If you already have a website – you can skip this step.  Just go into your website and make sure there is a page set up for blogging.  You would find it under pages in the backside or dashboard of your blog. 

Wherever you’ve decided to host your blog, you’ll have access to WordPress.org for free through your hosting plan.  WordPress is by far the best blogging platform for your blog.  There are many features that come already built into WordPress that give you a head start in making your blog a success.  Plus, WordPress gives almost limitless possibilities for customizing your blog.

Set Your Blog Up in WordPress

Depending on which company you use to host your blog, the instructions may be slightly different.  Check the host instructions and follow them step by step.  Some may have a one-click installation and they do the work for you, others may require you to install WordPress by accessing your CPanel through your web host company.

Themes

Once you have created your WordPress site, you will need to select a theme.  Themes determine how your site looks.  Think of buying a house.  You can have 5 homes on a street built from the same pattern and all would look different.  Once might have a brick exterior, another gray siding, another brown siding, another yellow brick and the final one could have a stone exterior.  They all would look very different.  The theme makes your website look different and gives it character.  There are lots of themes for you to select from.  You can also have a custom theme designed.

Customize

Once you have your theme, you can customize it to suit your needs.   By customizing, you add your site name, tagline, how many columns, header, etc.

Then you are ready to begin blogging!

Our next post will cover writing your first post.

If all these steps seem overwhelming, contact UpSteam Marketing to help you set up your site.