• Home
  • Start Here
  • About
  • My Home
    • My Home Tour
    • Paint Colors
  • DIY/Decor
    • Decorating
      • Rental Ideas
      • Budget Decorating
      • My eBook
      • Decorating Tips
      • The Florida House
    • DIY
      • Before & Afters
    • Crafts
    • Organization
    • Holidays
  • Shop
    • Shop my Christmas Decor
    • Shop Our Home
    • Shop My Instagram
    • Favorite Throw Pillows
  • Media
    • Contact Me
    • Advertise
    • Disclosure
  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Making Home Base

  • Home Tour
  • DIY Projects
  • Shop Our Home
    • Shop My Instagram
    • Favorite Throw Pillows
  • Shop My Holiday Decor

Decorating Freebies

Sign up for FREE access to the vault of a dozen decorating freebies from planning printables to decorative wall prints.

How To Start A Blog

Screen Shot 2016-02-06 at 9.00.47 AMhow to start a blog

Cue the applause – you’re beginning your blogging journey! I’m so glad you are because blogging is amazing! It’s connected me with some of my favorite people, it’s allowed me the freedom to work while being home with my two girls, and it’s given me a career that I can take anywhere! You can read about my personal blogging journey here but today, it’s about you and your journey. Let’s do it.

I’m going to walk you through how to start a blog on a self hosted WordPress site hosted on Bluehost. I highly recommend self-hosting your blog. Being “self hosted” means you get for a monthly fee a hosting company will host your website on their servers. Being self hosted gives you much more freedom over your blog. Free services like blogspot and wordpress.com limit your options and functionality. When you are self hosted you are able to customize your website to your liking. If you are serious about blogging, creating a self hosted website that gives you creative freedom is so important!

To get hosted, I recommend hopping on Bluehost.com. It’s the perfect place to start for new bloggers. They make the whole process so easy to set up, it’s inexpensive, and they offer 24/7 technical support if you run into any problems (this is like gold when it comes to those first weeks of blogging – trust me!)

First things first – you gotta have a name. If you already have something in mind head over to hover.com and you can check it’s availability. Choosing a domain name is arguably one of the most important parts about starting a blog. Think about it long and hard – you want it to specific yet flexible because chances are as you move along in your blogging journey your focus may shift and you want your blog name to be able to encompass all that you want your business to be.

Navigate to Bluehost.com and click “Get Started Now.”

bluehost step1

1.  Select a plan. The “Basic” plan is great for the beginner blogger. I used a very inexpensive host for nearly two years before I had to switch. The $3.95/mo is a veryYou can always upgrade in the future once your blog grows and you need more space.

bluehost step 2

2. Register your domain name. Enter the domain name you’ve chosen under the “new domain” box on the left and then click next.

bluehost step2

3. Enter the personal account information requested.

bluehost step 3

4. Select the Basic Plan for 36 months – that will give you the $3.95/month price. You also have the option to select 24 months for $4.95/month, 12 months for $5.95/month – all of those options do require you to pay the full hosting cost upfront. Two reasons why I’m okay with paying Bluehost that money upfront:

  1. They have a money back guarantee, so if you are unhappy with the service or end up switching hosts within 30 days your money will be returned to you.
  2.  It’s the best value. You can go with another host that allows you to pay a month at a time but the monthly rate is much higher.

bluehost step 4

Don’t worry about selecting any of those extras for now – you can come back and add these items later if you feel the need.

Note: If pre-paying doesn’t sound like something you are interested in, there are many other hosting options to choose from. This is a great resource for finding a blog host.

5. Enter your billing information. Don’t forget to check the box to agree to the terms and conditions, then click next.

bluehost step 3

You’ll be taken to a page that offers you some options to add on. Go ahead and skip this step for now, you can add these items later.

Bluehost Step 5

6. You’ve officially created a Bluehost account! And you are now ready to rock the blog world… well almost. Now it’s time to create a password.

Bluehost step 6

7. Create your Bluehost password. On this page you’ll create your Bluehost password – this will be the password you use to login to your Bluehost Cpanel (control panel). Be sure to create a secure password.

Bluehost Step 7

8. Log in. You can now log in to your new Bluehost Cpanel and get started!

bluehost step 16

9. When you log in for the first time you’ll see a welcome message that offers to guide to you through the next steps. Go ahead and skip that and we’ll be ready to install WordPress onto your site.

Bluehost Step 9

10. Welcome to your cPanel as Bluehost calls it. Take a minute to look around. In that first section called, “website” navigate to the button that says “Install WordPress”

Bluehost Step 10

11. On this page it will ask if you if you want to install WP yourself or if you want Bluehost to do it for you. You want to do it yourself. I promise it’s painless. Click “Install.”

Bluehost Step 11

12. Set up your WordPress login information. Check the show advanced options box and here. The box will enlarge and you will set up your WordPress login information. This is the login information you will use to log into your site. Be sure that “Automatically create a new database for this installation” and “I have read the terms and conditions of the GPLv2” are checked. Click “Install Now.”

 

Bluehost step 1713. At the top of your browser you’ll see a green bar showing that your install is underway.

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 8.17.53 PM

The bar will turn orange with a note letting you know that your install is successfully complete. At this point you should receive an email from the MOJO Marketplace with all of your WordPress access information. Be sure to save it!

