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How To Start A WordPress Blog On Bluehost

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 735 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Today, you will learn all about easily creating a blog on your own and how to start a WordPress blog. Blogging is what changed my life and allowed me to make thousands of dollars a month, all by doing something that I love. Plus, you can start a money-making blog for just a few dollars a month! Below, I have included discounted pricing that I personally negotiated with Bluehost so that all of you can start a blog for cheap. You will also receive a free blog domain through my link too. Act quick though because I’m not sure how long these low prices will last!

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Bluehost, and will receive a commission if you sign up through my referral link. This is at no additional cost to you, and you will get great pricing and a free domain name through my link.

Click here to start a blog on WordPress, then use the tutorial below for the easy directions.

If you’re looking to start a WordPress blog for cheap, then choosing Bluehost for your hosting needs may be your answer. Bluehost is a great web host and I personally have had a great experience with them.

Blogging has been one of the best things ever for me. As you can tell from my business income reports, I now make over $100,000 a month from my blogging-related services. I earned over $979,000 in one year through blogging, over $1,500,000 another year, and over $1,600,000 in another.

I am able to work from home, I can travel whenever I want, I have a flexible schedule and more. I am absolutely loving life and I can’t believe how much my life has improved in just the past few years.

Anyone can make money with a blog, and I was able to make the money back that I paid for blog hosting very quickly. It is well worth it to pay for blog hosting and I’m sure you will be able to make your money back quickly as well.

Bluehost is one of the top web hosting companies this year and you can start your own blog with them for as low as $2.75 a month (this low price is through my link only)! Also, if you sign up using my link, then you will get your domain for free if you purchase a 12 month or longer hosting plan (a $15 value). I highly recommend signing up for the 12 month hosting plan through Bluehost. It’s affordable and you can save a lot of money by signing up for at least 12 months. If you want a better deal, the best value would be purchasing a 36 month plan, as your monthly rate is much lower over the long run.

You may be thinking, “Well I can just start on Blogger for a little cheaper and learn how to make a blog that way” NOOOOO… Don’t do that. There are so many reasons for why a Blogger/Blogspot blog is a really bad idea, and why you should instead setup a WordPress blog on Bluehost.

If you are interested in ever making money off your blog, freelancing or turning it into a business, then paying for your hosting, such as through Bluehost, is a MUST. It’s extremely cheap as well to go through Bluehost AND you get a free domain (for the first year). You can run any of your own advertisements, affiliate links, direct advertising, etc. with a blog ran on Bluehost. Making money on Blogger or any other free blogging platform is very difficult, and in many cases never happens. Most advertisers and companies tend to run away from Blogger websites because they don’t view them as professional as self-hosted WordPress blogs, so that’s another big reason to use Bluehost.

Also, if you take a look at my past income reports, you can tell that my income through blogging didn’t take off until right at the exact moment I switched to WordPress. That’s a lot of proof right there that being self-hosted on WordPress is the way to go!

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

There are many reasons for why you may want to choose Bluehost for your WordPress blog and I honestly believe they are one of the best web hosting providers. These reasons include:

  • It’s easy to use. Yes, ANYONE can create a WordPress blog easily with my tutorial below. Bluehost makes it very easy to create a WordPress blog.
  • Bluehost web hosting offers technical support.
  • Bluehost is extremely affordable and they offer cheap web hosting. You can have a blog of your own and the only real expense you need to pay is the cheap blog hosting which starts at just $2.75 per month.
  • You get a FREE blog domain.
  • WordPress through Bluehost is FREE.
  • Bluehost offers a guarantee in case you determine that it is not for you. If you sign up for Bluehost, but you are confused for any reason (such as how to set it up, picking a plan, pricing, etc.), you can always send me an email and I can help you out.
  • You will be self-hosted. If you want to monetize your blog, then you will want to be self-hosted.
  • You will appear much more professional to readers, companies, and so on if you are self-hosted on Bluehost than being on Blogspot.

