Do you love travelling? Do you love food? Do you often think about starting a travel blog, but decide not to because it seems so complicated? Fear not: here is a step-by-step guide you can follow to start the travel & food blog of your dreams.
1. Pick a Domain Name
This is the first step, and one of the most crucial. You must pick a suitable name for your blog. It has to be one that says that it’s a travel blog, but also says something about you. Once you’ve decided on a blog name, you’re ready to register your domain name.
2. Choose Hosting for Your Blog
In case you’re wondering what hosting is, relax! It’s not as complicated as sounds. It’s just a place to store your blog’s data: files, photos and videos. That’s it! There are web hosting services that allow you to rent space on their servers for your blog. All you need to do is to pick a web hosting service that suits your needs.
3. Install Free WordPress Software
You should set up a self-hosted WordPress account. Self-hosted means the WordPress software is installed on your hosting company’s servers. Although you could use a free WordPress.com account for your blog, it’s better to set up a self-hosted WordPress account for the following reasons:
- You can use a more professional-looking “YourTravelBlog(dot)com” instead of “YourTravelBlog(dot)wordpress(dot)com”
- You have complete control over your data
- You can monetize your blog by selling advertising space
- You can use Google Analytics to track and optimize your blog’s performance
- You can install plugins and custom themes
Don’t worry, setting up a self-hosted WordPress account doesn’t require an advanced degree in Computer Science—just follow the steps when you sign up. It’s actually quite simple!
4. Find a Good Theme for Your Blog
WordPress provides you with some standard themes for your blog, but they just that: standard. What you want to do is to pick a professional-looking theme for your blog. If you’re serious about this, you should buy a premium theme. You should be able to buy a professional blog theme for around $25 – $100. I love using the
Or alternatively you can head to Upwork or Freelancer and get a professional to build a theme that’s tailor-made for your blog.
5. Create an About Page
People who visit your travel blog will want to know who you are, your background, and, most importantly, whether they should follow you. So, don’t ignore this section. What do you want your readers to think of you? Let them know who you are!
6. Use Social Media
You must learn to use social media effectively if you want to build a successful travel blog. If someone tells you that social media is unnecessary and simply writing quality posts alone will attract readers, they’re lying to you. Go all in on social media and maximize your readership!
7. Start Writing
This is kind of obvious, but once you’ve set everything up, the last thing for you to do is to start writing. Share your love for traveling and your awesome experiences with your readers through your blog. Happy blogging!