You’re about to learn that something you once thought was difficult—starting a blog—is actually quite easy. We’re going to show you how to set up and manage a blog for your business in seven easy steps. But before we get to the “How,” let’s take a moment to answer a more important question: “Why?” 

The SmallBusiness.com Guide to Starting a Blog is sponsored and provided by GoDaddy.

Introduction

1. Name your blog and register its domain name (web address).
2. Choose a blog platform.
3. Choose a web host.
4. Connect your domain name to your blog.
5. Design your blog.
6. Publish your first post.
7. Promote that post and publish your second post, etc.

Why does your business need a blog?

The people who operate successful small businesses don’t sit back and wait on customers to show up. Successful small business owners and managers spend part of every day reaching out to their current and potential customers. Today, that outreach can include social media, a well-designed website and even an email newsletter campaign. But one of the most versatile and effective marketing tools a small business owner can use is a blog.

Why? While a website is a great brochure-like tool, making a blog a central part of your marketing strategy keeps your business in constant contact with the audiences most important to you.

If you’re a retailer or restaurant owner or another type of merchant whose business is associated with a physical location, you know how much the design and appearance of your physical location can play a part in marketing your business. For many people, that location will be your business. A blog can play the same role for your business—online. It will become the online location where conversations take place and enduring relationships are created and nurtured.

Things you’ll learn from this guide that will amaze you

• How easy and fast it is to set up a blog. (Takes less than an hour.)
• You DON’T NEED computer programming or coding skills.
• You DON’T NEED to spend much money on expensive software or design services.
• You DON’T NEED previous experience with blogging or even writing.

You’ll learn that it takes only seven easy steps to start a blog

1. How to name a blog and register its domain name address
2. How to choose a blog platform
3. How to choose a web host
4. How to connect your domain name to your blog
5. How to design your blog
6. How to publish a post
7. How to promote your blog

About this guide

If you are reading this on a laptop or desktop computer, you should see a table of contents on the right-hand column. If you’d like to jump ahead or go back to a previous step, just click on the subject.

If you are reading this on a smaller screen, scroll down and you’ll find the table of contents.

Need more help?

GoDaddy, the sponsor and provider of this guide, always has friendly people standing by who can chat with you online or talk with you on the phone at: (480) 505-8877.

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Step 1 | Name your blog

The contents of this guide were developed and sponsored by GoDaddy.
It may include opinions other than those of SmallBusiness.com.

Choosing a name for your blog is like coming up with a brand for your business. The name should convey a mixture of creativity and cleverness. But it can’t be too clever—you want people to know what the name means. Oh, and one more thing—the name should be understandable to a human audience as well as search engine bots.

The SmallBusiness.com Guide to Starting a Blog is sponsored and provided by GoDaddy.

Introduction

1. Name your blog and register its domain name (web address).
2. Choose a blog platform.
3. Choose a web host.
4. Connect your domain name to your blog.
5. Design your blog.
6. Publish your first post.
7. Promote that post and publish your second post, etc.

What are the differences in the terms “blog name,” “blog address” and “domain name”?

Easy answer: They can all mean the same thing. “Blog address” is another term for “domain name,” the name that web users type into a browser that takes them to a specific web page like example.com, example.net, example.org, etc. In this guide, we will use the term “domain name” when discussing the address of a blog.

Should your blog name be the same as your business website domain name?

Your blogging strategy will influence how you name your blog. Here are some guidelines.

MyHulaHoopStore.Blog | A blog that focuses solely on the activities of your company is a company blog and needs a name that reinforces the company’s name and brand.

HulaHoopster.Blog | If you want to cover a topic relevant to your customers, such as a blog that covers the entire industry or passion, use a branded blog—a name that reaches beyond your specific company.

HulaHoopWeekly.Blog | If your blog is to help establish your company’s leadership in your industry, you may want a blog with business media status.

How to research if a potential blog name’s web address is available

Type the name you’d like into this form and click “SEARCH.”

Can’t find a .COM domain name for your blog?
Check out these alternatives.

It may be easier to come up with a name for your blog than you think. While you may have missed out on that perfect .COM web address for your company website, you may discover a better chance for the perfect address for your .BLOG. Why? Until a few years ago, bloggers had just a few choices in web extensions—basically .com, net and .org.

Now you can actually have a .blog
extension for your blog’s web address.

Awesome, isn’t it? There’s also .buzz, .guru and dozens more—check out the whole list here.

Be sure to put some thought into what your blog’s name will be, including the extension you use. Make it easy on your potential audience to remember your name.

