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How To Setup And Start A Blog - Webmasters - Nairaland

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How To Setup And Start A Blog by Niyi61202(m): 7:36pm On Jun 08, 2015
There’s five main steps you need to go through in order to set up a blog. If you follow this guide and the five steps, you’ll have your own blog set up in no time.

The Five Steps to Starting a Blog:

Decide what you want to blog about
Choose your preferred blogging platform
Choose whether you want to self-host and a paid domain, or get a free blog
Setting up a blog on your own domain (if you choose self-hosting and a custom domain)
Designing your blog

Decide what you want to blog about

If you’re going to write about something regularly and keep your blog fresh with new information, then you need to write about something that you are really passionate about or that reflects your daily experience. It’s much easier to write articles and posts about topics that you’re passionate about, on the other hand it makes no sense to start a blog about something you have no interest in.

It’s better when you blog about something of interest in a specific field or an industry you ave been a part of for a long time, because you are already an expert. However, if you don’t have any idea which topic or niche you want to write about, think about your hobbies or just start blogging about your daily activities, memorable moments or simply about everything. You can also think about how you want to help people and the valuable information and experience you can share with them via your blog.

Take a look at other blogs on your topic to see what other people are already doing. Ask yourself what you have to offer that is different from what other people are already doing. Identifying your niche will distinguish your blog from your competitors.
Choose your preferred blogging platform

Choosing where you want to build your blog is very important to the success of your blog. I want to assume you’ve heard of WordPress, and this is the platform I advocate. It’s the biggest blogging platforms in the world, with countless plugins and add-ons and almost infinite ways to design and layout your blog. Most of the blogs on the internet are built using the WordPress blogging platform. Approximately 22% of websites around the world use WordPress. That’s over 75 million blogs or websites! WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.
Choose whether you want to self-host, or get a free blog

This is one of the biggest decision you’ll have to make wen setting up your blog. You need to decide whether to pay for your blog hosting or grab a free blog from WordPress. getting a free blog may seem attractive for those who aren’t super serious about blogging because of its downsides:

You are not able to get your OWN domain – Instead, you will get a sub-domain. If you decide to start a free blog on (for example), then it would look like this http://oluwafemiadeniyi.

You DON’T OWN your blog – silly as it may sound, you don’t actually own your blog. It’s hosted on someone else’s web property and they can delete it if they want so. They have done so in the past, and keep doing it in the future(Remember Linda Ikeji blog was deleted by Google in 2014 before it was later restored). Which means all your hard work on your blog, all those countless hours of writing blog posts might be vanished within seconds.

A self-hosted blog on your own domain (yourblog.com) is by far the better option. It gives you full control over your blog and you’ll look more professional. It’s also a great choice for people who want to blog long-term, share their knowledge, become a blogger and earn some money from it.


Setting up a blog on your own domain (if you choose self-hosting and a custom domain)

I’m moving forward with the believe you’ve chosen WordPress, and if you haven’t, you should because it’s the best. If you decided to go with a self-hosted blog on your own domain, you have made a smart choice. Finding a great domain name can take a while, but it’s worth it. I suggest you pick something brandable and easy to remember.

WHERE CAN I GET A DOMAIN NAME AND BLOG HOSTING?

I recommend you get a domain and hosting from the same place, that way you’ll save some money and time. In the past few years while I have been creating and managing blogs, I have discovered that there are very few reliable hosting companies.

One of the most reliable one is Siteground hosting

You have two options to install your blog to your own domain:

A) With “One-Click-Installation” using Siteground (You can get a domain from there as well).
B) Manually.

The One-Click-Installation is better for beginners or those who are trying to set up their first blog. If you are internet/computer savvy then have a look at the manual tutorial. Either way, you’ll get your blog online very quickly.
Designing your blog

Design of your blog is very important as the better looking your site is, the more memorable it will be for your visitors. The open-source community behind WordPress has created a large number of themes that are great looking and mobile responsive out of the box. Free themes are a good place to start for any blogger. I recommend that you go into your new WordPress admin, go into “Appearance” on the left-hand side navigation menu and click “Themes”. I usually choose something that looks professional and pretty easy to customise. WordPress also has this awesome feature that allows you to change themes with just a few clicks. So if you start getting tired of your current blog template, you can just switch to another one without losing any precious content or images.

This article was fist published on
http://bluegeek.com.ng/how-to-setup-and-start-a-blog/

9 Likes 7 Shares

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by iykyvic(m): 8:44pm On Jun 08, 2015
Del
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by pallybrown(m): 9:29pm On Jun 08, 2015
pls review my blog www.trustedng.com
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by Niyi61202(m): 1:59pm On Jun 09, 2015
pallybrown:
pls review my blog www.trustedng.com

Server not found

You site is unavailable.

Where is your site hosted?
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by hilaryiwens05: 3:00pm On Jun 09, 2015
Niyi61202:


Server not found

You site is unavailable.

