How to Start a WordPress Blog (2019)

You have decided that you have something you would like to share with the world.  Now what?  It is time to start your very first Blog!  Setting up and maintaining a blog can be easy with tools such as WordPress.  In this post, I will provide you with a step by step tutorial on how to start a WordPress blog.

Let’s dive in…

Note: This page contains affiliate links, which means that if you buy something using one of the links below, I may earn a commission.

How to Start a WordPress Blog – Step by Step

STEP 1:  The first step in starting your WordPress blog is getting a hosting account.  A hosting account will allow your blog to be displayed on the internet.  They can be purchased easily and for a very small fee.

There are various companies that provide web hosting services.  Your goal when choosing a web host is to find a company with quality servers, an uptime guarantee, as well as excellent customer service.  This is a very competitive market, therefore most prices will be really reasonable.  There are also a lot of companies who are simply resellers of larger web hosts.  It is best to choose a web host that provides web hosting services as its core business.

My web hosting company of choice is SiteGround.  They offer fast, secure, servers that allow you to put your best blog possible on the internet.  SiteGround is also very affordable and they have top notch customer service.  SiteGround offers hosting packages designed especially for WordPress blogs.

Click here to sign up for a Site Ground Hosting account.  Hosting starts as low as $3.95/month.  A new window will open so that you can continue to follow this tutorial.

STEP 2:  On the resulting page, select the “CHOOSE PLAN” button.

STEP 3:  Select the “GET STARTED” button under the hosting plan of your choice.  If you are starting a brand new WordPress blog the StartUp plan will give you all you need to get started.  You can upgrade at any time.

Signing Up for Web Hosting

STEP 4:  You will be taken to the Secure Sign up for Web Hosting page. You will first need to choose your service.  You are starting a new blog, therefore you will need to select the “Get a new hosting account” option.

STEP 5:  Next, you will need to enter your domain name.  Your domain name is your address on the internet.  It is what people when type when they want to view your blog.  An example domain name is pbsmarket.com.  If you have not already purchased a domain name, select the “Register a New Domain” option.

Important Note:

Domain Name registrations are an additional fee that is separate from the monthly or annual price of your hosting account.  Domain name registrations normally cost around $15.00 per year.

Enter the domain name of your choice in the empty box after the “www.”

Next, click on the small upside down triangle in the box that has “.com” listed.  You will need to select one of the following:

• .com
• .net
• .org

For example, if you would like your domain name to be “MyNewBlog.com”, select “.com” from the list.  However, if you would like your domain name to be “MyNewBlog.org” select “.org” from the list.

Hosting Plan Options

STEP 6:  Next, you will see the hosting plan options.  The hosting plan you choose earlier in this tutorial will be selected.  If you are ok with your choice of hosting plans, no changes are needed in this section.

Purchase Options

STEP 7:  Next, you will need to complete the Purchase Information section.  It contains the two sub-areas “Hosting Services” and “Extra Services”.  The Hosting Services area allows you to select options related to your hosting account.  The Extra Services displays the add-ons that are available to support your hosting account.  You will notice that if you selected to register a new domain name, it will be listed in the Extra Services section.

The hosting Plan that you selected earlier in this tutorial will be pre-selected.  There is no need to change this option (unless you want to change your mind).

The Location option allows you to choose a server location that is closest to you.  If you would like to switch the pre-selected location, click on the upside down triangle in the box next to the Location label.

The Period option allows you to decide how often you would like to pay for your hosting services.  You can choose to pay for 1 month, 12 months, 24 months, or 36 months.  To select your payment period, click on the upside down triangle in the box next to the label “Period” (See the red highlight in the image below).

Important Note:

If you choose to pay for 1 month, you will be charged a $14.95 setup fee.  The best option is to pay for 12 months in advance.  With this option, you will not have to worry about hosting fees for an entire year and you can focus on your blog.  You will also not have to pay the $14.95 setup fee.

You will also notice that SiteGround will show you the price you will be billed based on your selection next to the label “Hosting Price”.

As mentioned earlier, if you selected the option to register a new domain name you will see the price of the domain name registration in the Extra Services section (see blue highlight in the image below).  You can also choose to purchase Domain Privacy or SG Site Scanner.  A description of each service is listed next to the option.  Please note that these are optional services that are not required to get your blog started.  They are just nice to have options.  If you would like to add any extra service click on the empty square next to the name of the service. (See the green highlight in the image below).

Payment Information

STEP 8:  You have now reached the end of the sign-up process and you will need to enter your payment information. Enter the requested credit card information.

STEP 9:  You have now reached the end of the sign-up form.  You will need to read the SiteGround Terms of Service and click on the box to indicate confirm that you have read them.  To view, the Terms of Service click on the underlined text that says “Terms of Service”.

Finally, click on the “Pay Now” button.

Installing WordPress

STEP 10:  Check your Inbox for your confirmation email from SiteGround.  The email will contain your account information which will include your login and password for accessing your Customer Area.  Watch the following video tutorial detailing how to install WordPress on your SiteGround account.

You can also follow the tutorial from SiteGround which details how to use the SiteGround Wizard to instantly set up your WordPress blog.  Click on the link below to go directly to this tutorial.

How to Use the SiteGround Wizard to Install WordPress

Next Steps

Congratulations!  You now know how to start a WordPress blog.  For more information on what to do after you have setup your WordPress Blog, visit the PBS Market Pinterest Board – WordPress.

Also, check out the Blog Post – 20+ Things to do After Installing WordPress

Related Post:  How to Make Money Blogging – No Matter the Topic

Thanks for reading & Happy Blogging!

Come back and share the link to your new blog in the comments of this post.  We’d love to support you!

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