Starting a blog can feel like a lot when you have no idea where to begin.
I know because that was me.
When I started my first blog, I spent hours on Google trying to figure out domains, hosting, WordPress, themes, plugins, and everything else people kept telling me I needed. I would complete one step, move to the next, and then realize there was something else I had completely missed.
Then it was time to start my second blog, and guess what?
I had already forgotten half of what I did the first time.
That is actually why I originally wrote this post.
Back then, I called it “7 Easy Steps to Start a Blog.” Blogging has changed quite a bit since then, and I have learned a lot more from building websites, creating content, working with brands, and growing The Mom Trotter.
Today, starting a blog is still completely doable for a beginner. You do not need to be a developer or understand coding. But I would definitely do a few things differently now because a blog is more than buying a domain and hitting publish.
If you want people to actually find your content, trust what you write, and eventually help you turn your blog into an income stream, you need to build the foundation correctly.
That is why I expanded my original process into these 15 steps.
How Do You Start a Blog?
Here is the simple version:
- Decide what your blog will be about
- Choose a memorable blog name
- Check the domain and social media names
- Purchase your domain
- Choose a reliable hosting company
- Connect your domain to your hosting
- Install WordPress
- Configure your basic WordPress settings
- Choose a fast, mobile-friendly theme
- Create your important website pages
- Decide on your main content categories
- Write your first helpful blog posts
- Learn basic SEO and internal linking
- Set up analytics, Search Console, and social platforms
- Publish consistently and build from there
You do not have to perfect every step before moving forward. Some parts of blogging make a lot more sense once you actually start publishing.
Let’s go through each one.
1. Decide What Your Blog Will Be About
Before thinking about hosting, themes, logos, or Instagram handles, decide what you actually want to write about.
This is your niche.
Your niche does not have to trap you into one tiny topic forever, but it should give people a clear reason to visit your website.
The Mom Trotter did not become only one thing. I write about family travel, homeschooling, parenting, money, and our lifestyle because those subjects naturally overlap in our lives.
If you read my story on how The Mom Trotter started and evolved, you will see that the blog grew alongside our family rather than being perfectly mapped out from day one.
That is completely okay.
What you do want to avoid is creating a blog where Monday’s post is about makeup, Tuesday’s is about cryptocurrency, Wednesday’s is a chicken recipe, and Thursday’s is about visiting Paris, unless there is a very clear reason all of those topics belong together.
Ask yourself:
- What can I write about for years?
- What do people already ask me for help with?
- What have I personally experienced?
- What problems can I help readers solve?
- Who am I writing for?
Your personal experience is important.
For example, when people kept asking how we could afford to travel so much, I wrote about how we afford our travel lifestyle.
When parents asked about traveling while earning an income, I could point them toward flexible jobs for traveling moms.
And when families asked about other Black travel creators, that became my guide to Black family travel bloggers worth following.
Good blog ideas often come directly from real questions.
2. Choose a Memorable Blog Name
For me, choosing a name was one of the hardest parts.
Do not rush this step.
Write down several possibilities and say them out loud. Ask people you trust which ones they remember a few hours later.
A good blog name should ideally be:
- Easy to spell
- Easy to remember
- Easy to pronounce
- Broad enough to grow with you
- Available as a domain
- Available, or reasonably close, on social media
Try not to make the name so specific that you outgrow it.
If you start a blog called “Traveling With My Three-Year-Old,” what happens when that three-year-old turns 15?
Give yourself room to grow.
3. Check the Domain and Social Media Names Before Committing
Before falling in love with a blog name, make sure you can actually use it.
Check whether the domain is available first.
Then search Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, TikTok, X, and any other platform you expect to use.
You do not need every handle to be absolutely identical, but keeping your branding consistent makes it easier for people to find you.
I have always tried to keep The Mom Trotter consistent across platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, YouTube, and Pinterest.
Do this check before purchasing anything.
