How to set up a self-hosted WorPress blog all by yourself, no drama!

This is my first full post and I’ll tell you why I have chosen this topic in a few words very quickly: blogging has changed everything about my life that I wanted to change. I’ve been blogging since 2005 on different endeavors and I could never fully describe the impact it had on my life, but I can try.

After the introduction, you will find here a full tutorial on how to start your own blog all by yourself, with no drama or shady business. I sincerely hope blogging will do for you everything it has done for me, and more!

Here’s what I’m covering on this post:

1. A little more personal – how blogging changed my life;
2. Practical steps to start your blog all by yourself;
3. Step #1: picking out a domain name;
4. Step #2: hosting plan time!;
5. Step #3: activating WordPress;
6. Your blog is ready!

A little more personal

I’ll elaborate more and in a longer form about all aspects of my digital life and how it had a huge impact on basically everything I do today but I want to give you a little something at this introduction.

I started browsing the internet by 1997 and was active in everything that happened online since then. Being online has shaped the way I view the world, all of my cultural influences, and my techy knowledge (average at best but enough to make me do things instead of only receiving things online).

After graduating from college, I wanted to take a leap into a new area of interest and turn it into a full-blown career. It was 2005 and a lot of newcomers used their blogs to develop their skills, share different points of view, display their own abilities, and also have their first experiences in this area. I followed their steps and, to cut a very long story short, it was from that blog, and its naive first posts, that I have developed a successful 12-years-long career (that I have since 2018 left to venture out on my digital living project).

By then, I was not even aware of monetization or affiliate tools. All I did was focus on fun and interesting content, networking online with bigger names (that have become personal friends by now), and posting links and commentary on social media (Twitter, mainly).

By 2014 I dabbled into my first affiliate and e-commerce ventures while still working and four years later I committed to dropping everything else off to focus fully on my projects.

It’s been a ride, an ongoing one, but the feeling of independence from a certain type of structure, from traces of a system that has proven to fault everybody connected to it except for its 1% top, and from toxic people and mechanisms is incomparable to any high I have ever gotten from positions of power on my traditional career. 

That’s (just a little) part of the reasons I feel so positive about blogging as a truthful and exciting path for those who are searching for a different type of life. Don’t take mine as a template: the beauty of this environment is that you can instead be responsible for building your platform for yourself. How rewarding is that?

I will elaborate soon on different aspects of what I have told you here as we go along, but I wanted to officially start this blog on this note. Do you connect to these feelings? Let me know on the comments below!

Time for action: practical steps to start your blog all by yourself

There are a lot of ways to start a professional blog, that is, a blog that is owned totally by you and uses a custom domain address (the URL of your blog). I’ll share with you all the details of my favorite route: getting a domain, a hosting plan, and a WordPress installation running ready to receive content and all of your different ideas.

That is a winning formula for, really, more than 70% of all blogs online and it puts you on the command of everything about your blog: the name, the archive of posts and media, and the structure where it works. You won’t depend on third-party (pricey) features, change of terms from all-in-one services, or content moderation from third-party owners. It is this kind of freedom that we want, right?

These steps may seem daunting at first, but have in mind they require no tech knowledge and you will only have to go through them one time… once it’s done, it’s done! Your blog will be online, working, and ready for your content. For this tutorial, I’ll be based on the hostingservice that I use and highly recommend called SiteGround.

Here’s how you do it…

Step #1: picking out a domain name

You probably know that every blog on the internet needs a domain address, that expression that people use to access it. For example, my blog’s domain address is http://alifeablaze.online!

It is formed by two parts: the name that you can freely choose (alifeablaze, in my case) and a termination (.online in my case, but it can be also .com, .co .net, .org, .blog) that could be followed by a country code if that’s what you need (.br, .fr, .uk).

The reason you need a custom domain name is that a blog that has its own address seems much more legit than those created at free services like yourblog.blogspot.com or yourblog.wix.com. You want your readers to trust you and your words, and that’s an initial and important step in that direction.

It might take you some time to get to a perfect and available name for your blog. You can try the exact name that you want or you can also test variations with shorter versions of it to make it easier for people to remember it and type it.

