So you heard blogging can earn you side income which is a must in this day and age In today’s time because the economy is volatile, the pay is small while prices keep going up every year, and employers put profit over employees’ welfare first. Now the big question is, “What do you need to start a blog?”
I’ll make it simple for you!
To start a blog, you will need these 3 things!
- A domain name registrar to register your blog’s domain name.
- A web hosting service provider where your website and files will reside.
- A website builder (unless you know how to code) to help you build your first website for your blog.
If you understand domain name registrar, web-hosting service provider, and website builder, then great! Go ahead and purchase those things and create your first website for your blog. However, if those terms sound alien to you, then hold on tight! I will explain it to you!
Ready to purchase, but don’t know what to get? Here are some of the most trusted domain name, web-hosting service provider, and website builder.
Affiliate Disclosure – I am an Affiliate of many products promoted on this website and may earn a commission if you purchase something.
Why You Should Blog?
Different bloggers have different reasons why they blog. Some simply want to inform others while others want to share their life story. Whatever your reason may be, it is a fact though many people earn money from blogging.
Bloggers CAN MAKE MONEY! As a matter of fact, many full-time bloggers who work 10 to 30 hours a week can make $200 000 a year. There is also an elite group who can make millions of dollars a year for working as little as 10 hours a week.
Realistically though, you can expect to earn about $500 to $2000 per month on your first year. Note, however, that you must work hard to achieve this and you need to do it right!
Why People Fail to Profit from Blogging?
Wrong expectation is the number 1 reason why people fail in blogging.
Blogging is a very lucrative online business, but you need to look at it as a fruit tree. Fruit trees don’t instantly bear fruit the next day after you planted it. It needs protection, nourishment, and time to mature before it can bear fruits.
Many people fail in blogging because they believe that it would only take a few days to reap the rewards. However, this is far from the truth.
If you are planning to do blogging as your primary source of income, then you need to know that it would take at least 6 to 12 months before you can see your first paycheque and even so it is not going to be a regular thing. It would take another 12-24 months before your blog can truly generate a sustainable revenue big enough to replace your primary income. The good news is once the cash starts flowing, it will really flow in!
Well, anyways, those are just word of advice. Let us know get back the main topic of the article and that is teaching you the 3 thing you need to start a blog.
3 Things You Need To Start a Blog
Domain Name
What is a Domain Name?
Domain name is your websites address in the world wide web. It is the URL that lets people find where your site is.
Imagine you are holding a party. You cleaned the house, decorated it, catered delicious foods, bought drinks and prepared games and entertainment. You made it clear what time and day you want them to come, but at the day of the party no one came. You were wondering why no one came, then you realize that you did not give the address of your place!
Same goes for a domain name. You can write great articles, include great images, fix the layout of your site to stand out, but if no one knows your web address then no will go to it.
How to Pick A Domain Name For Your Blog?
I remember the time when I am choosing my first domain name. There is a sense of pride for I know it is the start of my online business career. It is exciting since I have hundreds of good domain names ideas, and frustrations because all of my ideas were taken.
It this is your first time picking a domain name for your blog, then let me tell you that your domain name matters a lot. Your domain name will help your visitor remember about your site. Your domain name will act as an invitation letter for others to visit your blog. Your domain name will be the face of your business.
How do you pick a good domain name?
I will list below some of the most important rules that you should keep in mind when coming up with your domain name.
- Do your best to get the “.com” extension. You can also use a country’s extension if your business is exclusively doing business on that country.
- Be sure to come up with a domain name that is short and easy to remember but at the same time catchy or memorable
- Do not use symbols, hyphens, period or numbers (they are hard to remember)
- Your domain name should be related to your blog’s niche/topic
- The domain name is not being used by other users in any social media
Where to Register Your Domain Name?
There are lots of domains registrar where you can register your domain name and they all can provide you your basic domain name needs. The only elements that differentiate them from one another are security, customer service, pricing and some add-ons. Most domain registrars today also has website builder and offers web hosting services.
Here are 6 of The Most Popular Domain Name Registrars:
- Domain.com
- Bluehost
- HostGator
- GoDaddy
- Namecheap
- Dreamhost
Website Builder
The next thing you need to have after you have your domain name is a website builder. Website builder such as WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace. Go Daddy and Host Gator also has their own website builder aside from being a domain name registrar. If you want to start an online shopping site, then you might want to use Shopify.
Why Do You Need to a Website Builder?
Website builders are specially made for users who do not know how to code and/or do not have enough money to hire a coder or maybe for those who doesn’t have the time to sit down to write code.
You can say website builders are “templates” that you can use and customize to fit your website needs.
Once you subscribed to a website builder, you can then pick a theme that is suitable to your business. Yes, you can customize it but it’s going to be limited. The good thing though is there are thousands of themes that are available and each theme focuses on different niche, so there is a good chance that you will find a theme that fits your business needs.
Once you pick a theme, all you need to do is move around buttons, redesign layout of your blog, change the primary color of your site, customize your headings and so much more. After you are happy with the designs and layout of your blog, you can now start writing a page or a post.
You can further customize your web page by downloading essential plug-ins. Just be discretionary on how many plugins you will use because the more plugins you have the slower your site might become.
What are good Website Builder?
Wix
WordPress
Web-Hosting Service Provider
What is a web hosting services?
I like to think of web hosting services providers as condominium corporations that you need to pay every month.
In return, they will provide you services and they will let you live in a one of their unit (which you bought in the first place) plus they will let you use their address as your place of residency so people can find you.
Web hosting is the same. Have a website (house) and domain name (address) and your web host is the condominium corporation that lets you use their server (units) as long as you are paying a fee.
To make things simple, web hosting services are servers where your website is saved. Your web host job is to show your website to people who are searching for it.
Here are 6 Best Web Hosting Service Provider
- Bluehost
- Hostgator
- Hostinger
- Dreamhost
- SiteGround
Feedbacks? Suggestions?
That is it for me everyone! Feel free to leave a comment down below if you have any questions about the 3 things you need to start a blog!
Also, I want to ask what part of the article help you the most as well as which part left you with lots of question in mind?