How to Set Up a Beautiful Blog Today: Step by Step

The Way to Set Up a Beautiful Blog Today: Step by Step 

Wish to make something purposeful? Why don't you begin a site? Creating this blog is one of the greatest decisions Ryan and I made. Afterall, our blog is how we earn a full-time income. Additionally, it is how we add value to some other people's lives.

So, let's say you've seriously considered starting a new site express your feelings and to communicate your thoughts. Now, let's say that you don't know the place to get started and you are overwhelmed by options. Sound about right? Good, that is exactly where we started--clueless, confused, and confused with options.

Since creating this blog we've gained an audience of more than 4 million subscribers, and we've heard a lot about blogging the way across. Probably the most important lesson learned was that starting a blog was substantially simpler than we ever thought. Thankfully, you should not be tech savvy (we certainly are not). That you don't have to know how to code or design (we still do. That you never need much money (it's possible to get your domain at no cost and host your site for only a few bucks per month). And also you don't need to devote a huge amount of time either (you can set up your site in under one hour).

Because we receive many questions we decided to supply a soup-to-nuts guide for how to start a blog to our subscribers. This article is intended to function as a how-to manual, helpful information that will illuminate the path toward establishing your blog, replete with instructions, screenshots, and even an instructional video.

Step by Step Instructions: How to Set Up a Blog
While there are free blogging programs on the market like Blogger.com and Tumblr.com, nearly every severe blogger utilizes a self-hosted WordPress site because of its creative flexibility and freedom. The Minimalists uses WordPress as it provides us greater control over the appearance and texture of the blog-- even more creative control than any other stage.
After much experimentation and experimentation, we discovered the very best way to establish our blog. These are the steps. If you comply with this sequence, you may set up a blog within just one hour.

Step 1. Preparation

You'll want two things before you Begin:

.A debit or credit card (to pay for hosting)

.30--60 minutes to set up everything

Step 2. Domain Name & Hosting

Your domain name can be an important part of one's blog. Your domain is your speech on the internet. By way of instance, our domain name is https://emarkly.com. But before you invest in a domain and rush off, you'll first need to set up hosting for your own blog. We advocate Bluehost web hosting for Many reasons:

.We Utilize Bluehost. We personally use Bluehost to host The Minimalists. If an organization is recommended to you, you better be prepared to make use of their product your self.

.Superb Customer Care. With hold times that average less than 30 seconds and 100% in house, on-site staff in their Utah offices, so you can rest assured that the person knows how to provide help. If you have some queries, then they'll assist you through the entire setup process.
 .Amazing Pricing. TheMinimalists.com is a Bluehost affiliate partner, meaning in addition with their own service, we also receive a commission for referring new customers. To be fair, though, we'd still utilize Bluehost when we weren't a joint venture partner. Hence, we do not suggest Bluehost simply because we're an affiliate (every hosting company provides an affiliate app); we recommend Bluehost as they're the very best, most reliable alternative. Plus, because we're a partner, Bluehost provides an exceptional price for The Minimalists readers: just $3.49 monthly. That is a price that is phenomenal. Bluehost will provide you a domain name , which allows you to prevent the upfront and recurring fees associated with purchasing a domain when you sign up for hosting. If you've already purchased your own domain name, don't stress; it's still possible to use your domain names with Bluehost (it's just one extra measure). Bluehost's facilities are world-class. They have their very own datacenter plus so they build our own servers. Their headquarters includes over 50,000 square feet of office space, a custom-built data center that is 20,000-square-foot, along with enough generators to power a town. Bluehost delivers a 30day money-back guarantee, therefore in the event that you change the brain, there's no risk.
.Friends & Household. Many of our family and friends use Bluehost to sponsor their own blogs..
The first thing we did was move to Bluehost and also click the "Subscribe Now" button. This may take you  to a screen with two options:

In the event that you still will need to register a domain, you are going to use the left box followed with your desired extension (e.g., . com, . net, . org). If you're having trouble considering a fantastic domain name, try Wordoid, a wonderful naming tool that may give you a lot of great options (just make certain to don't get the domain name from them, as Bluehost will provide you one free of charge).
If you already purchased your domain somewhere else like GoDaddy.com, do not worry, because Bluehost will give you the information you'll require for easily transferring your own domainname.
On another screen, you'll need to fill out your information and then choose your web hosting package:

You'll see that prices range between $5 to $1 monthly, based on whether you would like 1 2 months, 24 months, or three years of hosting. In other words, you get yourself a large upfront discount the longer you are willing to commit.

Note: As we're an affiliate partner, Bluehost provides an exceptional price for The Minimalists readers: only $3.49 monthly. That's an outstanding price.

