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How to Start a WordPress Blog with Siteground

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How to Start a WordPress Blog with Siteground. thinkmaverick

Determined to start a blog but don’t know where to start?

 

Starting a blog from scratch can be complicated for newbies. Choosing the right domain name or deciding which hosting to use may feel mind-boggling. We get it!

 

But it’s not as hard as you may think.

 

Web host like Siteground just made it simple to host your own blog even if you’re not tech savvy or don’t know how to code.

 

Also, you can start making money from blogging with Siteground for as little as $3.95 a month (I got the price down for you).

 

In this post, I’m going to show you exactly how to create a blog with easy-to-follow screenshots and step-by-step written instructions, as well as all its benefits that you can’t miss out on!

Free Blogging Platforms vs WordPress.org

Before we get started, it’s important to understand the difference between free blogging platforms vs. WordPress.org and why should you choose a self-hosted WordPress blog.

 

There are a plethora of blogging platforms out there, which you can use to create a blog for FREE -you don’t have to buy domain name and hosting.

 

While the thought of creating a free website without paying anything is tempting, you should AVOID it at all cost. If you just want to give blogging a try, if you only want to see how the platform works, if you want to do it just for fun, then I don’t see the reason why you shouldn’t use a free blogging platform.

 

However, if you’re serious about blogging, eventually make money with your blog, you’ll need a self-hosted blog.

 

My advice? Always go for self-hosted WordPress blog. You want to do it right from the very beginning.

 

I’ve compiled some of the main reasons why I think it’s a bad idea to build your site using free blogging platforms

 

1. Zero control over the blog

You have literally no control of your own content and site. These free blogging platforms have clause to delete your blog anytime without any reason.

 

2. Unprofessional web address

Your website address is the first thing that your potential visitors will see. Having a domain name like yourname.blogspot.com doesn’t look professional and thus it’s very hard for people to take your blog seriously. The very first step to build a positive online reputation is to have your own domain yourname.com.

 

3. Limitation

With free websites, you’ll have limited design choices and few low-quality templates to choose from. You can’t customize your site as you wish or add any of your own designs on your blog.

 

4. Low monetization potential

Unlike a self-hosted WordPress site where you can monetize your blog in whatever way you want, free websites offer very limited advertising options. Some of the free blogging platforms don’t even allow you to run third-party ads. Many advertisers and companies will avoid dealing with bloggers from free websites.

 

Read more about why you should pay for your blog hosting here.

Why Siteground is A Good Choice to Self-host your WordPress blog?

1. Siteground is a reliable hosting service provider. Among tens of thousands of web hosts out there, Siteground is one of only 3 hosting companies endorsed by WordPress.

2. Thanks for the unique in-house technology, they provide top-notch security and speed solutions to make your WordPress site as fast, stable and secure as possible.

3. It’s very AFFORDABLE. Siteground offers premium hosting service for less than $4.00/month.

4. Siteground offers a special price for Student Hosting Plan. If you’re a college student or educator, you can start a professional website for just $1.99/month. You’ll enjoy all the benefits and features of the Startup plan for half the price!

5. Their customer service is fabulous. The amazingly fast, friendly and professional support is available 24/7 by live chat, tickets, email or phone support. Most technical problems can be solved by ticket support. If not, an expert will be dedicated to handling your issues.

6. You’ll get FREE SSL certificate for your site. For all hosting plans, the standard SSL is preinstalled on your WordPress. This means that your website is secured with “HTTPS” added in front of your domain name. Giving extra layer protection for your customers.

7. FREE website transfer. If you want to transfer your WordPress website or blog from your current hosting, Siteground can do it for you for NO EXTRA CHARGE. This site migration is seamless, automatically moving all your website contents, files, and database to SiteGround.

8. All cloud and shared hosting options come with FREE daily backup. The daily backups are done automatically. You don’t have to worry about losing any data.

9. WordPress through Siteground is FREE. Siteground is officially recommended by WordPress themselves for your WordPress site!

