How to Start a WordPress Blog in 2024 (Beginner’s Guide)

We know that starting a blog can be a terrifying thought, especially when you are not geeky. Guess what – you are not alone.

Having helped over 2 million users start their own blogs, we have decided to make a step-by-step guide on how to create a blog for beginners without any technical knowledge.

In this in-depth guide, we will walk you through the entire process. We will also talk about working on your blog and how to grow it to build a larger audience.

The process is easy to follow whether you are 20 years old or 60 years old. However, if you need help, our expert team will help you set up your blog for free. → Click Here to Get Your Free WordPress Blog Setup! ←

What Do You Need to Start a WordPress Blog?

You need three simple things to get your WordPress blog up and running. We’ve seen countless beginners succeed with just these essentials:

1. A domain name idea: This will be your blog’s name, like wpbeginner.com. It’s your digital address, and we’ve helped many find the perfect name.
2. A web hosting account: This is where your website lives on the internet. We’ve used and recommended hosting solutions that work well for new bloggers.
3. Your undivided attention for 30 minutes: You can truly create your blog in this short time. We’ve seen it happen over and over with beginners.

Yes, you read that right. In less than 30 minutes, you can start a blog from scratch, and we will guide you through each step with ease, just as we have for many others.

In this tutorial, we will cover:

Ready? Let’s get started.

Step 1. Pick Your Blog Name and Platform

One of the most common mistakes we’ve seen beginners make is choosing the wrong blogging platform. But, since you’re here, you’ll avoid that mistake.

Using WordPress.org, or self-hosted WordPress, is the best choice for most users.

WordPress is open-source and 100% free. It allows you to install plugins, customize your blog, and even make money without limitations. If you’re still unsure, check out the comparison between WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org.

We’ve chosen WordPress for our blogs, the most popular website platform. Around 43% of all websites are powered by WordPress! (See our complete WordPress review for more details.)

Now, you may be asking, why is WordPress free? What’s the catch?

There’s no catch—it’s free because you handle the setup and hosting yourself.

To get started, you’ll need a domain name and web hosting.

A domain name is your website’s address, like wpbeginner.com. On the other hand, web hosting is where your website files are stored.

A domain name typically costs $14.99 per year, and web hosting is about $7.99 per month.

That can add up quickly for new bloggers.

Luckily, Bluehost, a hosting provider we trust and recommend, offers our readers a free domain name and a great discount on hosting.

You can also use other trusted hosts like SiteGround or Hostinger and still follow along with this guide.

We recommend Bluehost, especially for beginners. They have been around for a long time, and we use them for many of our sites. They host millions of websites, making them a leader in WordPress hosting.

Plus, Bluehost has been working with WordPress since 2005 and gives back to the community.

They’ve even promised that if you follow this guide and can’t get your blog online within 30 minutes, our expert team will finish the setup for you—for free. Bluehost compensates us for helping you, so it won’t cost you anything. Contact us for free blog setup help.

NOTE: We believe in transparency. If you sign up with Bluehost through our referral link, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. In fact, you’ll save money and get a free domain. While we could earn a commission from any WordPress hosting company, we only recommend what we use and trust to benefit our readers.

Let’s get started with your domain and hosting purchase.

Open Bluehost in a new window to follow along.

Click on the green ‘Get Started Now’ button on their homepage to begin.

Next, choose the hosting plan you need (Basic and Choice Plus are the most popular).

After that, you’ll be prompted to choose your domain name.

Finally, fill in your account information and finalize the package to complete the process. We recommend the 12-month plan for the best value.

On the order page, you’ll see optional extras. We generally don’t recommend these right away. You can add them later if needed.

Once your purchase is complete, Bluehost will send you an email with login details to your hosting control panel (cPanel).

cPanel is where you manage everything from email to FTP access. Most importantly, it’s where you install WordPress.

Step 2. Install WordPress Blogging Software

When you sign up with Bluehost using our link, they will automatically install WordPress for you so you can start building your blog immediately.