First, you will need to head on over to Bluehost to do any of this. There are many web hosting companies out there, but Bluehost is honestly one of the best. There is a reason why many bloggers choose Bluehost for their web hosting needs.

If you plan on starting a blog on Bluehost and you are interested in learning how to start a blog on WordPress, continue below. Remember, if you sign up for Bluehost, but you are confused for any reason (such as how to set it up, picking a plan, pricing, etc.), you can always send me an email and I can help you out. That’s what I’m here for so don’t be afraid to send me an email.

Click here to start the process.

 

How to start a WordPress blog on Bluehost

 

1. Register your domain name.

You can click here to purchase a domain name and create a blog, then continue to follow the easy steps below.

The very first thing you will need to do when starting a WordPress blog on Bluehost is to think about what you want your domain name to be. This can be tough, and I would give some serious thought to this.

I don’t even remember how I came up with my blog name. It’s a long one though and at times I regret it. Trying to spell out my blog name to people who don’t know about it can get frustrating because they don’t know if I’m saying “cents” or “sense!”

You can get your domain directly through Bluehost and make the whole process very easy. If you do this, you can get a FREE domain for the first year as long as you buy 12 months worth of Bluehost web hosting. This makes it well worth it to sign up for at least 12 months of hosting as you will be saving a good amount of money this way. You also get a cheaper monthly price when you buy at least 12 months of hosting, so the free domain just makes it even better. If you want an even better deal, the best value would be purchasing a 36 month plan, as your monthly rate is much lower over the long run. If you decide to get the free domain, just continue to the next step as you can buy your hosting and get the free domain all in one step.

 

 

2. Buy hosting for your blog.

Setting up a WordPress blog on Bluehost is very easy. First, we will talk about the costs of blogging:

  • To receive the cheapest price to start a blog, then choosing the “Basic” plan is really all you need. It’s only $2.75 per month through my link (due upfront in full) if you sign up for 36 months, which is a great price. If you sign up for a 24 month plan, then the price is $3.95 per month. If you sign up for a 12 month plan, then the price is $4.95 per month. $4.95 is still extremely affordable and it’s a great plan to choose (especially since you get a free domain at this price still!). If you are unsure about blogging, I would sign up for the 12 month plan as this is still a great price and very affordable for one year of blogging. If you purchase a 12 month plan, your total price is only $59 a year, which is still a great price. Plus, you still receive the free domain name when you sign up for 12 months or more which saves you money. The best value would be purchasing a 36 month plan, as your monthly rate is much lower over the long run.
  • The Basic plan is all you really need for now, so skip the Plus and Business Pro plans as they are more expensive. You can always change it later to a different plan if you want to (and just pay the difference), so there is no need to sign up for extra that you do not need.
  • The other item you may want to pay for when it comes to blogging is Domain Privacy Protection, which is only $0.99 per month. This is so that your contact information stays safe.
  • Other than the above, you do not need the other items that Bluehost sells, so I would uncheck any of the extras that are listed.
  • Remember, if you sign up using my link, then you will get your domain for free if you purchase a 12 month or longer blog hosting plan.

I want to reiterate why you should purchase at least a 12 month hosting plan. Month-to-month is less effective, and I highly recommend signing up for a minimum of 12 months for many reasons. By signing up for a minimum of 12 months, you will receive a free domain name, lower pricing, and you won’t have to deal with an expired website after each month. For example, if hosting is not renewed or if the card expires, then your website is down and you risk losing business (visitors/traffic) when you pay on a month-to-month basis. It’s also exceptionally more expensive to pay month-by-month rather than in one lump sum. The more years you sign up for, the less you pay.

Blog hosting will most likely cost you around $59 a year on average, or $99 for 3 years, which is a great deal! If you purchase a 12 month plan, your total price is only $59 a year, which is a great price. The best value would be purchasing a 36 month plan, as your monthly rate is much lower over the long run.