Tips for picking a perfect domain name for your blog

Make it easy to type into a browser address field.

Finding a domain name that’s easy to type is critical to online success. If you use slang (u instead of you) or words with multiple spellings (express vs. xpress), it may be harder for customers to find your site.

Keep it short.

If your domain name is long and complex, you risk customers mistyping or misspelling it.

Use keywords.

Try using keywords that describe your business and the services you offer. For example, if you’re a glass replacement business, you may want to register GlassRepair.com or GlassReplacement.com. It will help search engines find you.

Target your area.

If your business is local, consider including your city or state in your domain name to make it easy for local customers to find and remember. Example: PhoenixGlassRepair.com.

Avoid numbers and hyphens.

Numbers and hyphens are often misunderstood—people who hear your blog’s address don’t know if you’re using a numeral (5) or spelling out a number (five), or they misplace or forget the dash. If you need these in your domain, register the different variations to be safe.

Be memorable.

There are millions of registered domain names, so having a domain that’s catchy and memorable is essential.

Research it.

Use GoDaddy’s domain name search to see what’s available. Use services like the U.S. Patent Search or Google’s Patent Search to make sure the name you’ve selected isn’t trademarked, copyrighted or being used by another company. Without such research, you could be faced with an expensive, legal mess and a good chance you’d lose the domain anyway.

Protect and build your brand.

To protect your brand, purchase various domain extensions, as well as misspelled versions of your domain name.

Act fast.

If you’re having trouble finding an available name for your blog, domain registrars like GoDaddy will suggest alternate names during your search to help you find the perfect domain name.

How to register a domain name

When you determine what your domain name should be and have determined its availability via GoDaddy’s search tool, use the easy-to-follow directions for registering it.

(Note: You can use the search tool below, or you can learn more about registering a domain name in Step 4: Choose a Web Host.)

Need more help?

GoDaddy, the sponsor and provider of this guide, always has friendly helpers standing by who can chat online or talk on the phone 24/7 at: (480) 505-8877.

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Step 2 | Choose a blog platform

The contents of this guide were developed and sponsored by GoDaddy.
It may include opinions other than those of SmallBusiness.com.

The software used to manage your blog is called a content management system (CMS) or a blogging platform or website platform. In the early days of the web, there were clear distinctions between the software used to manage a blog and the software used to manage an entire website. Those distinctions have disappeared over the years so that now, blogging software and website software are the same.

The SmallBusiness.com Guide to Starting a Blog is sponsored and provided by GoDaddy.

Introduction

1. Name your blog and register its domain name (web address).
2. Choose a blog platform.
3. Choose a web host.
4. Connect your domain name to your blog.
5. Design your blog.
6. Publish your first post.
7. Promote that post and publish your second post, etc.

Choosing a Platform or Content Management System

There are many different brands of blog platforms, but the most popular, by far, is WordPress, an open-source software. Depending on the way it is measured, WordPress is used by up to 60 percent of websites.

Other platforms| Joomla, Drupal, Blogger (Google), Magento, TYPO3, Bitrix, PrestaShop, Shopify, Squarespace, Wix, and more

Why use the paid version of WordPress?

Free versions of WordPress, an open-source platform, are available, but remember: You get what you pay for. A paid version is not too expensive, and it probably includes some features you’ll need soon. The smartest thing to do is to invest a few dollars each month on using a paid theme hosted on a secure and reputable hosting platform like GoDaddy’s Managed WordPress solution (more on website hosting in Step 3).

The benefits of using WordPress themes, whether paid or free

• You can customize your blog by changing the background color with a click.
• You aren’t limited to just a few design themes and styles.
• WordPress offers hundreds of free themes and premium themes so you can fashion your blog exactly the way you want.
• WordPress offers community support in the form of forums and tutorials where you can get free how-to guides.
• The ability to easily and inexpensively add e-commerce capabilities to your blog using the WooCommerce plugin.

Need more help?

GoDaddy, the sponsor and provider of this guide, always has friendly helpers standing by who can chat online or talk on the phone 24/7 at: (480) 505-8877.

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Step 3 | Choose a blog host

The contents of this guide were developed and sponsored by GoDaddy.
It may include opinions other than those of SmallBusiness.com.

There are many web hosting companies out there, all claiming to be the best. How do you choose the one that will meet your needs?

The SmallBusiness.com Guide to Starting a Blog is sponsored and provided by GoDaddy.