Simply log in to your Bluehost account and then click the ‘Edit Site’ button to get started.

You can also log in to WordPress by going to yoursite.com/wp-admin/ directly from your browser.

If you are using a different WordPress blog hosting service, such as SiteGround, Hostinger, Dreamhost, or others, then you can see our comprehensive guide on how to install WordPress for step-by-step instructions for those providers.

Most of the above blog hosting companies now automatically install WordPress to help non-techy users kickstart their blogging journey.

Once WordPress is set up, you’re ready to create your blog pages, customize your blog’s design, and start blogging.

Step 3. Selecting Your WordPress Theme

The visual appearance of your WordPress blog is controlled by blog themes. When you first visit your blog, it will look something like this:

Most users tell us this out-of-the-box experience is not very appealing to them.

However, customizing your blog’s look and feel is one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of creating a WordPress blog.

There are thousands of pre-made WordPress themes that you can install on your site. Some of them are free themes, while others are paid premium themes.

You can change your theme by going to your WordPress dashboard and clicking Appearance » Themes.

Go ahead and click on the ‘Add New Theme’ button.

On the next screen, you can search for 11,000+ free WordPress themes available in the official WordPress.org themes directory. You can sort by Popular, Latest, Block Themes, and other feature filters (i.e. industry, layout, and so on).

You can take your mouse over to a new theme and notice a Preview button.

Clicking on it will open the theme preview, where you can see how the design looks on your website.

The preview of your theme may not look exactly as shown in the screenshot, which is normal as you will get to customize and set it up later.

You need to look for design, colors, typography, and other elements.

The best tip that we have learned about selecting a WordPress theme is to strive for simplicity in design. This will help you keep things clean and clear while offering an excellent user experience.

If you need help selecting a theme, then please refer to our guide on what to consider when selecting a perfect WordPress theme.

When you find the theme you like, move your mouse over it, and the ‘Install’ button will appear.

Click on it and wait for the theme to be installed. After that, the Install button will be replaced with an ‘Activate’ button. You need to click on it to activate the theme.

Once you have installed your theme, you can customize it by clicking on the ‘Customize’ link under the Appearance menu.

Depending on the theme you choose, your blog’s design will be tweaked with built-in widgets and customization options.

Note: If you cannot see the customize link under the Appearance menu, then this means you are using a block theme. Block themes use the WordPress block editor to edit and customize a WordPress theme.

You can edit a block theme by visiting the Appearance » Editor page. For details, see our complete guide to full site editing.

You can get even more design control with a WordPress page builder like SeedProd or Divi, which lets you create a custom header, footer, sidebar, and more without writing any HTML code.

These plugins give you more design control than Wix or Squarespace while allowing you to enjoy the full freedom of the powerful WordPress content management system.

Once you have selected your WordPress theme, you are now ready to create your first blog post.

Step 4. Creating Your First Blog Post

To write your first blog post, click the Posts » Add New menu in your WordPress dashboard.

You will see an editor area where you can write your first blog post.

WordPress uses a block-based editor that allows you to create beautiful content layouts for your blog posts.

To familiarize yourself with the editor, see our WordPress block editor tutorial.

Once you’re done writing, click the ‘Publish’ button at the top-right corner of the screen to make your blog post publicly available.

On the posts screen, you will notice several other sections, such as Categories and Tags. You can use these to organize your blog posts into sections.

We have a great write-up on the difference between categories vs. tags, which we highly recommend that you read.

To utilize all the features on the posts screen, you should read our article on adding a new post in WordPress (video included).

It covers embedding videos, adding blog images, headings, tables of contents, subheaders, bullet lists, call-to-action buttons, social media posts, and all other shortcuts you need.

Often, beginners are confused between Posts and Pages menus in the WordPress dashboard. That’s why we have also written a complete guide on the difference between posts and pages in WordPress.

