Starting a Blog on WordPress: How to Set up a WordPress Blog on Bluehost
If you want to know how to set up a wordpress blog on Bluehost, you have come to the right place. With more than 2 million sites hosted, Bluehost is one of the best web hosting companies to start a WordPress blog with. Many bloggers have found success on Bluehost; if you start your blog the right way, you will find success too. For example, popular blogger Michelle Schroeder made $1.5 million last year. Pat Flynn, another well-known blogger also made a cool $2 million. Both Michelle and Pat are partners with Bluehost on their blogs. Our easy to follow, step-by-step guide will show you how to setup a wordpress blog on Bluehost.
- If you want us to build your blog for you, from start to finish, and teach you how to make money blogging, click here
With your new blog, if you put in hard work, you can work from home, travel anywhere you want and live life on your own terms. Starting a blog can bring true freedom. (see our affiliate disclosure below). We have also added a video at the end of this post to watch for more tips on how to start a profitable WordPress blog on Bluehost.
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Starting a blog is a great way to make money online. You can also make money by proofreading from home, as a Pinterest virtual assistant, in affiliate marketing and also by working from home. Remember, you will need the best laptop computers to make it easy to earn extra money.
I started this blog on Bluehost and today, I still partner with Bluehost in a number of ways. I have real experience with Bluehost, and in this blog post, you can use my experience and this free tutorial to start your own money-making blog.
One of the biggest advantages of setting up a wordpress blog on Bluehost is that it puts a wealth of themes, plugins, add-ons and other tools into your hands. This empowers you with almost unlimited options to customize your blog to the look and feel you love.
At any point of your blog starting journey, if you need help from us, or tips of any kind, click here to send us a direct message and we will be glad to help you out.
Now, I will walk you through a beginner’s guide to starting a WordPress blog on Bluehost.
How to Set up a WordPress Blog on Bluehost: Follow This 5-Step Tutorial
Bluehost web hosting started in 2003 and the hosting service providers gained success in a short period of time because of the reliable services they are providing.
Today, Bluehost is among the 20 largest webhosting service providers and it hosts more than 2 million domains. Some of the top competitors of Bluehost are: SiteGround, HostGator, 1 & 1 Hosting, Go Daddy and more.
Bluehost makes it simple to set up a WordPress blog. All you have to do is follow this easy 5-step tutorial;
- Sign up on Bluehost for the hosting plan that works best for you (I will show you a step-by-step guide)
- Choose a domain name (I will show you how to get a domain name for FREE on Bluehost)
- Now, Install WordPress in only a few clicks
- Sign in to your WordPress dashboard and write your first blog post
- Drive traffic to your new blog (I will give you free tips)
When I started working on my blog, I had no clue about blogging. I had no idea how to drive traffic to my blog. I started everything from scratch. It was a matter of trial and error. I poured over article after article, binge-watched video after video until things became a bit clear and blogging began to make sense to me.
I have come a long way on this blogging journey. Thank goodness.
Now, here are the easy step-by-step tutorial on how to set up a wordpress blog on Bluehost;
Step 1: Choose the Best Hosting Plan to Start Your Blog
The basic work you will have to do is to sign up with Bluehost. To choose a new hosting plan on Bluehost, visit Bluehost here and sign up. You can look at their promotional discounts on their website to see if there are some amazing discounts you can jump on.
If you have a promo code, use it.When you sign up for web hosting, you will have choices for the basic, the plus, or the prime plans offered by Bluehost. The three most popular plans you can select from are;
- Basic Plan for $2.95 per month
- Plus Plan for $5.95 per month
- Choice Plus Plan for $5.95 per month, as shown below
Bluehost usually offers unlimited bandwidth, so for new blogs, it is recommended to select the basic plan above. This will make the question How to Start a WordPress Blog On Bluehost a bit easier to answer.
In future, you might need to make further improvements on your site, and you can at all times just upgrade your user account to the Plus plan or the Choice Plus plan from Bluehost.
The Choice Plus plan from Bluehost can give you access to unlimited websites and bandwidth. This is one more reason to fall in love with Bluehost web hosting services!
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Step 2: Pick a domain name
Bluehost can give you a FREE domain name. On the next screen, you will select a new domain name. This is the .com domain name of your site. Of course, we do mention selecting a .com domain name and not a .info or whatever else. The truth is that the most successful sites have .com names. Also, people are more used to .com names. Go with the flow.
Now, here’s the fun part: choosing your domain name to start your blog: choose a name that’s interesting, easy to remember, simple and will resonate with your audience.
