How To Start A Successful Blog Using WordPress

Blogging helped me discover my calling as a writer

I am a writer at heart. It took me 35 years to realize it. I’ve always enjoyed writing; always earned good grades in English class. I even became an English teacher and did not realize until after I stopped teaching that… I am a writer. A year ago I left my teaching job and have been writing primarily for this blog as well as, a book I hope to complete in the next few months. I wanted to start somewhere, on my own terms. My thoughts were, I want to create a blog where I can share what I have learned and see how people respond to my writing. So here I am sharing what I have learned about blogging and how to start a successful blog using I will say this up front, it is hard work! Luckily I will share some tips that have helped me in getting started. I will also include some additional resources such as It’s a lovely life’s online Blogging Blast off Course that will take you even deeper into how to set up a successful blog. A course that I started off with was a Free Start Your Blogging Business 5 day Crash Course. Read on to find out the step by step process to start your blog using WordPress.

Choose a web host for hosting your blog

The first thing you need to do is choose a web host to host your blog. I use How to Start a Blog using Bluehost Web Hosting. When I joined the Free start your Blogging Business 5 day crash course, there was a link to get started with Bluehost through their crash course and you may get some special prices.

Choose a domain name for your blog

Next, you will choose and register your domain name. This is one of the most important decisions you will make. Your domain name will be what people will use to find your content. I would suggest thinking through what most reflects your blog and the type of content you will create. During your hosting registration, you will be asked if you need a domain name or if you already have one. If you are creating one for the first time, have a few options or variations that you feel good about just in case the one you have in mind is already taken.

Set up your WordPress account

Then, if you choose, there is a Choose a blog theme

Also, if you choose the Plan how you want to organize your blog

Then, based on your blogging topics, you will want to have an idea of what categories and pages you want to have and a general layout for your menu. For my menu, I like to have the pages I create such as about me, contact me, and home. A page is different from a post. I like to think of pages as static for information that you always want there and doesn’t change very much. For my posts, I like to create categories and subcategories and include those in my main menu for easy organization.

Create your static pages

Next, create your static pages. I created static pages for information that I always want available, see my subscribe page. An about me section is good to have so that people who are interested in your content can learn more about you. A contact me page is also good to have to let people know how to contact you. I also recently added a subscribe page so that I could have a dedicated page for people to subscribe to my emailing list that I am building. Once you have the pages created you can add them to your main menu or side menus.

Write a post

Now, write your first post on your own blog! I started with a welcome post that I reused as my about me page to get started. Once I had more content posted I removed the welcome post because it was the same information that could be found on the about me page. Depending on the type of blog you are creating you may want to start with something a little different. I think a welcome is a nice way to introduce yourself and the type of content you plan to post.

Start Your Successful Blog Now!

Finally, you’re a blogger! That is all the tips I have for now. This is essentially what I did to get myself started. I signed up to bluehost/wordpress through it’s a lovely life, and received their Word Press Fast Launch course. This helped me with some additional tips for setting up Word Press to get started even faster! If you need a little more guidance then the Blogging Blast off Course may be right for you. You can do it! Start now and happy posting!