How to blog in 2024: The ultimate guide for beginners

Hey Guys , Here I tell you How to blog in 2024: The ultimate guide for beginners. ultimate guide for beginners you’ve decided to start your own blog. But thousands of questions are buzzing around in your head:

Which blog platforms are there? Where can I create a blog for free? How do I find the right topic for my blog? How do I get visitors? And how can I even earn money as a blogger? Do not worry! Because this is the guide I wish I had had 8 years ago when I wanted to start my own blog (and was completely haphazard). In this guide I will show you step by step how to start a blog. I’ll take you by the hand and answer all the important questions so that you can reach your goal more easily and Here is an overview of what to expect:

How to blog in 2023: The ultimate guide for beginners

Here’s how you can create your own blog
Choose a blog platform
Find the right topic for your blog
Find a hosting provider
Choose a suitable domain and blog name
Install WordPress
Design and configure your WordPress blog
Write your first blog article
Avoid typical beginner mistakes

1. Choose a blog platform

 

There are numerous providers such as Blogger.com, Tumblr, Wix or Jimo where you can create a blog for free. However, if you are halfway serious about blogging, you should run your blog on your own web hosting package. With a self-setup WordPress installation and your own domain. Getting started with WordPress is a bit more difficult. There you are the owner and not the tenant. That might play a secondary role at first, but if at some point you want to offer your visitors more, you look into the tube. And later switching to a self-hosted blog is always associated with a lot of work, stress and loss of visitors… Believe me. So don’t be stingy or lazy. Do yourself a favor and host yourself! And no, the whole thing is not expensive either: With about 7 € per month you are there. That’s less than a Netflix subscription and can get you a hundred times more at the same time.

2. Find the right topic for your blog

The question is easy to answer:

Something you are passionate about.  you really and truly care about.  you burn for .

Take a moment to answer the following questions:

• Can you imagine dealing with this topic every day?
• Can you imagine making videos on the subject or writing a book about it?
• Or give lectures about it?
• If you sit down with a pen and paper for half an hour,
• can you come up with 20 ideas for potential articles?

Do you tell your friends often and a lot about this topic? If you can answer yes to all or most of the questions , the topic is the right one. Being able to monetize a theme is also an important factor. Especially if you want to become a full-time blogger. However, this should always come second. Because you can earn money in many areas. Even more so if you are an expert in your topic and can provide your readers with ingenious content. Finding a niche within your topic is also beneficial. You can then use this as a unique selling point for your blog. My niche and my passion is z. B. Keyword research .

3. Find a hosting provider

 

Have you found a suitable blog topic? Then it’s time for the technology (don’t worry, it’s not all that complicated). In order for your blog to be accessible on the Internet, you need two things: A domain and a hosting package. You can choose two different providers for this. However, the easiest way is to purchase both from a single source. But beware: Don’t make the mistake and go to one of the big mass Hosters, such as B. IONOS, Domain Factory, Host Europe, Strato or One.com

! Mass Hosters tempt with cheap prices, but in the end you pay for it. For example, due to high downtimes and slow loading times, as my web hosting comparison showed. Or because customer service just lets you down when you need it most, which I’ve seen on a number of occasions. I’ve been a customer of the medium-sized German Hoster web go since 2016 and couldn’t be happier. The prices are fair and the hosting packages are well equipped.

The customer service is friendly, competent and answers lightning fast (usually within a few minutes via live chat). And so far I haven’t had a single server failure. For beginners I can recommend the web hosting package CMS Pro . This is a special tariff with a very good price-performance ratio: The hosting package offers 40 GB of storage, unlimited SSD databases, free SSL certificates (an absolute must for your blog!) and an inclusive domain.

