Blogging is a great way to share your ideas, experiences, and opinions with the world. If you’re not blogging for your business, then you might want to start after reading this article. In this article, you’ll learn why you should be blogging as well as how to host a blog.
What is a blog?
A blog is a type of website that has posts that have a purpose, to share information. It’s often mistaken to be a diary. However, while anyone can have an online diary as a blog, it is far more than that. As a small business, you can talk about topics related to what you are selling.
5 Reasons Why you should be Blogging
Not exactly sold on blogging because you don’t know how it will benefit you? Well, here are some reasons why you should be blogging:
You can build authority for your business
You can build trust with your customers
You can use content marketing to focus on selling your products and services
Makes your brand feel more warm and welcoming
You can make money blogging
1. You can build authority for your business
Blogging can help you build authority amongst your competitors that are in the same niche. You probably don’t realize how many people are doing what you are doing. Just do a Google Search and you’ll probably be shocked on how many search results there are within your niche. In fact there are over 600 million blogs online. However, don’t let that disturb you, because the pie is infinite! This means that there’s room for you too.
What you say on your blog may be more relatable to some people than the other places they were visiting online. The more information you provide, the more your visitors will start thinking of you as their go to business or news source.
2. You can build trust with your customers
When you blog, especially regularly, you can build trust with your customers. When they see you active and pushing out new content, they feel that you’re active and won’t just disappear on them.
3. You can use content marketing to focus on selling your products and services
Interestingly, over 55% of online marketers use blogging to gain customers.
4. Makes your brand feel more warm and welcoming
Blogging can allow your customers to feel that they are welcomed, because you’re being transparent with them. Your blog can be a way to let your visitors know more about you.
5. You can make money blogging
Overally, you can definitely make money blogging. You can be an individual talking about fashion, or reviewing products. You can be a restaurant that is passionate about sharing food experiences, or a freelance web designer that teaches others about building a website.
8 Steps to Host a Blog
Below are eight steps on how to host a blog:
Choose a blogging platform
Choose a web hosting provider
Register a domain name
Install WordPress
Choose a theme
Install some plugins
Create content
Promote your blog
Step 1: Choose a blogging platform
There are many blogging platforms available, but some of the most popular are WordPress, Drupal, and Wix. As of 2023, WordPress is the most popular website and content management system, as it powers more than 43% of all websites on the internet. Because WordPress is an Open Source software, it means that it's free to use and you can even customize your blog’s frontend appearance to your liking.
Step 2: Choose a web hosting provider
You’d think that choosing a blog platform would be second, but before you choose a web host for your website, you need to get right to getting your site up. After choosing a content management system, you need to find a hosting provider that supports it. A web hosting service is a type of online hosting service where your website’s files are located.
While there are many web hosts on the Internet, the cloud web hosting and hosting for WordPress services here at Verpex are both affordable and reliable for your WordPress needs. You can install WordPress quickly, and get your blog launched.web hostingweb hosting
Step 3: Register a domain name
Web hosting and having a domain are both things you need. The domain name is basically a pretty name you can use for your brand, that masks the IP address of the server that your web host has allotted for your website. You can register a domain name through your hosting provider, while going through the process of purchasing web hosting.
Make sure to choose a domain name that's easy to remember. Make sure that it’s unique and could relate to the purpose of what your blog is going to be all about.
Step 4: Install WordPress
Most hosting providers, including Verpex, offer a one-click fast installation method for WordPress. This allows you to fire up a new install and get to what’s most important - customizing your site and then creating some content. To install WordPress with this auto-installer, you’ll need to log in to your web hosting account and look for the WordPress installation option. You only need to fill out a few fields, but it’s important to follow whatever steps the installer provides, in order to successfully install WordPress on your domain.
Step 5: Choose a theme
Once you’ve installed WordPress, it’s time to choose a theme and customize the look. Your first blog really doesn’t have to be fancy. If you plan to hire a web designer at a later time, then just choose something that will do until that time. WordPress.org offers thousands of themes for free use in the WordPress theme directory.
When you have chosen a WordPress theme, some offer ways to control the appearance of your blog. Free themes don’t usually offer a lot of customizations, so if you need something more, you can shop for premium ones. Some of them are geared toward different niches and have lots of bells and whistles that can make your site look really unique.
When choosing a good theme, make sure that it is responsive in design, so your visitors can view your site on any device or browser width. Additionally, you should make sure that your site is easy to navigate.
Step 6: Install some plugins
Plugins give extra features and functionality that isn’t present in WordPress. For example, WordPress doesn’t have a frontend form option, so you need a plugin. While you shouldn’t install a bunch of plugins, you should add some for things like a contact form, SEO, social media share buttons, and security.
Here’s a few plugins to consider using:
Yoast SEO - to help with SEO Sassy Social Share - for adding social share buttons on your posts Shield Security - helps add a layer of protection to your site Ninja Forms - add a contact form to your site
Step 7: Create content
Once your blog is set up, it's go time to create content. If you’re still held up on making your blog’s design perfect, don’t. You need to get cracking on creating content. Most people don’t care for fancy designs. Well, it’s appreciated, but when you’re beginning, it’s okay to roll out more design, as your content is what keeps bringing people back.
Make sure your blog posts are unique, and add value that people may not have found on other websites. It’s important to also try to be engaging with your content. Get people to reply to posts, subscribe to your newsletter, or share your articles to social networks.
When creating content, don’t forget to not just use text content, but also include images, audio, and even videos. All of these will keep your site visitors interested, and stay longer.
Step 8: Promote your blog
Now that you’ve gotten WordPress set up and have created content, it’s time to tell the world. You can do that by promoting your website on online forums, network events, social networks, or by guest posting on other blogs.
In Summary
Hopefully, the steps in this article on how to host a blog will get you rolling in the right direction. Follow each of the steps and you’ll be on your way to connecting with people interested in what you have to say. Once you’ve established your blog, you can plan to sell stuff from your blog. In the meantime, happy blogging!
A reliable hosting provider is of utmost importance for bloggers who want to establish a strong online presence and ensure their website's optimal performance. We highly recommend checking out our shared hosting or hosting plans for WordPress, which have been specifically designed to cater to the needs of bloggers.