Changing your brand name after everything is built is much more annoying than spending an extra hour researching it now.
4. Purchase Your Domain Name
Once you have your name, purchase the domain.
I purchased my domains through Namecheap, and that was the registrar I recommended in the original version of this article.
Your domain is simply your website address.
For example:
yourblogname.com
Whenever possible, I prefer a clean .com that matches the brand.
Avoid making the domain overly complicated with unnecessary numbers, unusual spelling, or multiple hyphens.
Also pay attention to renewal pricing.
The inexpensive price you see during the first year is not always what you will pay forever.
5. Choose a Reliable Hosting Company
Your domain is the address.
Hosting is where your website actually lives.
When I originally wrote this article, I recommended InMotion Hosting because I had a good experience with their customer service.
I also linked to Bluehost as another WordPress hosting option.
Both still offer WordPress hosting today.
I would change one piece of my old advice, though.
I previously told beginners to automatically choose a longer three-year hosting plan because the introductory price was lower.
Today, I would tell you to compare:
- Introductory cost
- Renewal cost
- Storage
- Backups
- SSL certificates
- Customer support
- Website migration
- Security features
- Number of websites allowed
- Cancellation and refund terms
A cheap first year is not necessarily cheap long term.
Do the math before paying upfront for several years.
6. Connect Your Domain to Your Hosting
If your domain and hosting are with different companies, you need to connect them.
In the original article, I called this “rerouting your website on Namecheap.”
Technically, what you are usually doing is changing your nameservers or updating the required DNS records so your domain points to your web host.
With Namecheap, this is done through the domain management area. Their current DNS and nameserver instructions explain the process step by step.
One important warning that was missing from my original post:
Do not blindly replace DNS settings if you already use that domain for business email or other services.
Changing nameservers can also change the DNS records controlling email and other services. Namecheap notes that you may sometimes want to update individual DNS records instead.
If those sentences already made your eyes glaze over, contact your hosting support team.
There is absolutely no prize for struggling through a technical setup alone.
7. Install WordPress
Once the domain and hosting are connected, install WordPress.
Most WordPress-focused hosts now make this much easier than it was when I started.
Many offer one-click or guided WordPress installation. Bluehost, for example, currently allows users to install WordPress through its hosting portal.
WordPress also maintains its own official WordPress documentation with installation, security, publishing, customization, and maintenance guidance.
Make sure you understand the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org when researching tutorials.
This guide is focused on a self-hosted WordPress website where you have more control over themes, plugins, monetization, advertising, and site functionality.
8. Log Into WordPress and Configure the Basics
One correction from my original article is important here.
I previously said your login might look like:
yourblogname.com/admin/
or:
yourblogname.com/login/
Those are not the standard WordPress login addresses.
For most self-hosted WordPress websites, you will usually access the dashboard through:
yourblogname.com/wp-admin/
or the WordPress login page at:
yourblogname.com/wp-login.php
Your host may also provide a direct login from its customer dashboard.
Once inside WordPress, do the boring setup before getting distracted by fonts and colors.
Check:
- Site title
- Tagline
- Administrator email
- Time zone
- Permalink structure
- HTTPS/SSL
- User accounts
- Comment settings
- Backups
- Security
- Site visibility
Do not publish 30 posts and then discover that your site was accidentally set to discourage search engines from indexing it.
9. Choose a WordPress Theme
This is the part everyone wants to do first.
I understand.
It is fun.
But the prettiest website in the world is useless if it is difficult to read, painfully slow, or terrible on mobile.
WordPress has an official theme directory containing thousands of reviewed themes, and WordPress recommends checking layout, features, and compatibility before choosing one.
What About Genesis and Foodie Pro?
In my original setup, I recommended installing the Genesis Framework and then using a child theme.
I also used the Foodie Pro Theme on my blogs.
I am keeping those resources here because they were genuinely part of how I built my sites.
However, I would not write this article in 2026 and tell every beginner that Genesis plus Foodie Pro is automatically the best setup.
