Start a Blog or Website in Few Mins

Whether you want to start a blog, work from home, author a book or get more exposure for your existing business, you've got to have your own website. Fortunately you can be up and running in about 15 minutes. This is how.

First, some good things to know

No need to be techy. Literally hundreds of people–many without any technical background at all–have used my steps to start their own blogs and websites. One of the most common things I hear from people is that they appreciate how easy-to-follow it is.
A self-hosted WordPress site is the way to go. Whether you want a blog, a website or a combination of the two, the following steps will get you there. A self-hosted WordPress site (as opposed to free service–you get what you pay for) is the most popular and most versatile way to create, build and maintain any website.
Easy to get started, harder to keep going. I'll be honest, getting your site set up is the easy part. Making it grow is another story, but I do my best to give you tips for that too.
I'm a paying customer, not just selling something random. The steps below are exactly how I build my own sites. I have been a paying customer of the company listed here for almost 10 years. If you follow these steps, I will be paid a commission, at no additional cost to you, which helps keep this site running. Thank you!

Ready? Let's get started! Here's how to start a blog and/or website (in 15 minutes).

Step 1:

Go to Bluehost (this link will open in a new window so you can reference these instructions as you work). Click the green "Sign Up Now" button.

Step 2:

Enter a domain name on the left side under "I Need a Domain Name." Make sure ".com" is selected from the drop down menu beside it. Click the blue "Next" button. (If you don't know what domain to use, I recommend you use your name. Here are more tips for choosing a domain.)

Step 3:

On the next page, enter your account info at the top. Make sure you use a working email address because this is where your login information will be sent.

Step 4:

Under "Package Information" choose your "Account Plan" from the dropdown menu based on how far in advance you want to pay. (As you can see, it works out to just a couple of fancy coffees per month. Not bad for your own blog or website, right?) I always skip the other add-ons except "Domain Whois Privacy" which will keep your personal information private, so I highly recommend it. (Note: this option only shows up if you are registering a new domain, but it won't show up if you're using an existing domain.)

On a budget? There's another hosting company called HostGator that I use and recommend as well. Their monthly fee is a little more expensive, but they do allow you to pay month by month. Check out my tutorial for HostGator here.

Step 5:

Fill in your billing information, confirm that you've read the fine print and then click Next.

Step 6:

On the next page you'll be asked if you want to add any upgrades. I just skip them all. Continue on to complete your purchase. After completing your purchase, check your email. You'll find a welcome email from Bluehost with your cpanel login info.

Step 7:

Go back to Bluehost and click the "Control Panel Login" button in the top right corner of your screen, or use the link to your cpanel contained in the welcome email.

Step 8:

Enter your login info from the welcome email.

Step 9:

Once logged in, click the "WordPress" icon under "Website Builders."

Step 10:

You should get a window that looks like this. Click the "Start" button.

Step 11:

Leave this section as is, with your domain showing in the dropdown menu (unless you have a good reason to create a subfolder which is not likely if you are just starting). Simply click "Check Domain."

Step 12:

Check the box next to "Show advanced options." Enter your "Site Name or Title," choose an "Admin Username" (do not use "admin" as your username), password and email address (all site information will be sent here so make sure it's working). Read and agree to the terms. Click the "Install now" button.

Step 13:

Done! Take note of the information to access your new site. This information will also be sent to you via email. Clicking on the "Site URL" will take you to your brand new, live website (it's super basic at this point)! Clicking on the "Login URL" will take to the login page where you can enter your username & password and get into the backend of your site and make it your own!

Congratulations! You (or anyone) can now type your domain into a browser and your very basic WordPress site will appear! But you must be wondering…