<strong><a href="https://itxdesign.com/wordpress-hosting/"><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1867" alt="blog-chalk-board" src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/blog-chalk-board.jpg" width="168" height="154" /></a>How to Start a Blog - Starting with the Hosting</strong>
If you want to know how to start a blog you have to start by choosing the right blog hosting. Without a good blog host you are going to have struggles with getting the blog up on the platform you want and getting it to look the way you want it to look. There are many things to consider when you plan to put up a blog, but hosting is where you have to start.  Many will consider using blog hosting that is free, but you should know that even the cheapest website hosting will work better as a blog host than free hosting will. You want to be able to put your blog on your own domain name and when you use platforms like Blogger, which is free, you simply cannot do this. You need to have your own blog host and your own domain name.

Learning how to start a blog is an important part of internet marketing or marketing a business website. This gives you a way to keep your customers and followers updates very easily on what is going on with your website, blog, or company. This is why it is important that you have a good blog host from the beginning and you have all the options you need right from the start.

You have many choices and most internet marketers prefer <a title="wordpress hosting" href="https://itxdesign.com/wordpress-hosting/">WordPress hosting</a> for their blog, but you can also choose <a title="joomla hosting" href="https://itxdesign.com/joomla-hosting/">Joomla hosting</a>, PHP hosting, or even Windows hosting. For a comparison of the two applications you an review <a title="joomla vs wordpress" href="https://itxdesign.com/joomla-vs-wordpress-for-the-beginner/">joomla vs wordpress</a> which outlines the features and benefits of each application. The main thing is that you have to have a blog host that you are comfortable with and confident about choosing. It is ultimately your decision and you have to live with it.

<strong>The 5 Necessary Steps for How to Start a Blog</strong>
<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-1865" alt="5-steps-to-blogging" src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/5-steps-to-blogging.jpg" width="168" height="168" />1. Hosting

This has already been discussed very thoroughly, but there are still a few thoughts that are important. If you want to be able to customize your blog and you want to be able to make it look the way you want it to look, then you want either <a title="wordpress hosting" href="https://itxdesign.com/compare-hosting-plans/">WordPress</a> hosting or Joomla hosting. Nearly all of the hosts in the top 10 hosting companies are going to supply you with what is called <a title="fantastico software" href="https://netenberg.com/fantastico.php" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Fantastico</a>.

Fantastico is a script that allows you to automatically install WordPress and in many cases Joomla as well. This is how you get WordPress hosting or Joomla hosting and with either one you will be able to customize your blog however you want. If you want to learn how to start a blog properly you need to start with either WordPress hosting or Joomla hosting.

2. Domain Name

You will need your own domain name when you are learning how to start a blog simply because this makes your blog more branded and it will rank better in the search engines. If you use a free blog platform like Blogger you will get a domain that looks something like MyFancyBlog.blogspot.com instead of having MyFancyBlog.com.

This does not benefit you very much and you are actually hosting your blog on a sub domain of blogspot.com. Sure you can rank with a free blog on Blogger, but not as easy as you can with your own domain name. Some of the top 10 hosting companies will actually give you a free domain name with your blog hosting when you pay for a year upfront.

3. Platform

Choosing the platform for your blog is a big deal and you want to either go with WordPress or Joomla. These are the two platforms that many bloggers prefer. Many will say that WordPress is easier to learn how to use, but others prefer Joomla because of the way it is set up. They are both strong options and it is really up to you to research them and choose the one that will fit you best.

Most of the blog hosting companies you will find will give you the option for both of them. As long as they give you the Fantastico script, and nearly all of the top 10 hosting companies will, then you will have both of these choices. When you are learning how to start a blog you have to learn how to use one of these two platforms.

4. Design

After you have your blog host, a domain name for your blog, and you have chosen a platform it is time to design your blog. If you use WordPress you can use one of the custom themes that is either free or paid for. This is a great way to get a quick start on the design of your blog and make it look very professional.

You can also use widgets to help you with the layout of the blog that you are putting up. There are many instructional videos that are free and many articles as well that are free on how to use the different parts of WordPress to make your blog look great. This is a very important step in how to start a blog so make sure your blog looks the way you want it to look before moving forward.

