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Welcome back! If you haven’t gone through my previous post: please do so so you know how to set up a hosting and what niche to choose.
In this post I will show you how to install a theme.
Remember that by now you should be signed up for web hosting and have a blog set up with WordPress. Bluehost is the web hosting company I use (which Bluehost will set up for your automatically.)
Familiarize with WordPress Dashboard
So, what is WordPress? If you want to write a blog, you’ll need to use this content management system.
The WordPress dashboard should be available in your Bluehost account. You should be able to log in to your blog there.
You will spend a lot of time here when you write new blog posts, add images to your blog posts, respond to comments on your blog posts, install WordPress plugins and change the look of your blog. This is the “hub” of your blog.
WordPress is very easy to use and get used to, so don’t be afraid to start a blog!
Choose a theme for your blog
It’s the first thing you should do after you set up web hosting and a domain name. You should choose a theme for your WordPress blog.
Most likely, your blog will come with the default WordPress theme already installed. You’ll want to change it as soon as possible because it doesn’t look very good!
When you get your blog, it will come with the default WordPress theme already set up on it. Change this, and now it’s time to pick a theme for your blog!
When it comes to making your blog look good, you have a few choices. You can hire a web designer, or you can set up a theme on your own if you want. I personally think it’s better to install a theme on your own because it’s cheaper and faster.
Free themes are available, but I don’t think they’re worth it. They don’t look very good, don’t have a lot of customization options, and don’t come with customer service.
You should spend more money on a premium theme that will make your blog stand out from the rest.
This is a list of some of my favorite WordPress theme designers (each designer has a collection of different themes) that are very professional and look great for bloggers.
- 17th Avenue Theme (this one I use for this blog)
- Studio Mommy (neat, modern and neat look)
- Bluchic (similar feels and looks with 17th Avenue Design
- Blossom Themes (clean and very versatile for many kind of website and blogs)
Once you purchase the theme, please download the theme and carefully learn their documentation. If it’s too complicated for you, you can contact me for blog installation service.
Make sure you’re in the WordPress dashboard and click Appearance > Themes. Then, upload your theme file there.
When you want to change your theme in WordPress, you can go to Appearance > Customize and start making changes. You don’t need to change any code to do this.
As a side note, the theme I’m using on Harmony With Money is called Vivienne by 17th Avenue Designs and it’s called Vivienne. I think this theme is great! Just click on the picture below to get it for yourself:
Install necessary Plug-ins
Extra features can be added to your blog with plugins for WordPress, which are add-ons. New bloggers should start with these three plugins. There are a lot of other plugins out there.
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard
- Navigate to Plugins
- Click “Add New” at the top of the page
- Search each plugin name above in the search bar
- Click “Install Now” for each plugin
- Click “Activate” for each plugin
Yoast SEO: Yoast assists you in writing SEO-friendly blog entries. SEO, or search engine optimization, is what determines the position of your blog entries on Google. Yoast will tell you exactly what you need to do to enhance your SEO for each blog post you produce.
Akismet: you can get rid of annoying spam comments from your blog.
WordFence Security: WordFence is a great security plug-in that will keep your site safe from viruses and bad traffic, such as spam.
In this plug-in, UpdraftPlus, you can make regular backups of your site so that you don’t lose anything.
Social Warfare: Add social sharing icons to your blog posts to help people share them.
Site Kit by Google: to install Google Analytics and track data and traffic from your website. This is critical for you to measure the growth of your blog.
WP Signature: I use this to create a signature under every post and avoid the hassle of rewriting or copying the code every time I create a new post.
They’re all free to use. Isn’t it great? You can always have the option to upgrade if you want!
To add plug-ins to your blog, go to Plugins > Add New in the WordPress dashboard, search for the name of the plug-in, click Install, and then click Activate to activate the plug-in.
That’s pretty much it.
Once you have your theme set up, you can start to upload a new logo, customize the menu and start your new blog post!
Congratulations! You’ve come a long way!
P/S: What would you say if I told you there’s a way to get instant access and learn everything about blogging?
The answer may be as close as your email inbox! Sign up for my 7-day Blogging Course today, for FREE. (You’ll also have a chance to receive a surprising gift from me)
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