How to Start a WordPress Blog for Beginners

How to Start a WordPress Blog for Beginners

DomainRacer WordPress is the most popular choice amongst people when it comes to blogging platforms. If you are reading this blog post, you probably decided that you are ready to go all in and start a self-hosted WordPress blog or website.

In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to start a WordPress blog in 4 simple steps. I’ve been using WordPress ever since I launched my very first website back and that I was even don’t know how to start a new website on wordpress or anywhere.

I am not going to lie to you- the learning curve is rather steep, BUT once you learn how to use it, there is nothing you can’t do with a self-hosted WordPress website.

Note: Without going into any further details: a self-hosted blog would run on WordPress.org. To save you time, I have prepared a 4 -step action plan that will help you get a self-hosted WordPress website up and running in a few hours. Let’s do this!

Step 1 – Decide On Your Website Purpose And Name

Before we even dive deep into the more technical part, it is very important that you have two things in place- an idea of what your blog or website will be about and a name.

YOUR WEBSITE/BLOG TOPIC

If you are launching a website for your business, then this one is pretty clear. If you are looking to start a blog, however, you should first figure out what you would like to blog about.

You can also get dedicated server uk from DomainRacer. Are you starting a fashion blog where you want to share all of your OOTDS, or maybe you always wanted to have a personal blog with cooking recipes? Make sure to decide on your topic before you move to the next step.

NAMING YOUR WEBSITE

‍Every time I need to come up with a name for one of my ideas or products I start with a pen and a blank list of paper. Next, I think about the purpose of the website and write down random words that come to my mind when I think about that.

After that, I open Thesaurus and search for even more words, that are synonyms to the words I initially put on my list. The last step in my little “ritual” is putting all words in Word or Excel in order to keep track and then visiting Panabee in order to get some domain name ideas.

Step 2- Purchase a Domain

Once you have at least 5 domain name ideas it’s time to purchase your domain name. Head over to DomainRacer. I am personally a fan of DomainRacer – this is where I buy all of my domain names ( I currently have more than 10 (not kidding!)

‍SEARCH FOR AVAILABLE DOMAIN NAMES

You get the domain and other hostings like best dedicated hosting server from DomainRacaer and DedicatedCore. ‍All you need to do now is to type in the domain name you wish to buy in the search bar inside DomainRacer.

CHOOSE YOUR DOMAIN NAME

After you hit enter, you will land on the Results page where a domain will be pre-selected for you. Usually, you would want to go with a .com domain name, but if you will be running a business that is country-specific, you might also want to choose your country’s domain ending, for example, co. uk, .es, and similar.

Click on the Suggestions tab to get even more suggestions for your domain name. Note that sometimes the .co or .com endings won’t appear automatically, so you would have to type in the domain WITH the desired ending inside of the search field. Example: “donutsanddots.com”.

‍Tip: If your .com domain is taken, don’t worry- buy a .co or a .net instead. Or be creative:) and buy .tech or something that applies to your blog or business.

BUY YOUR DOMAIN NAME

Once you are happy with your choice, add the domain to your cart together with your payment details and click on Confirm Order.

Congrats! Now you have your brand new domain name 🙌🏻 Let’s move on to the next step.

Step 3- Select Your Hosting Provider

There are so many hosting options out there, and each of them has Pros and Cons.  I personally recommend DomainRacer. The great thing about DomainRacer is that their process is very easy and straightforward, which is perfect for someone like you that is just starting out! Did I mention they have 99.99%  website uptime!? Yep.

You can rely on them and don’t worry about your website being down ever again! Another great feature of DomainRacer is that they offer dedicated 24/7 support. Say what? If you are not so tech-savvy and wondering whether you will be able to handle all of this by yourself, then all you need to do is click on the little chat icon and you will have someone help you with your problem immediately.

If you want to start a blog today, head over to DomainRacer and keep this tab open to follow the tutorial.

CHOOSE YOUR HOSTING PLAN

Let’s go over  DomainRacer hosting options. They offer three different packages that you can choose from.

THE STARTUP PLAN

‍This is the most basic plan they offer and it has up to 10 GB of space included, as well as ten thousand visitors monthly. It includes 24/7 support and daily backups.

THE GROW BIG PLAN

‍This option offers not only more space and increased website traffic support, but it also includes a feature called SuperCacher. It helps you increase the speed of your website by caching your website content. If you are planning on creating lots of content, or even thinking of creating more than one website, then this plan is for you!

