Starting a blog can be tricky but to start a blog on a budget is not hard to do. It’s definitely not hard to do or setup but most often if you’re not really into blogging or if you just started it just for the sake of doing so, you may end up leaving it behind.
Just a tip, if you are thinking of starting a blog for any reason, make sure you have a purpose to begin with and try to keep it updated as much as possible.
Of course, there are many questions on how to start a blog. First, you need to choose a platform for your blog and the most convenient platform to use is WordPress. Even if you have little to no experience in web design, coding or development, starting a blog with WordPress is one of the smartest moves you can make.
Let me share with you the steps on how to start a WordPress blog with Hostinger.
5 Steps to Start a WordPress Blog with Hostinger
It is really great that you are searching for ways on how to create your own blog. It just shows your eagerness to learn on how to start it right, and you definitely came to the right place. Simply follow the steps below for a smooth blog creation.
Step 1: Choose a blog niche
Before getting into the specifics you need to visualize first what content you’ll be writing about. As I have mentioned earlier, you need to have a purpose for creating one. Writing a successful blog on a budget should not limit your creativity and it can also benefit you a lot.
Some benefits of creating a blog:
- Freedom of expression. Some people uses a blog as their online journal or diary where they can freely express their thoughts and ideas. It also allows exchange of ideas, opinion and knowledge.
- Exposure. Blogs can be used as a tool to gain exposure online. It can work as a portfolio which allows people to showcase their expertise and skills which is best for freelancers and job seekers. Also, it is great for businesses to promote their products and services which can help people to get to know the company better.
- Get new customers. In relation to exposure, when your blog gets a lot of views and visitors it now becomes a platform to acquire new customers. It can help in generating sales and improving conversion.
- Search engine ranking. If you are very new to blogging, now is the time you know that it helps in improving your rank in search engines. If you have quality content and you have a stable flow of online traffic, it will better help you achieve your purpose of starting one.
Step 2: Pick your blog’s name
Choosing a blog name is something you need to think about. The name of your blog will be the first thing a visitor will see and remember. It serves as your identification online.
You need to take time in naming it into something that people will easily remember and that will represent what you are planning to offer. You wouldn’t want to regret naming it after a few months just because you chose something randomly or pick it in a whim.
Read: How to Choose A Blog Niche (And Best Profitable Niche Ideas)
In picking a blog name you should try to do the following:
You want your blog name to be a permanent identity of your blog and this is for you to avoid unnecessary work in the long run of changing every name associated with it like domain name, email, and social media accounts.
- Keep it simple but catchy. Simple yet catchy. There are just certain blog or website names that you can’t forget and majority of those are short, interesting names. Avoid choosing generic names that is too long, obvious, and boring. Let your blog stand out and make it memorable!
- Using your own name. Well, it’s not a bad idea to use your own name for your blog but it’s definitely not the best. If the blog is going to serve as your portfolio or a business that will only revolve about you then go ahead and do so. Aside from that, I recommend to explore other options.
- Widen your horizon. Don’t limit yourself by sticking on a specific niche. It may be narrow scope for a niche. Your blog name is great to be specific but not too much. It will prevent you in the long run in writing about other topics related to that. Don’t let your blog name stop you from growing.
- Trademarks and brand names. Avoid using these due to a possible copyright issue. It’s better to go for generic terms describing the brand you want to blog about plus it will not limit you to that specific brand or trademark in the future.
- Is the domain available. This is very important and probably the best reason why you need to choose an awesome blog name. Most likely too generic blog names are already taken, so you really need to brainstorm about it. One way you can check its availability is through Hostinger. They have a domain checker tool that will help you in finding unique domain names.
Step 3: Purchase hosting and domain name
“I thought WordPress is free?” If that ran into your thoughts, yes it is! You can start a blog for free with WordPress but your blog will just be a part of their domain.
For example, “myblog.wordpress.com” compared to “www.myblog.com”. WordPress is free since you are the one responsible for hosting and for setting it up.