Feast now recommends its newer Kadence-based themes for many clients, while its classic Genesis setup remains available for existing users.
Technology changes.
Choose a theme based on your current needs, not because a blogger told you in 2018 that one theme was the only way to go.
Prioritize:
- Mobile responsiveness
- Speed
- Accessibility
- Clean typography
- Support
- Update history
- Compatibility with modern WordPress
- Simple customization
Then make it pretty.
10. Create the Important Pages Before You Launch
Your blog should not contain only blog posts.
At minimum, I recommend creating:
- About
- Contact
- Privacy Policy
- Disclosure
- Terms, if appropriate
Your About page matters more than people realize.
Readers want to know who is behind the website and why they should trust you.
Look at my own About The Mom Trotter page and you will see that it explains not only who I am, but also our family, how we travel, how we homeschool, the businesses we have built, and what readers can expect from the website.
If you use affiliate links, receive free products, work with brands, or publish sponsored content, disclosure also matters.
The Federal Trade Commission’s current endorsement guidance says affiliate relationships and other material connections should be disclosed clearly and conspicuously.
Do not hide that information somewhere readers will never see it.
11. Decide on Your Main Content Categories
Now we get to the part I love: content.
Before publishing randomly, decide on three to five main topics that your blog will become known for.
The Mom Trotter has several clear content areas.
Travel is one.
Homeschooling and worldschooling are another.
Personal finance and affordable family travel naturally connect to those topics.
For example, someone who discovers my ultimate guide to international travel with kids may also need help learning how to plan a vacation anywhere in the world.
A reader interested in our education choices might first discover our homeschool, unschool, and worldschool curriculum and then move into my resource guide for Black homeschooling families.
Someone researching affordable travel might read my tips for making family travel affordable, then continue to my ways to save money on flights and my guide to finding cheap flights and error fares.
That is what you want.
Related content should naturally lead readers deeper into your website.
12. Write Your First Helpful Blog Posts
Your first post does not have to be perfect.
Just make it useful.
Think about what someone would type into Google.
Not:
“My Thoughts About Egypt.”
Instead:
“The Best Things to Do in Cairo With Kids.”
That second title immediately tells the reader what problem the article solves.
You can see that approach in my current Cairo with kids guide and my guide to things to do in Ghana with kids.
The same applies outside travel.
When people asked me how Aiden got modeling opportunities, I wrote about the actual experience in Aiden Models for Old Navy and then created a separate guide explaining how to find a reputable modeling or talent agency for your child.
Those questions are content ideas.
When readers repeatedly ask the same thing, write the answer once and make it useful enough that you can keep sending people to it.
13. Learn Basic SEO and Internal Linking
Do not wait five years to learn what SEO means.
I wish more beginner bloggers understood this.
SEO, or search engine optimization, is essentially the process of making your website and content easier for search engines and people to understand.
Google’s own Search Essentials recommends creating helpful, reliable, people-first content, using the words people search for in important places such as titles and headings, and making links crawlable so search engines can discover related pages.
Notice what that does not say.
It does not say:
“Stuff the keyword into every other sentence.”
Write for humans first.
Use:
- Clear titles
- Descriptive headings
- Short paragraphs
- Useful answers
- Relevant keywords
- Internal links
- Descriptive image alt text
- Original experience
- Credible sources
- Logical site structure
Internal linking is also one of the easiest things beginners overlook.
Your posts should connect.
If I am talking about budgeting while explaining how our family travels, it makes sense to send a reader to my guide on avoiding credit card debt.
If I am talking about teaching kids financial skills, linking to my budget worksheets for kids helps the reader continue learning.
The link should exist because it helps the person reading, not because someone told you that every blog post needs exactly eight internal links.
For WordPress questions specifically, WPBeginner is still one of the resources I recommend. Their current beginner guide has also been updated specifically for starting a WordPress blog in 2026.
