Setting up an entire blog will seem difficult and overwhelming. There are so many options you can use to create a blog, and there are many technological aspects to creating a blog, and it could be hard. Today, I will attempt to cover as much of the setup as possible so that you can have a smooth time creating your blog.
Setting up a blog is easier than you think; you don’t need to have be an expert on technology.
There are different website building platforms that you can use. Some of the most popular ones include Weebly, Wix, Squarespace, and the one we used was WordPress. There are several benefits and downsides to each one of them, but WordPress has always been known to be a more popular and effective way to create a website. Although WordPress seems more confusing at first, in the end, it offers the most customization compared to any other platform.
In order to set up a blog with WordPress, you’ll need web hosting and a domain. A domain is essentially the name of a website, and it comes after the “www.” in your web address. For example, our domain is universewithinpages.com. Web hosting is just space for your website in the internet. Think of it as a room when you buy a house– there’s nothing inside, but it provides the space, and the domain is the address.
First you will need to get a domain. We got our domain from 1&1, and they provide us with cheap domains (only $0.99 for the first year!) with complimentary domain privacy, which usually costs extra. In order to set it up with a .com ending, you’ll need to go to their website (1and1.com) and just type in your desired domain in the giant box that pops up. It’ll check for its availability and then you can place it in your cart. Then, create your account and input your personal information in order to purchase it; it should be fairly straightforward.
Now that you have a domain, you’ll need to connect it to a web host.
In order to get free hosting, you’ll need to go to awardspace.com, and sign up for an account.
To begin, you must click the “domain manager” button. You can host your domain if you bought one, by typing your domain in, and follow the directions in the screen.
Once you verify your email, you’ll go to a screen that looks something like this. To add WordPress to it, you’ll need to go to the “Zacky Installer.”
There will be a screen where different website building platforms pop up. In this case, you’ll click “Wordpress.” Just keep following the instructions in the Zacky Installer. All options can be edited later (like the theme or plugins).
Now your website is all set! If you want to edit more things, you can go to yourdomain.com/wp-admin to view the control panel, and edit whatever you’d like. However, we have compiled another guide to help you create the most aesthetically pleasing blog as possible.