Don’t get me wrong, WordPress website is a great blogging platform but if you wish to have a blog that just shows your name and more personalized you will need to get the cheapest way to start a blog.
Lucky for you, there are many hosting providers you can choose from and I will only recommend the best and affordable web hosting provider in the industry which is Hostinger.
I mentioned earlier that you can check domain availability from their website. Once that your done with your quest of searching for that perfect domain name you are all set to get your hosting plan and register your domain name.
What is hosting?
Hosting is like a file storage or a place where all your files are placed in when you create and manage your website. It is a server to be exact. Just like any business space, you need to rent it out.
What is a domain name?
A domain name is an internet address or website title. This is how people look you up instead of using a series of numbers that represent your website IP address. Think of it as a contact saved on your phone the name of the contact serves as the domain name while the contacts’ number is the IP address. It makes everything easier to search and remember it.
Now that you know the difference between a hosting and a domain name. You can now choose the best hosting provider.
But why should you choose Hostinger? Hostinger significantly improved their server infrastructure to give you the best experience in blogging.
They have a custom-built Hostinger control panel. It’s a user friendly control panel where you can build your WordPress blog with a single click. Hostinger also has a 24/7 customer support team to help you with your blogging needs.
Now that you have selected a hosting plan you can simply check the availability of your selected blog name with their domain checker and you’re all set!
Before I forget, we have a special 90% discount just for our Woblogger readers. Isn’t that amazing?
Step 4: Install WordPress
As soon as you have your hosting and domain name, you’re almost done with the blog setup.
I’ll share with you how you can easily start your blog with WordPress with Hostinger as your hosting provider.
Automatic Installation
- Login to hPanel and go to the Website section and find Auto Installer.
- Select the WordPress icon, complete the needed fields, then Install.
Easy right? Just by going to the Actions field within the List of Installed Applications, you can login to access your WordPress admin dashboard and start crafting your blog.
Themes and Plugins
This is the part where you select the appearance of your blog. Choose a WordPress theme from their wide selection of themes. Some prefers it to be simple and some choose to really stand out. You can do this by going to the Appearance section.
WordPress plugins on the other hand helps you in adding more functionality to your blog. They are free to use and are really helpful too! The necessary plugins for you to use are: Jetpack, Akismet Anti-Spam, and Yoast SEO. All these are useful for SEO optimization, performance, security, and more.
You can get these free from the Plugins section.
Step 5: Publish content and grow
At last! You’re now ready to create some content. You start off by creating Pages to add more on it like an About page, a Contact page, etc. Pages are great to sort out relevant details.
It helps in a way that your readers know where to go for them to find a specific information they need from your blog.
Of course, a Menu would be necessary for easier navigation. Just go back to your Dashboard and find Appearance and then Menu. You can now add and create menu titles for the pages that you made.
As soon as you’re done in setting up your blog pages and menu. You can now start creating Posts. This will be the busiest part of your dashboard since all new content that will be added to your blog are created and found here.
In creating your first blog post, go to your Dashboard and under the Post section select the Add New menu. You will see an editor to add a new post. You’ll then be asked to give your post a Title and you can begin writing your very first blog post!
When you’re done writing, you can now make it available for the world to see by clicking on the Publish button.
You have an option to save it as draft first if you feel the need to make some more changes to your post by selecting Save Draft. You can also see how it will look like when published by clicking on the Preview button.
As you go along, you may see other information that may help you in organizing your blog posts. There is a section called Categories and Tags. This part can be seen when creating a post. The main purpose of these two is to sort your content.
They are often mixed-up and sometimes confusing, so let me help you with that.
Categories are there to generally group your posts. It serves as the table of contents of your blog. It helps readers to know where to find the correct type of topic they’re interested in. Categories are also hierarchical, which allows you to add a sub-category.
Categories is a must-have in any post. You can go without a tag but you always need to add a Category. If you don’t put a post in one, it will fall under uncategorized which is harder to find. It’s optimal to have at least 5 categories that has updated posts rather than having a dozen categories with few posts.
