How To Set Up Wordpress Blog Step By Step

If you're here, it must mean that you're about to embark on the journey of starting a new blog. Let us guide you through this new adventure!

Run through these five steps to make sure that you love the way your blog looks so you can feel proud to share it with others.

Table of Contents

Step 1: Create Your Account and Choose Your Identity

Your Account

Creating your WordPress.com account is the first step to building your new blog. Visit WordPress.com and click on Get Started to create your new account in three quick steps. You'll provide your email address (so you can be notified when visitors join your blog), a username (you can change that later), and a password (keep it secure!) And, if you're not ready to select a custom domain name or a plan, you can always do those parts later by selecting the free WordPress.com subdomain and the free site option.

Your Identity

Choosing a name for your blog is an important decision because it tells visitors about your blog before they read a single post. Once you decide on the perfect name, make it your Site Title by going to My Site → Settings. You can add a catchy Tagline too!

By signing up, you already have a site address like myawesomeblog.wordpress.com but you can register your very own domain like myawesomeblog.com. Your domain is free for the first year with any WordPress.com plan!

Registering a new domain — Register any available domain at *My Site → Upgrades → Domains*

Step 2: Write Your First Post

Now it's time to flex those writing muscles! Go to My Site → Posts and click Add New Post to start drafting your first introduction to the world. In your post, tell people who you are, what your blog will be about, and ask them to join you on this new journey.

Step 3: Display Your Posts

Now that you have published your first post, it's time to think about how to present your writing on your blog. Meet the Blog Posts block! You will use this to display your posts on the various pages of your site.

On your site's homepage, you could display all of your posts in a nice grid format. Then, you can create specific pages for different categories of posts, such as a Desserts page that only shows posts categorized as Desserts for example. It can all be done with the Blog Posts block!

Grid View - Blog Posts Block — Use the **Blog Posts block** to show posts on your pages

The navigation menu is the list of links you see at the top of a website that readers can use to find their way around your site. You can add your pages (like Home, About, and Contact), your categories, specific posts, and even links to other websites. Get started at My Site → Appearance → Customize → Menus.

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Remember, the content needs to exist before you can add it to your menu. Make sure to create your pages and categories first. Then you can add them to your menu!

Step 5: Get Your First Followers

Now that your blog is ready for the world, how do you get people to read it? First, add a prominent follow button using either the Subscription Form block (to any page or post) or the Follow Blog widget (to your sidebar or footer). Add both if you like!

Then, invite friends and family to click that follow button to be notified of your new posts. You can also connect your social networks to automatically share new posts to Facebook, Twitter, and more for extra exposure.

Bonus

If you have completed those five steps, you have a solid foundation for your blog. Here are some optional steps you may wish to do next:

Review your Discussion settings at My Site → Settings → Discussion to control how people can comment on your blog posts.
Browse different themes at My Site → Appearance → Themes to give your blog a different look.
Start a mailing list with the Mailchimp block.
Add Widgets to your footer or sidebar to make your site more interactive.

Happy blogging!

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