 

14. Click “view credentials”

Screen Shot 2016-02-23 at 8.18.59 PM

15. In your notification center, click “view” to view your WordPress admin login url. Important! This admin information is only available for 12 hours so be sure to save all of this information somewhere safe.

bluehost step 15

16. Click on your WordPress admin login url.bluehost step 14

 

17. Log in to WordPress. Now you are on your site’s log in page, hooray! Whenever you log into your blog this is the url you will use. Here you’ll enter your log in credentials that were viewed in the notification center.

bluehost login info

18. You’re in! This is your site’s dashboard. You’ll get to know it very well. It’s the command center of your blog. Take your time to learn to navigate it. Not only is there where you’ll go to write your blog content, this is also where you’ll go when you are ready to customize your blog!

bluehost step 18

 

 

Primary Sidebar

Hi! I’m Chelsea!

I'm Chelsea. Wife to Matt, and mama to P and Millie. I'm a fan of making and decorating things and everything blue + white. I believe that there is no such thing as too many throw pillows. Lover of iced coffee and cocktail Fridays. I'm glad you're here.

Follow Along

facebook instagram pinterest twitter

Search

Home Tour

Archives

  • Privacy Policy
  • Annie the Brave
  • How To Start A Blog
Removable wallpaper is a game changer! A couple mo Removable wallpaper is a game changer! A couple months ago Matt and I spent an afternoon slapping this up on our bedroom wall and it completely transformed the space. It can be super hard to put your stamp on a rental but I’m pretty pleased with the way this room turned out! #rentalfriendly #bedroom #milspouse #diyprojects #removablewallpaper #coastaldecor 
Download the LIKEtoKNOW.it shopping app to shop this pic via screenshot http://liketk.it/36TCW #liketkit @liketoknow.it @liketoknow.it.home
#ad Homeschool/General parent “pro” tip - buy #ad Homeschool/General parent “pro” tip - buy a shower caddy and stuff it full of art supplies to keep your kids from having their markers and crayons all over the place. For real though, this was a game changer. Previously, I had one hard and heavy caddy for all of our supplies that I would plop on the table during our school day but I found my kids constantly getting up to grab a pink crayon or the blue marker. Or at the end of the day things weren’t getting put away properly and the next day we couldn’t find the glue or the scissors. Now, they each have a caddy that they are responsible for. I’ve partnered with @walmart to share this simple organizing solution. The girls keep their supplies together and carry the caddy around to wherever they choose to school that day/minute. I used my Walmart+ membership again to pull this off. I was able to order all the art caddy necessities online using the W+ free shipping, no order minimum (excludes oversized/freight & Marketplace items) benefit so I can limit my time in stores. #walmartplus
Sitting here thinking about everything that’s go Sitting here thinking about everything that’s gotten me through this last year.
1. My family - having my girls home has been everything I never knew I needed. 
1a. My mom - in those early pandemic days, when we didn’t leave the house, she would meet me halfway between here and Vegas. We would sit in the middle of the desert with our masks on and just visit. I needed that so much and I know she did too.
2. My friends - it’s hard to imagine making it through this year without the friendships I have. They’ve carried me. A small group of neighbors here that would meet at the park for some outdoor fellowship and our weekly dinners made life feel a little more normal. Having regular calls with my best friend in FL was gold especially since we can’t see each other. And regular chats with @bykaithanson got me through especially in those early days.
3. Regular therapy - if I wasn’t already going before all this happened I surely would need to now. This all is very heavy stuff and having someone that is outside your circle to talk to is so important. This saves me again and again.
4. Making bread. I started making last year so when it blew up during that first quarantine I was so excited that we all were baking together. Whenever I’m feeling anxious making dough helps.
5. Exercise - this was the year I finally made exercise a priority. I love how much better I feel when I move my body each day. I’m less anxious and I’m more at peace.
6. All the technology that connects us. Marco Polo, FaceTime, texting, FB Messenger, all of it. Being able to reach all of my loved ones with the tips of my fingers has made it a lot easier when I can’t see them.
7. Television - how many shows have we binged this year? I don’t even know but I remember tackling Friday Night Lights in the beginning of the pandemic and being so sad it was over. 
8. This community. One thing I wanted in 2020 was to CONNECT with you all here and that has happened and its been wonderful getting to know each of you!
💙
We’ve been through a lot this year what has carried you? Tag a friend that’s gotten you through. 
Hoping and praying for a truly happy new year. 💙💙
Merry Christmas from our home to yours! I wish you Merry Christmas from our home to yours! I wish you everything good this Christmas and in the new year. 🎄
#ad Fun festive morning with the girls! My girls l #ad Fun festive morning with the girls! My girls love making and baking anything! We made cinnamon roll Christmas trees then decorated them with m&ms and sprinkles. I bought everything from Walmart, used canned cinnamon rolls to make them quick and easy so we could focus our energy on decorating them. Holiday memories made! How are you making memories with your family this season? @walmart http://liketk.it/34rdO #liketkit @liketoknow.it #walmart
I want to hear about your collections!! I don’t I want to hear about your collections!! I don’t collect much but I do have a few Christmas things that I’ve been collecting over the years. These nutcrackers are one. The girls pick out a new one each year. I have a small collection little white village houses and since the first year we were married we bought a peace dove ornament from Pier 1 (Li Bien brand) - they quit selling them so this will be the first in 14 years that we don’t get one of those. What do you collect???

Copyright © 2021 ·Captivating Theme · Genesis Framework by StudioPress · WordPress · Log in

Privacy Policy
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Necessary
Always Enabled