I used to blog using the free services offered by Google on Blogger. This meant that I had that “.blogspot.com” at the end of my blog address. There is nothing actually wrong with that, but when I decided to get serious about blogging, I wanted something that looked a little more professional. If you are ready to ditch the free services and go “pro” then I would like to show you just how easy that can be.
- Choose your hosting service. Feel free to choose any hosting service you prefer. I use Bluehost for my blog, but there are other companies out there. Choose the one that works for you. The set up process is similar over different hosting platforms.
- Purchase your domain name. If you already have a domain name with a different hosting company than the one you chose for your blog, you will need to have your domain name transferred to your new host. Your Hosting customer service should be able to walk you through that step if you are unsure how to proceed. If you do not yet have a domain name, you should be able to purchase one through the same Hosting company with which you will host your blog or website. This is by far the easier and best solution.
- Pay for your hosting plan. Most Hosting companies offer plans starting at 12 months and up. If you are looking to start with as little cost as possible, the one year plan will work best. Keep in mind that while most hosting companies advertise plans by the monthly cost, they usually require purchase at least 12 months at a time.
- Install WordPress on your Hosting server using your domain name and start blogging! Most Hosting companies offer a simple “one-click” installation for setting up a WordPress blog.
That’s it! You can literally be up an running in less than 20 minutes, and start getting your message to the World. Here is a list of things you will need before getting started.
1. Paper and pen (for recording your usernames and passwords)
2. A credit/debit card (for purchasing the domain name and hosting package.)
