How To Start a Blog in 2023: WordPress Guide for Beginners

Are you interested in starting a blog website but don’t know where to start? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, I will share my 10-step method for setting up a website with WordPress. As a seasoned content creator who has been blogging and creating YouTube videos for 12 years, I have learned a lot of valuable lessons along the way. So, let’s dive in!

The video below was made to accompany this wonderful Blog posts about setting up your Blog in 2023! Watch my video below for visual examples of everything I write about in this blog.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Website

The first step to creating a blog website is to get a domain name. You can either create one or purchase an existing domain, which will require monthly or annual payments. To buy a domain, you can use services such as Nexcess or NameCheap. It can be difficult to decide on a domain name, so I suggest using an AI to help you decide. I used ChatGPT to come up with my website domain name. Once you have your domain name, register it with a hosting service like Nexcess or NameCheap.

Step 2: Choosing a WordPress Hosting Package

WordPress is the tool we will use to make our website. Choose a WordPress hosting package: if you’re only hosting one website, select the WordPress Spark package. This will give you an annual hosting for your WordPress website. My link is an affiliate link so clicking it will get you discounted products and support me at the same time! Don’t worry if you want to start with just one website hosting, you can always upgrade your package later if needed.

Step 3: Install WordPress

Create a WordPress account and keep the details handy as you will need them later. Log into your Nexcess account, select domains, and click “Manage Domains.” Then, install WordPress.

Step 4: Customize Your Website

Visit your website’s admin page (e.g., Websitename.com/wp-admin) and log in with your WordPress login details. Now you can begin customizing your site with a theme, pages, categories, and posts. I recommend using the Popcorn Theme for its simplicity, speed, and lifetime updates. Be careful using free themes as they often use a monetization tactic to limit your choices with “subscriptions” and micro-transactions later down the line.

Step 5: Write Blog Posts

Start writing 500-1000 word blog posts about topics you’re passionate about. Ask yourself a question and then provide an answer and explanation in your blog post. There are numerous blog-writing guides available online to help you. I would advise having 20-40 blog posts up on your site before you apply for monetization.

Step 6: Monetize Your Website with Ads

Sign up for an ad network like Ezoic to display ads on your site. Ezoic uses programmatic advertising, which tailors ads to readers’ interests, resulting in more revenue for you.

Step 7: Set up Affiliate Marketing

Determine your niche and search for relevant affiliate programs. Don’t just rely on Amazon Affiliates—look for other programs that may offer better payouts.

Step 8: Create a Content Strategy

Plan your content, conduct keyword research, and start posting regularly. It typically takes 6-12 months for a blog to gain traction, so be patient and consistent.

Step 9: Keep Posting Content

Connect your sitemaps with Google console to make sure Google can put your blog posts on Google as fast as possible. This will help you get traffic quickly!

Step 10: Seek Help

If you’re looking to scale your blog into a business, I would encourage you to seek help to write blog posts. You can use services like Fiverr to find writers, and even reaching out to friends or loved ones

to offer them writing work can lead to some amazing blogs. Just be sure that when you’re doing this, you prioritize quality over quantity and use a plagiarism checker before you put it live on your website. I will link the one I use in the description!

Quick Tips for Blogging Success:

• Choose a topic you’re passionate about for your website to ensure high-quality information.
• Don’t give up. Perseverance is key to success.
• Prioritize audience value. Make sure your blog posts answer readers’ questions and provide valuable information.
• Enjoy the process and delegate tasks you don’t like to focus on what you love.

If you have any questions about this please ask in the comments section below or email me: [email protected].

Thank you for reading this comprehensive guide to creating a WordPress blog website. I hope you found this information helpful. If you have any questions or need further assistance, feel free to ask in the comments section below. I take pride in replying to comments, so please ask away! And, if you found this guide useful, please hit the like button and use my affiliate links to support my work. Have a fantastic day, and happy blogging!