I want to start my own blog. How do I do that?
Can you install my blog for me?
What is the difference between a blog and website?
Can I write about a variety of topics on my blog, or do I need to stick to just one?
What is web hosting and why do I need it?
What is the difference between BlueHost and WordPress?
I already own a domain name. How do I set it up with BlueHost?
How do I create a personalized email address and view my email?
Why can’t I find my blog when I search for it?
I am having trouble connecting JetPack.
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I want to start my own blog. How do I do that?
I cover every step of the process in my blog tutorial. Start with Step #1 here.
Can you install my blog for me?
Yes, I can install your blog software for you for free. Just fill out this form.
What is the difference between a blog and website?
A blog is simply a type of website. Blogs use blog software in order to make designing, writing, and publishing your content as simple and professional as possible.
Blogs can be customized to do just about anything, but most blogs tend to offer fresh content on a weekly basis along with the ability for readers to leave comments. These are not requirements however, as many large established sites (Bestbuy.com, Xerox.com, Time.com, etc.) use the WordPress blog software to create things that look nothing like traditional blogs.
Can I write about a variety of topics on my blog, or do I need to stick to just one?
Most bloggers write about a variety of subjects, so there is no need to stick to just one. However, you will probably want to organize your posts into categories so that visitors can easily find the posts that they want to read.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting is a service that stores and delivers the files for your blog from a web server. When people visit your domain name the web hosting company delivers your blog files from their web server to the visitor. Every single website needs to have web hosting in order to function, and a high-quality web host is very important if you want your blog to function correctly. In my tutorial I show you how to find high-quality web hosting at a very affordable price.
What is the difference between BlueHost and WordPress?
BlueHost is a web hosting company, while WordPress is a blog software company. The WordPress software will be installed on your web server with BlueHost.
I already own a domain name. How do I set it up with BlueHost?
If you already own a domain you can still use the process for starting a blog that I outline here. In #3 on that page, put your domain name in the box marked “Use a domain you own”.
Since your domain is registered with another company you will need to change the nameservers to point to BlueHost. Please note, this does not transfer the domain to BlueHost, it just points your domain name to the location of your blog at BlueHost.
In order to change your domain’s nameservers you will first need to login to the account where your domain name is registered. The process varies a bit depending on which company your domain is registered with, but typically you just need to locate the domain name in your account and click on “Nameservers”. Once you locate the correct area you will need to change the nameservers to the following:
ns1.bluehost.com
ns2.bluehost.com
This change can take a few hours to take effect. Once it has taken effect you can continue following the steps in the blog tutorial to get your blog setup.
Since many people have a domain name registered with GoDaddy, I have included specific instructions for GoDaddy domains here.
How do I create a category?
When you are writing a new post or editing an old post you will see a menu on the right-hand side of the post editor screen where you can create new categories. Once the category has been created you just need to click the checkbox next to it in order to place the post you are editing in that category.
In order to have your categories displayed on your blog, you will need to navigate to “Appearance –> Widgets” and then click-and-drag the “Categories” widget to the appropriate menu area (typically the Sidebar).
How do I create a personalized email address and view my email?
This guide will show you how to create a personalized email address.
Why can’t I find my blog when I search for it?
Google and Bing (and other search engines) are relatively slow in adding new blogs and websites to their search results. There are a couple of things you can do to speed up this process:
- Network with other blogs. (Recommended)
- Submit your blog to search engines. (Optional)
When other sites link to your site the search engines take notice and are more likely to include your blog in their search results. I go over some tips on how to get links from other sites here.
You can manually submit your site to search engines for free. This is not necessary to have your site appear in search engine results, but it can speed up the process. This is not something I typically do, but if you want to do it I recommend just submitting to Google and Bing. This will get your blog listed in Google, Bing, and Yahoo, which are the most popular search engines. Use these links to go to the submission page (you will need to sign-in or create a free account to complete the process):
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/submit-url
https://www.bing.com/toolbox/submit-site-url
I am having trouble connecting JetPack.
The most common problem when attempting to connect and activate JetPack is that users are unable to login. Please keep in mind that you need to create a free WordPress.com account in order to activate JetPack. A WordPress.com account is different from the account you have for your blog. You can learn how to create a WordPress.com account and connect JetPack here.