THE GOGEEK PLAN

‍It includes of the above, plus even more storage and traffic allowance, but it is also packed with advanced features like 1 click WP Staging and Premium Back up and Restore Service.

This plan is suitable for very advanced users who know exactly what they are doing and need lots of tech features, for example, website developers. After you choose your plan, click on the Get Started button. You will be taken to the next page to continue with your registration.

CHOOSE YOUR DOMAIN

Here, you have two options: you can either register a domain directly with DomainRacer or transfer your existing domain. If you already purchased a domain name (through Namecheap or any other service provider), then select the second option. Your domain name will be transferred for free!

‍Once you select the desired option, click on the Proceed button. If you choose the first option, you will see the following screen after clicking on the proceed button:

NEXT, FILL OUT YOUR ACCOUNT DETAILS AND BILLING INFORMATION.

Here you need to create an account and fill out your information. When you scroll down the website, you should see the following options:

Under DomainRacer Hosting Services, you see the plan that you have chosen, the data center (where are the servers situated) and you have the ability to choose the time period of the contract. By default, it is set up to 12 months.

There are some extra services that you can add to your plan. For example, if you are planning on running an e-shop, I recommend that you also buy the domain privacy option. It is a must for every payment processing service to have a secure connection.

At the bottom of the page, you should see the total amount that you will be charged for your order. Depending on where you live, your VAT amount will vary or be even 0%. Click on the Pay Now button and allow a couple of seconds for processing.

‍Click on the Pay Now button and purchase the hosting plan you selected.

YAY! YOU NOW HAVE A HOME FOR YOUR BLOG.

NOT SURE WHICH HOSTING PLAN IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

If you are just starting out and not sure how much traffic you would have and what you would need, then choose the smallest StartUp Plan which starts at only $3.95 a month. Here are some of the Goodies it includes:

  • Free website builder
  • Tech support
  • Free Setup & Transfer
  • Free daily backup

Step 4-Install WordPress on DomainRacer

If you aren’t feeling that tech-savvy and you don’t want to deal with this part, you can easily let DomainRacer install WordPress for you. All you need to do is to contact the support team via the Live Chat button in the upper right corner of the screen and they will set this up in a matter of minutes:)

After that, you can head over to yourdomainname.com/wp-login.php and log in with your account credentials.If you want to do it yourself- it’s not difficult at all! Follow the steps below.

Go to DomainRacer and log into your account. Then navigate to My Account and then select Go to cPanel.

As a next step, click on WordPress in the Autoinstallers section

Click on the blue install button

After that, you need to fill out all the information on the next screen

THE SOFTWARE SETUP

Choose Protocol: if you’ve purchased an SSL certificate then, choose https://, otherwise, leave at http://Choose Domain: if you have multiple domains, choose the correct domain hereIn Directory: leave blank

‍‍THE SITE SETTINGS

Site Name: name your website ( not visible to other people) and can be changed later.Site Description:describe what your website is all about. This can also be changed later if needed.

THE ADMIN ACCOUNT

Admin Username: pick a username.Admin Password: pick a password and store it in your password manager.Email: type in your email address.‍

Important: Select a secure password and store it in a safe place! You will be prompted to enter your credentials once you install WordPress, so do not lose them!

Finally, you can also choose your preferred language, select any plugins you wish to install as well as a WordPress theme. You can leave it as is and install a theme later, or select one from the list. When you are done, click on Install.

YOU NOW OFFICIALLY OWN A SELF-HOSTED WORDPRESS BLOG,

Navigate to your brand-new website and log into the backend. It is usually yourdomainname.com/wp-login.php. Use the login details provided throughout the installation process. Now you can start customizing your blog and building your audience!

Here are some more WordPress-related blog posts that will help you if you just getting started:

  • ‍How to Add Google Analytics to WordPress
  • ‍How to Add an Instagram Widget to WordPress
  • ‍Setting up and Customizing Your WordPress Menu
  • ‍Add Custom Signature to Your Blog Posts
  • ‍Adding Custom Fonts to WordPress
  • ‍Best Practices in Designing Your WordPress Sidebar

‍Are you thinking of starting a blog? Which hosting provider do you use and why? If you are using DomainRacer, I would love to hear your feedback as well!

‍Disclosure:

If you decide to purchase the products then you should definitely try DomainRacer. I only recommend products that I love and that gave me the best experience!