Create a WordPress Blog Easily on Bluehost
A step-by-step guide on how to create a powerful blog that you have control over.
The best way to make money from your blog is to create a self-hosted site that you have total control over. Follow the steps on how to create a WordPress blog on Bluehost.
WordPress can create a dynamic blog that allows you to do just about anything with it. You decide how it will look and you decide how to monetize it, in other words, you’re the boss.
There are plenty of free blog sites out there, but they can be difficult to put affiliate links into, and even worse, business owners don’t seem to take free blog sites like Blogspot very seriously.
Disclosure: I have affiliate links in this article. This is at absolutely no extra cost to you. However, they do allow me to continue running this site and to keep on providing you with useful information. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Why Choose Bluehost?
The first reason for choosing Bluehost for your hosting service is it’s easy to set up and the cost is very reasonable. The second reason? You get a free domain name for the first year and a free SSL certificate. But that’s not all, folks! *Said in a cheesy, teeth-too-big voice* You also get a free WordPress website for your blog. Neat? Heck, yeah! Who doesn’t love free stuff?
To begin with, choose the basic plan. You can always upgrade later when your blog launches into the stratosphere.
The benefits of choosing Bluehost are many.
• Prompt technical support 24/7, so you are not alone.
• The team is friendly and helpful and no question is a silly question.
• They know there are people out there who are not tech-savvy and they’re there to help.
• You get a FREE domain for the first year if you choose the 12- or 36-month plan.
• A FREE SSL certificate is added. (Some companies charge a lot of money for this Secure Sockets Layer certificate.)
• Your new domain gets connected to a FREE WordPress site with one click.
• Prices are very reasonable and anyone can afford to set up a blog.
• There is a choice between free or bought themes. Both make beautiful sites.
• Bluehostblog keeps you updated on the latest changes and information.
• To start off with, you will receive a daily email with helpful tips on setting up your blog before launching.
• Your site will be self-hosted, which means that you can do anything you want with your blog – within reason and best to keep it legal, people.
• The 12-month plan is excellent value for money, but the 36-month plan saves you even more in the long run.
• In the unlikely event that you decide that Bluehost is not for you, they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee on any plan that is not a month-to-month plan. However, before you decide against, send an email to tech support with your concerns, contact them via chat, or drop me a line to help with the initial set-up.
Why Create a WordPress Blog?
As of October 2020, WordPress was running on an impressive 38.5% of websites, from small blogs to massive company websites. That computes to millions of sites and attests to how good the system is.
Keep Things Simple
WordPress is an impressive beast and therefore can be a bit complicated to set up by yourself. Even professionals can get it wrong and end up locking themselves out or their new website. That’s why it’s so important to choose the right hosting company, one that does it all for you.
Easy to Monetize Your Blog
It’s super-easy to put affiliate links and ads onto a WordPress blog to monetize it. Wherever there is a product that you love and want to promote, there is likely to be an affiliate program for it. And if there isn’t, well, you could always ask the company to start one.
Start Here
Right, follow these steps to create your WordPress blog.
Click here get your domain and blog started.
Choose your package. The basic plan is fine to start with, you can always upgrade later.
Your selection will take you to the next screen. Put in the domain that you’ve chosen. Hopefully, you’ve spent some time on choosing a domain name for your blog.
Have your credit card ready for the next section and make sure that you choose to pay for 12- or 36-months to take advantage of the great savings and the free domain for the first year. Also, tick Domain Privacy Protection to keep your contact info safe for a small extra fee. The other options can come later if you are on a tight budget right now.
Once everything has been filled out and paid for, a verification email will be sent to your email address. Be sure to deal with the verification promptly to activate your account.
Bluehost will ask you to set your blog’s username and password before you hit that green button. Make sure your username and password are very secure! This is very important.
They will also ask you if you want to run a business or personal site – I chose personal, but you will know which one to choose for your site.
Then the fun part of choosing a theme begins. There are a tremendous number to choose from, both free and paid for.
You can always change the theme later if you don’t like it, as long as you haven’t made too many changes, which may get lost when you choose a different theme.
After you’ve chosen your theme, click on Start Building.
If you are new to websites, leave the “I don’t need help” button well alone. You want the prompts to tell you what to do next. There will be a few questions to answer about your site.
Congratulations! You have found out how to create a WordPress blog and can now start to set up your site.
Setting Up
The suggestions on your Bluehost dashboard will help in the setting up of your blog. This is what your new dashboard will look like.
In case you need it, go to WPBeginner and read up on how to create a post, make a new page, create links, and all the other cool stuff needed to make your blog work.
I use Bluehost for this site and I honestly recommend them, not only because of the ease of setting up a blog, but also for the responsiveness of the tech team if you need them.
©Kerry Biddle, 2020 (updated 2021)