When you are ready to create your blog, follow the steps below to buy hosting for your blog.

  1. Go to Bluehost and click the “Get Started Now” button.
  2. Click on the package you are interested in.
  3. Enter your domain name you registered with earlier, or sign up for a new domain name here.
  4. Enter your personal and payment information.
  5. Next you will be asked to enter a password. Make sure it’s secure as this information is very important.

If you have any problems, please send me an email at michelle@makingsenseofcents.com. I have a great person at Bluehost who can help solve any of your issues quickly and easily!

 

3. Connect your domain and your hosting.

Note: You can skip this section (Section 3) if you buy your domain directly through Bluehost.

If you buy your domain through Go Daddy, then you will need to connect your domain to your hosting account. Go Daddy has a full support page for setting nameservers for your domain names. Below is a snippet:

“When you register a domain name with us, we set it up on our parked nameservers so a temporary page displays when visitors go to your website. After you determine which hosting provider to use, you can change your domain name’s nameservers to remove the parked page and activate your domain name.

If you registered your domain name with another provider, you can still purchase a hosting account with us, use our Off-site DNS services, or use our CashParking® or Quick Content services. If you do any of those, you must view your nameservers in your account with us, and then set the nameservers with your domain name registrar.”

How to modify your DNS Nameservers when you are using Go Daddy for your domain and Bluehost for your hosting:

  1. Log into the GoDaddy.com Account Manager.
  2. Select Manage Domains from the Domain Names drop-down menu or the Manage Your Account list.
  3. Select the domain name you wish to modify using the checkboxes and then click Set Name Servers.
  4. Enter your updated name server information in the spaces provided under the blue Name Servers heading on the right side of your page and click Save Changes at the bottom. Your entries should look like this: ns1.bluehost.com; ns2.bluehost.com.

You will then need to add the domain you bought (such as through GoDaddy) as an addon domain to your Bluehost web hosting. You can do this by clicking on “Domains” when logged into your Bluehost web hosting account and then clicking on “assign.” Follow the steps and it is very easy!

 

 

4. Install WordPress on Bluehost.

Okay, this is probably the step that all of you have been waiting for. If you want to start a WordPress blog on Bluehost then continue reading.

This part isn’t hard at all. Bluehost makes it very easy to create a WordPress blog and it is FREE.

  • After you create your password, Bluehost guides you through exactly what you need to do in order to start a blog.
  • First, Bluehost will ask you to pick a theme. You can just pick a random one here or find one that you actually like. You can change it later so it’s not a big deal or just scroll to the bottom and skip this step. Remember, there are many free ones too!
  • Click on “Start Building”
  • On the next screen, you can choose “Business” or “Personal” – it’s up to you. Or, you can click the “I don’t need help.”

WOOHOO! You now have a WordPress blog. You will have to work on the design and producing high-quality content, of course. Good luck!

If you sign up for Bluehost, but you are confused for any reason (such as how to set it up, picking a plan, pricing, etc.), you can always send me an email and I can help you out. That’s what I’m here for so don’t be afraid to send me an email at michelle@makingsenseofcents.com

Some general tips for how to navigate WordPress:

  • You can add and create new posts by clicking on “Posts” on the left-hand side when you are logged in.
  • If you want to add an image, click on “Media” on the left-hand side.
  • You can go to “Appearance,” then “Widgets” in order to add items to your sidebar, footer, and so on.
  • If you are looking for a way to send newsletters or emails to your readers, I recommend Convertkit.
  • If you are looking into the actual design of your blog, Kadence and Astra seem to be the most popular right now. Or, there are free themes through WordPress you can use too. Just go to “Appearance” on the left-hand side when you are logged into your WordPress website and click on “Themes,” then activate whichever one you are interested in testing out. By doing this, you can start designing your website easily! Another option would be to buy a premade blog design, which you can find on Etsy or searching on Google.
  • I recommend checking out my online course for bloggers, Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing. I earn over $50,000 a month through affiliate marketing and I share my exact strategy and tips in this very informative online course. If you’re a blogger (even if you’re a new blogger!), then you NEED this course.

