How to Start a Party Blog- A Step by Step Guide!

Do you love to entertaining, hosting parties or own an event planning business? Are you looking for a way to share your creative party ideas online?

If your answer is yes, a party blog might be the perfect option for you. If you already have a blog you might want to check out 5 Ways to Promote Your Party Blog. 

In 2016, I started my blogging journey in order to share my party ideas and creativity with others. It’s been a fun journey and I really recommend it!

If starting a blog is your dream, I’d say to just go for it and see where it leads. Are you wondering where to start a blog? Just follow my step by step instructions to start a blog with WordPress and Bluehost.com. (Click the link below to get started!)

HOW TO START A PARTY BLOG USING BLUEHOST

This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you use my links to buy a product. For more information, read my full disclosure here.

1. Choose Your Domain Name & Web Host

2. Step by Step Guide (How to Start a Blog)

3. Selecting a Theme (make your blog pretty)

4. Create Helpful Content

5. Other Useful Tips

1. Choose Your Domain Name & Web Host:

To start out, brainstorm a domain name for your blog. Be sure to choose a website name that you love and will be happy with in the long run.

WordPress.com vs WordPress.org (self-hosted)

When I started my blog, I had the intention to eventually start a business. If you plan to make money from your blog someday, I’d recommend a starting a self-hosted WordPress blog.

My step by step tutorial will teach you how to set up a WordPress.org, self-hosted website! Self-hosted means that you own your domain name. For example, my website domain is joyinthecommonplace.com.

If you just want to start a hobby blog and share your creative ideas, you can look into a free WordPress.com option. Your website URL will appear like this: www.yourwebsitename.wordpress.com.

However, if you choose the free website, the options are limited. A few limitations include: You don’t own your own domain name, you have limited options for advertising and making money, you can’t upload plugins for your website and you can’t open an online store. 

Why I recommend Bluehost.com:

-FREE domain name with a 12 month purchase

-Affordable pricing with WordPress Install

-Great technical support

-High customer satisfaction

-Easy Installation

2. Step By Step Guide: (How to start a blog)

1. To begin, click here to sign up for bluehost and you will arrive at bluehost.com. If you choose to use my link to sign up, I’ll receive a small commission with no expense to you. Thank you for your support!

2. Select which hosting plan your prefer. I chose the basic plan which is $3.95 per month. This should be all you need to start a blog. If you need more space later, you can always upgrade to plus. 

3. If you don’t have a domain name yet, enter it into the new domain box. 

4. Enter in your account information.

5. Have your credit card handy for this step. Enter your information, check the box once you have read and agreed to the terms and services, and click “submit”.

6. Next, choose a web hosting package. The best deal is the basic 36 month price.

I would recommend paying for Domain Privacy Protection, which helps keep your personal information private.

7. Create a secure password for your account. It’s important to write your password down somewhere. 

In order to keep all my passwords in one place, I use this handy password printable from the blog Clean & Scentsible.

8. Congratulations! You’ve created your new password. Click go to log into your account.

9. Log in to your account using your domain name and password.

10. Choose a name for your website!

11. Check which boxes apply to you!

12. Choose a website theme that fits your style!

13. Once you’ve chosen your theme, WordPress will automatically install!

14. Start building your website!

15. On the left, click on Bluehost << Home. Then scroll down to hosting<< manage your sites to view your Bluehost Cpanel.

16. To start building your website, click on Bluehost<< Home on the left. Then click on add new post or add new page.

17. To write your first blog post, click on Bluehost<<Home. Click on Blog Posts<<Add New Post.

18. Way to go! You’re ready to write your first blog post! Enter your post title and start writing. Once you’re finished, just hit “Publish” and your blog post will be on the web!

3. Selecting a Theme (make your blog pretty):

When I first started blogging, I spent very little money on a cheaper theme. Eventually I upgraded to the Genesis Framework + a child theme. This theme is for self-hosted WordPress.org sites only.

Genesis Framework: This theme by Studio Press is super easy to use and you can buy custom child themes to go along with it. Whether you are just beginning or an expert blogger, this theme would work well for your! Ever since I switched to this theme, I have felt that my life as a blogger is so much easier!

Captivating Theme: If you are looking for beautiful, feminine child themes, check out the shop Restored 316! You will need the Genesis Framework to get started! This shop has amazing support and always helps when I have a question!

You can definitely go with a free WordPress theme, but I would recommend paying for a responsive theme if you plan to turn your blog into a business.

4. Create Helpful Blog Content!

Now that you’ve started your blog, it’s time to compile a list of possible blog post ideas. As a party stylist and blogger, I love to post about party themes, holidays, DIYs, gift ideas etc!

Party & Lifestyle Blog Post Ideas:

-Party Themes
-Birthday Party Ideas
-DIY Party Decorations
-Holiday Tablescapes
-Holiday Parties
-DIY Gift Ideas
-How to Start a Blog
-Favorite Recipes
-DIY Tutorials
-Party Planning Tips
-Blog Post Round-Ups (Include Links to Others’ Blog Posts)
-Product Reviews For Companies
-Personal Stories

If you want your audience to grow quickly, it’s best to write about 1-2 blog posts a week. Write up content that your readers are interested in and want to come back for more!

It’s important to add high quality photos to each blog post to keep the readers interested. A picture is worth 1,000 words and your followers will love to see your ideas!

5. Other Useful Tips:

Back up your blog:

Always backup your blog to save your important blog posts! For many years, I used UpdraftPlus Backups. There is also an upgrade version but the free one works for me. Now I used Siteground web host and they have backups built my hosting plan.

Set your permalinks:

A Permalink is the URL of your blog post. For example, this blog post appears like this: http://joyinthecommonplace.com/how-to-start-a-party-blog-using-bluehost. I’d recommend setting up your blog post URL to appear with your “post title.”

To set this up, go to your WordPress dashboard on the right hand side and click on Settings<<Permalinks and select “Post name.”

Download useful plugins:

On your WordPress dashboard, select Plugins<<Add New. Here are a couple plugins I would recommend:

Jetpack

Offers social media sharing, website security, site statistics, shows related blog posts 

Yoast SEO

Offers useful insight on Search Engine Optimization and gives useful advice on how to get your blog noticed on search engines

WP Rocket

A great caching plugin to speed up and optimize your website. This is really helpful once you have quite a bit of website content, but you might not need it right away.

Sign Up for Social Media Accounts:

It’s important to sign up for social media accounts including Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. 

Social media is so important because it helps you to promote your blog and attracts the right kind of people to your blog.

Take a look at my article 5 Ways to Promote Your Party Blog to learn about growing your audience and driving traffic to your website. 

Thanks so much for reading along! If starting a blog is for you, click here to sign up for bluehost. I hope that you can learn a few tips from my experiences and start your own!

I know the technical parts of started a blog can seem overwhelming, but I want to encourage you to keep following your dreams!

I knew very little about website building when I began but I kept pushing through my fears. You’ve got this!

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This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission if you use my links to buy a product. For more information, read my full disclosure here.