How To Start A Travel Blog

Congratulations!! I am very excited you are on this journey of starting a blog! Veteran blogger? Click here for tips and tricks to refresh your blog! After reading through this post you will have a great foundation for starting a blog and your ideas for your blog if you already have one! I will take you through three different levels of blogging. This is the first level of blogging.

I know when I first started, I was very discouraged and overwhelmed with all the information that was thrown at me. I felt I had to have the “top 10 things” to make my blog successful. Of course, those things help; but I needed to get a firm foundation before incorporating those things in my blog. If you already have a blog, here are some helpful hints to keep your website alive and thriving!

Let’s get started!

Beginner

As a beginner it is a bit overwhelming to start a blog. But don’t give up just yet! After reading through this post you will be well on your way to becoming a professional blogger! I will take you step by step on how to create your blog; if you have any questions, be sure to comment below! Or send me an email!

Keep in mind, a blog takes time, you may not experience stardom overnight; however, if you keep going and surround yourself with other bloggers, you will make it!

Name For Your Blog

First and foremost, you need a name! I would take your time with this, but don’t overthink it. My husband came up with the name Dalton’s Destinations, we had no idea what we really wanted to do. All we knew is we loved to travel and wanted to start this blog.

So, your blog name can be your personal name, like ours. It helps if you think of three words that describe your blog. Mine is travel, photography, and blogging tips. Think of something that people would remember, a name that would stick out in front of the rest!

**Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.**

Hosting Your Site

Ok, now that you have a name, you need a place to post your website! You need a host site in order to do this. What I use is Bluehost and I love it!

What is hosting anyway? Basically, a hosting company is allowing you to use space on their computers for your site.

This was a factor I had to research a lot! There are so many hosting sites out there and I wasn’t quite sure which one was best. And I am not an IT person; so, all the terms and such were just confusing!

Bluehost

I finally found the best option, Bluehost! It was super easy to set up and I have never had any issues with it!

After working with Bluehost; they agreed to give you all a discount on their hosting! Woo! When you use this link; you will pay only just $3.95 a month, rather than $7.99.

Bluehost is the cheapest hosting site I have found; they have a live chat support team and are able to help very quickly!

When you signup using Bluehost, you receive your domain name for free! (Most times the cost another $50).

Follow this guide for an easy 10-minute setup!

Go to Bluehost’s main page:

Ok, click the “get started now” green button, and you will be directed to their different hosting plans:

The best, when you are just starting out is the cheapest plan. That way if anything changes in your future with your blog, you can upgrade when your blog gains traffic! Click which plan you want, then decide on your domain name:

If you already have a domain name, you may type it in the box on the right.

If not, write the name you want for your blog!

**Please be sure to check for spelling errors!!**

Then, fill in your name, address, and your package info….

I chose the 36-month plan, it ends up being $3.95 a month, rather than $7.99  a month for the 12-month plan. I know this sounds like a big commitment but investing in your blog is so huge and a great way for it to succeed!

The final step is payment info and you are done!

Yay! You now have a hosting site and a domain name!

WordPress

The next step is installing WordPress. All you have to do is choose your password.

You will then pick them; don’t put too much thought into this. There are so many other themes to choose from that will make your blog pop! Choose a temporary one for now.

Ready?! Click start building!!

You will be asked whether your site is for personal or business. Of course, you want this to be your main hustle, so hit business! Yes!

Click Launch!

Set up:

A few boxes will appear on the screen; go ahead and fill those out. Keep in mind you can always go back and change them if you need to!

It may ask the following:

• Are you going to update your blog with news or blog posts?

Answer: YES

• You can choose which home page you want; I chose a static welcome page just because I like that look better. (Tends to look more professional).

• For your business address I chose ‘not now’ due to the fact that it is my home and I would want the whole internet to know where I live. 😊

• It will ask if you want to install Woocommerce: If you already have products ready to sell; go ahead and install Woocommerce. If not, click not now, you can install later when you are ready to start selling services and products!

Yay, the tedious part is over! Congratulations, you own your very own WordPress blog!

To log in to your site, type http://yourdomainname.com/wp-admin into your google searches. Type in your username and password, then this screen will pop up:

When you enter ‘my sites’ on the first page you will see in the WordPress dashboard. On the left-hand side is where all the main features are on to running your blog!

•Posts (This will be where your published blog posts will go)

•Pages (I use this for my contact page and about me page)

•Appearance (This is where you can customize your blog to how you want it to look)

•Plugins (essential to your blog!)

•Settings

Theme

One of the things I did most as a beginner blogger was search other blogs I loved for inspiration! Find out what look you are going for, and what attracts your eye! Buying a theme for my blog was one of the best decisions I made for my blog.

The theme I use is Oleander theme by Solo Pine. It is super easy to customize with and easy-to-use widgets! There is a fee of $49, but it is a one-time cost and I truly believe your readers will love it!

Once you buy the theme, solo pine has a step by step on how to install the theme into WordPress.

Banner

Think of this as your signature or logo. What images will come to the mind of your readers when they see your blog? This will be front and center on your blog…this is what makes your blog ‘you’. One app I love to use to create banners is Canva – and it is free!

Plugins

Ok, now that your blog is looking more beautiful by the minute, it’s time to add those essential plugins! These are installed through WordPress and will give your blog some great features and help with functionality!

• Contact Form 7: This is probably the most important plugin to get. In order to build a great community online, you need to have a way people can contact you!

• Yoast SEO: This is essential to bringing traffic to your blog. I started using this plugin the second month of blogging and my viewings doubled! You need this in order to boost your rankings on google!

• Sumo: Another great way to increase traffic to your blog is sharing! Sumo is a great tool to use, it allows your readers to share your posts on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, etc!

• Akismet: This will help you filter through all those spammy comments and will let you have the option to approve or deny what comments are posted.

• Interactive World Maps: If you are a travel blogger, I highly recommend getting an interactive map for your site. Not only does it bring life to your blog, it is fun for your reads to see where you have been!

Post!

A great start to posting would be an ‘about you’ page. This will let the readers know who you are, what you are all about, and why they should follow your blog!

After you write that ‘about me’ page, have 2 or 3 posts ready to publish. That way your readers will have something to look at, once you start advertising!

It is good to know what you want to write about. Of course, this may change over time and your blog will evolve; but have at least 3-4 blog posts ready a clear vision of what you want your blog to be about.

Extra Tip:

One of the most important things you can do for your blog is to add tags! Tags boost the SEO and in turn get more viewers to your blog. Don’t know what to tag? Tip: what the title of your blog post in Google, scroll to the bottom and see ‘related searches’, use those related searches as tags for your post!

Phew, I know starting a blog can be exciting and your brain is just exploding with ideas! I am so excited for you! Please leave your blog below so I can see all your fantastic ideas!

If you have any questions, be sure to leave a comment below or you can email me!

If you are interested in more blogging tips…be sure to check these out!

Just started your blog? Here is the next step in becoming a professional blogger!

New fresh ideas for veteran bloggers!

Market your blog, get that traffic flowing!

Realities of Starting a Blog

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