Another fact you need to keep in mind is that a lot of easier combinations might have been already taken. So, after you have created a list of great options, it’s good to check if your idea for a domain address is available.

Click here to access a tool for that →
You can check the availability of your domain address ideas by researching it directly at SiteGround.

You don’t need to buy it directly once you have found a great one, we will do all the tech stuff at once on the next step. Just get to a domain combination that you like, that works for the intent of your blog and that is available to register.

Take your time and test different ideas. It can become a fun activity to share with friends or family that know about your passion and your blogging plans.

Step #2: It’s techy time!

If these words give you chills, let’s take care of this quickly. Registering for a new WordPress hosting plan is easy and it takes a couple of minutes.

I like recommending SiteGround for blogging beginners because they have an automated tool to create a blog that doesn’t require any coding or technical skill. Also, it offers fast and reliable service and great customer support if you find any trouble. Here’s how to begin…

Click here to launch siteground.com. A new window will be opened for you to easily follow all the instructions! →

On the first screen, you will see all the options of different web hosting plans. The StartUp plan is perfect enough for those starting out. Review the details and click “GET PLAN” (there’s an illustrated guide below – I have put the images together so you’ll be able to check the steps all at once).

On the following screen, make sure the option “Register a New Domain” is checked and then type the domain address you have chosen in the blank field. Right beside it, you will see a dropdown menu with termination options for your address, choose accordingly, and click “PROCEED”!

Next, all that’s left to do is fill your account and payment information to cross the finish line! See how easy it is? Make sure to review your payment plan (we recommend the 12 month period) and enter your details at each designated field. At the bottom of the page, you will be asked to review SiteGround’s terms and confirm your purchase by clicking “PAY NOW“.

That’s it! Once your payment is processed, you will receive a confirmation on your e-mail address with instructions on how to activate your account.

And you’re done with the web hosting part! See how easy it was? Check out the illustrated guide with screenshots for you to use as visual aids:

The worst part is done, believe me!

Step #3: activating WordPress

Once your SiteGround account has been approved, you will receive your login and password info on your e-mail. Next, as you log in for the first time, you’ll be asked some questions before they activate your WordPress blog. I’ll guide you through this part too, check it out:

This is SiteGround’s WordPress Starter Plugin. It will help you with simple steps before your WordPress blog is done. Just follow these steps (illustrated guide down below!)…

First, pick a layout for your blog. This can be just a starter choice, you’ll be able to easily change it once your WordPress blog is ready. Browse all the options, select your favorite one and click “Next”!

The following screen will present you some addons for your blog, you can go ahead and pick Contact Form to help you with your e-mail forms. Click select under Contact Form and hit “Next”! SiteGround will then talk to you about marketing – as theses are advanced resources, you can go ahead without any selection and install them later, once you are more familiar with how your blog works. Hit “Next” to finish your installation and have your blog all ready for you!

Here’s the illustrated guide for this portion of the tutorial…

You can also find this part of the tutorial in video form, courtesy of SiteGround…

*DISCLAIMER: It is very important for me to disclose to you that by using my links, I will receive a commission from your purchase. Please notice that it doesn’t affect my opinion of the service – what I describe to you in this tutorial is the result of my own experience and personal history with the service.

I only recommend tools and resources that I use or have used in the past to great results and that I honestly think will help your journey too! Also, I firmly believe this combination of services is the best way to go for a professional and standalone blog.

Your blog is ready!

Phew, that was a lot of work! If you want to review all of the steps or are looking for a video tutorial, I got you! Hit play at the player below:

Think of this: now, you’re all free from the arduous task of setting up your professional blog on your own and are ready to focus strictly on your content. It might have been kinda scary, I bet, but it feels good to be done, right?

If you have any question, please feel free to drop a comment below or to send me by e-mail: alab@alifeablaze.online!

I hope you have a lot of pleasure and success out of your blogging life. For your first visit, let me know on the comments below or via e-mail the address of your new blog, I’d love to follow up with feedback!

Happy new blog! <3

This blog is powered by GreenGeeks, one of the best and fast web hosting companies around. Also, did I mention? They are good for the planet. No joke. Get a special offer by following this link.