Have you ever thought about creating your own blog or website? Do you simply need a little guidance to get started? If that's the case, I think the video tutorials I've put many hours into over the last week will help show that anyone can start a site quickly and easily.
I thought I'd write a post and create a tutorial about “How to make a website or blog” because I get emails and calls from people everyday asking me how I got started. Technology has made it easier for anybody to create their own website on a budget. In the article I'll give you the basics about setting up a website or blog for yourself, a business, or a friend. We'll use a free platform called WordPress to create the blog or website. WordPress is one of the most powerful platform out there and is used by millions of businesses and bloggers.
WordPress Sites are perfect for:
- Businesses
- Bloggers
- Newspapers/Magazines
- Artists and Photographers
How to start a blog or website in a nutshell.
1. Think of a domain name.
For example, my domain name is ThinkEntrepreneurship.com. You'll want to take your time to come up with a name that describes your business or blog theme well. You can check to see if a domain is available by going to the Bluehost website, clicking on Signup, and then entering the domain name into the box. You do really need to sign up at that time. It's just a place to see if the domain is available.
2. Integrate WordPress with Bluehost.
The video above goes through the whole process of setting up a domain, hosting, and WordPress. Simply click here to begin the integration.
Why Bluehost?
- Bluehost is affordable (just $6.99/month). The price includes your domain, hosting for multiple websites, and as many email addresses as you want.
- Bluehost makes it extremely easy to integrate hosting with WordPress. (You can see the process in the tutorial video above.
3. Find a theme.
WordPress offers many free themes. You can also purchase themes if you are looking to make the whole designing process a bit easier and streamlined. Premium themes (paid) often provide customization tools that make it even easier to design a website or blog. I use Woothemes to create the majority of my websites. Think Entrepreneurship is currently using the WooThemes “Canvas Theme.” The Canvas Theme is known as being their most customizable theme on the market.
4. Start creating your site!Â
Practice Practice Practice! Get familiar with the WordPress backend by logging into your admin area and browsing through all the different menus and features. Read and watch as many videos as you can to learn how to become more efficient with WordPress. What I like about WooThemes is that they provide all sorts of video tutorials to help learn each theme. WooThemes also provides E-Commerce options which work great for companies looking to sell online. It's fantastic for bloggers or businesses looking to sell a few items without having to go with a full e-commerce type platform. If you are planning to have a large number of Sku's / products I'd recommend getting setup with a website from Big Commerce. I have an internet store named Signs of the Mountains set up with Big Commerce.
5. Set Goals
It is important to set goals for what you'd like to accomplish with your website or business. Strive to maintain a certain number of blog posts each day, products added to a site, or amount of web traffic you'd like to see.
Nice one again