Starting a blog can be an exciting new challenge. It’s becoming easier than ever to share your ideas online, but you’ll need to work through a little bit of preparation first. Once you’ve decided on a topic to write about, check out these five things you should get in order before launching your blog.
Catchy Blog Name
Before you can even think about writing a blog post, you’ll need to settle on a blog name. Choose something that is memorable, rolls off the tongue nicely, and has a relatively concise length. Think a little like a poet when you do this; many titles benefit from alliteration, tasteful wordplay, or assonance. If you get stuck, try using a blog name generator such as Namify.com for countless winning ideas. Outsourcing this task to a powerful name generator gives you the advantage of having a lot of ideas produced for you at once, allowing you to devote more time to the rest of the preparation.
Domain Name
Once you’ve settled on a catchy blog title (via the Namify generator or your winning brainstorming), it’s wise to claim a corresponding domain name right away. The domain does not need to be exactly the same as your title, but it should be pretty close — you want it to be pretty easy for people to find you online. In addition, consider using keywords in your domain name which will help your site get ranked higher in search engine results. In the long run, this will pay huge dividends in terms of website traffic.
Hosting Provider
If your domain purchasing service was not already connected to a hosting provider, now is the time to select one. This determines where your website “lives”, i.e. where your website is stored (on a physical server that belongs to the hosting provider). Some hosting providers can provide upgraded web hosting if you expect a lot of web traffic or need to upload large files on your website, so keep this in mind as you work through the hosting process.
Blogging Platform
The blogging platform is the place where you’ll physically build your site and work on your blog. Even if you’re not super techy, you can still use a blogging platform to create a site, often with the help of drag-and-drop interfaces or pre-built templates that can be customized as needed. If you get stuck, many blogging platforms also offer tech support or community help forums so you can get things rolling with ease.
Keyword Optimization
If you’ve chosen a great blog name via Namify.com, you’re already well on your way to funneling traffic to your site. Choose corresponding keywords that pair well with your blog name and match your target audience as well, helping maintain consistent branding while ensuring that the right people find your site and interact with it.
Creating a blog can be incredibly rewarding. By taking the time up front to have all of the behind-the-scenes details worked out, you can set yourself up for success. That way, you can focus on the good stuff: blogging!
