How to Start Your Own Website or Blog
You’re thinking about or absolutely ready to start a blog, but are not sure where to start or how to start – this was my scenario. So I have written this straight-forward guide to help you start from scratch. This guide will take you through how to start your own blog in five easy steps with SiteGround hosting, and end with a fully functioning blog, today.
The Curing Vision blog was started as a place to bring together many ideas shared within the natural health realm and put them into actionable steps. It is something that I felt God asking me to start, and maybe that is what you are also feeling as motivation. Having your own blog can lead to finding the financial freedom that comes with owning your own business while helping others succeed by reading your blog.
I first began the Curing Vision website on a free WordPress.com hosting site and quickly decided to switch off to my own hosting service to allow for more flexibility in the style and monetization of my website. Free websites can be a starting point to help you break through the initial fear of actually having a website, but honestly, they’re not a good option to start with. Especially when you are certain that the website will grow as your own business. If you have even the tiniest thought that your long-term plans for the website is making it represent a business, do not start on a free blogging platform because moving the content off of the free website at a later time (often the suggestion) costs far too much time and effort to make it a good starting point. It’s better to just own the domain and hosting right from the start. Think of it this way, it will be much cheaper to pay for a few months of hosting that doesn’t turn into much if you decide blogging isn’t your thing after-all; instead of getting a free space that then requires the expense of a $1k moving company to set up again.
Step 1: Purchase the Website Domain Name
The first step to owning your own website is to purchase a domain. Once you decide upon your domain name, purchase it immediately. Do not hesitate because it could be snatched up by someone else. Domain purchasing services vary, two popular options are Namecheap or GoDaddy. Choose a domain service with excellent customer service; and let me mention now, any question that you have can most likely be answered with a search on YouTube for a how-to tutorial. Most, if not all, of my blogging how-to questions have been answered via YouTube.
An important tip, if you continually search for the availability of your domain but do not purchase it, it will be purchased by someone else and basically held for ransom. I’ve seen it happen, someone lost the domain of her name because she kept checking to see if it was available but hesitated to buy. Someone else purchased it and then offered it for sale to her for over $300. Those people do exist, it’s wrong, but they have software that can monitor which domains are being searched for and will purchase it before you if given the opportunity. Also, expired domains will be purchased and offered to be sold back to you, so don’t forget to set up auto-renewal. I had a domain that I allowed to expire, on purpose, and it is now in the ownership of someone else because they’re hoping I’ll want it back. I don’t, they can keep it. This is why it is important to purchase the domain you want immediately, if it is available.
Step 2: Website Hosting via SiteGround
Once you have purchased your domain, congratulations, you now own a website! The next important step is web hosting. Website hosting is essentially the house in which your website lives in. It is best to not host your website with the same company that you purchased the domain with. I understand it is an option to lump domains and hosting together in one spot, but think of hosting with a different company as a two-factor authentication to your content. This creates a degree of separation to prevent hacking. Unfortunately, some people are just incapable of being good humans and will justify stealing your content. To make your content less vulnerable to theft, keep the website domain and hosting service separate.
SiteGround makes website hosting extremely affordable and intuitive to set up. I had never taken a class about website development and was able to set up my website using SiteGround. Their customer service is friendly, non-condescending so no question is a dumb question, and quickly responsive to any concerns. You will talk to a real person who will help you troubleshoot until the issue is resolved, you don’t have to figure it out yourself though a trail of Q+A tabs like other companies. I transferred my website hosting to SiteGround from Bluehost (another popular hosting service that had repetitive blackout periods), my website has never crashed since the switch. SiteGround helped me transfer the site, told me each step to make, and they are an official website hosting service recommended by WordPress. Which makes it obviously easy to host your WordPress blog on. Hosting with SiteGround comes with SSL secured hosting and Ecommerce enabled options. Everything you need to instantly start a website blog and safely sell products related to the services you provide to your readers and customers is available with SiteGround.
