If you want to learn how to create a professional blog step by step, you’ve arrived at the right place!
A blog can help you grow your Internet presence, attract readers, offer your products and / or services and position yourself in an expert in your niche through content marketing.
Or you can simply use it as a hobby or to share any experience!
No matter your level of experience or knowledge, there is always something to contribute.
This is a question that many people ask themselves, how to create a blog?
And right now I could start this article by explaining how to create it from a technical point of view, however and although later I will talk about it, before learning these aspects of technology you must know very well what a blog is, why and why do you want to create it and, above all, what mistakes do the vast majority make and that you, once you finish reading this article, will know how to avoid it.
These simple aspects, are those that many people do not consider from the beginning and that is why, after a short time, they end up abandoning their blog and dedicating themselves to something else and what is worse, saying that it is useless.
So, as I know that this is not your case and that you want to create it, exploit it and enjoy it to the fullest, if you think we start with the basic aspects that you should know before getting down to work.
What is a blog?
A blog is not, neither more nor less, than a website on which you will be publishing content over and over again on the subject you manage.
Point.
And you may be wondering, “And so much roll for this?”
Although it seems difficult to understand, there are still many people who confuse a corporate and business website, with a blog.
And what is the big difference?
That in a corporate website you will simply find fixed content and information about the company and the services it offers and in a blog you are constantly uploading valuable content and updated information.
Why create a blog?
This is the million dollar question, however, in this article I want to give you the clues you need to define why and why you want to create your own blog and what advantages and benefits you will get from it.
Some time ago the word blog was associated with the typical website in which a person was dedicated to upload content referring to their hobbies and personal experiences as a virtual newspaper.
However, this trend has changed a lot in recent times and currently, creating a blog is not only used to write a personal diary but also to undertake.
In fact, it can be said that a blog can be used for anything that comes to your mind, but you must define the objective to achieve with that blog before you contact it.
If you think, I give you some options that you can use as inspiration when defining why and what you want to create your own blog:
To find job
Today, delivering a resume written on a sheet and with a picture of you on the top sounds old, so why not create your blog based on your skills to demonstrate what you know to do perfectly?
Let’s give an example:
Imagine that you are great at cooking and that your greatest hope would be to work in the kitchen of a large restaurant.
Can you imagine what a blog about cooking could do for you in which you will publish recipes, articles and even videos in which you appear cooking some kind of recipe or giving advice about certain foods and how to prepare them?
Think about the image that would be taken from you by the person in charge of hiring staff for that restaurant if you saw that blog in which you demonstrate 100% of all your skills and how well you do in the kitchen.
Who do you think I would choose before, who delivers the curriculum on paper or you who are publishing content and showing the world your cooking skills?
Exactly, to you.
To generate customers
If you have a business, whether digital or physical, to be constantly publishing valuable information that helps people solve their problems in the facet that you cover professionally, it will become your leading expert, which, at the time Looking for someone who offers the services you offer, you will be the first in your head.
If, on the contrary, you are starting with your business, a blog may be the most advisable platform to start attracting people to it, since you will begin to build trust through the high value content you publish and this will make more and more People know about you and how well you do it.
To capture students
If you dedicate yourself to online training, a good way to capture students for your courses and workshops is to publish articles with extremely valuable tips, and then offer them your courses or workshops that complete all the learning they have acquired in that article.
To do affiliate marketing
This is a way to make money with your blog very similar to the previous one, but without having to create your own courses or workshops but you offer them high value content to start solving their problems and then give them the link of a product or service offered by another person and that you, in exchange for bringing you students or clients, receive a commission.
This, a priori, seems somewhat banal can become your main source of income. In fact, there are few people who live from affiliate marketing thanks to their blogs.
Create a network of experts
Whatever your topic, surely there are other bloggers, with whom you can create alliances, business strategies and even product launches.
Improve SEO
Google likes blogs. Its essence is compatible with its principles of Web positioning, which is why the entire SEO process becomes easier when you have a blog with relevant, fresh content that brings value.
To sell your products or services
If your business is physical, a good option to continue expanding market is to create an online store in which you offer the same products that you offer in your physical store.
And you may be thinking, “Yes, but I have seen online stores in which there is no blog.”
That’s!
You are going to differentiate yourself from them because having the blog you are going to publish articles in which you talk about the advantages and benefits that they will get when they try your products and use them to solve that problem they want to solve.
Tell me, in which store would you buy before, in which only the product offers you or in which it offers you an article in which they teach you to solve your problem and also offer you the product to carry out the solution?
This is if your business is physical but what happens if your business is totally online?
Well, you will be able to offer your services, your products, your ebooks, courses and workshops through the information you offer in your articles and of course, including in them a link in which you give them the “only option” to complete all That information with your products.
These are just some ideas on how you can make money with your blog, there are many more, for example, create content marketing that goes viral, publish guides explaining and solving some important problem that people interested in your niche have (potential customers) or even, giving them the opportunity to subscribe to your blog to receive the information that you publish directly in their mail, with which, it gives you the option to grow a list of subscribers to offer your services or products and turn them into your loyal customers .
