There is plenty of space on the Internet for everyone. People love to share ideas, express their thoughts, and maybe even try to reach a global audience. How do you prepare to achieve those goals? Well, one way to do that is to start a personal blog. Blogs are super effective for a couple of reasons. Chief among them is that 77% of Internet users read blogs, so your potential audience is already there. Also, creating a personal WordPress blog is not difficult to do, so why not give it a try?
How to Start a Personal Blog
As mentioned, everyone reads blogs. .
If we take a closer look at the statistics, people who blog usually do so using WordPress. Data tells us that the WordPress platform powers over 30% of the internet (as in the number of sites built with it).
If you’re new to blogging or web development, though, then it’s You may not be aware that WordPress comes in two varieties: WordPress.org (also known as self-hosted) and WordPress.com (which comes with hosting included, but not with the same flexibility).
There are many other differences. between the two platforms. I’ll summarize the main ones below to give you an overview.
Check out the full WordPress.org vs. WordPress.com comparison here.
Simply put, if you prefer to have full control about your website and you want to make sure it stays with you for the long haul, WordPress.org is the best option here. That being said, you don’t actually need to go to the WordPress.org website to get started with the platform. Do This Instead:
The Technical Setup of Starting a WordPress Personal Blog
Let’s talk about the actual process of creating a personal blog. The first step to creating a personal blog is hosting. Since there are many good hosting companies out there, each offering diverse and attractive packages, it can be a challenge to choose one that is best suited for your blog.
Before we dive into how to start a personal account blog, below is an overview of the process. Check it out, and then read on as we dive into the details of each step:
- Sign up for web hosting (we recommend Bluehost).
- Choose a hosting plan.
- Choose a domain name for your personal blog.
- Complete your hosting registration.
- Make sure WordPress was installed during account setup hosting.
- Log in and write your first blog post.
When you’re ready to sign up for a web hosting account, be sure to use one of the links on Bluehost on this page. The reason is that we partnered with Bluehost for a special discount for our readers, which means you’ll pay just $2.75 per month when you sign up for the first time. You will not get this discount if you visit the Bluehost site directly. It’s our thanks for choosing us as your source for trusted WordPress-related news and information.
The other advantage of using Bluehost is that they will install WordPress for you – or, if you prefer, they will allow you to do it yourself through the user panel. That is why there is no need to go to the WordPress.org website. Installation is done directly through your hosting provider.
All you have to do is choose who that hosting provider will be, click the sign up button, and then follow the procedure. Almost all reputable hosting companies have easy-to-follow instructions on how to install WordPress on your blog, and some, like Bluehost, will even pre-install it for you.
You can think of a domain name as a kind of “digital address” for your blog. This is how visitors will identify and access your website. For example, our domain is themeisle.com.
Once you complete the hosting plan registration, you may still need to configure WordPress. As mentioned, it will depend on the host you decide to go with. Like Bluehost, there are other hosting companies that also offer “WordPress installation included” packages, or give you a one-click installation option during signup. The process is very simple. All you need is to fill in some basic information such as your site name, your admin username, etc.
What elements make up an effective WordPress personal blog
Yes you are the type of person who likes to write, having your own blog can be a great outlet. You can create content about what you want, when you want, and share your thoughts with your friends, networks, and complete strangers. If you’re feeling entrepreneurial, you can even use your personal blog to network in your field by writing about the latest developments and your own insights.
Once you start a personal blog, you can include all the features and information you need. However, there are some elements that all the best personal blogs have in common, such as:
- A focus on blog posts. Unlike static WordPress websites, you want your blog posts to take center stage.
- Some personal information about yourself, to connect with your audience on a more intimate level.
- Links to your social networks, media profiles and general contact information, for visitors who want to follow or contact you.
- A carefully chosen blog post format, so that each entry be highly readable and attractive.
Fortunately, these four elements are easy to incorporate into your blog. In practice, this means you probably won’t have to use a fancy premium theme or pay extra for all the bells and whistles. Instead, you can go for free alternatives that are cheaper.
Which theme should you install?
