How To Start a WordPress Blog With Your Own Domain Name

Blogging is fun, potentially profitable, and a superb way to form online relationships and increase your credibility on a subject. (And, not incidentally, being an active blogger and active on HubPages is a powerful combination, so if you haven't yet joined HubPages do so now).

Of the various blogging platforms out there—like Blogger.com and TypePad—WordPress offers the greatest flexibility. Here's how to get started with your WordPress blog, using your own domain name, in five steps:

Hiring a company to host your new WordPress site gives you complete freedom to do what you like with your blog—you can use any domain name, run any online software, write about any subject. Even a high-end blog costs only a few bucks a month.

There are at least a dozen good hosting companies to choose from. Really, you can't go wrong choosing any one of them. Given that, consider using an environmentally friendly hosting company called ThinkHost. They company runs 100% on renewable energy. They plant a tree for every new customer. And they charge only $7.95 a month.

For reviews of three other great hosting options, including one that costs only $4.94 a month, check out our review of WordPress blog hosts.

If you've already started thinking about what domain name you want then you already know: An annoying number of domain names are already taken. This is especially true of names that end in dot com.

Many people eventually give up on finding a good available dot com name and settle for a dot net or dot cc. Before going that route try getting creative with a dot com name. Consider adding a verb before your name or subject matter. If your blog is about ice skating, for example, try startskating.com or becomeskating.com or enjoyskating.com. Action verbs can make for a powerful start to a blog name.

As for buying the domain name itself, often you can do that at the same time as you sign up with a hosting company. If you do that your domain name will automatically be set up for your blog.

If you buy a domain name through another company, GoDaddy for example, you'll have to change the "nameservers" (sometimes called "DNS servers") to point to your blog host. Your host will tell you their DNS server names when you sign up (you should get two such names). Then with your domain name registrar and type in those nameservers. On GoDaddy this is done by clicking on your domain name in "My Domains" and then clicking on the names under "Nameservers." See the screenshot below.

For advice on buying a domain name see the hub The Best Companies For Buying a Domain Name.

The exact process WordPress depends upon who your website host is. If you go with ThinkHost (see step #1, above) they use a host management system called cPanel and an automatic installation system called Fantastico. The combination of these two (cPanel + Fantastico) makes installing WordPress easy. The video below will take you through the process.

One tip: When you install WordPress you'll be asked to choose a user name and password. This information can difficult to recover when lost so write it down in a safe place (and consider emailing it to yourself).

Once you've installed WordPress your blog will automatically be up and running! However, it will also be in a basic, limited, design.

For a more interesting design you need to choose a new "theme." There are literally thousands to choose from. You don't need to have any design skills or computer knowledge. Simply pick your desired theme, follow the installation instructions, and voilà.

Many WordPress themes are free. A good place to start your search is at WordPress's theme directory. However, for bloggers with limited computer skills it may be worth paying for the excellent Thesis Theme. Thesis is designed for WordPress beginners—for nearly any modification you want to make to your blog the helpful Thesis Theme website will have a clear easy-to-follow set of instructions.

Congratulations! If you've followed the above four steps you now have a blog with your own website hosting company, using your own domain name and sporting your own page design.

You are now ready to start writing content for your blog. Under "posts" in the left column of the WordPress dashboard simply click on "add new." You'll get a visual editor that will look a little like the HubPages one (see the screenshot below). Write your post, click "publish" and your post will automatically appear online.

See our guide on How To Write Enormously Popular Blog Posts for tips creating posts that will bring readers flocking to your new blog.

Good luck!

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