Have you heard the term “self-hosted blog” and wondered what that meant? Well, a self hosted blog is pretty much just a blog that resides on your own {paid} server, as opposed to sites such as Blogger, Tumblr and WordPress.com.

Why is this important? When you are ready to start a blog and if you have any intention of even making money from your blog eventually, you’ll want to have a self-hosted blog, which opens you to many more benefits and options for growth and monetization.

My very first blog in 2009 was created on a 3rd party server that does not even exist anymore. I then had to move over to Blogger for a short while, and finally found my way to a self-hosted blog and that’s where all of the magic began.

If you already have a blog on one of those 3rd party platforms, you will have to initiate what’s called a blog migration, which is easiest and wisest to work with a developer or the hosting site itself on. However, if you are starting from scratch (which I recommend if you don’t have much content on your blog already), here are some instructions to get you started on a self-hosted blog platform.

Which Host to Choose?

You will find that there are several different hosting companies to choose from and as your traffic begins to grow, your hosting needs change and it’s not uncommon to switch to a new host. With that said, for true beginners only, I would still recommend Bluehost.com because it still gives you the most user-friendly and affordable option for hosting. I still keep some of my smaller sites with less traffic on Bluehost for this very reason. I’ve moved my larger sites to both WPEngine.com and Siteground.com and would be happy to give you an honest review of these if you like.

To Install WordPress.org from Bluehost

Again, I find the process of starting a new blog from Bluehost to be so much easier than other platforms, so here’s a quick walk-through of the process.

Step 1: Create your account on Bluehost.com.

Plans start at just $3.95 a month and includes an email account. Plus, if you don’t have a domain yet, you can also purchase on the Bluehost platform.

Step 2: Log in to your Bluehost cPanel accont

Step 3: Find the Website section and click on the Install WordPress. Click the Install WordPress Button

Step 4: Choose the domain name to install it to.

You should already have your domain on this account and it should be an “addon” in order to appear in the directory.

Step 5: Finally, you can edit the email address, username and password for the new WordPress installation. Read through the license and service agreements and check the boxes. Once you’re all set, select the Install Now button and wait for the site to be created.

Once complete, you can access your site’s interface at www.sitename.com/wp-admin. You will be given the option to purchase a theme immediately after installation, but you can also search for themes once in the interface.

*If you run into any issues with setting up, feel free to email me at lovepeacemommy@gmail.com. *

Once you’ve created your site, it’s time to get started on branding, content, creating a social following and most importantly, MONETIZING! Remember to sign up for my free email course on how to start a profitable and traffic generating blog!