What is a blog and how do I start one?

I am sure most people have heard the word Blog before. Nevertheless, there may still be some people out there who really don’t know. So, what is a blog, and how do I start one? How can a beginner get into the blogging world easily without all the confusion and technical instruction?

What is a blog

Blogging is writing about things that you are interested in. Sort of like an online journal or diary expressing to the world whatever you are passionate about. Whenever you write a new article, you are updating your writing to the world. Want to start a blog? Simply said, there are tons of platforms that will help you get up and running.  I really love the web-hosting platform WordPress.org one of the most popular and easy to use. WordPress allows you to add many plugins and lots of creative themes for you to design your Blog. Though, I started out with a free blogging platform

WordPress allows you to add many plugins and lots of creative themes for you to design your Blog. Though, I started out with a free blogging platform blogger.com to get my feet wet.  Both are very simple. You grab a theme and follow the instructions laid out for you.

Hosting Your Own Blog or Free Blog?

The nice thing about joining a blogging platform is many offers you to join for free if you like.  Great for you if you are not sure about what you want to do or where you want to go with your blogging. The only problem is you don’t own your domain name.

So, for example, if you wanted a site name Happypuppy your URL would look like happypuppy.blogspot.com instead of happypuppy.com. If it doesn’t bother you, then go for it, but if you want to secure your domain name Happypuppy.com you might want to pay a few dollars, so it is yours to keep.

Writing often can be good and may even help you pay your bills.

A quality blog flourishes on original content, and if you write new blogs often, you tend to get more exposure and attention. So, if you are creating content on a regular basis and want people to see it, you may be happy with a blog. Blogging is one of the best ways of communicating and showing news to the world. I love to blog, and my writing seems to be getting better as I go, not to mention you can make money!

How do I start a blog?

1. Pick a domain name for your blog, something creative that matches who you are or what interests you. (my domain name is mylifedraft.com. This is me on the internet.
2. You need a hosting company (they store all the pages of your blog on the Internet), a company that puts your blog or website on the internet. A great hosting company I like is GoDaddy, but you can also pick a domain name with them as well. Your blog is set up in less than 15 minutes. Most should have a WordPress install if you choose this platform.
3. The cost of having a blog is not expensive, and there are options to pay monthly or annually. Check out Godaddy’s trial period and see what you think.