Thinking about starting your own WordPress blog?
Starting something new can be scary, but building a website from scratch can be even scarier.
But not to worry, you are not alone!
Let’s jump into how you can create a blog on WordPress.
What Do You Need To Set Up A WordPress Blog?
There are 3 basic items you will need to create a WordPress blog:
- A domain name that will be your blog name
- A web hosting account
- 2 hours of your undivided attention
How To Create A Blog Post On WordPress?
Create A New Blog Post:
When creating a blog on WordPress, first log into the WordPress administrator area and check for the ‘Posts’ option from the menu on the left. Select the ‘All Posts’ option in the dialogue box.
When you start adding more and more blogs to your website, there may be occasions when you want to add multiple articles at the same time. To do this, select the ‘Bulk Action’ option on the All Posts homepage.
Add new content:
Once you select the ‘New’ post option, you will be moved to a blank canvas where you can add your content.
Pro Tip: Keep saving your work – WordPress automatically saves your progress, but it is best to click the ‘Save Draft’ option. Also, get your article ready before you add it to WordPress so that you do not have to edit or format the writing.
Now you can start adding in your content. Copy and Paste your original text directly into the WordPress page. WordPress has its very own inbuilt block editor. This helps create blocks for every content section. This is perfect to add Headings, paragraphs, images, and links.
Uploading Images:
Once you have your content ready, the next step is to add images to the article. Images help make your article more readable and visually interesting. Start by pressing enter and adding a new block. Click on the ‘+’ button in the top left corner to choose the ‘Image block’. You can now browse and upload your image. Select the source of your image:
- WordPress media library,
- Upload from the computer,
- Insert from URL from sites like Flikr
When your image is uploaded, add the ‘alt text’ for your image to help improve accessibility and improve SEO. Once you upload the image, it should be visible in the selected block.
Add Links:
Another great way to boost your article quality is by adding internal and external links. Adding an anchor text will also help indicate to search engine site crawlers what your page is about.
There are two ways you can hyperlink your content –
- Select the text you want to hyperlink and click on the floating menu box to select the link icon. In the box that appears add in the URL. Click enter and your content is hyperlinked.
- You can also add hyperlinks by using the keyboard shortcut. Select the text you want to be hyperlinked, and press Command + K (for Mac) or Control + K (for PC) to open the link box. Add in the URL.
Pro Tip: If you want the reader to stay on your page, while opening an external link, make sure the option to open external links on the new tab is open.
Formatting the post:
It is just as important to organize your content as it is to write it out well. Without the proper format, your audience will get overwhelmed by massive text blocks and will drop out of the page. Here’s how you can properly format your post.
Headings:
Adding headings will tell the reader your page hierarchy. It is the best situation for you – readers know what they can expect, and your site becomes more crawlable for search engines.
An H1 is the title of the article and lives at the article’s top. A blog post will only have one H1. If you add more than one H1 tag, it will add more risk for search engines.
Next in line is the H2 subheadings. These always go below the H1 post. You can add more than 2 or 3 H2 subheadings in a blog post. They always go below an H1 heading. All subsequent subheadings like H3, and H4 will follow this pattern.
This results in a more palatable reading experience for visitors to your blog and makes it easier for search engines to crawl.
To change a heading in a WordPress blog, first, look for the menu box and select the paragraph button that is highlighted in blue. Select the ‘Heading’ option and depending on the CSS settings of your website, you can change the text size, and even the color.
If you want to edit the heading type, click the H2 button in the menu and select the correct heading.
Images:
Images help make your blog post more engaging, so it is important to format them correctly.
Here’s how you can do it:
Start by selecting your image as previously shown. Look for the floating box menu in your image and select the format button – the tab with three horizontal lines. Next, choose which alignment you want for your image – left, middle, or right. Remember to stay consistent with the alignment so readers do not face any confusion while reading.
Preview of the post:
Once you have your blog post ready, it is now time to preview the post before going live. Select the ‘Preview’ button on the right corner of the top. Choose if you want to preview it in a desktop, mobile, or tablet version. Take a look to see if there are any errors in placement or images in the post. To make any edits, simply go back to the editor tab and make adjustments.
Once you are happy with the way your blog looks, you can publish your first WordPress blog!
Publishing the post:
When you want to publish a post, click on the ‘Publish’ option in the top right corner of the WordPress page. You will be shown a few publishing options especially when it comes to visibility. If you want the post to be open to everyone, then make it public.
You can also schedule when your post goes live. When you schedule the date and time, then the blog will automatically go live then.
Adding Tags:
Now that your blog post is published, you can add tags to it. These will help your readers navigate posts that are in the same category. This section is optional, so you can leave it blank if you do not have a categorization process in place.
Congratulations your blog post is now live!
Conclusion
There are dozens of aspects to look into when creating a blog on WordPress. With some practice, you can make it easier to create quality posts and upload them easily on your website. The better your posts, the easier it is for search engines to crawl and the faster you can gain traffic. With a higher number of traffic, you can get more leads which in turn will help you make more money.
In the end, it all boils down to how well you write, and upload your blogs. And just like with any other task – practice makes perfect!