Take inspiration from popular domain names like Google.com, Yahoo.com, Facebook.com, HowWeMakeMoneyOnline.com, WellKeptWallet.com, MakingSenseofCents.com, WealthyAffiliate.com, SmartPassiveIncome.com, and more. Notice how on-point all these names are!
If you find that the more simple and easy domain names are already taken, don’t worry. My recommendation is to not worry over this. You can always get a name you will love. It is easy to get a fresh domain name for just 10 bucks and add it to your Bluehost user account.
Do not allow this stage to drag on for too long. Because you can always get a domain name for FREE when you sign up with Bluehost. Just choose one domain name. Enter your new domain name in the box as shown below…
One tip to help you acquire a decent domain name is to focus on your niche. Or let’s say your website idea is around makeup. makeupworld.com is perhaps already taken, so use a modifying term or keyword before or after your preferred domain name as a compromise.
For example, you can choose extramakeup.com or makeupguru.com etc for your website. Below is a list of adjusting terms that can help to secure your domain name and discover something amazing:
- My, Free, Info, Hub, Roundtable, HQ, Central, Zone, etc.
- Instructions, Motivation, Concepts, Design, etc.
- Chief, Guru, Professional, Expert, Genius, Genie, Champion, etc.
- Site or Blog
- More, Plus, Extra, Bonus, etc.
One of the most brilliant secrets to choosing a domain name is to include the top keywords in your niche. The benefit here is that usually, search engines like Google can see the keywords in your domain and will give you FREE traffic juice for that. It makes it a little easier to rank high on Google (depends on your content quality).
Examples: HowWeMakeMoneyOnline.com, WorkfromHomeHappiness.com, CarInsurance.com, and others. You get the idea!
On the following page (after you choose your domain name), you will be given a group of additional features from Bluehost. Suggestion: simply skip this part unless there is a compelling reason otherwise. You do not really need these extra features. Save your money for more importnt things.
Here’s one gospel truth about blogging: when you are starting a wordpress blog on Bluehost or starting any blog at all, you need to start lean and mean. Cut down on your expenses to the bare bones.
The reason is that it could take you as long as 6 months to 1 year or more before you begin to make money. So the smart thing to do is to run a lean operation and keep all expenses to the lowest possible level.
We have added a video at the end of this blog post. You can the video for more tips on starting and running a wordpress blog on Bluehost.
Step 3: Install WordPress on Bluehost
Bluehost provides a 1-click installation for WordPress blogs. Bluehost makes WordPress easy.
Bluehost is “The #1 recommended web hosting solution by WordPrss.org. Every account includes simple 1-click WordPress installation”.
For all shared hosting accounts, Bluehost will automatically install WordPress for you. For other account types, you will have the option to install WordPress with a simple 1-click.
Free WordPress Themes vs Premium WordPress Themes: What Should I Choose?
If your budget will allow it, I highly recommend you to start your WordPress blog on a premium theme. That puts quality into your hands right away. You get to have a good start. Make life easy for you.
Using a premium theme improves your chances of getting better SEO, a faster page loading speed, better user experience, more customization options and a more secure blog. That gives you a higher chance of blogging success.
As you can see below, Thrive Themes is one of the most highly recommended premium wordpress themes.
Unless you absolutely have no choice, avoid free wordpress themes. Period.
Here are the steps to install wordpress on Bluehost;
- Once you are still logged into Bluehost, Bluehost will ask you to “pick a theme”. If you prefer to start with a premium theme, you will be asked to upload it. You can then follow the step-by-step instructions from your theme developer. If you need help along the way or encounter any glitch, Bluehost support can help you out on phone or via online chat. You can also contact your theme developer for help if necessary.
- If you decide to use a free wordpress theme, Bluehost makes it a breeze. You won’t need to lift a finger, Bluehost will install everything automatically as you sit back, relax and watch. Just click on “Start Building” and Bluehost takes care of the installation. No need to worry about the quality of your theme at this stage. As you browse through more themes, research more and become a bit more experienced, you can always switch to another higher quality wordpress theme at any time. It only takes a few minutes to change themes.
If you’ve already clicked on “Start Building” and waited for a few moments, here we go…congratulations! Now you have your own blog. Yes!
Note: At any point of your blog starting journey, if you need help from us, or need tips of any kind, click here to send us a direct message and we will be glad to help you out one on one.
Step 4: Sign in to your WordPress dashboard and write your first blog post
Below is a typical WordPress dashboard…This is like the cockpit of an aircraft where all operations are executed. You are the pilot!