5. Adding Content

There are two basic options for adding content when you are learning how to start a blog. You can add what is known as a page or you can add what is known as a post. A page is going to typically show up across the top of your blog as a permanent link, whereas a post will show up under recent posts for a little while, then will be archived.

You want your pages to be more like a "contact us", an "about us", a "privacy policy", and maybe a few content pages that promote products or services that you make money from. Your posts can be about anything and they should all be centered around one specific keyword phrase that will help you get ranked on the search engines and get more traffic to your blog.

<strong>What Else Should you Know About How to Start a Blog?</strong>
This short guide is only the tip of the iceberg for how to start a blog and there are many other things you can learn. The key is that you want to get your blog up and running first before you overwhelm yourself with learning things like how to use plugins, monetizing your blog, and using proper search engine optimization on your blog.

These are all important things and there have been many very long and extensive guides written about how to start a blog. The five steps above will get you started and can help you get your blog up and running. However, you really need to have more information and you need to take it one step at a time.

Get your blog up and running first by choosing a good blog host that either has WordPress hosting or Joomla hosting. Then, get a domain name and choose a platform. After you have made it that far you can design your blog, add a little content, and start to learn some of the more advanced strategies of how to start a blog.

<strong>The Three Most Important Things You Need to Make Your Own Blog</strong>
<strong><img class="alignright size-full wp-image-1866" alt="3-things-to-do-hosting" src="https://itxdesign.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/3-things-to-do-hosting.jpg" width="168" height="168" />Make Your Own Blog - The First Thing You Need</strong>
If you want to make your own blog you have to have great blog hosting. This is where you start because hosting is by far the most important thing you can do for your blog. There are many ways to go about getting the best blog hosting and you just have to know what it is going to take to find the hosting company that is going to be the best blog host for you.

The first thing you have to understand is that you have a few different types of hosting you simply should not use at all. These are very bad for your blog and if you are trying to make money you will not be able to make it when you are dealing with the cheapest website hosting or the free hosting like Google web hosting.  The cheapest website hosting is something you have to avoid as well because this type of blog hosting is going to be very limited. You may get plenty of space and you may even have the control to use your own domain name, but they are not going to give you the right support or the best servers for your hosting. This is not the blog host you want to be dealing with.

The blog hosting you do want to go after is going to come from the list of the top ten hosting companies. This is where you are going to find the best blog host for you and the type of hosting that you can actually use with confidence. You will want to compare at least three different types of blog hosts just to make sure you get one that you will work well with.

<strong>Make Your Own Blog - The Second Thing You Need</strong>
You want to find a domain name that is a .com or a .net and includes one of your main keywords for your subject. This will help you to get the ranking you need with your blog posts and you need to make sure you get the right domain or you will struggle with your blog. You need a domain name that fits your blog and the subject of it.

You should try to find a domain name when you make your own blog that is either three or four words long and not any longer. This will make it very easy to remember and it will also make it very easy to rank on Google and other search engines. This means that you get more traffic and that means more money for you as well.

Having a great domain name is something that can make or break you. If you get blog hosting from one of the top web hosting companies you will most likely be able to get a domain name for free. This is, of course, if you pay for a full year of hosting up front and this is not a bad deal since you need both hosting and a domain name.

<strong>Make Your Own Blog - The Third Thing You Need</strong>
The third thing you need if you want to make your own blog is you need to have a platform that is easy to use and is going to give you the options you need. This should be a platform that you can use over and over again and will allow you to make your blog look the way you need it to look and function the way you need it to function.

The best two platforms are WordPress and Joomla. These both come with the Fantastico script and either one of them will give you what you need for your blog. This will allow you to customize your blog and you will also be able to make money from it with the tools that you will get. WordPress is known as an easier platform to learn and many prefer WordPress over Joomla.

You will want to make sure you are looking through the best blog hosts and the top ten hosting options to see which ones have the Fantastico script because if you don't have a blog host that gives you this took you will not be able to use either of the best blog platforms at all. When you try to make your own blog you have to have a great platform so choose your hosting wisely.