Introduction

1. Name your blog and register its domain name (web address).
2. Choose a blog platform.
3. Choose a web host.
4. Connect your domain name to your blog.
5. Design your blog.
6. Publish your first post.
7. Promote that post and publish your second post, etc.

In the early days of blogging, individuals had to set up a computer with the collection of software necessary to display the text and graphics of a website or blog. While someone can still self-host a blog or website, most small businesses and individuals opt to use a web hosting service as a more efficient and easy-to-use alternative.

Hosting typically runs on a server owned by a web hosting company and your blog takes up just a small space on that server.

It’s kind of like renting a single apartment in a building. You pay for the space you use. Unlike an apartment, if your hosting account goes down, your blog disappears from cyberspace and all those conversations come screeching to a halt. So it’s important to choose a reputable blog hosting company with strong security and an uptime guarantee. You need to be sure that your blog will be up and visible to the whole world 24/7.

How to determine the hosting needs for your blog

Storage space

Do you plan to post a lot of images and videos? Do you expect a lot of visitors (or traffic)? Generally speaking, the more space-hogging elements (such as photos and videos) you have on your blog and the more visitors you have at any given time equals the more storage and bandwidth you need.

Backups and security patches

WordPress requires some regular back-end maintenance. If you don’t have the time or don’t feel comfortable doing this, pay someone else to do it.

Technical support

If your tech skills are limited to turning on your laptop, don’t go with a free blogging platform. Pay for support—it will save you hours of scouring the web for help articles.

Price

How much can you afford to pay for hosting each month? Signup prices for shared hosting are sometimes cheap, but then the subscription renewal prices are high. When choosing the right company to host your blog, consider both signup and renewal costs, along with any additional fees like purchasing extra storage. Be sure that all charges are within your budget to avoid the risk of not being able to pay and losing your blog forever.

How to set up a GoDaddy Managed WordPress account

As an example of how to set up a hosted account, here is how one is set up using GoDaddy Managed WordPress hosting.

1 | Go to GoDaddy Managed WordPress.

Create an account if prompted.

2 | Choose your plan.

Unless you plan to have lots of photos and videos on your blog, start with the BASIC plan. You can always upgrade if/when your blog traffic increases. At first, skip the add-ons unless you’re in the market for these solutions. Click CONFIGURE.

3 | Register your domain.

• Note if there is a free or discount promotion.
• Type the name you want to use for your blog into the box and click SEARCH.
• Continue until you find the one you want. Click SELECT.
• Already have a domain name you want to use? Select NO THANKS.

4 | Check the plan length drop-down and adjust if needed.

5 | Choose PRIVACY.

If you’re accepting the free or discounted domain, check the “Keep my contact information private” box. Then check OUT.

6 | Go to Managed WordPress Help. There, you’ll find detailed instructions on setting up a managed WordPress account.

Need more help?

GoDaddy, the sponsor and provider of this guide, always has friendly helpers standing by who can chat online or talk on the phone 24/7 at: (480) 505-8877.

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Step 4 | Connect your domain name to your blog

The contents of this guide were developed and sponsored by GoDaddy.
It may include opinions other than those of SmallBusiness.com.

No matter which hosting company you choose, you’ll want to know how to connect your domain name to your blog. As an example, you may use this tutorial to learn how to connect your blog to a domain hosted on GoDaddy’s WordPress hosting service.

The SmallBusiness.com Guide to Starting a Blog is sponsored and provided by GoDaddy.

Introduction

1. Name your blog and register its domain name (web address).
2. Choose a blog platform.
3. Choose a web host.
4. Connect your domain name to your blog.
5. Design your blog.
6. Publish your first post.
7. Promote that post and publish your second post, etc.

Login to your GoDaddy account.

(Note: If you own several domains, you will see the List View of your account. If you see List View, follow instructions for manually forward or mask your domain

1. Next to domains, click Manage.
2. On the domain you want to set up, click either Use My Domain (if domain is newly registered) or Add Website.
3. Click Connect to an Existing Site.
4. Choose from one of the following options to point your domain name to:
   1. Websites (Tumblr, Squarespace, Weebly, etc.),
   2. Social Sites (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.)
   3. Online Stores (Shopify, Etsy, etc.)
   4. Media Sites (Flickr, YouTube, etc.)
   5. Any Website (enter the URL of your choosing)

Once you choose a forwarding destination, simply follow the instructions, either by clicking on the Connect Domain button or entering the correct website URL.

It may take 24-48 hours for your domain to connect to an existing site.

Video | Connect a domain name to your blog

Need more help?