10. You can self-host your website. You retain full ownership of your site. And you can start to customize and monetize your blog.

11. Siteground offers a 30-day money back guarantee. Now you can start using Siteground plan at NO risk. During your first 30days, at any time, if you feel that it’s not what you want, you can get your money back, no question asked! If you have any question or problem with Siteground, I’m here to help, you can contact me here.

12. It’s very user-friendly. With the “1-Click WordPress installation”, you can easily create a real, functional site in minutes by following steps below. No technical knowledge required.

 

Based on personal experience, as well as the many bloggers and reviewers at WordPress.org., Siteground is one of the best hosting providers in the market and will impress you!

 

According to their annual survey, 98% of participants are happy and are willing to recommend Siteground’s service.

 

The best part? You can enjoy a whopping 66% off Siteground’s shared hosting plans with the special coupon here.

Are you ready to get started?

 

 

How to start a WordPress blog on Siteground

1. Choose a Siteground plan

To start a WordPress blog, go to Siteground official site.

Now you’re at the landing page and you’ll see few main hosting options.

In this tutorial, our aim is to create a self-hosted WordPress blog. To continue, go to WordPress Hosting and click “Get started” button under it.

 

As you can see, Siteground offers three different hosting packages depends on your needs and budget:

As for the plan, I would suggest you start with the least you can afford, you can always upgrade later as your website grows.

 

If you’re starting out and manage only one site, then you can go for Startup plan for less than $4 a month.

 

Startup hosting plan is best for beginners who have a tight budget.

 

If you plan to have more than one blog, GrowBig (Best Seller) would be the best choice for you. For an extra $2, you can host unlimited websites on Siteground.

 

And I would recommend GrowBig (if possible), because of the SuperCacher feature.

 

Supercacher is a powerful caching solution that optimizes your website performance and boosts your site’s loading speed. In short, your blog will be able to handle high traffics and loads faster!

 

If you want to start an e-commerce site or already have tonnes of blog traffic every month and want to switch from some other host, then GoGeek is the perfect hosting plan for you.

 

By now, you should know which Siteground hosting plan you is right for you.

 

Select the hosting plan that’s most suitable for your need and click “Get Plan” button.

 

2. Register a domain

Next, you’ll need to choose a domain name for your website/ blog. It’s a very important step that you want to do it right from the very beginning.

 

It can be a real hassle if you decide to change it later. Which will cost you not only money but also affect your SEO rankings and your brand’s reputation.

 

Choosing a domain name for your blog can be tough, but it would be much easier if you follow these tips.

 

Tips for choosing a domain name

  1. Keep your domain short, concise and easy to remember. But most of the short domain names are already taken. You can use this domain name generator to turn your ideas into fresh, available domains.
  2. Make it easy to pronounce, spell and type.
  3. Avoid using numbers, doubled letters, hyphens, acronyms, long and confusing name. You don’t want your visitors to mistype your domain and end up on a different website, resulting in loss of traffic.
  4. Go for .com extension instead of others like .org, .net, .info, .biz. According to Registrar Stats research, over 75%of the domains have “.com”, followed by “.net” and “.org”. “.com “is easier to remember and more familiar.
  5. Always think Long-Term. As your domain name is the foundation of your online brand and identity, choose a name that resonates with your values, benefits and long-term goals.
  6. Use keywords related to your business in your domain. This can help to improve your SEO and rank higher in Google. BUT use it with caution, you don’t want it to look too spammy or generic.

 

To register a new domain with Siteground, simply enter your domain name into the box and click “Proceed” to check its availability.

 

If you already have a domain, purchased elsewhere and want to use it with Siteground, select “I already have a Domain” and enter your domain to proceed.

 

 

Although you can register a domain name with a registrar like Namesilo or NameCheap and host it on Siteground, you’ll need to do an extra step of transferring your domain to your web hosting account.

 

To connect your existing domain to your Siteground hosting server, you’ll need to login to your NameCheap account, and modify your DNS Nameservers.

