How to start a website/blog, build it, manage it and make money?
I have been wanting to start a website or a blog for a very long time and I did not know anything about it and nor did people around me, so I had to google day and night and finally summon the courage to buy domain and hosting and get started.
It din’t end just with buying domain and hosting there were many things involved and I wanted to put them all together in one place so it would be easier to understand what creating a website, building it, running it and earning from it means. Also help people like me out there.
To build a website you will need the following
1. domain name
2. hosting
3.wordpress
4. plugins and other tools and
5. your time
Hosting
A web hosting, is like the home of your website where it actually lives. It is the place where all the files of your website live.
In simple words, domain name is the address of your website and hosting is the place where your website is. So, when you enter the domain name in a browser it gets translated into the IP address of your web hosting company’s computer/server which contains all your files.
First, you will have to choose a hosting company( like Godaddy, Bluehost, Hostgator, siteground) and then you’ll have to choose the plan either basic/deluxe or ultimate etc all these have different features. Then you will have to decide for how long you want it. If suppose you take it for 1 year then if you want to continue then you will have to renew your hosting.
Go through all the details and choose a hosting company, talk to their customer support if you have any questions and then if everything looks good then buy the hosting.
So now you have hosting.
Linking Domain and Hosting
Domain name and Hosting are 2 completely different things but making a website without any one of these is not possible because without domain names people can’t find your website and without web hosting you can not build a website.
So, now you have domain name and hosting, to make it work all you have to do is link them with one another.
If you bought domain name and hosting from the same company, then as you proceed the companies website will give you instructions and all you have to do is follow. It is easier to manage and renew if they are from the same company.
If you bought domain name and hosting from different companies then in this case you will have to point your domain name to your web hosting company by editing its DNS settings.
WordPress
WordPress is a powerful website builder and a robust content management system.
WordPress is easy to use and flexible to make different kinds of websites.
WordPress is a free software.
WordPress is SEO friendly, safe and secure.
Domain name is your address, hosting is your home and wordpress is what you use to build that home.
Now inside wordpress there are different themes( is like hiring interior designer for your home) and plugins.
Themes, Plugins, Tools and backup
Themes: Themes are like interior designer for your website. Themes are a collection of templates and stylesheets on which the visual design and layout of the website pages depends. So a theme defines the appearance and display of your a wordpress powered website.
There are hundreds of free themes available from which you can choose. They can be changed, managed and added from the wordpress admin area under appearance.
Plugins: Plugins are apps that contain a group of functions that can be added to a wordpress website, this way you can add features to your website. Most plugins are free.
Backup: There are many plugins to backup your wordpress site. I am going to tell you about the one that is free.
So, to backup a wordpress site for free, you will have to install updraftplus plugin, activate it and follow the instructions.
Digital Marketing
Digital Marketing, why I brought it up here is because it is the act of promoting your content online and getting noticed. Digital Marketing is simply marketing but online(digital).
Digital marketing Examples:
1. Social Media Marketing
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
3. Content Marketing
4. Email Marketing
5. Affiliate Marketing