When I was looking to start my blog I didn’t know where to start

The only thing that I knew from previous experience with a hosting company (that I won’t name here) that I used back in 2008-2009 was that I needed it to be easy to use and I need the tech support to be quick and easy to deal with.

That’s when I came across a video on YouTube by a blogger by the name of Alex Nerney which was titled “How to start a blog in 10 minutes“.

In the video, he walked you through setting up a blog using WordPress and Bluehost.

As I was watching the video, I was amazed at how seemless Bluehost integrated with WordPress and how easy the set up was.

After I saw this I was so impressed that I made up my mind.

I’m going to cover how Bluehost changed my mind about using WordPress and how that helped encourage me to start this blog.

How Bluehost Changed My Mind About Using WordPress

Before I started watching the video that I mentioned I didn’t believe that it was possible to start a blog in 10 minutes with hosting.  

Especially not after the experience that I had with WordPress. 

So I was skeptical and figured that Alex probably edited down the video.  

Silly right? 

While I watching the video and watching the step by step demostration about the set up with Bluehost I quickly noticed how the hosting company’s site let you integrate directly with WordPress. 

It was this integration that practically sealed the deal. 

Bluehost Integration With WordPress

I took a shot at starting a WordPress blog years back and I failed to understand how to even set up a webpage. Back then there were no YouTube videos on how to set up a WordPress site.

Frustrated and all I decided to try out blogger, and google sites in the end I got the same level of frustration so I went in a whole different direction with a site.

If only I knew then what I know now about how easy it really is to put together a blog site using WordPress I could have saved myself some money, headache, and maybe that site would still be up and running today.

What most people don’t realize, and I didn’t even know about this until last year, is that WordPress is responsible for a lot of websites.

This includes many celebrity sites and corporations.

If I had to guess why I would say it’s because of how quickly a nice flowing and professional-looking site can put together.

If you want to sign up for Bluehost and get your blog started you can sign up here.

WordPress.org vs WordPress.com

One thing that confused me, in the beginning, was what was the difference between WordPress.Org and WordPress.com?

For now, I am going to keep it simple. 

WordPress.org allows you to have full theme support (custom/commercial) and allows plugins. 

WordPress.com allows limited theme support and no plugins. 

Is WordPress free?

The quick answer to that question is yes.

A more in-depth answer to that question is yes but there is a small catch based on a technicality.

Like I mentioned in the previous section there is a difference between having a WordPress.org and WordPress.com accounts.

Since you have to pay for a domain it technically changes the idea of WordPress being free.

And this is why you need a hosting company like Bluehost.

Well I should say if you want a custom domain then that’s why you need Bluehost otherwise you will have a long thisismyblog.wordpress.com domain.

Some features are also limited based on if you are using a WordPress.com domain to set up a website.

One of the problems is that you are unable to use plugins which is the main reason why I never got a website started using WordPress when I tried to set up a site back in 2008-2009.

As long as you have a paid domain then you can create a better flowing blog utilizing plugins and the available free themes.

Note free themes do have some customization limitations but not enough to prevent you from putting together a good basic site.  

WordPress Theme

For those of you that have never used WordPress before, I’m sure you are wondering what exactly is a WordPress Theme? 

A theme is a pre-designed layout for a WordPress site.  

The good thing is that there are a lot of free themes available.  

Yes, there are some limitations that you won’t find out until you are using it within your site. 

However, in the beginning especially if you are trying to start your site with as little money as possible, I wouldn’t worry about those limitations too much.  

What are plugins?

Plugins are 3rd party applications for different types of features that integrate within WordPress to help the functionality of your site.

Below are a few awesome free ones that I use and have used for my site.

• Content View
• Fancier Author Box
• Ad Inserter
• Social Share
• Contact Form 7

These are a few that will get you started when you are creating a free WordPress site.

Final Thoughts

If you are on the fence about starting a blog or what you should use to start, my response to you is research then to do it.  

Don’t over research and hold yourself back.  

Outside of the initial money that it cost to get hosting for your site what do you have to lose? 

The answer is nothing! 

The most influential bloggers today wouldn’t be who they are if they never took the chance.  

Here is the link to get started with WordPress and have your hosting with Bluehost.

Until next time, leave your comments or questions below.