If you need help brainstorming new blog post ideas to write about, then here are some helpful resources:

• Free blog post idea generator tool by WPBeginner
• 130+ blog post ideas that your readers will love
• 73 types of blog topics that are proven to work
• How to write a great blog post (structure + examples)
• How to create an effective content plan in WordPress

Many pro bloggers choose their specific topics strategically by doing keyword research. This helps their content rank higher in Google search and get more traffic.

We have a step-by-step guide for beginners on how to do keyword research using the exact same method that we use on WPBeginner.

Step 5. Plugins & Customizations

Once you have written your first blog post, you should probably add other usual elements to your website, such as a contact page, galleries, sliders, email lists, forums, and more.

To add all these additional features, you need to use plugins.

Plugins are like apps for your WordPress website. They allow you to add new features to your site (without writing any code).

Over 59,000+ WordPress plugins are available in the free WordPress plugin directory alone. This means no matter what you want to accomplish, there is a plugin for it.

We have a step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

That said, let’s examine how to use plugins to add some essential features to your WordPress blog.

How to Create a Contact Form in WordPress

Every website needs a contact form, allowing users to email you directly. Since WordPress doesn’t come with a built-in contact form, you will need a WordPress form builder plugin to add one to your site.

We recommend using the WPForms Lite plugin. It is a free version of the popular WPForms plugin, which is #1 in our list of best contact form plugins for WordPress.

Over 6 million websites use WPForms!

You can install the plugin by going to Plugins » Add New page and typing WPForms in the search box. Next, you need to click ‘Install’ and then ‘Activate.’ Upon activation, you need to head over to the WPForms » Add New page to create your first form.

This will open the WPForms builder interface.

First, enter a name for your contact form and click on the ‘Simple Contact Form’ template.

WPForms will now create a simple contact form for you with all the required fields.

You can click on any field to change it or add a new field from the left column.

Once you have finished editing the form, click the save button at the top right corner to exit the form builder.

You can now create a new page in WordPress by going to Pages » Add New Page and naming it ‘Contact.’

On the edit screen, you need to add the WPForms block into the editor.

After that, select the form you created earlier from the drop-down menu.

WPForms will load a live preview of the form in the editor.

You can now save and publish the page and visit it in your browser to see your contact form in action.

It’s best practice to test your form to make sure you’re receiving the notifications. If you don’t get the notifications, you should see our guide on how to fix WordPress not sending emails.

If you need more detailed instructions, see our step-by-step guide on how to create a contact form in WordPress.

As a blogger, the best part about WPForms is that it grows with you. Aside from simple contact forms, you can also use it to create reader surveys, polls, guest post submission forms, and more.

How to Set Up Google Analytics Tracking

Google Analytics helps you see how many people are visiting your blog, where they are coming from, and what they are doing on your website.

It is best to install Google Analytics when starting your blog so you can see how much it has grown over time.

First, you need to visit the Google Analytics website and sign in using your Gmail account.

Once you are logged in, you can go ahead and sign up for a free Google Analytics account.

You will be asked to provide your information and website URL. After that, you will be presented with your Google Analytics tracking code.

You can stop here because we will be using a plugin to automatically fetch and add this code to your blog (along with setting up proper WordPress tracking).

Switch to your WordPress admin area to install and activate the MonsterInsights plugin. It is the free version of the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress, and it is the easiest way to add Google Analytics on your site (trusted by over 3 million websites).

Upon activation, you need to visit the Insights » Settings page to configure the plugin settings.

On the settings page, click on the ‘Connect MonsterInsights’ button to connect Google Analytics to your WordPress site.

Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup. Once done, you will be able to see your website analytics report straight from your WordPress dashboard under the MonsterInsights tab.

For detailed instructions, see our article on how to install Google Analytics in WordPress.

How to Optimize Your WordPress Blog for SEO

Most beginners don’t optimize their blogs for SEO or search engine optimization when creating them. SEO helps users find your blog in search engines.

If you want more traffic, it’s crucial to optimize your blog for SEO from the beginning.

To get started, you first need to install and activate the All in One SEO plugin. It is the complete WordPress SEO plugin that will help you optimize your blog.