At this stage, the Bluehost part is done and you will hardly ever have to go to your Bluehost user account. Still, Bluehost obviously will continue to work for you in the background as they host your blog. Now, your routine will be to access your WordPress blog by clicking on the blue button.
Next, enter your WordPress dashboard by logging into yourdomainname.com/wp-admin.
Note: “yourdomainname.com” has to be whatever domain name you picked at the domain purchase stage. Take note of the “/wp-admin” part. That is what you will type in each time you need to get into your website. Go ahead and bookmark that. You will use that link thousands of times on your blogging journey.
When you are ready to proceed to the next step, make sure to sign in with the username and password that you created earlier on.
Boom…you’re in! You are now in your WordPress dashboard, as you can see in the above image.
Differences Between WordPress Posts and Pages
Before you write your first blog post on WordPress, let’s understand the differences between WordPress posts and pages.
Pages on WordPress refer to content that is more “static” or “permanent” in nature. Pages rarely change and are not featured on the front page, main page or the most popular sections of the blog.
Pages are usually used for content like About Page, Contact Page, Privacy Policy, Adverstising Rates and so on. Pages may not be filed in a timely or chronological order since the content does not require a timely or immediate action. They stay evergreen for as long as needed, and may not be necessarily updated very often.
WordPress Posts on the other hand are contents that are featured on the most prominent frontpage or sections of the blog. Blog posts keep changing constantly to make the content fresh for your readers.
Time is of the essence for blog posts; for example, breaking news on Tesla or NetFlix stock has to be posted immediately. That content is often reviewed and updated as often as needed. Operationally, whatever new content you have need to be delivered to your readers in the form of posts.
Ready to write your first blog post? Go to the top left hand corner of your WordPress dashboard.
You will see “Posts”. Click on it until you see “Add New”. Click on “Add New” and it would take you to a fresh new blank page.
Now go ahead and write your headline in the top, seperate line above the blank page. Right below, inside the blank page, write the body of your content. Edit your content, add images and all the extras you need.
Now your first WordPress blog post is ready to be published. Look at the top right hand corner of your dashboard. You will see “preview”. Click on “preview” to preview your content and double check to make sure everything is fine.
When you are all set, look at the top right hand corner of your dashboard again until you see “Publish”, right below “preview”. Click on “publish”.
Take a deep breath……now your content is live! The whole world can read your first post. It’s a magical feeling. You’re now a full part of the internet revolution. Welcome aboard. Woohoo! Yes! You made it. (You can now exit or minimize the dahsboard, go to your home page, and “refresh” your home page). You should now see your new post. Yeah!
To write your first page, go to the top left hand corner of your dashboard, you will see “Pages”. When you point your cursor on “pages”, you will see “Add New”. Click on “Add New” to open a new blank space. Follow the same steps as explained in the “post”section above. Hit “Publish”….Ta-da! You have a new WordPress page. Done.
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Step 5: How to Drive Traffic to Your New WordPress Blog
First thing to remember: Google organic traffic is the most important source of traffic for your blog. Always remember that and take action accordingly.
To drive quality traffic to your blog, Google Analytics is one blogging tool you will need as your go-to asset. It’s free. Head over to Google for more details and install it.
Traffic is what will make the difference between your blogging success or failure. When it comes to Google traffic, quality content is the secret. Write the best content under the sun; outwrite, outgun and outrank your competitors with the coolest content possible.
Even if you can fill your blog with only 10 pages of top quality content, you could see impressive results from Google organic traffic.
Your #1 focus must be to drive free, organic Google traffic to your blog. Google organic traffic is the Holy Grail of internet traffic. Learn it, master it and bank with it. Google organic traffic is the way.
This is the reason why your blog architecture must be built on a higher ground, a solid rock from day one. Invest in a great premium WordPress theme which will deliver an in-built SEO advantage to you from day one. Once your blog is built on an a solid rock, iron-clad foundation from the start, everything else becomes almost easy, later on.
5 Reasons Why Google Organic Traffic is the Holy Grail in Internet Traffic
Here are 5 reasons why Google organic traffic is the Holy Grail of internet traffic;
- It is 100% FREE. No investment is required.
- It is passive and runs on auto pilot. “You make money while you sleep“.
- It is the most consistent, reliable source of traffic for blogs.
- Pinterest, YouTube and Facebook traffic can disappear overnight if something goes wrong and some plug gets pulled from under your feet.
- Because Google organic traffic is maily from people who who are determined searchers, they tend to stay on your blog longer and convert a lot more in terms spending money.
