Top 3 Essentials for Starting a Blog

I don't know the reason for it, but there has definitely been a huge surge in interest in online publishing, or 'blogging' as it is known in geek parlance. Whether it is individuals wanting to express and share their creativity or small businesses recognising the value of publishing regular and useful articles for new and existing clients, more and more people are asking me where to start. This guide is for you.

As you'd expect, there are a million things you can do with your blog - that's why it is so exciting. What you do and how far you take it all depends what you want to achieve. The one thing all blogs have in common is that they must start somewhere. Get the foundations right and you can go on to build a cosy home or a business skyscraper. With that in mind, I scratched my head and came up with the top 3 essentials for starting your blog. That's the good news. The better news is that everything here is easy, it's all stuff you can do yourself if you wish. Of course, if you want to hire me for for advice or assistance, that'd be great - but it's really not necessary at this stage. I've purposely kept things simple so that you can begin right away. So, without further ado...

1. Register a domain name

Whoa there, don't freak out... I'm going to keep this non-technical. A domain is simply the bit (the name) before the .com .co.uk or .org - it's a way to distinguish yourself and something to become known by. My domain is www.OnlineBusinessConsultant.co.uk - and you'll use domains all the time without even thinking about it. I'm sure you're familiar with Google.com, Yahoo.com, Amazon.com - you see, nothing scary here.

You never 'own' a domain as such, you just register it in your name, which means it is yours alone to use, typically for a year or two. At the end of your registration period, you have first dibs to continue registering it in your name. Domain registration starts cheap, typically just a few £s or $s - though you can pay a lot more if you want to. The only hard part is deciding what name to register - this is how you'll become known on the internet. Of course, if you already have a website/domain name then you can skip this part - your blog will just reside at YourDomainName.com/blog.

Some general guidance on choosing a domain name... If your business is already established and you have (or want to build) a brand, then that's the name you want to register. Google and Yahoo don't mean anything, they're brands. If brand is less important to you, then choosing a domain which describes what you do/offer has many benefits. It's what I did with Online Business Consultant - it immediately communicates what the blog (or website) is about and it can help you appear nearer the top of search results when people look for that 'thing' (try a Google search for Online Business Consultant). There's a bit more to it than that, but it won't do you any harm and will probably help quite a bit in future. If you can, stick with .com .org .info or your country domain if appropriate (for example .co.uk in the United Kingdom).

Oh, a quick note before we move on... It is true that some blogging platforms offer free domains, but they're actually sub-domains e.g. YourBlog.BloggingCompany.com - which is no good for you or your brand. It doesn't look professional and one day you'll want your own fancy, independent domain, and the process of moving it over will be a costly nightmare. Domain names are so inexpensive, it is best to start as you mean to go on.

You're probably now thinking, 'how do I register a domain name?'. Don't worry about the 'hows' just yet, we'll come to that soon.

2. Choose a web host

A web what? Basically your website or blog (which is really just a series of computer files, like Word documents or images) has to live somewhere that is always available online so that anyone can access it at any time. In theory, you could host your website on your own computer, but you really wouldn't want to do that. Any time you turn your computer off, your site/blog would disappear from the web. And what would happen when you become popular and hundreds of people try to access it daily? Your computer would die a slow and painful death, and your visitors would have a horrible experience and leave. No, no - that can all be avoided by using a professional web hosting company. Web hosting can be free, but to host a decent blog you should expect to pay a few £s or $s each month.

In terms of cost, that's about it - whilst you can do it all for free, I'm recommending that you spend a total of less than $10 per month over the course of a year (including domain name registration). Whether it is a hobby or a business, that's very affordable for most people - and a must if you've ever going to do anything other than just publish your holiday photos for friends and family.

Once again, don't worry about which web host to use just yet, we'll come to that shortly.

3. Decide which blogging software to use

There are many options out there, but in terms of future-proofing your decision I'm going to recommend WordPress (specifically WordPress.org - which is the version you with a dedicated web host rather than have WordPress provide you with a free sub-domain and hosting... that is WordPress.com).

If you've never used any blogging software before, then you'll need to learn - but it is so, so easy. I'd say that if you can use a word processor to write a letter and you managed to find this article on the internet, then you'll be able to use the basic features of WordPress within minutes. If you so desire, you can then spend months learning all manner of fancy trickery - but there's no need to touch that when you're getting started (or indeed ever, unless you have a particular requirement).

Now for some great news...

You can pretty much do all three things (register a domain, get hosting and install WordPress on your site) in one fell swoop.

I'm going to recommend that you use JustHost. When you've finished reading this article, click the link to head over there and you'll receive:

• A free domain name (or 3 if you go for their Premium Plan).
  
• Web hosting starting from £2.95 or $3.45 per month (choose your country at the top right).
• Free (and easy) WordPress installation.

The link to JustHost is an affiliate link - which means I earn commission if you sign up with them. If you're not 100% comfortable with that, then you can visit their site directly or use an alternative web host. I'd always recommend using the service which you feel is best for your needs - and that might not necessarily be the one I recommend in an article written for general consumption.

Now I was intending to write a follow up to this that went into all the technical bits and pieces so that you can do everything recommended here by following a simple step-by-step guide. However, I stumbled across one which I happen to think is very good and it is already freely available as an article you can read online and also as a PDF download. So, if you're a DIY blogging kind of person, head over to read Diggy's free tutorial, How To Create Your Own Blog.

If you're not the DIY blogger type, whether that's is because you don't have the time right now or you prefer to concentrate purely on the writing rather than the technical stuff, then you can always hire me to assist. Even if it is just some advice you're after to ensure you're making the right decisions before starting out, I'd be happy to help out with that too... I do more than just hands-on tech. You can hire me by the hour or contact me about your requirements.

However you decide to proceed, I wish you all the best - it can be a lot of fun.

One final note - if you're reading this before December 15th 2010, then I'm raising money for SOS Children's Charity. You can really help by simply spreading the word on Twitter, Facebook or email. Make a donation or read more here (thank you)...