So everything you need as a beginner to create a WordPress blog! As a new customer, you get the first 6 months free of charge and then only pay €4.95 per month (incl. VAT).That’s less than the cheapest Netflix subscription!
For the next step, click on the orange button ” on the hosting package page :  Then you come to the domain check, which you need right away:

4. Choose a suitable blog and domain name

If you want to create your own blog, your blog needs a name (e.g. Blog mojo) and a preferably identical domain, e.g. B. blogmojo.de . Your domain is the address under which your blog will later be accessible in the browser (the pink part of the URL): URL with HTTP protocol, subdomain, domain, permalink/directory explained To test whether your domain is still available, simply enter it in the form and click on the blue Check button : If your domain is still available, simply click on the green Select domain button and then on Continue to data entry to order your hosting package and your domain: Desired domain is available You don’t know what your blog or domain should be called yet? No problem! The following two sections will help you choose:

 What you should consider when making your selection

When choosing your blog name and domain, consider the following:

• The shorter the name, the better (under 16 characters is best)
• It is best to avoid umlauts (ä, ü, ö) or Eszett (ß), because the reproduction in the domain name is ugly (e.g. unschoen.de or heiss.de)
• The spelling of the name should be obvious to most people
• The blog name should reflect what your blog is about
• For a German blog, a .de domain is best (.com and .net are also acceptable)
  One more word of warning before you get started:

 

Please don’t make the mistake of spending too much time choosing a name. Your blog name doesn’t have to be super creative and clever.

 

 Blog and Domain Name Formulas

Three simple formulas I’ve used on many of my blogs are:

blog topic + unique selling proposition

So for example:

Blog + Mojo = blogmojo.de
Career + Bible = karrierebibel

Formula 2: play with letters & syllables

This is a formula that is particularly popular with startups:

Fiver + r = fiverr

Your own name

In some cases, it can make sense to choose your own name as the domain for your blog or website. Especially if you are the focus of your blog as an expert or person, e.g. B. as a coach, consultant, freelancer, artist, model or author. You can use only your first name(s) or your first and last name: maxitheomustermann.de or better: maxi-theo-mustermann.de maximustermann.de or better: maxi-mustermann.de
maxitheo.de maxi.de (Domains with known first names are already taken in 99% of all cases) Choosing your name as a domain helps you to build a personal brand and also has the advantage that you do not restrict yourself thematically. However, you should rather choose a fantasy name if:You run your blog as a team (and it is important to you that you eventually completely
You want to sell your blog or online business later (or at least leave the option open)

5. Install WordPress

Thanks to the 1-click installation, you should only need about 10 minutes.

Step #1: Open web go webspace admin

First you call up the web go webspace admin of your hosting package. There you can make all technical settings.

To do this, click on the orange web go webspace admin button next to your contract on the home page of the webgo customer portal:

Step #2: Start 1-click installation

To start with the 1-click installation, go to Package Management > 1Click Install in the webgo webspace admin .

There you click on the small pencil in the column “to install” in the WordPress line:

Step #3: Configure 1-click installation

After you have clicked on the small pen, you have to enter various data for the 1-click installation: The following list provides an overview of what each field means and what you need to fill in:

Domain:

Choose your domain from the list here (it is best to use the variant without www. )

Path to target directory:

Can stay like this (just in case you have done a 1-click install before, you should choose a different folder)

Redirect domain to installation directory:

There must be a check mark here, otherwise your domain will not redirect to the WordPress installation

Blog Title:

Set a title for your blog here (can be changed later, if you’re not sure just enter something like “My Blog”)

Email address:

the email address of the WordPress administrator. This is important for password creation, so please check it again for correctness!

WordPress password:

 

Here you set a password for the WordPress administrator. The field is already pre-filled with a secure password, but you can also set your own.

WordPress user:

Here you set a username for the WordPress administrator

Password:

Here you enter a password for the database (note: this is not the password for the WordPress login!). It is best to click on generate , then on show and save the password in a text file or a notes app
Then click on install at the end.

Now you have to wait about 1 minute for WordPress to be installed. At the end the following screen appears:

Because you need them in the next step:

Step #4: Log into WordPress

Then log into WordPress with the access data that was displayed to you during the installation process:
To do this, enter one of the following URLs into the browser (they all lead to the same destination):
Of course you have to replace the placeholder yourdomain.de with your domain.

Step #5: Switch New WordPress Website to HTTPS

 

In the last step, you convert your WordPress website to HTTPS, which is important for data protection and performance reasons.

