First, I need to clarify that there is no "easy way" to blogging. It requires a lot of work and a lot of time. However, I feel as if my method is a little easier than some other methods out there. I constantly read how people have their blogs up in one day or two days, and it's kind of crazy with how quickly they do it all. That being said, everyone has different ways of going about things! Everyone develops their own style as they're learning what works for them! So this is just one way that works for me!
First off, you need a blog template or theme from somewhere online. There are many sites that provide free templates/themes for use on your blog! One site that I like (among many) is twentythirteenteen by WordPress (you can view my blog on this theme!). You can choose from more than 500 different themes to be used on your site; however, the only thing you will see after choosing your theme is the appearance of your website; if you want anything added to the appearance (ie: social media links such as Facebook), then you will need to find another source online through somewhere else like ThemeForest or Creative Market (which are both paid options). If you're not looking for any extra additions such as an e-mail subscription box or social media links/pages etc. I read the Boston university blog and they use a free theme and it looks great!
When looking for a free theme, make sure you find the right one that fits your blog topic and content. You want to provide something that will attract people to your blog while also making your site look professional! It's important to choose wisely. If you can afford it, I would go with a paid option such as ThemeForest or Creative Market (or any other paid website). However, if you're on a budget or aren't willing to spend money for this particular reason, then check out some of the free themes online; there are plenty out there!
After choosing both the appearance and functionality of your blog template/theme (if applicable), then it's time to start thinking about installing WordPress onto hosting. If you don't already have hosting set up online somewhere, then I would recommend going with BlueHost because it is what I use and I love them! They're so easy to work with and their customer service is amazing. But if you already have hosting set up somewhere else (ie: Google Drive) then feel free to continue using them instead of choosing BlueHost. Anyways...I digress...back on topic... So after finding your hosting company of choice--whether this be BlueHost or another host--you'll need to install WordPress onto it. This will take some time but in my experience has never taken more than 30 minutes in total from beginning until end. Once you have WordPress installed onto your hosting company, then you'll want to start choosing a theme for your site. You can look around on ThemeForest or Creative Market for some free themes to choose from if you would like, but if you already found a free theme online somewhere else (or made one yourself) then feel free to continue using that!
While choosing/installing the theme of your choice, I would suggest creating an e-mail account dedicated solely to your blog. This way, when people subscribe/sign up for updates through the e-mail subscription box in the sidebar of your blog, they will receive updates straight in their inbox instead of having it go into their "junk" folder or something similar. This is just a suggestion, but if you're serious about having a blog then I would definitely do this. It will save time and effort in the long run!
After you have your e-mail account set up for your blog, then it's time to create the website itself! This may sound confusing to some, but I assure you that it's not as hard as it sounds. Once you have chosen your theme on WordPress and installed on hosting with BlueHost (or whatever host), then go to BlueHost and click "Website." You'll be taken to a page where there is already some code written out for creating a new site on their servers. However, this code isn't just going to be perfect for what we're trying to accomplish here so we're going to need to change some things around. If this is confusing or overwhelming at all just let me know and I will help explain any questions that come up along the way! Once again, if you aren't comfortable doing all of this stuff yourself maybe consider seeking help from someone else online or paying someone else (like me) who can do it for you! After changing around the code of your choice once again feel free/willing/comfortable with both posting pictures onto Facebook or Twitter until everything looks right.
Once you have everything set-up and going, then it's time to start adding your content! If you're trying to make a blog as a student or as someone who is in college or if you need to publish something quickly before the end of the semester, I would suggest using Canva.com. This website has tons of free templates for things such as business cards, posters, advertisements etc. It has a lot of options for creating content that is clean and professional looking which can be used on your blog! You can also use this website if you just want something simple and easy to create newsletters for any sort of event/activity happening in your department at school etc.
I hope this post was helpful! Please let me know if there are any other tips/suggestions that I missed or could add so that others can benefit from my experience. Thanks so much for reading!