Here are more blogging-related posts you should take a look at after you learn how to start a WordPress blog:

Do you have a blog? Do you use Bluehost for blogging? Share your blogging mistakes as well! Hope you enjoyed my tutorial on how to start a WordPress blog on Bluehost.

 

Related Posts

About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  1. Jay says

    I recently started a blog with my wife and we follow your instructions to the T. Your site is our blogger bible and we wouldn’t have even started if I didn’t stumble upon your blog. Thanks for the inspiration and information!

    diyourselfonabudget.com

    Is our site where we will share all our tips on staying healthy, improving our marriage, buying and updating a lake house, raising kids, and all the projects we do on ONE SALARY.

    Thanks again Michelle!

    Reply

  2. Jay says

    Hi Michelle

    Thank you for writing such a great tutorial. I just started a blog myself literally a couple weeks ago after pondering over the idea for several years. I hope to learn from professional bloggers like you.

    Reply

  5. Piyush Jain says

    Hi, I already have a domain in GoDaddy and already purchased a space to host my website. I upload my weekly work there. Is it not a good idea? How can I make money from that? What is your opinion, is it imp to use Bluehost for services?

    Reply

  7. Solomon Marsh says

    I started working on my blog mid last year, and I lost focus along the way. By then I had only written like 13 blog posts. By the end of march this year I came across this blog and I got the needed motivation to keep moving.

    I started looking for materials to read more about blogging and other related aspects. Right now I am motivated, and I think I am moving in the right direction since I know what I am doing now.

    I came to realize it is more about passion; finding that niche that you like, and you are comfortable providing information.

    As from mid April, I started putting in the work. I made my first conversion this week. It feels so good. I am looking forward to the journey ahead as a blogger.

    Reply

  8. Suz Priestas says

    Hi Michelle,

    I have a question about starting a new blog. I am in the process of opening an ecommerce store, and I want to start a blog with it. Can I incorporate your system for affiliate blogging with this set up??? Please advise & Thank you!
    ~Suz

    Reply

  9. Jason says

    Your story inspired me to start my own blog. JustHustling.com

    I frequently provide advice to others and blogging helps me reach a wider audience.

    Thanks Michelle!

    Reply

  10. Virginia says

    Hi Michelle,

    I’ll start by saying thank you for always putting out great content, I’ve been reading your blog since 2018 and it’s one of the reasons I decided to start my very own blog. I always keep coming back to learn something new and hopefully one of this days I’ll share my success story with you 🙂

    Anyways, thanks again and God bless!

    Reply

  11. Julia says

    Dearest Michelle,
    A few weeks ago I was inspired to start blogging after much thought. I even purchased one of your courses which has been amazing! A treasure of great information. However, I’m simultaneously, creating my blog site and the technical side has been very challenging for me. All the information as to how to start a blog and where to go and downloading a theme, etc., has been great, but again the small details is what’s holding me back from starting to write my blog. I spent three days just trying to create a contact page! LOL!!! Any chance you might know or can recommend a crash course on WordPress? Maybe a course that walks you through the creation of a website/blog from start to finish…? I’m feeling a bit over my head. Thanks!

    Reply

    • ashley says

      You can download the WordPress app for your phone. I have it on my phone and I use it to work on my blog when I don’t have my computer handy.

      Reply

  13. Pamela says

    Hello Michelle.
    I want to direct my blog to a certain age group. I’ve never bloged before. Do you have any suggestions on how to do that?

    Thank you so much in advance.

    Reply

  14. Murray Hough says

    Years ago I purchased a domain (currently parked) and hosting through Go Daddy, but have not been happy with how difficult it has been to design my website. What do I have to do to change everything over to Bluehost and WordPress?