After completing your registration you will receive you'll need to move:

Step 3. Install WordPress

Do not allow the word "install" intimidate you. You walk. Anyway, in this context, "install" just means "create a few clicks." Therefore, when you have purchased your Bluehost account, you're just a couple clicks on your WordPress setup.
To begin with, proceed to my.bluehost.com and sign in using your new password and login. Click "site" under "hosting":

Then click "Install now" under "WordPress":

Now you're at the "One Click Install" page. Next, under "do it yourself (FREE)" click on "Setup":
Then, choose your domain and then click "Check Domain":

Then read and accept the terms and conditions and click on "Install Now:"

When you wait for an instant, your WordPress install is complete. Congrats!

Step 4. Design Your Blog by Selecting a Theme

A motif lets you control the appearance and texture without the need for coding expertise or design comprehension of your site. To put it differently, a great theme enables one to design your weblog exactly how you need it to check. If you're not a coder (we certainly are not), then the motif gets the look work a thousand times easier.
There are two halves to your subject: the framework (the bones) and the child theme (the wonder).
Framework. Genesis is undeniably the most flexible & best choice, although there are lots of WordPress theme frameworks available on the market. Genesis (that the theme, not the awesome 80s band) may be the first half of your theme. Many topics deal with the aesthetics of one's website that is own new, however, Genesis provides an essential foundation for the Genesis Child Theme. Simply visit StudioPress and Get the Genesis FrameWork ($59.95).
Child Theme. Once you procure your Genesis Framework, you'll want to locate that perfect Child Theme (which can be only a ridiculous way to state "weblog design" or even "the half of one's motif which makes your blog pretty"). The Minimalists utilizes the superbly easy "true" theme, which can be found at BYLT, the Genesis Community marketplace. Head on over to BYLT, read the collection of themes, and find

Step 5.Install Your Theme

Remember how easy it had been in install WordPress? Installing your theme is simpler.
Log into to WordPress:

Afterward, on your WordPress dashboard, then go to Appearance > Topics and then click on the "Install Themes" tab, then followed with the "Upload" link. Then, click "Select File," select your genesis.zip (that you downloaded whenever you purchased Genesis in measure 4) and press on "Install Now."

Wait! Don't click "Activate" only yet. To begin with, upload your child zip document after exactly the setup process. Upon completion, click the "Activate" link and you're prepared.
Totally Unrelated Bonus Step: Watch Genesis's "I Can Not Dance"
Well, that was fun. Now let's return to set up your site...

Step 6.Install WordPress Plugins

Plugins are appendages that add functionality. It is best to keep your number of plugins and install the plugins. (a lot of plugins, in addition to undependable plugins, can decrease your site.) We utilize only a few plugins in The Minimalists (below).
In your WordPress dash browse to Plugins > Insert New and look for, install, and then trigger the subsequent complimentary plugins one by one:

• WordPress Search Engine Optimisation by Yoast is the defacto standard SEO plugin for WordPress. For details and everything, you need to know about WordPress SEO read Yoast's Definitive SEO Guide.

• Google-analytics by Yoast lets you keep track of your weblog's traffic readily and also with a great deal of interesting data: overall traffic, traffic sources, views per author & category, automatic tracking of outbound clicks and pageviews.

• Jetpack by WordPress.com is a WordPress plugin that supercharges your self-hosted WordPress site with the great cloud power of WordPress.com.

In the end, people may receive our posts via email, that a Feedburner account that was free was found by us. MailChimp is just another option that is email-subscription that is wonderful when you have under 2000 subscribers, which is free. (Incidentally, if you don't already contribute to The Minimalists via email, you can here.)

Step 7. Tinker Before You're Happy

You are done. But this is actually where the fun begins. Now that you have your own personal blog, you get to make it yours; you get to show your vision to a real possibility. So away:

• Test out various color palettes.

• Add an image of yourself (ace tip: when you get the opportunity, get some professional photos taken; they are well worth the fee).

• Spice up your weblog articles with top quality stock photos: Paul Jarvis (free), Unsplash (free), iStock (fee-based), Shutterstock (fee-based).

• Produce a basic logo by means of an application like InDesign or Photoshop or a text editor (note: even though we don't have any design skills, we were able to utilize Apple's Pages application to generate our simple logo after downloading any free vector art and selecting the typeface/font [Helvetica Neue] that best suited our decorative), or you could hire someone just like 99designs to design a professional logo.

• Determine whether or not you would like comments on your blog.

• Establish a social networking presence on Twitter, Facebook, or Google+ (or even all three).

• Keep tinkering and soon you get the ideal appearance.

• And, of course, start writing new site articles and also publish them.

We hope you have loads of fun expressing your self in your brand new blog. We're sure it is going to be an enormous growth experience for you personally. Wherever you are going, be sure to relish