How to Start a Blog in 5 Easy Steps

I’m often asked my tips on how to start a blog by friends and readers.

I started blogging back in 2013 (here’s why) and in that time, my blog has rebranded and grown to become my full-time job.

Affiliate links below.

I thought I’d share with you my tips on how to start a blog, for those who are considering it!

How to start a Blog:

1.  Decide on a Theme or Subject

What do you want to blog about?

Do you want it to be a private blog, like a diary? Or one to share with the world?

Many bloggers start blogging to record moments of their family’s life or their favourite hobbies. Some will keep it private and others look forward to gaining readers and building a community.

Think about what interests you and what you will feel passionate about writing about. It might be a specific niche or you might like to write about anything and everything that you love – as I do!

2.  Names and Domains

So now you’ve decided on what to write about, what will you call your blog?

Think carefully. I know so many bloggers who regret their initial blog name but do not want to go through the hassle of changing it later down the line.

I first called my blog Mama Mim – as it was a parenting blog. It since grew into a mix of many topics I love. I decided a while back to change the name to Love from Mim. I wish I’d gone with that from the beginning!

You don’t need to pick a name that matches your content of course – it’s your blog and you can call it whatever you like.

When you’ve chosen your name, it’s time to check that the domain name is available. My domain name is www.lovefrommim.com and I purchased it from Crazy Domains (affiliate link).

3.  Will your blog be a hobby or a business?

Do you want to blog to earn money or to simply carve out your corner of the internet?

If you do not wish to earn money, you could set up a free blog on WordPress.com or Blogger. I would personally recommend WordPress over Blogger as you can personalise it much better.

With a free blog, you can still have fun writing and sharing your content!

If you would like to earn money from your blog immediately or in the future, it’s worth planning for that from the start.

I’d recommend you stick with WordPress but opt for a WordPress.org account instead. Most monetised blogs are WordPress.org ones. It’s easy to set up and the best part is that you own your blog. On WordPress.com, that isn’t the case.

4. Who will Host your Blog?

For your blog to appear online, you need someone to ‘host’ it. If you have a Blogger or WordPress.com free blog, you don’t need to worry about this. However be aware that you therefore do not own your blog and it could be removed at any point. I’m going to assume that you’re going with a WordPress.org blog from now on.

Siteground hosts my blog and, so far, I’ve had an amazing experience with them. My blog has little to no downtime and when I have a question, their 24/7 support team are quick to help. I find the latter so important as when you have an issue with your blog, you want help ASAP!

Here’s my affiliate link to Siteground. There are a variety of pricing packages to suit your requirements.

5.  What will your Blog look like?

First up, visit the WordPress.org website to download and install it.

Then, and I’ve saved the most fun step til last, decide what you want your blog to look like!

You can either choose one of the WordPress free templates, you can design your own or you can buy one.

I bought my template from Pipdig and LOVE it. As well as their pretty and easily customisable templates for both Blogger and WordPress, the support is also AMAZING!

Here are some of their gorgeous themes:

Read next:

• Want to know how to be a Mummy Blogger?

So there are my 5 easy ways how to start a blog.

Feel free to ask me any questions and I’ll help where I can and good luck!

Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links meaning if you click through and make a purchase, I might receive a small commission. This doesn’t affect the price you pay.