We talked about how to make your personal blog work smoothly on the backend, but Now let’s talk a little about its design, which is extremely important for future readers of your personal blog. First of all, your site’s navigation should be intuitive. You should make it easy for people to explore your site by providing an organized navigation structure.
The same goes for your post layouts. It doesn’t matter how good your written work is if the way you present it is hard to follow. Your visitors should not feel confused or annoyed when they come to your posts. A proper presentation is absolutely vital to blogging success.
One of the most important building blocks of that presentation is the topic you choose for your blog. Fortunately, adding an aesthetic and easy-to-navigate theme to your personal WordPress blog is really quite simple.
It only requires a few quick steps.
The most challenging part is deciding what to use. theme go really, because WordPress has a lot of options, and that’s an understatement. Regardless of the personal criteria that are important to you, whether it is free, attractive, feature-rich, responsive, minimalist or any other, you will find multiple themes to suit your needs. So the answer to which theme you should install is quite simple: the one that suits you best.
How to Install Your WordPress Theme
Upon entering your dashboard, look for the tab labeled Appearance . Click on it and then choose the Themes option. This will show you all the themes that WordPress comes pre-installed with:
These themes are free and are good starter options for a personal WordPress blog. However, you’ll probably want to use a theme that’s a little less basic and more customizable, like our own Hestia:
This particular theme is based on Material Design guidelines, giving it a very modern look. Plus, it comes with all the basics we discussed above (like contact information and a personal bio). To set it up, you just have to follow some simple instructions. These instructions apply to other WordPress themes as well.
Great tools to enhance your personal blogging experience
In addition to choosing a WordPress theme and hosting provider, which are a Sort of the basic fundamental requirements of starting a personal blog, you also have access to many additional tools that are designed to optimize your site.
Some can be used directly through your Internet browser, but others will require you to I installed them through WordPress. panel. Fortunately, most of them are very intuitive to use. It certainly helps make it easier for you to start and maintain a personal blog.
Jetpack
Revive Old Post
Blog Theme Generator
This is a nice online tool created by Hubspot that generates content ideas based on the keywords that interest you. You type in three keywords that you think are relevant to what you want to talk about, and the tool returns five related headlines.
Here’s some additional guidance from us on how to come up with great blog post ideas.
BuzzSumo
Another great free tool that tells you what topics are popular. Enter a topic you’re considering writing about and BuzzSumo will analyze what content works best for that given topic. This tool will also tell you the most successful content published by a specific blog. Just enter the URL of the blog and you will get a list of the most shared posts.
Grammarly
Install the Grammarly extension in your web browser and then start writing your post in WordPress. The tool will mark almost all errors in your work. So be sure to check your grammar before you hit Publish.A great help tool for anyone planning to start a personal blog.
MyStock.Photos
For each blog post, you need images. While you can use some of your own images, most of the time you’ll end up using free images from the internet. MyStock.Photos is Themeisle’s photo collection and provides some amazing high-quality images that you can use anywhere you want. They are all free, so please help yourself!
SEO for your personal blog
One of the most overlooked aspects of starting a personal blog that beginners do is to ignore SEO (search engine optimization). In simple terms, SEO is the way a new blogger like you gets more readers to visit their site by improving the way posts show up in search engine results.
For For example, let’s say you love dogs and you start a personal blog about your life with dogs. You write a few posts on various subtopics related to dog care, but then what?
Who is going to read them, other than people in your own social network?
To expand your audience, you’ll need your posts on those topics to appear in search results when people search for them on Google (or other search engines). That’s what SEO is for. Another way of saying it is:
If getting more readers for your personal blog is the end goal, then SEO is a means to that end.
If all this talk about SEO is new to you or only vaguely familiar, then be sure to check out our beginner’s guide on getting started with WordPress SEO.
Choosing a good SEO tool
It’s a comprehensive toolkit that gives you access to keyword research tools, backlink checkers, PPC optimization tips, competitor rank tracking, social media stats tracking, and more.
