You would like to create a blog and start publishing your first posts.
Among the many platforms there are, you don’t know which one to decide on.
In this post I am going to show you how to create a free blog on WordPress.
To create your blog you just have to follow the tutorial step by step.
Table of Contents
- Limitations of having a free blog on WordPress
- 1. Create your WordPress.com account
- 2. Set options
- 3. Write and publish your first entry
- 4. Buy a domain
- 5. How to migrate from WordPress to a blog hosted by your hosting provider
Limitations of having a free blog on WordPress
Any type of free account always ends up having various limitations. And in the case of WordPress it is not different.
When using this platform to create a free blog you will find the following limitations:
- Advertising that you will not be able to control or receive anything in return (except using the free account.
- Very limited customization and design
- No technical support
- You will not be able to install or use any type of plugin
- For a custom domain, you obviously have to pay
- You do not have access to their servers, therefore, you will not be able to control any of the content of your blog
- You will be under the WordPress rules
- Very limited programming
So now that you are aware of what you are going to find and you want to go ahead with the idea of creating your free blog with WordPress, let’s see what are the steps to follow.
1. Create your WordPress.com account
To create your WordPress account you will have to enter WordPress.com. And once inside, click on the button “Start creating your web page”.
Once you have clicked, the following page will appear, in which you will simply have to fill in the fields that it asks you for.
Secondly, once you have filled in the fields, you will have to search and find the domain you want to use. Just type it in the search section and just below you will see several options to choose from.
You will see that in all domains the word free appears, but be careful, because just below the annual price is shown.
So that you do not have to pay absolutely nothing, you will have to find the domain that ends in yourdomain.wordpress.com
When you have it, click the “Choose” button. The next window that will appear are the payment plans offered by WordPress. Easy, because even if you see four types of payment plans, you can continue with the free version.
You will see that the same WordPress, at the top of the screen, will ask you “Still not clear? It starts with a free website. ” Well, this is where you will have to click. And then you will see that you have already created your blog since the next page you will see is about the main WordPress Dashboard.
2. Set options
Now that you have the blog created, it’s time to configure the main options. You will see that, on the main page, several options will appear that you can configure.
Although they are really very basic and little relevant settings since it is only about updating your home page, confirming your email and publishing your website.
All the options that come by default are already configured, so you don’t have to waste much time on this. Although there is a section that you will have to modify some information on the site.
In the left menu, click on Manage> Settings and modify the site name, the web icon and its description. Remember to save the changes.
3. Write and publish your first entry
Writing your first post is quick and easy. Just click on the “Write” button that you will find in the upper right and you will see a page open where you can start writing.
Put the focus on your ideal client .
Once inside, you will see that simple. First, you will have to write the title of the entry and then the text you want to add. And if you want to add an image, a new paragraph or a heading, for example, you just have to click on the “+” button that you will find in the upper left section and add the widget you want.
You will also see that on the right side you will find several functions that you can use to complete information about your post (categories, tag, featured image, etc.)
At this point, once you have finished creating and writing the content of your entry, you simply have to click the “Publish” button to make your entry public.
4. Buy a domain
Once you have finished creating your blog and you already have your first posts published, it will be time to acquire your own personalized domain.
WordPress offers a domain purchase service that is very simple to use. In order to use a custom domain, both external and WordPress, you will have to pay an annual plan. And this is not so cool.
Even so, if you want to do it, you just have to go to Admin> Domains and click the pink/purple “Add domain” button.
When clicked, WordPress will ask you to verify your email in order to add your own domain.
So firstly, follow the steps to verify your email and, secondly, once verified, return to the same site and you will be able to acquire your domain.
Just follow the usual process: write and select the domain you want and follow the steps to purchase.
And once you have paid, you will have to go back to the domains section and select the domain you just bought.
5. How to migrate from WordPress to a blog hosted by your hosting provider
In the event that you want to take the step and start a more professional Blog, with its own hosting, domain and superpro design, the steps to follow are the following:
1. DOMAIN + HOSTING (WEB HOSTING)
You can do this with GreenGeeks, a platform dedicated to the sale of domains and web hosting. With one of the plans offered by the company, you can also select the domain you want.
To do this simply select the plan you want and follow the steps that mark you at all times. There is no loss and the process will take you naturally towards the purchase of these services.
2. INSTALL WORDPRESS.ORG
You may be wondering … hey, but isn’t this what I’ve been using? Well, no. There is WordPress.com, which is the platform to create free Blogs, and then there is WordPress.org, which is the platform to create web pages, with paid services.
So once you have acquired your domain + hosting, you will have to install the WordPress platform on your server. It is not a long or complex process, but to avoid lengthening this post too much, I leave you here a video of the same platform in which they explain it step by step.
3. INSTALL TEMPLATE
WordPress will allow you to download many customizable templates. But my recommendation is that you use one that allows you to customize everything in a simple, effective and beautifully designed way.
A template that works wonderfully is ” Genesis ” as it is optimized for SEO, has specific plugins, is responsive and has a clean and minimalist style. Also, you have a lot of templates available.
4. IMPORT YOUR CONTENT
And here you have two options. Do it manually and rewrite your content on your new blog or do it more automatically through the Blogger Importer Extended plugin, which basically allows you to import your content on the new blog and so you just have to modify them.
Of course, you should bear in mind that, in some cases, the structure of the content may change (line breaks, image quality, labels, categories …). Anyway, you manually make sure that everything is going to be your own taste, but it will take a little longer. With automatic import, you may go a little faster, but you will have to spend some time correcting your content and modifying it until it is well structured.
With these 4 simple steps, you will already have all the migration done and your WordPress website created or, rather, your new WordPress blog created, finished and ready to share it with the world.
You have already seen that creating a free blog on WordPress is quick and easy.
Migrating WordPress to your own hosting is complementary information that can come in handy.
If you are interested in knowing how to create a blog hosted by a hosting provider, you can read that post where we explain it step by step.
The content creation is key to growing your audience. To make it according to your project and the needs of your audience, you will need to create an editorial calendar .
When creating a blog, the strategy is essential to succeed.