How to Start Your New WordPress Blog: A Guide for Beginners

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new wordpress blog

Creating a website is a lot of work, and if you don’t know how to code, it can seem intimidating. But it doesn’t have to be.

WordPress lets you choose a predetermined theme, design web pages, and post content to your website, all without having to do any coding.

Easy, right?

We’ve compiled everything you need to know as a beginner, so what’s stopping you from signing up for a new WordPress blog today?

What Is WordPress?

WordPress is a free Content Management System (CMS) that allows you to manage your own website. Whether you’re trying to create a website for your business, professional online portfolio, or personal blog, this CMS can help you build an online presence.

Additionally, WordPress is easy to use and customizable. It also has an excellent support team that runs several forums to answer any questions you may have.

How to Make a New WordPress Site

You’ll first be prompted with a screen that has you sign up for an account. Next, choose a name for your site and make a plan to bring your vision to life. 

WordPress then lets you choose a domain name. It should pertain to your business, yourself, or whatever you’re going to be writing about. Your domain name will have the WordPress branding in it unless you decide to pay for a monthly plan.

You are then taken to your dashboard where you are presented with a checklist for your website. WordPress recommends you create a tagline, contact page, and upload a logo for your site.

Then, you’ll be ready to launch!

Customizing Your Site

Along the side of your dashboard is a long menu. Among the options available is Appearance. Clicking this option allows you to choose a theme for your site.

After choosing your theme, you can decide on a color scheme, upload background images, and select different fonts. You can choose different widgets to add to your site as well as a header image.

You’ll have to create a menu once you have pages and content, but you’ll manage it under the Appearance tab, too.

Keep in mind, you can change all of your customization choices at any time.

Creating Content

Once you’ve decided on a subject and overall look for your site, it’s time to create some content. Whether you’re advertising your business, running a cooking blog, or managing an online portfolio, you’re going to need words and pictures.

There are two ways to add content to your new WordPress site: pages and posts. Both of these options can be found on the menu in your dashboard.  

Pages

If you need to convey information that will be relevant for the foreseeable future, you’ll want to make it a static Page. Consider making “About” and “Contact” pages right away.

You can update your pages as you need to. 

Posts

Posts are individual pieces of blog content that get released as you have updates. They need a title, content, and featured image.

If you want to attract new readers to your site, you can tag your posts with keywords to make them easier to find.

If you’re running a blog, you will be using posts frequently.

Media

WordPress allows you to upload pictures, videos, and gifs to your site. You can also embed YouTube videos and Tweets. Use these to enhance your posts and keep the readers interested in your site.

WordPress Plans

WordPress automatically sets you up with a free site, but you can choose from five plans if you want extra perks. These features vary depending on the plan, so you’ll have to decide what is best to fit your needs.

Blogger

This plan costs $3 per month but will remove all advertising from your site and give you additional storage as well as help you with email support. You get access to more themes and a branded domain name.

Personal

At $5 monthly, this plan allows you to do everything the Blogger plan does but gives you access to live chat support and a higher quality email account. 

Premium

If you choose to upgrade to the Premium plan, you get a custom domain name, the ability to code your own CSS, and the option to monetize your site with advertising. This plan costs $8 per month.

Business

This plan is best if you want a professional business website that isn’t trying to sell products directly from the site.

At $25 per month, this option offers unlimited templates and storage, Google Analytics support, and removes all WordPress.com branding. 

eCommerce

If you’re trying to sell products on your website, this plan allows you to arrange payment plans with 60+ countries. You can see shipping information along with carriers, and there are no limitations on the number of products you can offer.

It’s $45 per month but includes everything your eCommerce business needs to succeed and run smoothly. 

The Next Steps after Creating Your New WordPress Blog

You can always get into coding and designing your own pages if desired, but WordPress can make it easier to get started. Once you launch your site, you can keep track of visitors, views, and where your readership is based.

You can allow people to comment on your pages and posts, and you can participate in WordPress’s online community to connect to like-minded individuals who have similar goals. 

One thing’s for sure, once you’ve gotten your new WordPress blog up and running, you’re going to have to learn about the basics of Search Engine Optimization to pull in readers!