As you can see, all this is based on building trust with your readers and eventually converting them into customers, since they will trust you together.
At this point, you may have the impression that this is nothing new for you, since it is a topic on which many people public when talking about a blog.
However, this article is not like the others.
Why?
The 2 mistakes you should not make in your blog
Because it has a second part of which nobody speaks to you and that is, to publish articles on your blog it is not only about you writing and publishing them, but that these articles must comply with two characteristics so as not to make the most common mistakes of the vast majority of people who post on their blogs …
Error 1. Not having a defined objective
Of course, all your content marketing, all your articles, everything you publish on your blog, should be focused on achieving a specific goal.
For example, imagine that your goal is to make your brand known and that your business is a pet store, so all your items should be focused on promoting what you sell in it.
That is, if you know that dogs and cats usually change their hair at the change of season, you can talk about the physical disorders that animals suffer at this time and promote some type of vitamin that you sell in your store.
Or you can publish an article about the importance of your pet being fit and in the end offering articles for it.
Thus, while you release information of very high value that pet owners may not know and appreciate knowing about it, you will be giving them the solution with your products to avoid them having to waste time looking for it.
In other words, you generate the problem and give them the solution.
Tell me, by doing this you will have achieved your goal of promoting and making your brand known?
Of course.
And by the way, you will be moving towards your next goal, increasing your business revenue by selling products.
Why have you achieved this goal?
Because you have it defined in advance. So do not hesitate, before starting to set up your blog you must define, yes or yes, the goal you want to achieve with it and focus all your content towards it.
Error 2. Write impersonally
Look, if there is something that people welcome is personalized information and this can be achieved by writing an article to your reader talking about you.
The clearest example you have in this article, I could have shown you the information in a generic way and perhaps it would have been interesting, or not.
But since I know that this information is what you are looking for and that you are interested in when creating your blog, I focus on telling you and nothing more than you, so you can see that this article is directed directly towards the objective of cover your needs
Do you see the difference between an article written in formal language and an article that speaks directly to the person who needs the information?
Well that’s what you should achieve with your blog, generate closeness and confidence to achieve the goal you set.
There is another thing you should keep in mind, write with short paragraphs.
Why?
Because it is easier to digest information, however long it may be.
Tell me, how many times have you seen an article with endless paragraphs and skipped some of the information?
Well that’s what you should avoid in your blog.
If you have several important ideas to deliver, giving one idea per paragraph will make it easier to read and assimilate each concept.
Many people are afraid to write in a colloquial way, but if there is something that is really appreciated, it is to receive information of the highest value explained in the language with which a friend would explain it to you while you drink a soda in a bar.
Or not?
Well, once you know what you can do with your blog, that you have to set a goal and that on that goal you must develop all the content, once you know that you should address people as if they were talking to them face to face and in a way totally casual, the time has come to know the hidden face of your blog.
Don’t be scared, it’s nothing bad, it’s just about the technical part.
As for an artist to look, there must be a whole technical team behind taking care that everything goes perfectly, your blog is no different and this is the technical part.
I know this is something that almost nobody tells you and that is why, to avoid many headaches, I will explain the technological part to you to prepare a blog that positions you where you deserve and want.
Here we go…
How to Create a Blog with WordPress: Domain, Hosting and WordPress
Imagine the moment when you start building a building in any of the largest cities in the world. Let’s say New York, which is one of my favorites.
Before you can focus on internal details, windows, elevators, electricity and everything that people see and notice when visiting any building, it is important to first start with the base and the “skeleton” that will allow all that to be visible and possible.
Surely you have seen it.
When a construction is started (either a house or a building), the construction base is always created first, either from (or a combination of):
Cement
Steel
Clay
Any other material that serves as a basis
We do not see it, but behind each building there are a lot of hours, effort and planning, combined with layers, columns, blocks and bases of these materials that allow to create the base of the construction.
This base is what makes it possible for these buildings to be so tall, to last so many years and nothing happens to them when it rains, trembles or any other known natural phenomenon happens.
The same happens with WordPress, we have to start by creating a solid base that will allow all the information and multimedia content to be visible.
The basis of your website in WordPress.
Luckily, to create a Web page, we don’t need a sophisticated base like the one needed for a skyscraper in New York, where it is necessary to invest a lot of money, time and human capital to build it.
Why WordPress
WordPress is the most complete, flexible and accessible platform to create a professional blog.
Thanks to its essential open source feature, hundreds of developers create themes, plugins and extra features that allow you to expand the possibilities and power of the platform to the fullest.
Rest assured that with WordPress you will have everything you need to create a blog with a great design, structure and security.
Basic Requirements to Use WordPress
This is what you need to create your blog with WordPress
A Own Domain: Your domain will be the unique identity you have on the Web, as the name of your blog. The approximate cost is $ 10 USD annually.
A Web Hosting account: This refers to the servers that you will use to store all the information on your blog and that can be accessible to all Internet users in the world. It has an average cost of $ 10 USD per month (It can be cheaper or more expensive depending on the service).