GoDaddy, the sponsor and provider of this guide, always has friendly helpers standing by who can chat online or talk on the phone 24/7 at: (480) 505-8877.

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Step 5 | Design your blog

The contents of this guide were developed and sponsored by GoDaddy.
It may include opinions other than those of SmallBusiness.com.

The secrets to designing your blog are found in themes, the pre-designed outer-layer appearance of a blog, and plugins, which are easy-to-add codes that enable custom features and functions on your blog.

The SmallBusiness.com Guide to Starting a Blog is sponsored and provided by GoDaddy.

Introduction

1. Name your blog and register its domain name (web address)
2. Choose a blog platform
3. Choose a web host
4. Connect your domain name to your blog
5. Design your blog
6. Publish your first post
7. Promote that post and publish your second post, etc.

Visit GoDaddy’s WordPress Themes Gallery

Themes allow you to focus on blogging while the software takes care of your blog’s appearance.

Almost all web platforms have theme options. But if you choose WordPress as your blog platform, you can choose from thousands of themes, including those on display at the GoDaddy Managed WordPress Themes Gallery, which includes:

• Thousands of themes for all types of blogs and websites
• Eight pre-built pages for the most common page types
• Easy drag-and-drop creation for page building
• Access thousands of feature-WordPress plugins
• The ability to chose free or more feature-rich paid theme

Tips for choosing your first WordPress theme

Above | The Twenty Seventeen theme, the default WordPress theme of 2017.

Here are some helpful tips for choosing your first theme, shared by Nile Flores, a professional blogger and WordPress designer and developer.

1 | Choose a theme that has a design format you like.
2 | Make sure the theme is currently being developed and regularly updated.
3 | Choose a theme that has a lot of excellent reviews.
4 | Don’t choose a theme just because it looks like it has all the bells and whistles.
5 | Choose a theme that comes with documentation to help you set it up right.

Whether you go with a free or paid theme, be sure to pick one that reflects who you are and what you do. You want it to be stable, clean and easy to work with. For the purposes of getting your blog up and running fast, however, just pick a basic theme to get rolling. You can customize it later.

Add features and functions to your blog with plugins

Plugins extend the capabilities of WordPress. You can think of them as upgrades or add-ons for your blog. To get started, you can find almost 50,000 plugins available for download at the WordPress Plugin Directory. Here are six categories of plugins that are good for a beginner blogger. Select one from each category:

1 | A security Plugin: Wordfence
2 | A backup plugin: Updraft
3 | A contact form plugin: Contact Form 7
4 | A social share button plugin: AddToAny
5 | An SEO plugin | Yoast SEO
6 | A traffic tracking (Google Analytics) plugin | MonsterInsights

Need more help?

GoDaddy, the sponsor and provider of this guide, always has friendly helpers standing by who can chat online or talk on the phone 24/7 at: (480) 505-8877.

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Step 6 | Publish your first post

The contents of this guide were developed and sponsored by GoDaddy.
It may include opinions other than those of SmallBusiness.com.

Everything leading up to this point in this guide has been about how fast and easy it is to set up a blog. The next steps are all about consistency, not speed. 

The SmallBusiness.com Guide to Starting a Blog is sponsored and provided by GoDaddy.

Introduction

1. Name your blog and register its domain name (web address).
2. Choose a blog platform.
3. Choose a web host.
4. Connect your domain name to your blog.
5. Design your blog.
6. Publish your first post.
7. Promote that post and publish your second post, etc.

Remember what we said in this guide’s introduction?

The people who operate successful small businesses don’t sit back and wait for customers to show up. Successful small business owners and managers spend part of every day reaching out to their current and potential customers.

Blogging isn’t a writing assignment. It’s reaching out to your customers and helping them achieve something they want or need to accomplish.

Don’t think of blogging in terms of writing

Think of it in terms of talking to your customers, employees, vendors or friends. Think of blogging as a means to have chats on any number of topics, such as:

• You have a new product.
• You have a new employee.
• You have a tip that will make them smarter.
• You can forward something that can help them understand the value of your service or product.
• You can share what your business has been up to.
• You can tell them what you are learning from conferences on relevant topics.
• You can keep them ahead of the curve.
• You can inspire them to achieve or try something new.
• You can brighten their day.

Just don’t get bogged down by thinking blogging is a writing assignment.

On GoDaddy.com, learn how to publish and edit a WordPress post

You’ve been revving up to blog since the day you started your business

• Every time you’ve had a conversation with a customer, you’ve been learning how to blog.
• Every time you’ve prepared a newsletter for clients, you’ve been learning how to blog.
• You know how to listen and respond with good advice, or you wouldn’t be running a business.