The plugin comes with a quick configuration wizard to help you walk through the setup.

It will help you configure a WordPress sitemap, write proper keywords and meta descriptions, add schema markup, and more.

We also recommend you follow our complete step-by-step WordPress SEO guide to set up your blog’s SEO.

There are other SEO plugins, such as Yoast SEO and RankMath, but we recommend AIOSEO because it offers the most beginner-friendly interface for new bloggers. We use it on all our blogs, including WPBeginner. See our complete All in One SEO review to learn more.

The free version of AIOSEO is pretty good and is used by over 3 million websites.

Aside from a WordPress SEO plugin, you can further optimize your blog content by using a keyword research tool. These SEO tools help you develop new content ideas that people are searching for around your topic.

You can even see the keywords your competitors are ranking for, so you can create better content and outrank them.

This will help you maximize the traffic on your new blog site right from the beginning. For more details, see our newbie’s guide on how to do keyword research for your own blog.

More WordPress Plugins and Customizations

There are many other WordPress plugins that you can install. Often, beginners find searching for the plugins they need a bit overwhelming.

At WPBeginner, we often feature the best WordPress plugins to help you add the functionality that you need.

Here is our expert pick of the best WordPress plugins that you should check out:

• Backups – Duplicator is the best WordPress backup plugin. You should create regular backups of your website in case something ever goes wrong. (Duplicator review)
• Security – Sucuri Security is a free security scanner for WordPress. We have a complete step-by-step WordPress security guide for beginners that will help you secure your blog.
• Performance – We recommend using either WP Rocket (premium) or WP Super Cache (free) to speed up WordPress. For more on this topic, see our article on WordPress speed and performance with step-by-step instructions.
• Design & Customization – We recommend using either SeedProd or the Thrive Architect page builder to customize your homepage design, create custom landing pages, or even create custom themes (without writing any code). For more on this topic, see our article on the best WordPress page builders (compared).
• Traffic & Subscribers – We strongly recommend using push notifications by PushEngage. This lets you connect with visitors after they leave your website. It’s our top 5 traffic source on WPBeginner. For more details, see how to add push notifications in WordPress.
• Email Marketing – We recommend using Constant Contact or HubSpot as your email marketing service. To get more email subscribers, we recommend using the OptinMonster free plugin to create high-converting popups, scroll boxes, and calls to action.

Need a WordPress plugin or tool but not sure which one to use? Take a look at WPBeginner’s Solutions Center. It is a curated library of the best WordPress plugins and tools, hand-picked and thoroughly tested by our WordPress experts.

If you are curious about all the plugins and tools that we use on our website, then check out WPBeginner’s Blueprint. That list contains all the tools that we use to grow the WPBeginner blog.

Need more recommendations? See our expert pick of the must-have WordPress plugins and tools for all websites (hand-picked by our founder, Syed Balkhi).

Step 6. Making Money From Your Blog

Now that you’ve created your personal blog and customized it to your liking, you probably wonder how you can make money blogging.

There are a lot of different ways to successfully monetize your blog. However, there is no such thing as a get-rich-quick scheme.

Don’t be fooled by the pictures of expensive cars and mansions because those are all fake.

Unlike other “make money online” articles, we have created the most comprehensive guide on how to make money from your blog using WordPress.

That’s a 4000+ word guide that everyone who wants to make money with their blog needs to read. We have shared our 15+ years of online wisdom in that ultimate guide.

You’ll reap the reward if you’re willing to put in the hard work and effort. Remember, there are no shortcuts.

Here are some of the best ways to make money from your blog.

1. Google AdSense

Many bloggers make money by showing ads on their blogs. If you make a blog with monetization in mind, then Google AdSense is the best way to do this.

It is the largest advertising platform for bloggers and publishers. Acting as a middleman between you and the advertiser, Google allows advertisers to bid for keywords matching your content, allowing you to get the best rates possible for the ads.

For more details, see our article on how to properly add Google AdSense to your WordPress blog.

2. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the second most commonly used monetization strategy among bloggers. Basically, you recommend your favorite products/services to your readers, and when they make a purchase, you get a referral commission.

The key to affiliate marketing is to recommend high-quality products and services you already trust.

Plenty of affiliate marketing plugins and tools for WordPress can help you make more money when promoting affiliate products. We recommend using PrettyLinks or ThirstyAffiliates.

We also have a complete step-by-step affiliate marketing guide for beginners that will help you get started by choosing the right affiliate program and strategies to monetize your blog.

3. Online Store

Many bloggers make money by selling things directly from their blogs. This could be physical products or digital downloads like ebooks, artwork, music, etc. Some bloggers even offer consulting services.

If you’re looking to sell digital products like eBooks, then we recommend Easy Digital Downloads. This is the plugin that we use ourselves. It has all the features you need to sell digital downloads.

If you’re planning to sell physical products, we recommend using WooCommerce. It is the best eCommerce plugin for WordPress. It is also the most commonly used eCommerce platform in the world.

For detailed instructions, see our guide on how to easily create an online store using WordPress.

Some bloggers don’t want the hassle of creating a store to sell their products, so they create an Amazon affiliate store, which lets them sell other people’s products from Amazon and earn a commission.

On top of the three methods above, you can do so much more with your WordPress blog. You can make WordPress blogs specifically for reviews, fashion blogging, food blogging with recipes, and more. Each of these blog types brings you more unique opportunities to make money.

You can also turn your blog into a membership site to offer premium content and courses. We have a detailed guide on how to create and sell online courses with WordPress.

Step 7. Mastering WordPress

WPBeginner is the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners.

At WPBeginner, our main goal is to provide cutting-edge, helpful WordPress tutorials that are easy to understand for small businesses, bloggers, and non-techy WordPress website owners (see more about us).

To expand your WordPress knowledge, you should check out:

• WPBeginner Dictionary – The best place for beginners to start and familiarize themselves with the WordPress lingo
• WPBeginner Videos – New to WordPress? WPBeginner Videos offers free WordPress courses for beginners.
• WPBeginner Blog – The central place for all our WordPress tutorials.

For more discussions, you may want to join our free Facebook group, WPBeginner Engage. With more than 98,000 members, the group is focused on helping beginners and non-tech users do more with WordPress.

You can also subscribe to WPBeginner’s YouTube Channel, where we regularly share video tutorials to help you learn WordPress.

Lastly, you can use Google to type your question and add WPBeginner in front of it. Our users find this trick always helpful because it makes it easy to find the right answer to their WordPress questions.

If you don’t find an answer to your question, don’t worry. Simply use our contact form to send us a message. Our always helpful, full-time WPBeginner support team will be happy to assist. We love helping users get started with WordPress.

Bonus Tip: Explore Niche Blogging Resources

With countless blogs on the internet, focusing on a specific niche can help your blog stand out and attract a dedicated audience. By honing in on a topic you’re truly passionate about, you can help your blog stand out and stay motivated to keep creating great content.

The following are a few guides focused on exploring different blogging niches. These resources will show you how to differentiate your blog from others and succeed:

• How to Start a Travel Blog
• How to Start a Food Blog
• How to Start a Fashion Blog
• How to Start a Video Blog (Vlog) And Make Money
• Revealed: Which Are the Most Popular Types of Blogs?
• Best Blogging Niche – 7 That Will Make Money (Easily)

Frequently Asked Questions About Blogging (FAQs)

Having helped thousands of people start blogs, we have answered many questions. Below are the answers to the most frequently asked blog creation questions.

Can I create a blog without WordPress?

Yes, there are several other blogging platforms available. We have compared them all, and WordPress is by far the best website builder solution in the market for making a blog with complete ownership and freedom.

Can I build a blog without hosting?

No, that’s not possible. Web hosting is where your website files are stored. All websites need web hosting. To start a blog, you will need your own domain and web hosting.

Is it free to start a blog on WordPress?