14. Set Up Google Search Console, Analytics, and Your Social Profiles
Do not wait until your website gets traffic before setting up tracking.
You need data from the beginning.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console shows how your website performs in Google Search.
You can see:
- Search queries
- Pages receiving clicks
- Impressions
- Indexing problems
- Sitemap status
- Search performance
Google’s own Search Console setup guide recommends verifying site ownership and optionally submitting your sitemap so you can monitor indexing and performance.
Google Analytics
You should also set up Google Analytics.
Google’s current platform is GA4, and its official GA4 setup documentation walks through creating an Analytics account, property, data stream, and measurement setup.
Do this early.
Six months from now, you will be glad you have six months of data instead of installing Analytics and realizing you have no idea what happened before yesterday.
Social Media
You also want to secure your blog’s social media names.
You do not need to be equally active everywhere.
Pick platforms that make sense for your audience and content.
For me, visual travel content naturally works well across Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and YouTube.
The goal is not to spend your entire life posting on social media.
Your blog should remain the home base you control.
15. Start Blogging and Keep Going
And voilà!
Now it is finally time to blog.
This is the step people overcomplicate the most.
You do not need:
- 25 finished posts
- A perfect logo
- 50,000 Instagram followers
- Professional photography equipment
- A custom website developer
- Every premium plugin available
- Three years of content planned
You need a functioning website and something useful to say.
Publish the first post.
Then write the next one.
One of the biggest advantages of a blog is that useful content can continue working long after you publish it.
The Mom Trotter has articles based on trips, financial lessons, homeschooling decisions, and experiences our family had years ago that still help readers today when those posts are maintained and updated.
Blogging has also become one part of a much larger income picture for our family.
On my About page, I explain that blogging, content creation, freelance writing, brand work, and other income streams have all played roles in our lifestyle. That is also why I included blogging-related work when discussing ways traveling moms can earn flexible income.
But I would never tell someone to start a blog believing money will instantly appear.
Building traffic, trust, authority, and income takes time.
Start because you have something worth sharing.
Then learn the business side as you grow.
What I Would Do Differently If I Started a Blog Today
Looking back, I spent too much time worrying about design and not enough time thinking about structure.
If I were starting from zero today, I would:
- Pick a clear topic and audience.
- Buy a simple domain.
- Choose dependable hosting.
- Build with WordPress.
- Use a lightweight theme.
- Create my essential pages.
- Set up Search Console and Analytics immediately.
- Plan 10 genuinely useful articles.
- Learn basic SEO before writing 100 posts.
- Build an email list early.
- Create content based on real questions.
- Update old posts regularly.
- Use internal links from the beginning.
- Avoid installing unnecessary plugins.
- Focus on usefulness before appearance.
The design can always change.
And trust me, it probably will.
What Happened to Genesis Framework and Child Themes?
I am leaving this section because it was part of my original blogging journey.
When I first wrote this article, my optional steps were to install the Genesis Framework and then install a child theme.
At the time, my preferred child theme was Foodie Pro.
That setup worked for me.
However, WordPress has evolved significantly since then.
Modern WordPress supports block themes and full-site editing, while theme companies have changed their products and recommended setups.
Foodie Pro itself still exists, but Feast currently recommends its newer theme ecosystem for many users instead of treating the old Genesis setup as the default choice.
So should you use Genesis today?
Maybe.
Should every beginner install Genesis simply because I used it?
No.
Choose what works for your website now.
The Blogs I Built
When I first published this post, I had four blogs, although I did not update all of them regularly.
Two were originally built using the simpler setup I described:
The other two originally used the additional Genesis Framework and child-theme setup:
These are legacy examples from when the original article was written, and the websites and technology behind them have changed over time.
The point is still the same:
There is no single correct way to build a blog.
You need the setup that makes sense for what you are trying to create.
Can You Make Money Blogging?
Yes, a blog can generate income, but I do not recommend starting one because someone on social media promised that you will make $10,000 next month.