Tags are there to handle the little details of your blog post. It’s not a requirement to add it to your post but it is something that can be used for indexing specific details about your posts content.
Finally, you’re ready!
Told you it would be tricky to start a blog. But since you reached this far, I bet you can start creating that blog of yours as easy as pie! You do need some effort and creativity but believe me, it is worth it!
Remember to take advantage of that Woblogger readers 90% discount with our best affordable web hosting provider Hostinger!
Thank you very much because in this article I have got the information that I want to take.
Great Steps to Start a WordPress Blog, thanks for sharing help full post…
A blog is an excellent tool for:
-Your digital CV
-Get feedback on your ideas
-Build a community around your passion
-Build rapport and establish authority
-Document your learning & life experiences
Enjoy the process of blogging because it will be difficult to blog if you are not passionate about the topic. Getting better at blogging can take time, but it will be worth it.
They say success leaves clues. Pick someone who is successful in your niche and follow the footsteps instead inventing the wheel again.
Happy blogging!
Hi Nilantha,
The layout and the font used is very pleasing and easy on the eye. It is easy to see the effort that has gone into the planning and creation of this blog. Would you mind sharing the name of the theme that you have used? Is it free or paid?
Paid theme. Essence pro theme by StudioPress
Hi
This is Very informative Article
As newbie this article helps me alot in understanding the things
Great article that help me with my project.
Well actually very helpful
Hie
Thanks for sharing knowledge and helpful article
Thank you for giving idea to start a blog as a bignner. This article is very helpful for me.
Thank you so much for this article . it was very help full for my project.
nice bro, can you tell me which is the best and fastest hosting provider?
Please write a blog on these topics
Hi Sir,
Thanks for sharing this important article.This article is very helpful for me.
Thank you again.
thank you sir, i was thinking how to start a blog but your blog give an super idea
Very informative article,it helps alot thanks for sharing it
Thanks for providing some great tips on creating a good blog
Hi really gained valuable knowledge of blogging.
Thanks a lot
Hi.
Very good article and interesting too.
It cleared all my doubts.
Thanks for sharing keep the good work.
Hi.
Very good article and interesting too.
It cleared all my doubts.
Thanks for sharing keep the good work.
I also tried to create good quality blogs but I didn’t have so much money but this article helped a lotto me.
Really nice, well researched, and well-written article.
If I may suggest, please write a similar article on the first few things to do with a blog from an SEO perspective.
Keep up the good work.
I used some of your techniques while writing a blog, and guess what they are really good at the end. Thank you for the guidance. 🙂
These tips are fantastic, I wish there was a how-to when I started blogging as these tips are super useful!
I think that the start can be very easy and almost at zero cost excepts the domain name and web hosting. Most difficult part of the blogging is probably to keep consistency and not to give up. Probably 99% of all bloggers fail, because they pick niche that they are not passionate about..
Hi Nilantha,
This is a great post! I had never thought of it that way! Thanks for the tips.
Thank you so much for sharing knowledgeable information, nice article.
Here is what i see for along time, I am fear of spent money to host a web site, but you make it away. thanks.
I truly believe that the niche and social media have most of impact in blogging. I will take a more secure decision with your article!
Low budget? Haha! Just $5 a month is enough for starting blogging
This is a great article is if you are looking at starting a blog! Thanks so much NILANTHA! Where was this article when I started blogging over 10 years ago? It could have saved me a lot of headaches.
Might I suggest also the importance of changing your permalink structure. It’s not difficult to do but is really important.
To do so, from the WordPress Dashboard go to Settings > Permalinks, then choose the setting “Post name”.
This will put the name of your post as part of your URL for your post.
I’m not familiar with Hostinger. I use Dreamhost myself. But, they seem to be a great WordPress host. Thanks for this great advice for starting bloggers.
Great article Nilantha! Just my two cents – it would be great if you can also include the projected cost of investment for a domain name, hosting, SSL certificate, etc. This will help anyone who is looking to start a blog on their own as they would also get an idea of how much time and money they need to invest on it.