 

However, each domain registrar has a different interface of control panel. If you’re not sure how to do it, simply contact Siteground’s support team. They’ll guide and help you to set it up on the backend. 

 

If you need further help, check out this Siteground tutorial on this topic.

 

If you don’t have a domain yet, I highly recommend you register your domain and host it at the same place. This way Siteground will take care of everything for you.

 

3. Review and Complete the Siteground order form

You’re almost there.

 

Now you’ll need to enter your personal information, contact details and billing information to proceed.

 

Then, scroll down the page, you’ll come to the “Purchase information” section.

 

(a) Hosting Period

Unlike many other hosting providers who only offer the lowest monthly price for the longest period. What makes Siteground different is that you can get the cheapest price regardless of the initial periods that you choose during the sign-up process. 

 

But…

 

To save the most money possible, I recommend you get the hosting plan for 2 or 3 years term. Because you’ll need to pay at the regular price for your next bill.

 

You don’t have to compare with other hosting companies. It’s the same for all the other top web hosts out there, in which they only offer a promotional price on the first bill.

 

In other words, you won’t get any discount when you renew your plan.

 

For example, if you’re buying the Startup hosting plan for one year (at only $3.95/month), the discount is only applicable for the first-year bill. So upon renewal, you need to pay full price ($11.95/month) for the second year. That means, you can actually save $96 a year just by choosing the longer term.

 

Want to get the best price and save more money?

Select the period of 36 months, regardless of which hosting plan you’re going for.

 

(b) Data Center

There are 5 different server locations to choose from, namely Iowa, Chicago, London, Amsterdam and Singapore.

 

If you don’t know, your site speed and stability depend a lot on the location of your hosting data center.

So pick the data center located closest to your visitors for faster loading times.

 

(c) Extra Services

Here, you have the option to add extra features for your blog.

 

Simply check the box to get the extra services that you want. Once you’ve completed the Siteground ordering form, click “Pay Now”.

 

4. Install WordPress

Now you’ve successfully created your own website. The first thing you want to do is to install WordPress.

You can either have the Siteground team set it up for you or install it yourself in a few simple steps.

 

To contact Siteground team, simply go to Live Chat and give them your login details. They’ll get it done in 10-15minutes.

But I think it’s best if you could do it yourself. It’ll give your confidence a quick boost, especially if you’re new to blogging.

 

The process of installing WordPress is pretty simple and straightforward. Follow the steps below to start installing your WordPress blog.

1. First, login to your SiteGround hosting account.

2. Under “My Account”, click “Go to cPanel.”

3. Click WordPress in the “Autoinstallers” section.

4. Next, choose the domain name that you want to install WordPress on.

5. Enter your website name, admin user name and password. Then, click “Install”.

 

That’s it. Siteground will install WordPress for you.

 

Once the installation process is completed, go to your WordPress dashboard (yourdomain.com/wp-admin). Login with your admin username and password you’ve just created during the WordPress installation process.

 

That’s it! You now have your new WordPress blog. Login to your WordPress board, choose a beautiful theme for your blog and start writing! 

 

Here are few professional multipurpose WordPress templates with advanced functionality and awesome 24/7 support based on your niches:

 

Check out this list of top 10 free WordPress plugins that you need for your blog.

Don’t know how to install a WordPress plugin? Follow this simple step-by-step guide to install your first plugin.

Don’t forget to promote your website using social media too.

 

Also, if you want to build your email list and send newsletter to your readers, I recommend ConvertKit.

 

Good luck!

 

If you have any question or problem with Siteground, I’m here to help, you can contact me here.

 

Do you have any concern not to self-host your own blog?

 

Do you have any problem or question following this tutorial to create your own blog with Siteground? Feel free to comment below

 

Related reading:

 

Note – I am a Siteground affiliate. If you make a purchase through this or any of the links on this post I’ll earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. But this doesn’t influence my recommendation. Thank you all for your support!

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