WordPress itself is available for free. However, you’ll need to pay for hosting and domain name. Alternatively, you can start with a free blog on WordPress.com, keeping in mind the limitations of WordPress.com and how it differs from WordPress.org.

How do I come up with a good blog name for my site?

Most personal blog names are named after their creator. Other blogs are named after the topic or industry they are in. We have an AI-powered business name generator that you can use to come up with blog name ideas.

What is the best blogging niche?

Choosing the right niche for your blog makes it easier to create engaging content and make more money online. Our experts have researched the best blogging niches that you should consider when starting your blog.

We also created a list of the most popular types of blogs to help you get inspiration.

How much does it cost to start a blog?

The cost depends on the add-ons you buy. We have a complete guide on the cost of a WordPress website as well as tips on how to save money.

Most blogging tools are either free or come with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try them risk-free.

Can I create a blog without my parents knowing about it?

Yes. You can make your WordPress blog private and hide it from the internet. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make your WordPress blog completely private.

Can I start a WordPress blog and make money with Google Adsense?

Yes, you can use your WordPress blog to earn money from Google AdSense. We have a step-by-step guide on how to add Google AdSense to WordPress.

How can I create a blog and remain anonymous?

If you want to have a public-facing blog but want to remain anonymous, then you need to make sure that your domain has WHOIS privacy turned on. Often, people use a pseudonym/nickname to write under. You should also create a unique email just for your blog. It goes without saying, don’t post your pictures or anything on the blog. For more detailed instructions, see our article on how to blog anonymously using WordPress.

How do I add a podcast to my WordPress blog?

WordPress makes it super easy to start a blog and add a podcast. We have a step-by-step guide on how to start a podcast with WordPress.

Can I build a blog in my own language?

Yes, you can use WordPress in other languages. You can select your language during installation or from the Settings page in the WordPress admin area. WordPress is fully translated into over 56 languages and partially into dozens of other languages. Many top WordPress themes and plugins are also available in multiple languages. You can also translate a theme or a plugin that you want to use on your website.

How do I create a blog in multiple languages?

Want to start a blog in Hindi, Spanish, or multiple languages? Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create a multilingual website in WordPress.

Can I design a blog with no coding skills?

Absolutely. You don’t need any programming, coding, or design skills to create a professional-looking WordPress blog.

WordPress themes are easy to customize; you can just point and click to set up your theme. WordPress themes like Astra come with ready-made starter websites that you can import with one click.

Other powerful themes, like Divi, give you complete drag-and-drop design options for customizing your blog.

Then, there are powerful drag-and-drop page builders, such as SeedProd, that work with any WordPress theme. You can use them to design your own pages by dragging and dropping items.

You can even create your own custom theme without writing any code.

Can I add a photography gallery to my blog?

Yes, WordPress has a built-in gallery feature that makes it easy to add photo galleries to your blog posts.

Professional photographers can also use premium WordPress gallery plugins to showcase their photos better and sell them to earn money from their photography business.

How can I create a professional email address for my blog?

If you’re serious about your blog, then we highly recommend that you create a professional business email address (it’s free).

All successful bloggers use professional email addresses to stand out and make better partnership deals to grow their blogs.

Can I switch blogging platforms later?

When creating a blog for the first time, often beginners make the mistake of choosing the wrong platform like Medium, Tumblr, Blogger, or others.

The good news is that, yes, you can easily switch to WordPress. We have detailed tutorials on how to switch from:

• Medium to WordPress
• Blogger to WordPress
• WordPress.com to WordPress.org
• Tumblr to WordPress

For more options, see our complete WordPress migration guide.

Where do I find photos for my blog?

All great blogs use high-quality photos in their blog posts and social media. We have created a beginner’s guide on how to find royalty-free stock photos for your blog, videos, and social media.

Video Tutorial

If you don’t like the written instructions, then check out our video tutorial:

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We hope that you found our tutorial on how to start a WordPress blog helpful. You may also want to check out our article on actionable tips to drive traffic to your new WordPress site and our checklist of important things to do after installing WordPress.

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