This is actually a fantastic short post is actually if you are actually taking a look at beginning a blog site! Many thanks a lot NILANTHA! Where was actually this short post when I began blogging over ten years back? It might have actually conserved me a great deal of migraines.
May I recommend likewise the significance of altering your permalink framework. It is easy to perform however is actually truly essential.
Towards do this, coming from the WordPress Control panel most likely to Setups > Permalinks, after that select the establishing “Message label”.
This will certainly place the label of your message as component of your URL for your message.
Hi
Nice guide for a start up blog. I think finding the right domain name must be one of the most important step. It can be really hard to find an available good domain name today.
Thank you for giving us some good information in this post. Very informative and well-written article.
I am sure this article will be of greater use to many readers like me.
I’m very new to blogging and found this blog very helpful to get me started and found using WordPress is a very useful tip so thank you.
This is great. Always been interested in creating a blog. I started a couple of times but never really knew what to do and just kind of gave up. I will definitely be using this for the upcoming projects I would like to complete. Thanks!
So many people think it’s expensive to start blogging, but you really can start for free if it’s just going to be a hobby, or even for a nominal amount each month if it ‘might’ make income eventually. It’s always possible to move from a cheap paid WP plan to a different host when a blogger has more funds 🙂
Im very new to blogging and found your blog an excellent read and very imformed. You blog is really going to help, thankyou
Though it is an old post on this site, still have worth for new bloggers. I am thankful for sharing details to cover a blog in limited budget.
Thanks for this. I have an established site but developed it without much knowledge so I am now going through trying to resolve the mistakes I made and so am learning from scratch. This post is helpful.
Great tips – I started all of my blogs on pretty much zero budget. One of them has grown to be huge and my latest we have the same ambitions for so it can definitely be done using the above.
Thanks for the great article. My sister keeps asking if she can make money blogging with a tiny budget. I was fairly sure but now I have this to send to her.
Starting a Blog these days is easy but If you have a small or less budget than you can the post is a great help.
Thanks for the great share.
Have a good day ahead.
Great advise to start a blog in a small budget. But, I want to add here that for a low budget you can start at Blogspot with a domain and shift to wordpress if goes well. That is more budget friendly and website speed will be lightening fast.
I already hosted a blogging website. But, I was clueless about the basics. This post really help me to understand the the nuances of blogging. Thank you!
Hi, My name is Shrawan Choudhary and I was in thought. How I should start a blog with the lowest budget? For Because of COVID-19, I was not able to invest in Blogging. My budget was very low. and I was searching on google how to start a blog on a low budget and I found your link. I started reading and I was found some good ideas that help me a lot.
Thanks for sharing such information.
Thanks & Regards
Shrawan Choudhary
Starting a blog the right way can be tricky. But I appreciate the detailed way you explained how to do so with a low budget in this post.
Keep on posting!
Hello Nilantha,
It was a wonderful time while going through your article and I’ve got what I was looking for
I’m so glad you chose to share this article. It’s given me a ton of great information that I need for my blog, but it was just too hard trying to find everything on Google.
For beginners, this is a well-defined and quite instructive site. Thank you for sharing this information in such a straightforward yet beautiful manner. It assisted me in recalling a few items that I had not used in a long time.
Once again, thank you for your valuable tips and ideas helping freshers like us. Wish you all the best for your future endeavours and I will surely share this beautiful piece of article with my peers and people who actually need guidance.
Hi Nilantha
I have been running my blog for more than 10 years. So far I have been able to earn enough from AdSense to pay both for my domain and my webhosting. It is not a great business I am running, but it helps me paying for my hobby.
Hi Nilantha
I am planning to restart a blog for quite some time. I started one few years back, but it was unsuccessful. Do you think collaborating with fellow bloggers can help in creating a successful blog? If yes, please share your thoughts(both pros & cons).
Thank you, thank you, thank you! And can I just say, Thank You! I have been in a quandary about this recently and was just about to do a post asking for tips on the subject. Now I may do a post with the solution and if I do I will be sure to link to your post.