Blog income can come from several places, including:
- Display advertising
- Affiliate marketing
- Sponsored content
- Brand partnerships
- Freelance opportunities
- Digital products
- Courses
- Consulting
- Services
- Email marketing
The income usually follows the audience and trust you build.
Affiliate marketing also comes with responsibilities. If you earn a commission when someone purchases through your link, the FTC says that relationship needs to be clearly disclosed to readers.
This is another reason I treat a blog as a business asset instead of only a social media extension.
Social platforms can change their algorithm tomorrow.
Your website is the space you own.
More Blogging Tips I Wish I Knew Earlier
Do not spend all your money before writing your first article.
Do not buy every plugin another blogger recommends.
Do not copy another blogger’s exact strategy.
Do not create content only for social media and ignore your own website.
Do not publish an article and never look at it again.
Do not assume a post failed because it did not get traffic during the first week.
Do not compare your first year to someone else’s tenth.
Do not let perfection stop you from publishing.
And please back up your website.
That one deserves its own line.
Blogging Resources That Helped Me
When I was learning WordPress, one of my favorite websites was and still is WPBeginner.
It is especially useful when you know what you want to do but have absolutely no idea how to do it inside WordPress.
The original version of this article also recommended How To Start A Blog from Create Your Dream Blog, written by two blogger friends of mine, and linked readers to Create Your Dream Blog.
I am keeping those original resources here as part of the post, although older blogging websites and resources can change, move, or stop being maintained over time.
YouTube is another great place to learn.
Whatever problem you are having, there is a very good chance someone has recorded themselves solving it.
Just pay attention to the date.
A WordPress tutorial from eight years ago may show you a dashboard or plugin that looks nothing like what you see today.
Frequently Asked Questions About Starting a Blog
Is it hard to start a blog?
No. The technical setup has become much easier because many hosts can install WordPress automatically. The harder part is deciding what you will write about, publishing consistently, learning SEO, and building an audience over time.
How much does it cost to start a blog?
The cost depends on your domain, hosting plan, theme, plugins, email service, and any professional help you purchase. You can start relatively simply with a domain, hosting, WordPress, and a free theme, then add paid tools as the website grows.
Do I need to know how to code?
No. You can build and run a WordPress blog without knowing HTML, CSS, PHP, or JavaScript. Basic technical knowledge becomes useful as your site grows, but it is not a requirement for publishing your first blog.
Should I use WordPress to start a blog?
I personally use WordPress because it gives me flexibility and control over my content, design, SEO, plugins, advertising, and monetization. Other platforms exist, so compare your options based on what you want the website to become.
How many posts should I have before launching?
You do not need dozens. I would rather launch with three to five excellent posts than 20 rushed articles. Make sure the first posts clearly represent what the website is about and genuinely help the audience you want to reach.
How long does it take to make money blogging?
There is no standard timeline. Some websites make money quickly, while others take years to build meaningful traffic and income. Your niche, content quality, search visibility, audience, monetization methods, and consistency all matter.
Do I need social media to become a successful blogger?
Social media can help people discover your work, but your entire strategy should not depend on one platform. A blog, email list, search traffic, and multiple audience channels give you more control than relying exclusively on a social network.
Final Thoughts on Starting a Blog
I am still learning.
That has not changed since I wrote the original version of this article.
The difference is that now I understand blogging is not something you finish learning.
WordPress changes.
Google changes.
Social media changes.
Affiliate programs change.
The way people search changes.
Your own interests change.
The important part is being willing to keep learning and keep improving what you already built.
I LOVE blogging about our travels because you truly never know who one article might inspire or help.
The Mom Trotter has grown far beyond the little blog I was trying to figure out when I first sat at my computer Googling how to buy a domain.
And that is the part I want you to remember.
You do not need to know what your blog will look like five years from now.
You just need to start.
If you have additional questions, you can reach me at hello@themomtrotter.com.
