Travel, Laugh, & Live

There are a lot of guides that shows how to start a blog.  And yet, even after reading many sites, I was still confused when I started mine.  So, I'm going to share my version.  I'll detail in step-by-step a guide I would give myself if I were to start all over.

Step 1:  Identify your blog content.  You must at least have an idea of what you want to blog about.

Step 2:  Get a domain site.  I used godaddy.com to buy mine.  There are free sites like HubSpot.com where you can post your blogs, but I wanted a blog that I can monetize later on.  I was able to purchase my domain site for $.01 the first year, then an annual fee after that.  My domain site is www.ttastebuds.com.  You will have to come-up with a domain name that is currently available, this means that no one else is using it.  

Step 3:  Get your website hosted.  This is where I got confused.  I soon realized that buying a domain site is not the same as getting it hosted.  Getting it hosted means that a company will be giving you space to create and save your content.  Your content can include videos, links, blog writings, pictures, etch.  There are a lot who offers website hosting, since I bought my domain name from godaddy.com, I have my website hosted by godaddy.com as well.  There are pros and cons to going with godaddy.com, so do your research.  One pro that I find is that it is easy to create a website and add my content because there is no programming or coding necessary.  A big con is that because there is no coding, it is DIFFICULT to add custom codes such as Google Adsense to the site!  In fact, I have a customer service IT ticket opened with them right now!  I will update this blog, if and when, I get it resolved.

Step 3b:  If you are going to host with godaddy.com, choose your pricing structure plan.  If you want to add Google Adsense, you need more than just the basic plan.  If you are hoping to sell products, you need more than just the basic plan. 

Step 4:  Start creating your website.  If you are using the godaddy.com to host your website, it is easy to get started because the site provides easy to use templates.  You do need to decide on the number of pages you should have and what you want on each page.  A "blog" can be added to your site, by adding a "section" then selecting "blog."  Tips:  when you upload pictures and videos, add a title and description that you want to be used by Google or Bing/Yahoo when it searches your content.  This goes the same for titles and descriptions of any content you add on your webpage or blog.  I am mentioning this under the assumption that you do want your blog to be viewed by other internet users.

Step 5:  Submit your URL to Google

Step 6:  Submit your URL to Bing

Thats it!  Happy posting!

I will update this content as I learn more.