Your domino is the famous http: //www.thename of the page.com
Think that is the equivalent to the name of your local or your restaurant.
It does not have to be exactly the same, but in a way it is what gives identity to your business and website.
In addition to the domain, you also need a web hosting account, which is equivalent to the servers (giant computers) where literally all the information, images, texts, data and line of code your site will have is “hosted” or “hosted” .
Without a server, it’s as if you only had a local file that is only visible on your computer.
Your web hosting account will allow your website to be visible to the world and that anyone can visit it from their computer, tablet or mobile phone.
Now, as I told you before, we are not going to get into terms or technical explanations about how a domain or a web server works.
Let’s get to the point!
Both tools have a cost. Which is very accessible and you can pay without problem if you are serious with your WordPress project.
Buy your domain online
To buy your domain, I recommend Godaddy .
Check out the video tutorial on how to buy your domain here:
STEP # 1 Buy your domain
In this video I show you step by step how to buy your domain in GoDaddy. You can read this guide on the blog about choosing a domain name.
STEP # 2 Buy your hosting
In addition to the domain, it is very important to also buy your web hosting account.
Buy your web hosting in Cloudways .
IMPORTANT NOTE: DO NOT continue this tutorial until you have purchased your domain and your web hosting account.
You don’t want to build a building or a house starting with the windows or putting the refrigerator, right?
It is vital to buy these two tools to continue. Remember, the goal is to have your site ready as soon as possible (either in days or hours).
Connecting your domain with your hosting account.
Perfect! Since you have your domain and your Web hosting, we will connect both to work in perfect synchrony and we can install WordPress successfully.
Follow the following tutorial to learn how to do it:
STEP # 3 Connect your domain with your hosting
Once you have both essential tools, we will see in this tutorial how to join them and make that function perfectly in sync.
Remember to buy your web hosting on Cloudways.
IMPORTANT: Depending on the hosting service you have purchased (I hope it was Cloudways , my maximum recommendation), the schedule and other technical factors that I still do not know, it is possible that the connection of your domain with your hosting takes from a few minutes to some hours.
If you see that you already changed the name servers and followed the tutorial correctly but you still do not see the screen of your hosting when entering your domain or you see that it continues loading the GoDaddy screen, do not worry, you have to be patient and wait for be ready
I have had cases where it is immediate and others where I have to wait 2-3 hours.
Installing WordPress on your domain
If you have followed all the tutorials so far, you already have your domain and hosting connected.
Now one of my favorite moments is coming.
That moment where magic begins to happen and ideas that both motivate and excite the mind finally begin to be seen as a real possibility.
That moment is when we install WordPress in our domain!
“But it’s just WordPress, it’s not that bad, you haven’t even designed the site or added information.”
Yes, you’re right, it’s just installing WordPress.
But this step is where you really see a significant breakthrough, and as you already know, WordPress is the vehicle that will allow us to reach our destination quickly, safely and successfully.
Our website or blog 100% finished and how we want it to look.
Ready?
Installing WordPress on your Domain
Follow the tutorial below to learn how to install WordPress in less than 5 minutes from the cPanel:
STEP # 4 How to install WordPress from your cPanel
In this video I show you in a very simple process, how to install WordPress in your domain.
Basic WordPress Settings
Now, we are ready to perform the basic configuration.
Login to your site by accessing the URL:
→ http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin or http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-login.php
The WordPress Dashboard
Once you are inside you will be able to see a screen very similar to the following:
We call this the WordPress Dashboard, which as of today will be like your best inseparable friend.
Whatever site or project you do, he will be there. Trusting you and the skills you will learn from me.
STEP # 5 Basic WordPress Settings
We will do the basic WordPress configuration.
Inside the Main Desk we will focus on the Settings submenu.
Follow the following tutorial to review the General Settings options and also the options of:
- Generals
- Writing
- Reading
- Comments
- Media
- Permanent links
You already have WordPress installed! Now is the time to perform the basic configuration of the platform.
Many of these adjustments do not need much explanation. With that you see them and review the available options you can adjust them to what you need.
That’s it!
You have learned to create your blog with WordPress by investing a few dollars annually and in your own internet domain (.com, .net, .es, .mx).
I already have WordPress in my Domain! What do I do now?
Excellent. You have taken a very important step. Now there is a long way to go in terms of your blog design, content planning, traffic generation, monetization and much more. I leave some things you can do once you have successfully installed WordPress
Content Ideas: Start writing the most important content ideas you have. The more and better you publish, the more chances of success you will have.
Create a Web Traffic Plan: Without traffic there are no visits and there is no life in your blog. It’s like a deserted shop in the street. Creating a web traffic plan is an essential step to grow rapidly.
Initial WordPress Configuration: Before being 100% ready, the platform needs several things such as theme installation, correct choice of plugins, basic settings, Google Analytics and much more.
SEO optimization: Google and other search engines can be your best allies to generate Web traffic. It all starts with proper internal SEO optimization.
