BlueHost: I recommend Bluehost for beginners and growing blogs because it’s affordable, reliable, easy to set up, fast, and offers 24/7 customer support. Bluehost’s “starter” plan is about as cheap as hosting gets. 2.95 per month and get a free domain name. With Bluehost, like all the other inexpensive hosts, you’ll pay for your plan upfront. Don’t worry, though—if for some reason you aren’t happy with Bluehost, you can cancel within 30 days for a full refund.
Good to know: Bluehost loves Cookie and Kate readers. Purchase your hosting through any of my links to Bluehost and you’ll get the best deal available. No promo code required. First, choose your plan. I recommend the basic plan, which is the least expensive and offers everything you need to get started.
Then, choose your term. 15 savings) and a significant discount on your monthly rate, you’ll need to pay for at least one year of hosting upfront. Feel free to choose a longer term if you’re serious about blogging and want to save more money, but one year is a great start.
Lastly, choose your add-ons. The only add-on I would choose is “Domain Privacy Protection,” which will make sure your personal address and phone number are kept private. Otherwise, your personal information will be available to marketers and the general public. Step 3: Install WordPress. This part should be pretty easy. If your web host is BlueHost, here’s how to install WordPress on BlueHost. Permalink Settings page and change your permalink structure to “Post name.” Hit save.
Now it’s time to make your blog look pretty. Step 4: Install a WordPress theme. Now we’re getting to the fun part! Your WordPress theme will determine the look and feel of your site, so pick a good one. Well designed: Your theme should suit your aesthetic and offer the features you want. The theme should also be coded by someone who knows what they’re doing.
Responsive. Responsive designs are built to provide an optimal viewing experience for your visitors, whether they’re visiting from their computer, phone or tablet. That means your visitors won’t have to pinch and zoom to read your posts—your text will already be a legible size. Optimized for search results: This goes along with the last couple of points, because a well-designed site will naturally rank higher in search results than a site built on a theme that is full of errors. Want to know if you potential theme has coding errors, Run its URL through the W3C’s markup validation service.
User friendly: Find a theme that offers built-in design options so you don’t have to edit code to change basic stuff. These features will save you a ton of time. Backed by great support: When you experience technical issues, a responsive support team and/or community forums are invaluable resources. My bottom line: You can start with a free theme, but I recommend that you pony up some cash for a premium WordPress theme from a reputable provider.
The time and headaches that you save down the road will make it money well spent. I originally built this blog on a basic, free WordPress theme and customized it myself. In February 2014, I launched a redesigned website that is responsive and my site has grown significantly since then.
My blog uses a Studiopress theme. I believe that Studiopress offers the most gorgeous, functional themes available. All of their themes are responsive, which is a necessity these days! Their community forums are helpful, too. Foodie Pro Theme is a fantastic Studiopress theme designed specifically for food blogs. After seeing how nice my friend’s new blog looks right out of the box, I wish I’d gone with the Foodie theme.
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