If you’re interested in setting up your own blog, then, I would like to share my experience on how I set mine up.
Before starting thedesinomads.com, I was running a blog on Google’s Blogger. While that was good enough for making posts once a month, when you get serious about blogging, you realize you need something more customizable. It also helps to be able to monetize your site.
SiteGround
After looking around, I signed up for starting a site on SiteGround. SiteGround is a web hosting platform, and for < $5 a month, you get a platform to host your blog, a custom domain name (eg. www.mysitename.com), and a host of plugins and tools (including WordPress) that help you customize and maintain your site. It was really easy to get set up, and I’ve loved everything about it, and would highly recommend it. They have growth options, as you continue to grow, with a very small initial investment. Click on the banner below to get started!
WordPress
Once you have your blog set up, go ahead and install WordPress on it. Wordpress allows you to customize and look and feel of your site with different themes, and gives you many plugins that help you manage everything from security, to comments, and social media plugins. This is all you need to make your first post!
Google Adsense
As soon as I started my blog, I also signed up for a Google Adsense account (free). Once my account was approved, I was able to paste banner ads on the sides of my pages. While not a lot of money, it will continue to grow with time, as you get more visitors. Given it is free to sign up, it is an easy way to start monetizing your blog.
That’s it!
Once you get into blogging, there are many resources on how you can promote and monetize your blog. But, this is all you need to get started!
