Whether you’re a business, an organization, a freelancer, or an influencer, you have something valuable to offer the rest of the world. In this digital age, talking about your passion or project and promoting your product or service has never been easier or faster.
However, the initial results are slow to materialize. Your website and social media accounts aren't enough, and you're thinking about broadening your horizons.
If you're looking for visibility, traffic, or new customers, it's essential to optimize your online presence. To do so, a blog is one of the most effective solutions available to you.
What is a blog?
A blog is a space on the web dedicated to creating content on one or more areas of expertise. Like a journal, a blog allows companies, entrepreneurs, and influencers to generate buzz around their business by publishing written, visual, audio, and video content.
A great way to increase your visibility, a blog allows you to connect with your target audience and readers by fostering a sense of closeness.
Are you an individual who runs a YouTube channel and social media accounts focused on film reviews, and would you like to bring everything together in one place? Why not start a blog?
Flexible and fully customizable, a blog is the perfect web platform suited to any type of user:
- for individuals who want to share their passion with the rest of the world;
- for entrepreneurs who want to attract new prospects by creating high-value content;
- for companies that want to share their latest news;
- for organizations that share and discuss their initiatives and activities.
In addition, regular, authentic, and original content, combined with a well-managed and properly configured blog, will improve your website’s ranking in search engine results such as Google. In fact, by following best practices in search engine optimization (SEO), search engine algorithms will recognize the quality of your work and give it greater prominence compared to other content on the internet.
Steps to Create Your Own Blog with WordPress
Step 1: Choosing a Place to Stay
Before you rush into writing your posts, the first step in creating your blog with WordPress is to choose your web hosting provider.
Please note: The concept of web hosting should not be confused with services and platforms such as WordPress.com. For more information, we invite you to check out our service overview and comparison with the official version of WordPress on our blog.
Here, we will always use the official version of WordPress (.org). As a free, open-source CMS, WordPress lets you create all kinds of websites—including blogs—tailored to any business or activity.
For more details on the types of websites you can build with WordPress, we recommend reading our dedicated article.
Now that we've cleared up a few points that can be confusing for beginners, to create your blog, you'll first need web hosting.
Web hosting is digital storage space that you rent to store your website's data. This allows any internet user to access your website through a web browser, regardless of the time of day or their location in the world.
In 2022, there are many companies offering web hosting solutions.
In France, web hosting providers such as OVH, 1&1, and PlanetHoster are key players that provide high-quality service.
Compare their “web hosting” plans based on your needs and expectations. You’re sure to find the right plan for you.
Step 2: The domain name
A domain name is your blog’s URL—it’s like a mailing address, but digital. In other words, it’s a string of characters followed by a domain extension (usually .fr or .com) that a user will type into their browser’s address bar to access your blog.
A free domain name is usually included with the web hosting plan you choose after you’ve checked its availability. If the domain name is already in use by another website or is owned by someone else, you won’t be able to acquire it. Note that you can certainly purchase a domain name separately from a web hosting plan, which means the two will not be linked.
Take the time to carefully consider your domain name, including its extension. If you haven’t decided on a name for your project yet, opt for a short, easy-to-remember name. If, on the other hand, your brand identity is well-established, avoid using too many hyphens and unnecessary words, as they will make your domain name clunky and hard to read.
There are two types of domain extensions: country-code extensions (.fr, .be, .uk, etc.) and generic extensions (.com, .org, .net, etc.).
When making a choice, it is important to consider the nature and scope of your business.
Are you a nonprofit organization? Go with .org. Do you want to reach an international audience? The .com domain extension is the best choice. If, on the other hand, your cooking blog is meant to share your recipes with friends, choose .fr.
Please note that you can purchase multiple domain names with different extensions if they are available for purchase.
Step 3: Installing WordPress on Your Web Hosting Account
Once you've chosen your domain name and purchased web hosting, the next step is to install WordPress on it.
More and more web hosting providers offer an auto-installation service that’s directly integrated into your customer portal’s control panel. If you’ve chosen OVH, the company has posted a video tutorial to help you install your blog step by step using the one-click modules:
If you choose a different hosting provider, please refer to the provided documentation.
Once you've started setting up your blog, you'll need to provide essential information such as:
- a username for the administrator account and/or an email address;
- a password;
- an installation URL for your site (we recommend leaving this field blank for a default installation at the root of your hosting account);
- your website's domain;
- his language;
- the title of your blog;
- a possible subtitle.
Have you filled out these fields? Congratulations! Your WordPress blog is officially set up! You can now log in to the WordPress admin dashboard to start configuring and customizing your blog. To do so, enter the following URL into your web browser : monnomdedomaine.fr/wp-admin, and log in with your username or email address and password.
Step 4: Find the WordPress theme that's right for you
Once you're on the WordPress admin dashboard, the first step is to find the perfect WordPress theme that suits your needs so you can customize your blog.
To help you make your choice and introduce you to various theme libraries, we invite you to read our dedicated article, “How to Choose the Right WordPress Theme.”
To install a theme, go to your WordPress admin panel, click the“Appearance”tab, and then“Themes.”