When you start a personal blog for first time around, you may not know what any of those terms mean – except perhaps “social media stats.” However, as you spend more time developing your blog, you’ll quickly become familiar with them. Not only will you become familiar with them, but you’ll probably use at least a few of them in an effort to grow your audience and expand the influence of your personal blog.
At the very least, you’ll need to use some sort of auditing tool. of SEO sites to verify your own site, and that is another of the features that are included with SEO Power Suite. All you need to do is register an account with them and you can start using their collection of website auditing tools in a matter of minutes.
Did we mention they have a free-mium version?
Time to write your first blog post
Once you’ve chosen your WordPress theme and possibly added a few plugins, all that’s left to do is start writing your first blog post. To get started, find the Posts → Add New option on your dashboard. This will take you to the WordPress editor:
Here, you can set a title for your post, write about anything you want, and insert images and other media. When you’re done, you can save your work as a draft or publish it right away. It’s all up to you!
Is a personal WordPress blog a big commitment? How often should you post?
There is no hard and fast rule here. After all, that’s why it’s called a “personal blog.”
You don’t have to follow any rules or adhere to any strict deadlines, but you should still try to post at least once a week. week. if possible (although you will find many opinions against this).
Of course, it depends on what you use the blog for. If you only use it to put your thoughts on paper (screen), then you should write whenever a big topic comes to mind. If you use it to talk about hobbies and want to grow a community around you, then you should try to post frequently and on a somewhat reliable schedule, weekly at the very least.
A personal blog can help you professionally.
As said before, even starting a personal blog about your hobbies, for example, can help you shape your thoughts and connect with other people who love the same things. things. you do.
But another important reason why you should have a personal WordPress blog is professional exposure. You may not create your blog solely for that purpose, but it can be an unwanted side benefit.
For example, if you’re sending a resume to a company, include a link to some relevant content. Doing your own research and writing can earn you some points with the HR person, hiring manager, or whoever interviews you. You might even be approached with job offers if the right person stumbles across your site and your content somehow resonates with them.
A personal WordPress blog can sometimes help your career as well, because it helps you build your personal brand.
According to a survey carried out by Dominio.me:
When you have accounts on multiple online platforms and social media channels, it can be challenging to create a clear divide between the “personal you” and the “professional you.” Today, companies tend to perform extensive checks on a potential candidate’s online presence before inviting them for an interview or hiring them.
According to CareerBuilder, between 40% and 60% of managers Hiring managers use social media to analyze and get a general opinion on potential employees. If they’re looking that hard for you, they’re likely to find your personal blog.
In short, a good personal blog can help you make a great first impression and increase your chances of landing. new opportunities. Potential employers are likely to find your personal blog, making it a solid tool for standing out in a competitive job market. While you may not be starting a personal blog with that intention in mind, it’s certainly a positive benefit.
Conclusion
In closing, while it’s good to read the opinions of others people and stories, there’s something so rewarding about creating your own content and sharing it with the world. All your discoveries, your thoughts, your stories… all of them can lead to something great. In addition to allowing you to connect with like-minded people who share the same hobbies and interests as you, a personal blog can also open the door to new career opportunities.
So how do you start a personal blog? Here’s a summary:
- Choose a platform between WordPress.org and WordPress.com. We recommend the former because you will have full control over your site.
- Choose the right WordPress hosting. For a personal blog, you don’t need the biggest fish here. Cheap WordPress hosting is fine.
- Select a nice theme. There are some nice free personal blog themes you can choose from. Install, test and customize different. You can play around with its design and find one that is ideal for your site.
- Install some free tools and plugins that will make blogging easier and more efficient.
- Write your first blog post.
- Think about the variety of topics you’d like to cover. If you don’t already know and just want to write about random stuff, that’s a start too. Remember: a blog is a way to express yourself.
- Try creating a personal calendar or notebook to keep yourself accountable to a posting schedule. You don’t have to post every day. Once a week is enough. The key is to be consistent.
* This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links and then purchase the product, we will receive a small fee. . Don’t worry though, you’ll still pay the standard amount, so there’s no cost to you.
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