How to Start Blogging in the UK on a Shoestring – Part 3
Here it is, your shiny fresh new WordPress blog. But there’s nothing in it. Apart from maybe a sample page or post from the default theme.
So far I haven’t talked at all about appearance, and that has been deliberate. Everything we have done until now has been to get things set up correctly. The way it looks isn’t a priority until these other things are in place.
And guess what? We still aren’t going to look at your blog’s appearance (or themes) just yet. There is something really important you need to do first – write your first two posts.
Step 15: Write two posts
Suddenly it all seems very serious and heavy because you have to generate content – and not just any content – content that other people will want to read.
Why do I want you to write two posts before changing how your blog looks?
Because until you have a couple of posts (and you should also have a privacy page and a cookie page – see part 2), you can’t see how your blog looks when you alter its appearance.
What are you going to write about?
First, define a few things to yourself about your blog. You can ALWAYS change these things later (as we grow and learn, we can change our approach rather than give up). You need to be able to:
- Say what your blog is about in a ‘tagline’. A tagline is a short sentence that tells a visitor what to expect from your website. E.g. I create meals in 15 minutes or less, or How to arm knit anything!
- Decide what your blog will offer. What will readers get when they visit your site? Is it a memoir? How to articles? Chapters from your novel? Something you are selling? Photo diaries of DIY projects to inspire others? Create your content based on the idea of what you plan to offer your readers. They need a reason to come and visit your site, so give them lots of quality content when they arrive.
Anything I need to know about blog posts?
- For now, don’t panic about search engine optimisation
- Write at least 700 words, over 1000 is great. Long-form content provides value.
- Make sure your grammar and spelling are up to scratch
- Write something useful to your reader
Most importantly, just get writing. You will learn as you go and you will get faster as you learn.
Cost: free
Step 16: Themes
Finally, we’re going to start talking about how your blog looks.
There is a huge market for WordPress themes, but do you want to know a secret? You don’t need to start with a paid theme and you don’t need a logo and you don’t need branding. These things do matter in the longer run, but if you’re getting set up on a shoestring, then spending money on a theme and/or spending weeks fiddling with graphics, logos and branding is not a good return on investment (ROI).
The only thing you need right now is a clean-looking site and great content.
So focus on that. Don’t get bogged down with visuals in the beginning, and don’t go spending money on logos, stock photos or themes just yet.
There are two approaches you can take, depending on how good your design and tech skills are.
- Choose a free theme from the WordPress theme library. Go to Appearance > Themes > Add New Theme. If you don’t know where to start, try the WordPress-owned themes. They are named after the years, so Twenty Twenty-Four, Twenty Twenty-Three, etc. Just pick one of those, adjust it in the Appearance > Customise menu, and you’re good.
- Install Kadence or GeneratePress from the WordPress theme library. There is a free and paid version of both, and as expected the paid version offers far more customisation options. They look very plain out of the box, and that’s intentional. You can add to it and build it up over time. Both provide an excellent foundation for customising your website in the long run.
I have used GeneratePress for years. It’s amazingly flexible, has great support and it’s fast. I have recently switched to Kadence (on this site) which is similar, and also really customisable and easy to use.
Cost: free
Step 17: Photos
No website is complete without some form of imagery. Even if (like me) your site is word-heavy, images break things up and give a more attractive feel overall. They are also shown when you and other people share your posts on social media.
I would recommend having a minimum of one social media-friendly image for each post, set as the featured image. When you create a WordPress post, there is an option to upload a featured image on the right-hand side menu under ‘Post’.
You can either add a photo without any customisation, or you can add some text and maybe your website URL. The photo set in the featured image will appear at the top of your post (for Generate Press, Kadence and many other themes, but not all of them), and it will also be used for social media shares of your post. Source your photos carefully – you do not want to infringe copyright. I like Pexels for my blog post images. You can also take and use your own photos if you’re showing something you’ve made or you want to avoid using online images.
Canva is a great resource for creating post images, and you can do everything you need to when you’re getting started without paying for a pro account. Great looking images can help sell your writing so it’s worth spending a little bit of time on learning how to do this.
If you want to see how your post will look when shared on social media, you can use the Facebook sharing debugger:
Cost: free
Step 18: Write more posts
You’re almost on your own now and ready to disappear into blogging happily ever after. That’s when the real hard work starts – generating content and getting the world to realise your content exists (aka promotion).
Before getting into promotion, the last step in this series is to write a LOT. Create at least 10 and preferably 30 posts. Give your visitors something to get into when they arrive. It’s hard at the beginning when you feel you’re writing endlessly with no return, but you can turn out 10 posts in a month without too much trouble if you focus. Those 10 posts will give you something to feel proud of accomplishing and they will get you started nicely.
I write draft posts in the notes app on my phone. Using a plain text editor means I can quickly add extra words while waiting on the school run, at the dentist, or even at the supermarket checkout.
Good luck, and know that you can do anything you set your mind to.
Cost: free
Conclusion
Every single thing you do on your blogging journey is about trying it and seeing what the results are. Be prepared for a long road ahead where you do many things in order to find the few things that work for your site.
It took me about as long to write this three-part guide as it did to work through all the steps (except the last one – this is my third new post and I have seven more to go!). It may seem like a lot when you are starting from zero, but as long as you keep plodding through all the key parts of the process, you’ll have a blog ready to go and it will all be configured correctly and ready to take the weight of the huge number of visitors you will have by this time next year.
Total cost
The total cost for me to get this site up and running for the first year was the grand sum of £76.47.
Depending on your hosting and domain choices, yours will come out slightly more or less.
Also, it’s worth bearing in mind that most hosts offer a free domain when you buy hosting. Essentially, I wanted to show that it’s possible to start a potential business (if you want to monetise your blog, which most of us do), with very little initial outlay. There aren’t many industries you can enter so cheaply, which require nothing more than your time to learn the skills and then be able to share what you are good at with the world.
As for me, I know how to set up a blog, but I don’t yet know how to live a financially free life without slaving 40 hours a week for someone else!