By default, WordPress comes with three themes, one of which is active.
Don't like these themes? Click the "Add" button at the top of the window to access a gallery of free and paid themes listed by WordPress.
To select, install, and activate a theme, the gallery interface is organized as follows:
- With the built-in search bar, you can find THE perfect WordPress theme from a wide selection.
- Once you've chosen a theme, install it and activate it by clicking "Install" and then "Activate." Before installing a theme, you can see how it will look on your blog by clicking the "Live Preview" button.
- If your theme isn't available in the gallery or you already have its files, you can "Upload a Theme"by adding its .zip folder to your site directly through the admin interface.
Finding the right theme for your WordPress blog takes some thought. Take your time and test out different themes using the live preview option, because here’s something to keep in mind: your entire blog will be based on the theme you choose. If you change it later, you’ll have to reconfigure many customization settings.
Step 5: Set Up Your WordPress Theme
Have you found the perfect WordPress theme for your blog?
The next step is to configure it usingthe WordPress customization interface. This is where you’ll enable and disable modules in your theme, change the colors and fonts for your text and headings, and more. In addition, the interface lets you preview your changes before saving them and publishing them to your website.
To access the theme customization interface, go to your WordPress admin panel, click "Appearance," and then "Customize."
Once you're in the customization panel, you'll have access to several categories of elements that you can modify as you like.
For example, the“Header Builder”option with the Astra theme lets you add a title and a logo to your site, with the option to choose a tagline (subtitle) and set up a main menu.
Please note that the categories available in the customization panel vary depending on the theme you're using. If you've chosen a freemium theme, several options will be unavailable. To unlock them, you'll need to purchase the paid version.
Step 6: Write Your First Articles
Now that you've explored the customizable features of your theme and set up your blog properly, it's time to write your first posts.
To do this, go to the left-hand sidebar of your WordPress admin panel, select the“Posts”category, and click“Add.”
As soon as you open the editing interface, a tutorial appears to introduce you to the WordPress block editor. Launched in December 2018, the Gutenberg editor takes a new approach to content creation. With Gutenberg, every element of your post is a “block” that you can assemble with others: paragraphs, images, or even videos.
In addition, advanced users will be able to take advantage of this technology to create their own custom blocks.
If you don't like the block editor and would like to switch back to a more traditional interface, " Classic Editor ,” an official plugin maintained by the WordPress team, will let you do just that.
In either case, you have everything you need to write your first blog posts. All you have to do is write your text, add a few images and videos, and then click the“Publish”button to make your content public.
INGENIUS Tip: Be sure to assign categories and labels (also called“tags”) to your articles to organize them and link them together. These two options allow you to suggest similar content to your readers when they’re reading an article, in addition to helping them better navigate the different topics. This is a great way to retain readers and boost views on your various pieces of content.
Step 7: Choose Your Plugins
Your blog is set up and now features several carefully written posts. Your first readers are starting to engage with your content, and you’re thinking it would be nice to add a few more features to make your blog more appealing.
All right.
But first and foremost, it’s important to focus on maintaining the integrity and security of your blog by protecting it from spam and other unwanted content. If you don’t, your blog risks being flooded with comments from bots containing suspicious links.
By default, the Akismet Anti-Spam plugin is installed on your WordPress site, and you can activate it in the“Plugins”dashboard. There are, of course, other more comprehensive and complex solutions, but to get started, Akismet will certainly deliver on its promises.
Depending on your needs and expectations, there are many features that may prove useful for your blog. Among the most popular are:
- adding new options to the comment section;
- the addition of social media sharing buttons;
- creating a contact form to allow your visitors to contact you;
- the implementation of SEO optimization and search engine ranking tools;
- … and much more.
To learn about the available solutions and plugins that are sure to simplify the day-to-day management of your blog, we invite you to check out our “Checklist of WordPress Plugins to Get You Started.”
What should you do next with your blog?
Now that you've installed and properly configured your blog, your posts are attracting a decent number of readers, and the latest, cutting-edge management plugins are activated— what's next ?
Depending on your ambitions and the amount of time you plan to devote to your blog each day, several goals may emerge:
- make money by monetizing your content;
- attract more readers to your blog;
- or both.
There are many steps that need to be taken to achieve these goals, and they deserve an article devoted entirely to them.
In any case, there is no magic formula. However, the key to success will inevitably involve long hours of work creating regular content and optimizing it with an SEO strategy.
To save you hours of learning and lighten your to-do list, INGENIUS has specially designed Genius SEO, an automated SEO service dedicated to WordPress. In just 8 months, Genius SEO will address the three fundamental pillars of SEO— technical aspects, content, and reputation—to drive more traffic to your blog and propel it into the era of monetization.
Interested? Schedule a call today on our dedicated page to get a demo of the service and see the results it can deliver.
Now you have a solid foundation to get started on your WordPress blogging adventure! All that’s left to do is...
But tell me… Why are you starting a blog? To talk about a hobby or a product? Share your projects in the comments and feel free to ask any questions you have!