    Reply

  15. Ummi Lawan says

    Hi Michelle,

    Thank you for this post. This has finally given me the strength and confidence I needed to start my own blog. I have always thought that I can’t do it because I am not a natural writer. But I really want to share my experiences with others so that they can benefit from my mistakes and my achievements. I admire you and hope to meet you one day! Thank you!

    Reply

  16. Shawn Pitner says

    Hello Michelle,   I recently signed up for your email list and I was wondering if you had an article that covered the legal side of your blog?  For example, did you register a business license with your county or state?  Are you considered a sole proprietor or did you create an LLC?  Did you open a business bank account to keep all of your business transactions separate from your personal account?  You may have already covered this somewhere but I wasn’t able to find it.  Thank You,
        Shawn

    Reply

  17. Ritz says

    Dear Michelle,

    I stumbled through and finally got a blog up and running (bluehost domain and WordPress blog). However, wrote a bunch of stuff AND published the posts, but, the visitors can’t like my posts. Is it true that all visitors need to be registered users of WordPress to hit the “like” button? How does on then generate traffic

    Reply

  20. Angela Bronson says

    Michelle,

    I just want to say thank you for being so generous with your knowledge, experience and expertise! I have been following you for over a year, been on your mailing list, purchased a course, etc.

    There were many times when I wanted to quit during the early stages of launching my blog, but your advice and encouraging content kept me from giving up! Thanks again!
    (Angie from createwithcodedragon.com)

    PS
    will soon be purchasing your Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing course and can’t wait

    Reply

  21. Sarah says

    I’ve tried subscribing to your course with my email a few times, but haven’t received anything! Is the blogging course still active?

    Reply

    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      Hello!

      I looked at your email address in the system and it says you first signed up for the course in 2016 and read all the emails from that. Due to that, the email platform won’t send the same emails twice due to spam reasons.

      If you’d like, you can sign up under a different email address, or send me an email at michelle@makingsenseofcents.com and I can send you the email manually.

      Reply

  23. Fran L Cone says

    Hi Michelle, I have a fledgling home stager / redesign business. I have a website through Wix, and possibly through Squarespace (I say possibly because my son designed something for me there, for me to edit, but I haven’t really done that yet.) I purchased a domain name and have worked MANY hours on my Wix site. I need to know if my blog should be in the same name or a slightly different one and hosted on Bluehost? If yes, to the Bluehost answer, do you know if it’s then shareable somehow on my Wix or Squarespace site? Also, my business name is A Certain Charm Interiors. I would like to blog about a wider variety of things than just interiors, and thus wonder if a name for my blog that includes the word “charm” would be enough of a link? For example, “Third Time’s The Charm”? Thanks so much! Fran

    Reply

  24. Abigail Harper says

    Thanks for sharing such a great piece of content. Your post is a big help to clear things out especially for a beginner like me. Could you please suggest to me which hosting will be best for the HD graphic with a larger images portfolio site?

    Reply

  25. Sharon C. says

    Hello Michelle,

    I am a semi-retired teacher consultant. I have been working at learning the skill of blogging since August. My initial goal was to do affiliate marketing with Amazon. I read a lot of material, but sometimes I feel more confused than directed about what to do next.

    I see that you offer a course on affiliate marketing. I have a few questions/comments that make me think I might be too old for blogging.

    QC 1: I think I know that I must have some type of audience in order to make any money at affiliate marketing. I ask b/c your article says that I do not need a lot of followers which is a good thing b/c I don’t have them.

    QC 2: My site is on WordPress and it includes Bluehost some kind of way. I have what is called a beginner website. I am not sure what will happen if I try to make it a pro-site. Any suggestions on how I can fix that problem.

    QC 3: I want my writing to be about saving money. My site is moneygrowinggranny.com. I began it because I want grandparents to see the importance of teaching their grand children how to save. I see far too many individuals get caught up in debt with credit cards before they understand what is happening. The problem, not many older people read finance articles or maybe just my articles.