After having a challenging start to beginning my own blog on a free platform, then painstakingly moving all of the content to my own website, and now finding amazing service with SiteGround, it became very important to partner with them as an affiliate to share with you a place to safely host your own website. I wish someone had told me these tips I am sharing with you from the beginning because it would have saved so much time and headache figuring it out on my own. Knowing which options are best suited for you and taking the guess-work out makes it important to share. It is a blessing worth passing on to you for making your blogging career easier at the start. To begin hosting your website with SiteGround simply click on the name SiteGround within this post or image below. When you use the referral links the Curing Vision website will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. This helps support the mission of sharing health and wellness advice, and a way for you to say thanks for the tips with a simple click.
Step 3: Create a Free WordPress.org Account
For Step 3, within your SiteGround account you will create your WordPress login account name and password to develop the blog. SiteGround gives you the option to install WordPress from their site, making it easier for you. You can also visit the website WordPress.org (not .com) to install it yourself, but it is not necessary. SiteGround has made blogging so simple that you would have to try to break your website. You do not need to know HTML coding. Everything is intuitively set up for navigating to make sharing your message easy as the creator.
If you’re starting to feel overwhelmed at this point, take a deep breath. I know that starting your own blog website sounds complicated, I was there with you; and if this were 2000, I would also agree with you. Luckily everything can be done through a series of simple clicks. Blogging and website development can be set up in less than one day, even if you have never done it before. The freedom lifestyle that owning your own blog and ecommerce site affords is worth taking the leap of faith to start. You’ll never know what could happen until you’ve tried. Many questions that you may have for beginning are easily answered with a quick YouTube search. Don’t let fear hold you back from sharing your message, start sharing today!
Step 4: Choose Your Website Theme
Within the WordPress Dashboard, you can download many free WordPress website themes that suit your aesthetic preferences. The Theme is pre-built coding that gives your website a specific look, it’s like the paint and floor layout in the room and the furniture and wall hangings are your words. Themes are free and some can be purchased if you have a very specific design desire. My best suggestion is pick a free theme option that you like the format of and start writing. Themes are relatively easy to update at a later time. Keep your menu bar easy to navigate for readers, keep a handy search bar near-by for the reader, and don’t let analysis paralysis hold you back from sharing content that you feel called to share.
Step 5: Start Blogging
The final step is to login and start blogging by typing in https://www.YOURDOMAINNAME.com/login, enter your WordPress account name and password, then in the top left of the window click to add a new post and start writing. That is it. You officially own a blog at this point.
Of course there are more fine details to designing a blog, but these steps are truly the first five steps to starting. To create a blog, each time, you would follow these five steps. How the blog looks and the finished look will always be evolving with you as you write and develop with the blog. How you looked ten years ago is not the same as today, so don’t expect to have your blog finished today because it will evolve with you as you grow. The focus now is to find your own voice in the words you share. The amazing aspect of owning your own blog is that you can write about the same topic as the two people next to you, but your story and perspective is so unique that we need to hear your message. Don’t be afraid to share your voice. When you do start your blog, please share it with me so that it can be featured on the Curing Vision social platforms!
When you visit SiteGround to purchase hosting please use one of the links provided within this blog post as a way of saying thank you for the information. I have been using SiteGround for nearly the entire time I have owned a blog, and I truly wish I would have known about it from the start. By using my referral link, the Curing Vision website will earn a commission that helps to continue spreading the message of healing and well-being. It costs nothing extra to you, the price you pay is the same regardless of using this link or not, but by using the provided link it does make a positive difference in the future of Curing Vision and is greatly appreciated.
The 5 Easy Steps to Starting a Blog Website:
Step 1: Purchase a Website Domain
Step 2: Purchase SiteGround website hosting service
Step 3: Create a free WordPress.org account with in SiteGround
Step 4: Download a WordPress Theme
Step 5: Start Blogging
It is really that easy! Remember, at any point that you don’t know what to do, take a deep breath, re-read these tips, ask for help, and look for answers. A website that you own does not have to cost a lot of money, it can be extremely budget friendly with SiteGround hosting. SiteGround offers excellent customer service and will near literally hold your hand answering questions, I know this because I have done it myself.