To do this, you first create an SSL certificate in the web go webspace admin. To do this, click on Package Management > SSL and then on the green Create SSL button :You then have to configure the SSL certificate.

But that’s easier than it sounds. First, you need to select your domain (without www. ), second, make sure all three ticks are checked, and third, provide your email address. You can leave all other fields empty. Then scroll down and click on the green CREATE button .

Now the SSL certificate will be created, which may take a few minutes.

All you have to do now is tell WordPress to fetch your website over HTTPS and not HTTP anymore. This is (meanwhile) also possible with just one click.

To do this, in the WordPress admin, go to Tools > Site Health and then click the toggle titled Your site is not using HTTPS .

Now there is only one step left to complete the installation:

Step #6: Update WordPress

As a rule, webgo already provides the latest version of WordPress for the 1Click Install .

However, it is always possible that an update for WordPress has recently been released and the installed version is no longer up-to-date.

In this case, you will see a small yellow notice throughout the WordPress dashboard asking you to update:
To update, click the Please update now link in the notification.

On the following page, click on the upper blue button Update now (please do not click on the lower one, otherwise you will install the English-language version):

What can I do if something didn’t work during installation?

In case something didn’t work with the 1-click installation, you can try again (but you should delete the created WordPress folder and the database of the old installation).

On the other hand, you can also install WordPress manually. This is a bit more tedious, but also feasible for beginners without an affinity for technology.

Instructions in which I explain all the steps in a simple and understandable way can be found here: Installing WordPress: The idiot-proof instructions (including troubleshooting!)

At the end of the linked instructions you will also find a troubleshooting section with common problems and their solutions. So nothing can go wrong!

6. Design and configure your WordPress blog

Do you have WordPress installed?

Excellent!

Then it’s time to design your WordPress blog and configure it correctly.

First you should B. Do the following to be able to work optimally with WordPress and to set up your website fundamentally:

Delete default plugins
Delete sample page and post
Set permalinks to post name
Do not sort media into month and year based folders
Install the main WordPress plugins
Find a WordPress theme
Set page title and subtitle
Create important pages
Insert favicon
Set up navigation menu
Insert logo
Sign in to Google Search Console (optional)
Install analysis tool (optional)
privacy
Secure WordPress
You can find detailed descriptions of the individual measures in my Getting started with WordPress guide .

7. Write your first blog article

First off:

Congratulations! You have successfully set up your first blog.

If you don’t want to waste your time writing blog posts that no one reads, be sure to check out my free e-book, The 12 Laws of Incredibly Successful Blog Posts.

What I also advise you to do:

Get started with SEO (search engine optimization) as early as possible . It’s the key to consistent blog traffic and revenue.

Your starting point in learning SEO should be keyword research . Researching what people are searching for on Google about your topic is also a huge help in understanding your readers and having a full editorial schedule.

8. Avoid typical beginner mistakes

Here I have put together some mistakes that you should avoid with your new blog.

And yes, I made every single mistake myself:

Mistake #1: Relying on only one source of income or traffic

 

The internet is fast moving. If you want to be successful as a blogger, you first have to diversify and second, you have to go with the flow.

A channel that still brought many visitors to your site today may already be dwindling tomorrow. Google and Facebook e.g. B. like to change their algorithms.

What applies to visitors also applies to sources of income. Google AdSense e.g. B. doesn’t bring the same income today as it did 5 to 10 years ago because many more users have installed ad blockers and generally don’t click on banner ads as often.

Native advertising, e.g. B. in the form of sponsored posts, is currently still popular with companies as advertising, but prices are falling again (especially for blog posts, not so much for Instagram).

Mistake #2: Installing too many WordPress plugins

It’s great to be able to extend your blog with numerous WordPress plugins.

But excessive use of plugins creates incompatibilities and makes WordPress slower and more unstable.

Please only install the plugins that are really necessary and delete all others!

It is difficult to set a general maximum number of plugins, because the functions of the plugins also matter. But, if you have over 40 installed, you can probably clean out a lot of them:

Mistake #3: Not creating an editorial schedule

It saves you a lot of work by creating an editorial plan by recording ideas and planning your posts in advance.