Take all that knowledge and share it in 300–400 words per post, and you’ll unleash the inner blogger hiding within you.

Share with an audience you already know

The people most likely to initially enjoy your blog (and share it with others) are those who already like you. You don’t need to become a “writer.” Just share a message with a group you already know: your customers. Some suggestions:

• Share information in a way that comes most naturally to you but is appropriate to your audience.
• Whenever appropriate, write in the first person to stress your relationship with the reader.
• In your first post, answer this question: Why does the world need another blog related to your topic?
• In the first few blog posts, give your customers a preview of what they can expect when they follow your blog.
• Share the human experiences that make your viewpoint valuable.
• Don’t worry too much about getting this first post perfect. It can take months to develop a comfortable approach and style.

Need more help?

GoDaddy, the sponsor and provider of this guide, always has friendly helpers standing by who can chat online or talk on the phone 24/7 at: (480) 505-8877.

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Step 7 | Promote your first post, and keep blogging

The contents of this guide were developed and sponsored by GoDaddy.
It may include opinions other than those of SmallBusiness.com.

It’s official. You are a small business owner who is beginning to master the power of a blog. Never view blogging as a chore. View it as the most incredible opportunity you’ve been given to stay in constant communication with your customers, vendors, influencers and friends.

The SmallBusiness.com Guide to Starting a Blog is sponsored and provided by GoDaddy.

Introduction

1. Name your blog and register its domain name (web address).
2. Choose a blog platform.
3. Choose a web host.
4. Connect your domain name to your blog.
5. Design your blog.
6. Publish your first post.
7. Promote that post and publish your second post, etc.

Start spreading the news

Your blog is the central hub of your customer communications efforts. But social media and email are necessary to helping you alert your customers and friends whenever you post something new. Make sure to spread the word about your first post.

• Share engaging links on your favorite social media networks.
• Email an announcement to your growing list of newsletter subscribers.
• If the topic of your blog is local, make sure to promote your new blog on both your online and offline advertising.
• Add announcement messages to the signature of your email.

The importance of an editorial calendar: Keeping your blog up-to-date and relevant

A blog can be overwhelming if seen as a chore. One way to keep your blog fresh—and to keep from having the blogging equivalent of writer’s block—is to plan ahead.

• If your business has a natural flow of operation, then blogging should fit into that flow.
  • If you are a retailer, then new product trends, merchandise or special promotions are a natural framework for a blogging calendar.
  • All types of businesses, industries, regions and localities have special dates throughout the year. They can be national holidays, like New Year’s Day, or annual celebrations, like Mother’s Day. Your blog should include those events.

Prepare a blogging calendar that helps you plan in advance what topics you’d like to cover and when. Much like an editorial calendar, a blogging calendar can help you spread out topics of importance to your customers throughout the year.

It’s also a good idea to write a few posts in advance that you can keep stored for a rainy day. These posts can come in handy if you find yourself lacking content.

Learn more about a blog editorial calendar at GoDaddy.com

Another benefit of blogging:
Search engine optimization

A blog should be focused on establishing and maintaining long-term relationships with your customers and prospects. You want to do everything you can to make sure such people find your blog, but finding your blog is not the goal. Building long-term, mutually beneficial relationships is the goal.

That said, if you are going to invest your time in a blogging strategy, you’ll want as many people to read, hear and see it as possible. One way to do that is through search engine optimization (SEO). Here are some pieces of advice to get you up to speed on SEO:

• Review this overview of 7 Simple Steps for Blog SEO.
• Research keywords related to your business using Google’s keyword planning tool.
• Add meta tags for each post using a WordPress plugin like WordPress SEO by Yoast.

Advice | Always have a few “evergreen” posts for crunch times.

No matter how prolific a blogger you are, there will always be times when other duties keep you from sharing helpful advice. However, it’s important to be consistent in sharing posts. Have evergreen posts—posts that are relevant no matter the time of year or topic—that can be used when those crunch times occur.

You’re on your way

You’ve now started your blog. Let it take you on a journey that draws you closer to the customers you serve. Post by post, you’ll learn more about your customers—and yourself.

Need more help?

GoDaddy, the sponsor and provider of this guide, always has friendly helpers standing by who can chat online or talk on the phone 24/7 at: (480) 505-8877.

The contents of this guide were developed and sponsored by GoDaddy.
It may include opinions other than those of SmallBusiness.com

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