For the most experienced SEO experts, Google organic traffic can kick in in a matter of hours. For most beginners, you can begin to reap the benefits of Google organic traffic from three months to six months or more. It’s best to start now and put in lots work. You will reap harvest financial fruits sooner or later.
SEMrush is one of the best places to do SEO research. You can start there.
4 Ways to Monetize Your WordPress Blog on Bluehost – Make Money Blogging
It’s like the morning after…you have started your new WordPress blog on Bluehost. It’s a new morning. The dust is settling. Euphoria is still high, but what now?
The answer is this: stop everything and focus on making money. It’s time to make money and begin to recoup your investment. Before you slip into the “red” (loose money). Get in the “black” now (make money).
Here are the 4 best steps to monetize your site;
1. Affiliate Marketing: Affiliate marketing is the fastest way to make money on your new blog. In affiliate marketing, you promote another company’s product and you get a cut up to 60% usually. Make sure to sign up with the best recurring affiliate programs to earn passive income online. To learn affiliate marketing for FREE, go here. You can also go here
Affiliate marketing programs like Bluehost and Amazon will never ask for your blog traffic or any strict requirements: 99.9% approval rate. Get your affiliate links fast and add them to your content. The best part of affiliate marketing is that even if 9 people visit your blog, one of them may end up buying an affiliate product ultimately.
One thing to remember on your blogging journey: not only is it the fast way to make money blogging, but affiliate marketing is also the biggest and the best way millionaire bloggers make money online.
Last year, Pat Flynn made $2 million, most of it from affiliate marketing. Michelle Schroeder-Gardner also made $1.5 million last much of it on the wings of affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is the way.
Here’s the proof: I have just come out of a live webinar with Pat Flynn himself. Pat Flynn makes 85% of his income from affiliate marketing. From 2008, Pat Flynn personally revealed that he made more than $5 million! 85% of that $5 million, that’s $4,250,000 came from affiliate marketing!
This is information Pat Flynn just disclosed personally and publicly. (see image proof below, taken from the live webinar). Wow! Honestly, I knew Pat and other online millionaires made much of their money from affiliate marketing; but I did not know it is now as high as 85% of his income! Amazing! Click here to check out Pat Flynn’s affiliate marketing courses.
2. Google Adsense Advertising: Another fast way to monetize your site is to sign up for Google Adsense. At the early stage of your blogging journey, Google Adsense will fairly easily approve you, even though your traffic may not be huge at this time. Every month, you will make bank, no matter how small. Every dollar counts at this stage of your online business.
Start with Google Adsense. Later on when your traffic picks up steam, you can decide to move to Ezoic, Ad Thrive, Mediavine and the other ad partners.
3. Build Your E-mail List from Day One: On your blogging journey, your email list is your biggest asset of all. Google traffic can disappear; Pinterest can block you; Facebook can ban you. Anything can happen, but one thing is for sure: your email list is exclusively yours forever.
Also, remeber that, an effective affiliate marketing campaign cannot be executed without a reliable email list to send to. So your email list is critically important.
Your email list is your most precious treasure: water it; grow it; protect it; milk it. From day one.
Tip: Sign up with SUMO and begin using their email list builder. It’s amazing. SUMO is the email list system some of the most successful boggers use, including this blog.
4. Sell Your Own Products: Later on, as you grow and become more experienced, you can consider creating your own online products. This can happen from your second year at the earliest, but most likely from your third year. For now, focus on affiliate marketing and sharpen your selling skills.
Special Tip: While you wait patiently to make money blogging, you can start a side hustle as a freelance writer on Fiverr for now. Go here and sign up with Fiverr to begin doing writing gigs for clients around the world. You could make some cool extra money from Fiverr.
How to Set up a WordPress Blog on Bluehost: Conclusion
Now that you know How to Set up a WordPress Blog on Bluehost, a whole new world has been opened to you. You get a great chance to make money blogging. You also get a great chance to potentially touch the lives of millions of people around the world.
Make money. But remember to always blog for the greater good of humanity.
Enjoy the journey!
How to Set up a WordPress Blog on Bluehost: Watch the video below for more tips
Video credit: ODi Productions/YouTube
Check out his blog here: ODi Productions
Affiliate Disclosure: All emails, social media shares, all communications, blog posts and all content on our website and outside our website may contain affiliate or partner links and or offers at all times which may result in compensation to us. Click here to read our full affiliate disclosure page.We only recommend products that we and our families would love to use and or believe will benefit our readers and subscribers. Thanks for your support.
More references for How to Set up a WordPress Blog on Bluehost and work from home;