Where is your site hosted?
it's blogger for crying out loud

1 Like

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by Nobody: 6:32pm On Jun 09, 2015
For starters y'al can use blogger.com
Thank me lehra smiley

2 Likes

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by yorke1: 6:33pm On Jun 09, 2015
what is happening
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by BCISLTD: 6:34pm On Jun 09, 2015
smiley
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by Nobody: 6:34pm On Jun 09, 2015
If you are not a good writer and publicist, then dont bother opening a blog because no one will read. One thing I hate about blogs is the unoriginality of contents. They keep copying from each other and plagiarism has become a norm. This is why most people dont read blogs. If you want to setup a successful blog and you are neither an enticing writer nor a very good journalist, then you have to employ friends and acquaintances who will write for you either for free or for a pay. Even if you manage to get writers or you are a writer, you have to contend with the millions of other blogs out there and how to make yours unique and visitable. Well, thats the lil' I can say for now. For would be bloggers, I say "Goodluck".

7 Likes 1 Share

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by Rumpelstiltskin(m): 6:36pm On Jun 09, 2015
Okay
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by ipreach: 6:36pm On Jun 09, 2015
This is nice
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by dhsfbi(m): 6:37pm On Jun 09, 2015
Word of advice, open a blog on what you specialized on. I mean something you know very well for easy updating of the blog

1 Like

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by AAinEqGuinea: 6:40pm On Jun 09, 2015
Befriend a lonely webdev and pay him/her with coffee
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by DanWrites(m): 6:41pm On Jun 09, 2015
Originality is KEY. Check out DNB Stories.
www.dnbstories.com
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by lizu4chizu(m): 6:43pm On Jun 09, 2015
Ok


Am coming
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by ibietela2(m): 6:44pm On Jun 09, 2015
K
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by RobinHez(m): 6:44pm On Jun 09, 2015
Ehm...I run a science blog based on blogger @ http://edscienceblog..com .I only have 54 subscribers in total (feeds+email) and only 4 of them are Nigerians, and its not fair, I mean we can gossip all day on other blogs, but to spend a minute to actually view and comment on a science blog is wahala...no wonder we're not plenty in Nigeria @science blog writers.


Now before 12am Tomorrow morning, I want to see at least 50 Nigerians subscribed to my mail feed and I want to see 30 comments on the over 21 articles on that blog, else, I'll climb a Tree and won't come down again till my demand is met. Try me! angry












Am also begging o...Nigerians, embrace science! Subscribe today and get informed. cool

7 Likes 3 Shares

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by charlsecy(m): 6:45pm On Jun 09, 2015
.
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by charlsecy(m): 6:46pm On Jun 09, 2015
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by Tundecool(m): 6:46pm On Jun 09, 2015
Pls Help Review Mine...

http://trendyvibes.net

It's a music promotion blog for upcoming artists & I also help distribute songs on other blogs too.
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by mezebel(f): 6:46pm On Jun 09, 2015
I need to start blog of my own. Can someone help me?

1 Like

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by RobinHez(m): 6:46pm On Jun 09, 2015
DanWrites:
Originality is KEY. Check out DNB Stories.
www.dnbstories.com
Guy, u're doing a great job! The first time I visited ur site last month, I was wowed!

1 Like

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by cyberdurable(m): 6:47pm On Jun 09, 2015
thanks, av longed waited for this!!!
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by DanWrites(m): 6:48pm On Jun 09, 2015
RobinHez:

Guy, u're doing a great job! The first time I visited ur site last month, I was wowed!
Thanks, brother.
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by RobinHez(m): 6:50pm On Jun 09, 2015
One other thing I've noticed is that most people go into blogging just to make money, someone complimented me on my site and asked "why u no apply for adsense" I tell u, if u're not blogging out of passion for what you want people to learn when they visit ur blog, but u're blogging because u heard u can make money too, u'd be soo frustrated that u'll start doing copy and paste work before u finally close down.
Know why u're blogging!!!

4 Likes

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by DanWrites(m): 6:52pm On Jun 09, 2015
RobinHez:
One other thing I've noticed is that most people go into blogging just to make money, someone complimented me on my site and asked "why u no apply for adsense" I tell u, if u're not blogging out of passion for what you want people to learn when they visit ur blog, but u're blogging because u heard u can make money too, u'd be soo frustrated that u'll start doing copy and paste work before u finally close down.
Know why u're blogging!!!
I once visited a blog. The first post was 'Place Your Ad Here'
shocked shocked shocked

4 Likes

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by NLFreak(m): 6:53pm On Jun 09, 2015
pallybrown:
pls review my blog www.trustedng.com

I'm not a professional at reviewing but from experience as a web dev I can give a little advice.

Firstly, try to make your blog responsive. It is mobile-friendly alright but not responsive.
I for one, minimize my browser a lot and I really hate having to scroll to completely view what is on a website.
You can check out https://www.freshdesignweb.com/free-responsive-blogger-templates.html

Secondly, your design could use a lot of work. Check out those templates for ideas.

Lastly, try to remove that blogger header and maybe use your own logo.

1 Like

Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by yomalex(m): 6:55pm On Jun 09, 2015
Good tips
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by McEwen(m): 6:56pm On Jun 09, 2015
Kingtom,wey my blog wey i pay for? angry
Re: How To Setup And Start A Blog by mogeny: 6:56pm On Jun 09, 2015
UNBELIEVABLE OFFER FOR THOSE THAT BELIEVE

CLICK ON IT NOW
http://www.buildmoneyonline.biz/public/UNBELIEVABLE_OFFER_FOR_THOSE_WHO_BELIEVE.pdf

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