WordPress.com.
You can set up a free site at WordPress.com but you don’t own your domain. Instead, you are given a WordPress.com subdomain. Your URL would look something like this: https://yoursitenamehere.WordPress.com/
With WordPress.org, you own the actual domain, not just a subdomain of another site. That is why we have gone to so much trouble to learn how to start a blog with Bluehost and WordPress.
WordPress Plugins
Plugins can serve a variety of purposes and can help your site perform better. To access the plugins, simply click on “Plugins” in the left menu of the WordPress dashboard.
Here are some plugins I recommend for blogging beginners:
- Jetpack: Jetpack is like the Swiss army knife of plugins, it does so many things. A nice feature of Jetpack is that it comes with Askimet, a powerful filter against spam comments.
- Wordfence: No matter how small your site is, hackers will try to hack it. Wordfence is a security plugin that offers a free and a paid version. I highly recommend either one. (Advanced Blogger Tip: Another way to protect your site is to switch your nameservers to Cloudflare.)
- Yoast: Yoast is a popular plugin for learning basic on-page SEO. (I wouldn’t get too hung up on it though, as the green/red light system can mislead you.) Yoast offers a free and a paid premium version. The free version is fine for beginners.
- WP Recipe Builder: If you are going to post recipes, you should use a plugin that creates a recipe card. I use WP Recipe Maker and love all the features and customizations it offers.
As much as I like certain plugins, I recommend minimizing the use of plugins in general. If you have many, they are more likely to conflict with each other and create errors on your site.
When I was a beginner, I used about 40 plugins and now I have less than 20. Less is more when it comes to plugins.
Also, don’t set your plugins to update automatically, and try not to update them right away. New plugin updates often come with bugs that are fixed after a couple of weeks.
Other must-have WordPress blogs
Here are some places on the web I recommend registering your blog:
- Google Adsense: You can monetize your blog with ads using Google AdSense right from the start.AdSense doesn’t pay as well as Adthrive or Mediavine, but it doesn’t have high traffic requirements either. Start getting back some of the money you spent on your blog right now. (Well, at least a few cents of what you spent.)
- Google Analytics: Google Analytics gives you detailed information about how visitors find your website. Ad networks also want this information. What social media channels are working best for you? Discover it here!
- Google Search Console: Use Google Search Console to get more specific information about how your site is performing on Google than Analytics.
- Mailchimp: Your email list is one of the most important assets on your site. Your email list belongs to you and will not be affected by social media algorithm changes or Google updates. Mailchimp is free to use for up to 2,000 subscribers and is great for beginners. (After that, I recommend ConvertKit.)
Speaking of which…
How to back up your a WordPress site on Bluehost
Bluehost Choice Plus offers automatic backups for the first year. BluehostPro offers automated backups as part of their plan.
Bluehost Basic and Bluehost Plus do not offer automatic backups. However, you add Codeguard Basic to your hosting package for $2.99 per month. This gives you automatic daily backups of your site.
I highly recommend backing up your site, so you can restore it if necessary. I used Jetpack for backups when I was on the Bluehost Basic plan. Another option is to use the free UpdraftPlus plugin.
Bluehost WordPress Alternatives
There are other ways to blog if you don’t want to use Bluehost. and WordPress. For example, you can get paid to post videos on YouTube or TikTok. However, using your own platform to reach your audience can provide higher and more secure revenue.
Let me explain…
If you turn your main platform into a social media channel, like TikTok, you can quickly lose your audience when the algorithm changes. Plus, if the platform shuts down or disappears (think MySpace), so will your audience.
Another problem is that social platforms act as intermediaries and take a part of your income. The major ad networks (Mediavine and Adthrive/CafeMedia) pay US bloggers between $20 and $35 for every 1,000 or more pageviews. (This is a general guide and may vary depending on where your audience is coming from and your niche.)
I heard that TikTok only pays 2-4 cents per 1000 views. A video viewed on your website can earn you 30 times more than the same video viewed on YouTube. Also, you need to continuously feed your social channels with new content to continue earning.
Social media can be a great way to expand your audience and build awareness about your brand. But is it great to rely on social media if you want to make money blogging? IMVHO, not so much.
Bluehost Web Hosting Alternatives
Of course, there are other web hosts that you can use instead of Bluehost. Here is a cost comparison chart of some popular web hosting options:
*This is the host I moved to after my site grew to high levels of traffic.
Is Bluehost good for blogging?
In short, Bluehost is the best web host for blogging beginners. It’s cheap, easy to use, and has excellent customer support. If you are interested in creating a website on the cheap, I highly recommend giving Bluehost a try.
For a limited time, Summer Yule Nutrition and Recipes readers can take advantage of a special offer! Save money on Bluehost web hosting by clicking the button below!
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Bluehost and WordPress work together?
Bluehost offers a web hosting and WordPress is a content management system. You need a host like Bluehost to have a live website.
Do I get Bluehost or WordPress first?
If this is your first blog, sign up with Bluehost first. Then use Bluehost’s WordPress setup process to set up WordPress for your self-hosted blog in one click.
What are the four types of blogs?
There are many types of blogs, but some classify them as personal blogs, business blogs, niche and affiliate blogs. Some blogs are a combination of these types.
Other Useful Articles You May Enjoy
Now that you’ve learned how to create a WordPress blog on Bluehost, here are some more Life Hacks:
- How To Achieve Permanent Fat Loss
- My favorite weeknight dinner hack, MyPlate Meals
- HelloFresh and Green Chef Review(aka how to make dinner when you want to save gas and not has time to go shopping)
How to Start a WordPress Blog Using Bluehost Video
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