    Any suggestions you have are appreciated.
    Sharon

    Reply

  26. Lisa says

    Thank you!!! You inspired me to start a blog in my free time! I started it in December, but started taking it seriously in January and within 3 months, I now have my first $750 month! I am getting messages daily now about how I’m helping people and changing their lives. It’s been very exciting and rewarding! Thank you for the inspiration! =)

    Reply

  28. Ron says

    Took some advice from your blog and made some $$ last night while I slept. You are now my #1 source of information for blogging and making money.

    Thanks for sharing!

    Reply

  29. Lisa says

    Thank you! This article is what helped me start my blog. I’ve now made my first $750 in 1 month. Thank you for your inspiration!

    Reply

  30. Arlyne Draper says

    I am using.my.husband’s blog. It is on WordPress. He passed away October.18, 2018. I promised I would. It is my goal to continue his blog about our travels and adventures. We retired in 2005 and even with our two children growing up we traveled within the US extensively. The blog has a name already. Arlyne Draper

    Reply

  31. Larry Prehm says

    I’m not sure anyone would be interested in reading my blog, should I decide to have one. I’m 80 years old and have a tendency to tell my experiences at “get-to-gathers”…(I don’t call them parties anymore). I’ve been told I should have a blog. Samples: I hitchhiked from IA to NY as a teen to peddle my cartoons…and sold a few. In the Air Force I was flying over Cuba during the Cuban Crisis. In the 60’s I sailed to over 30 countries as a ship’s photographer. Married…and traveled in US & Canada in 3 campers and England and New Zealand in rented campers. Too many pleasure cruises to list here. When I retired in 2006 I wrote a POD book. I thought I might serialize it…Or just do a “Then&Now” blog. Anything of interest here?

    Reply

  34. May says

    Hi, I’ve just recently started my own blog, My Jammy Life (jammiesinmylife.com). I will be sharing my stories of my life journey. Hope I’ll get readers and eventually subscribers!

    Reply

  35. Elizabeth Hollingsworth says

    i signed up for your free blogging course. it sent me to convertKit & no email for the free course. what is convertKit? is that to be used in addition to Bluehost?

    Reply

  38. Cindy says

    Hi Michelle,

    Some folks are saying that Blue Host is not as reliable as some others. Do you have any suggestions on this? Thanks!

    Reply

  39. Wendy says

    I am very confused. I signed on to start a blog through Bluehost…and am not sure if WordPress is a part of it. I tried setting of a theme with WordPress and Bluehost websites are totally different. Which is better? Using Bluehost or WordPress. I want to eventually e-commerce…once I am comfortable with the platform I’m using.

    Reply

  40. Bruce says

    Hi, Michelle is your website both business/personal?
    That question is asked as to how to register.
    Must my blog be a LLC or sole proprietorship?

    Reply

    • Michelle Schroeder-Gardner says

      I don’t think it matters which one you choose when you’re answering that question. I think they may just ask that more-so as a survey.

      I can’t answer your last question as it’s a legal question. I recommend doing your research. Some people are sole proprietorship and others are LLCs. My blog is an LLC.

      Reply

  41. Francis TCHIOUNDRO says

    Salut Michelle.
    J’ai lu avec attention tes écris. Je suis Africains. Je vis au Bénin.
    J’ai envi d’acheté ta formation mais je ne maitrise pas bien l’Anglais. J’aimerais savoir si toute la formation est en vidéo ou si je peux avoir la formation en version PDF en ligne. Comme cela, je pourrai faire la traduction anglais français.
    Merci de m’aider

    Reply

  42. Helen Howells Cook says

    Hey Michelle
    I am based in the UK so am I able to use WordPress and Bluehost in the same way.
    I am looking to start a blog about adopted children and the challenges they face.

    Thanks for your advice and generosity.

    Kind regards
    Helen:)

    Reply

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