Have you always wanted to start a blogspot but don’t know where to start? If you’re a writer, whether freelance or not, it makes perfect sense: You can use a blogspot website as a platform to market your work or find new freelance writing clients. To get started, here is a step-by-step process on how to create a new blogspot.
- Pick a Domain Name
- Purchase a Hosting Package
- Choose a Blogging Platform
- Create a Maintenance Mode
- Select the Best Blog Theme
- Start Writing Your Blog Pages
- Create a Blog With Strikingly
How to Create a Website for Blogging?
1. Pick a Domain Name
The first order of business is choosing a domain name. If you are creating a website for a product or service that you are selling, then it is best to have the domain name checked through domain checkers before having it registered for business. You wouldn’t want to have to think of a business name so hard and won’t be able to use it because it’s already taken.
Another option you have is to use other endings instead of .com if the domain name is already taken. For a personal blogspot, you might find yourself with the same name as another person. If you’re committed and determined to this whole writing passion, you can also try putting a verb or a word right after your name to differentiate yourself from the others.
Pro tip: Opting for a creative blog name such as one that relates well to your theme may not be sustainable. Remember that your interests and target audience may change as the years go by. Going for something that wouldn’t change, like your name or nickname is the best way to go about it.
Finally, don’t wait for anything once you have decided on a domain name for your blogspot website. You’ll never know when someone out there will also be interested in the same domain name.
2. Purchase a Hosting Package
Once you have your domain set up, the next thing to do is to find a good deal of the hosting package. You might be wondering what a web host is. Well, your blogspot hosting company does all the technical or manages the back end to make sure your site appears when visitors or users type your domain name into their browser.
Choosing the right web hosting provider seems like a daunting task with so many technical terms to try to understand and hundreds of potential companies to choose from. A few questions at the tip of your tongue could include, "What are the perks of going for a shared hosting provider?”, “Would a landing page do the trick?, and “how much bandwidth do I really need?”
3. Choose a Blogging Platform
Next up is choosing blogspot templates. Strikingly has a slew of templates to help you get started with the design of your page. It is essential for your blogspot to have a great design that is easy to navigate. This is not only for the benefit of the user, but it is an important factor for your SEO as well.
4. Create a Maintenance Mode
Once you are done looking for a platform where you can make a free blogspot, it’s time to plan your maintenance page. This serves as your homepage while you are fixing the website. While working on the appearance of your blogspot, you might want to put up an “under construction” or “work in progress” pop up to greet visitors.
You don’t want any potential clients or readers to Google your name and find a half-finished site.
To set up maintenance mode, just download the maintenance page builder plugin. On your maintenance page, you can even include a link to your email newsletter or social media profile so visitors have an alternative way of getting in touch with you. When you’re ready to share your new blogspot with the world, you can simply deactivate and delete the plugin.
5. Select the Best Blog Theme
The technical stuff is over! We are now getting to the fun stuff. Your theme determines what your blogspot looks like, and you’ve got a lot of different options to choose from. Yes, there’s a wide range of free blogspot templates, but if you’re serious about blogging, the customization and support offered by paid themes is something you can take advantage of.
Genesis, one of the most popular premium themes available, is commonly used for pure blogging. Another popular and flexible theme is Thesis. If you are looking for a free blogspot template that is minimalist, then you can go for elegant themes.
Your blog can also serve as a marketing tool for your writing services. If you are going for this, you might want to look for a theme with a static home page. That way, your site will look professional and appealing to everyone.
Pro tip: Make sure your theme is “responsive,” meaning, it automatically adjusts to look good on any device. This should be able to be adjusted for other viewing purposes.
6. Start Writing Your Blog Pages
Though you’re starting a new blogspot and not a static website, you’ll still want a few pages that don’t need constant changes. Take note that pages are different from posts, which are the daily or weekly, monthly entries you publish on your blog.
Before getting into blogging, don’t forget to identify your blog niche first. Your blog niche would define the type of content you must release on your blogspot website. Once you’ve determined your niche, you can start looking for topics and themes that matter to them and they can enjoy. From then on, you can focus all your blogs based on their needs as your regular readers.
7. Create a Blog With Strikingly
If you want to make a free blogspot, there’s a free website builder you can use to make it happen. Now that you’ve learned the steps in creating a blogspot website, it’s time to put the hard work into your hands. With Strikingly, you can enjoy blogspot features that are intuitive, easy to learn, and fun to use.
If you want to get started with your very first blogspot with Strikingly, you must be aware of certain sections that you need to add to your site. Fortunately, Strikingly provides a wide array of features and tools that fit common blog standards. Here are some sections that you must add to blogspot websites you’ll create:
• About
Image taken from Strikingly user website
The about page is labeled as one of the most-viewed pages on blogspots, so don’t overlook it. Include a professional headshot (not a selfie) and a brief bio to explain why you’re blogging and why the reader should care. You should be able to answer questions in their mind, such as how you are so different from the others, what’s your plan, and everything that will book your services.
• Contact Us or Keep in Touch
Image taken from Strikingly user website
This page is where your readers can get in touch with you. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy; just tell your readers how best to reach you. Avoid putting your full email address on any page of your website, especially the main page of your blogspot, as spambots can get a hold of it. You can either use a contact form plugin or simply break down the words into your name AT your site DOT com to avoid getting spam messages.
• Portfolio
Image taken from Strikingly user website
It’s your blog, so you have the liberty to showcase everything that you have got. Show your prospective clients and readers that you deserve their time and attention with examples of your past and present work. You can name this page with whatever term you’d like to use. There are some pages that would use the word “words” or “case studies”.
• Work with me
Image taken from Strikingly user website
If you’re using your new blog to sell your writing services, this page is important. Be clear with how they can get in touch with you. The Work with me page is where you can also pitch yourself and your services with buttons that lead them to more information. With this page, you are basically guiding the reader on the customer journey. You might want to capture their attention and trust as early as when they are just checking out your packages.
Once you’ve set up all your pages, make sure they’re easily accessible from the home page.
Congratulations! You are almost ready to put the steps into practice to make your own blogspot website. In the end, creating a successful blogspot website is about hard work and passion. Keep posting helpful and engaging content, optimizing it for SEO, and sharing it with your networks — and you’ll soon see your new blogspot start to blossom. Take into account every step to get there without missing out on any page. Make sure that all pages are functional and working, with links, and of course, engaging content.
Eager to start your blogspot website today? Create a Strikingly account and kickstart your blogging journey to drive more readers to your site!