This way you can make sure you’re regularly publishing new blog articles, avoid long blog breaks, and always know what to write about (and don’t have to brainstorm every time you want to write a blog article).

Mistake #4: Not doing keyword research

Keyword research is essential to any successful blog, so don’t start after 40 blog posts!

This is how you ensure that you get more visitors via Google and that you don’t write articles that nobody is interested in, but are still read regularly months after publication.

A good place to start is with my ultimate guide to keyword research .

Tip #5: Don’t value your own time

When you’re just starting out, you welcome every small collaboration request and are willing to write about anything, even if it’s just a free product.

However, over time you will realize that this is no longer enough and that your time is worth more than a free product sample.

Don’t sell yourself short and don’t let companies take advantage of you!

Tip #6: Don’t build an email list

Start building an email list early and think about what you can offer your visitors as a freebie for subscribing to your newsletter (it also helps if you position yourself and don’t write about many different topics).

Having an email list keeps your readers more engaged with your blog than if they are fans or followers of your social media channels.

9.FAQs

Here I have compiled the answers to the most frequently asked questions about blogging:

Why WordPress Blog Software?

There are a variety of reasons why you should choose WordPress as your blog platform.

Here are the 8 most important ones:

1. It’s easy to install.
2. The software is completely free to use.
3. WordPress hosting is available for a few euros per month.
4. WordPress is extremely well documented. There are thousands of guides on the various WordPress features.
5. With over 40% of all websites worldwide running on WordPress, there is a huge community of like-minded people. You have a question? No problem. 99.9% of the time someone has had it before you and you can just google the answer.
6. The design of WordPress can be changed as desired with ready-made themes and any conceivable function can be expanded with plugins.
7. It is constantly evolving.
8. As a CMS (content management system), WordPress is not only suitable as the basis for a blog, but also as a business website, forum, member area, directory, portfolio and much more.

Is it possible to create a private blog?

Yes, it is possible to create a private and non-public blog that is only accessible to a certain group of people (e.g. family or friends).

This makes sense, for example, for a year abroad blog, a private travel blog, or an online diary that you want to keep secret from others.

In this case, I recommend creating a blog at WordPress.com (i.e. not hosting it yourself) and then setting it to secret under the privacy settings.

How much does a blog cost?

If you follow my instructions, you can get by with 5 to 10 € per month for a long time.

Initially you only have costs for domain and hosting.

Of course, if you want your blog to grow faster, you can always invest more money (e.g. for tools, certain WordPress plugins, a premium theme or online courses).

But that is not a must.

Can I also create a blog for free?

Yes, there are ways to create a blog for you for free.

But that’s not a good idea.

Believe me.

Especially if you want to earn money with your blog and it is not purely for private pleasure.

Why? Here are eight reasons to decide against a free blog platform:

1. Nobody gives you a free blog out of charity. Every provider wants to somehow make money with their platform. Be it through advertisements on your blog, advertising e-mails, sale of user data or annoying requests to become a premium member.
2. Free platforms only offer basic features. This might not be a problem at first, but as your blog grows and you want to expand or customize it, you’re at a disadvantage.
3. Since you’re not a paying customer, you get little to no support.
4. We appreciate something more when we pay for it. You’ll be more motivated to achieve your blog goals if you spend a few bucks a month on it.
5. If a blog platform goes bankrupt, you may no longer be able to access your data (as happened with the German platform blog.de , for example ).
6. Many free blog platforms, including the largest providers Blogger.com and WordPress.com,  can not be used in compliance with data protection regulations. This means that if you use such a platform, you can be warned or have to pay a fine.
7. If you blog for a while, you will look to other bloggers for inspiration. You will often see cool features or designs that you want for your blog. The problem? You cannot implement them on your free blog platform.
8. Moving to a self-hosted WordPress blog later on is very time consuming and annoying. And if you hire someone to move your blog, you’re sure to get rid of a few hundred bucks.

These eight reasons didn’t convince you? You really can’t afford €7 a month? Or you know for sure that your blog will remain purely private?  Then take WordPress.com. There, later moving to a self-hosted blog is easiest: