Creating a College Blog: Top 5 Steps to Start Your Own WordPress Website
Assuming you are a student passionate about writing, starting a blog would be a great idea. You would have a platform to develop and showcase your talents and also connect with people that share similar interests with you. Now, you might be thinking you don’t have the expertise to fully run a website. While you are correct, with today’s technology, owning your own website has never been easier. There are many platforms today that have simplified the entire process, so all you need to do is focus on creating content; one such website is WordPress. So, to help you get started, in this article, we will be going over five simple steps you need to start your own WordPress website today.
Top 5 Steps to Start Your WordPress College Blog
The idea of creating a blog from scratch can be daunting. This is especially the case when you don’t have any experience doing this in the first place. Considering this is true for most students, it’s important to consider the tips in this section of the article. So, without further ado, here are the top five steps to start your own WordPress website and create a thriving college blog:
- Choose a Domain Name
- Set up Hosting
- Install WordPress
- Choose a Theme
- Customize Your Blog
1. Choose a Domain Name
The first step towards creating your blog is to have a domain name. If you are unfamiliar with the term, a domain name simply refers to the unique online address of your website. An example would be "https://www.google.com". When trying to pick a good domain name, it’s important to make sure it aligns with your brand and who you are.
For instance, let’s say your blog is about student finance, and you decide to name it "The Budget Calculator" or something along that line. It wouldn’t be ideal if your domain name were "thefinanceinstructor.com". While you might argue the two are similar, your audience will have difficulty associating it with your brand. So, it’s important both your blog and domain name are the same. Also, you should aim to keep your domain name short, simple, and, most importantly, easy to remember. This is important as you want your readers to be able to search your blog from memory quickly.
Thankfully, with WordPress, it is easy to check for available domain names. All you have to do is visit their link and type the name you would like for your website’s domain. If it returns as available, then you will need to register it. What makes WordPress among the best is that, in some instances, you might even be entitled to a free registration. And even when you have to pay, it’s often between $12 to $15 a year, which is well within most students’ budgets.
2. Set up Hosting
As soon as you have your domain name registered, you can then move on to setting up hosting. Web hosting that allows your website, or blog in this case, to be accessible over the internet. If you don’t complete this step, your website could be erased, and you would have to start all over again from scratch. With WordPress, you can choose from various hosting providers, each with its own pricing and features. Bluehost, DreamHost, Hostinger, and GoDaddy are just four examples of the many hosting providers you can choose from.
When trying to decide on the right one, you should first understand what your website’s needs are in terms of security, traffic, and budget. As a beginner, you might want to prioritize a hosting provider that provides dedicated support. This is so you are sure there’s always someone available to ask any questions you might have. In the scenario where your blog is down, you don’t want this issue to take forever to fix. This is because when you are just starting your website, it’s important to hold onto your first few readers. If your blog were to go down for even just a week, it might be hard to regain any momentum you had before the crash.
Ultimately, you should aim for a hosting provider that provides reliable service, fast load times, and good customer support. This won’t be easy to do, but you can help make things better by reading reviews. Once a hosting provider has a bad reputation, it’s quite easy to find out by reading about other customers' experiences.
3. Install WordPress
With your hosting all setup, it’s time to finally install WordPress. More than 30% of all websites are powered by WordPress, which means you are in great hands and you can trust your website is secure. WordPress is a free and open-source content management system, and they are always looking to improve their features and technology. With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, WordPress is the perfect platform for your college blog. It’s fast, intuitive to use, and there are lots of resources available to help get you started as soon as possible.
While it takes only 5 minutes to install WordPress, this can be the start of a great journey where you see success in your efforts. So, you might even want to document your experiences up to this point. It could serve as motivation for others, and even if you don’t know how to write, you can always google "best writers to do my papers for me". This website offers some of the best online writing and student-friendly prices. Aside from writing blog articles, you can rely on their expert writers to handle your academic essay assignments as well. This will help you find more time to focus on growing your blog.
4. Choose a Theme
With WordPress installed, you can now choose a theme for your blog. A theme is basically a pre-designed template that determines the look and feel of your website. In today’s modern world, it’s important to stay with the latest trends. So, before choosing the theme for your blog, take out time to do some market research. Determine what colors are more popular with your target audience, and then choose a template that mirrors that.
For instance, if you have a blog dedicated to teaching students how to manage their finances, then you might want to pick a more modern look for your blog. On the other hand, if your website is focused on providing content for the elderly, you might want to use a calmer theme that isn’t too bright and it’s simple.
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With thousands of themes to choose from on WordPress, you have a good chance of finding one that matches your style and showcases your content. However, it’s understandable if you struggle to find the time to pick the right theme. After all, most students have to deal with lots of essay papers with short deadlines. If you find yourself in a similar situation or you are looking to simplify your life, you can check here for more info on the best essay writers to hire when in need of help. This is an expert review that you can trust as it also teaches you to want to consider when searching for a reliable online writing service.
5. Customize Your Blog
Once you have gotten your theme installed, it’s now time to experiment with your blog. The aim of customization here is to give you more control over the final look of your website. While WordPress does most of the heavy lifting, it’s important that you make your blog your own. So, you should add your own logo, colors, and fonts to give your website that unique look.
Also, you can even decide to add widgets, plugins, and other features to enhance your blog’s functionality. This will go a long way in engaging your readers and, thus, make them more likely to recommend your content to others. It’s important not to rush this step, but instead, take your time and don’t feel pressured to settle for any one design. This will be your blog, so make sure to own it!
In Conclusion
Starting your own college blog can be an exciting and rewarding experience. Even if you are still a student, you can have your own website where you get to express your creative abilities and also make money doing so. When the niche is something you are passionate about, then it becomes even easier to write.
Thankfully, with WordPress, you have all the tools you need to create a professional-looking website that showcases your talents and connects you with others who share your interests. All you need to do is follow the top 5 steps shared in this article. Once you are done and you feel ready, you can start your own WordPress website and create a thriving college blog that even makes you money in no time.
| Author’s Bio |
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| William Fontes is a freelance writer, web developer, and online blogger. He didn’t initially find it easy to combine all these different aspects of his life, but it was his motivation to leave an impact that kept him going. William designs websites by day but uses the night to write helpful tips for his audience. He uses his experiences as a source of authentic writing material so that he’s able to share practical tips and advice. While he deeply cares about his job, William understands the importance of striking a balance between work and play. So, when he isn’t working, you will find William playing online video games with friends. |