Do I Need Hosting to Start a Free WordPress Blog?
WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) used to create blogs. It’s most likely you’ve heard of it if you’re reading this article — it powers nearly 30% of all the sites on the internet. That’s a lot of websites. But why should you choose WordPress over other content management systems (CMS’s) when you can start a blog for free?
Many people believe that WordPress is limited to simply blogging and doesn’t offer many other features useful to websites. This couldn’t be further from the truth. WordPress offers much more than basic blogging tools and has many features that can be customized to fit almost any business or website need. It’s a flexible platform that can be easily managed and does not require a web developer to use.
Features That Make WordPress Suitable For Blogging
Websites that use WordPress to blog use its many features to create fully functioning blogs with stunning designs. Here are just a few of the reasons why WordPress is a perfect fit for blogging:
Fully Customizable
One of the things that makes WordPress so flexible is that it’s very easy to customize its look and functionality to fit any business or personal need. This is a huge advantage if you decide to use it for blogging. You can use a free account with WordPress to try it out and you don’t have to pay for the privilege. When you do launch a paid account, WordPress offers many free themes and plugins that can be downloaded and added to your site to make it look exactly like a professional blog.
SEO-Friendly
When someone decides to blog about your product or service, you can bet they’ll want to maximize your exposure and turn it into qualified leads. To achieve this, they’ll need to make sure that your blog has the keywords they’re targeting in their articles and that your site’s overall architecture is designed to allow for more organic traffic.
Thankfully, WordPress was designed with SEO in mind and makes this process very simple. Whether you decide to use free WordPress tools like Google Analytics to keep track of your site’s traffic or hire a professional to handle this for you, it’s simple enough to set up your site so that it can be easily found by search engines.
Multilingual Ready
Did you know that WordPress is a multilingual platform? This means that it can easily be configured to work with a language pack. In other words, you can set up your site to work with English, French, or Spanish content effortlessly. You don’t need to hire a translator to make your content available in another language. If your content will have a different tone in another language, you can simply choose the correct language pack for that specific use.
Free
One of the biggest benefits of WordPress is that it’s completely free. You don’t have to pay a penny to use it. However, this also means that it’s limited in many ways. To get the most out of it, you’ll need to decide what you need and whether or not you can live with certain restrictions. For example, you’re not going to enjoy using WordPress if you need a solution that’s completely free but can’t be customized at all. Even more free blogging platforms like Blogger offer far more flexibility.
If you’re looking for a free solution that doesn’t require any previous knowledge of programming, WordPress is the perfect choice. While it might not have all the features of a Pro solution, it’ll be perfect for basic blogging needs. And at least you’ll be able to get the basics right.
Manageable
One of the things that make WordPress so flexible is that it’s very easy to use. Anyone can download it, install it on their server, and start writing. It doesn’t require any previous knowledge of programming or web designing to get up and running with a basic blog. This makes it perfect for people who need something simple yet robust enough to manage their content.
If you need someone else to take care of the technicalities associated with running your blog (backups, security, etc.), you can easily outsource this to a professional. But for people who want to learn how to manage a blog themselves, WordPress is the clear choice. It’s very secure and does not require any complex set-up.
Open Source
WordPress is an open-source project developed by the open source community for the benefit of the open source community. This means that anyone can download it, modify it, and share their changes and enhancements with the rest of the community. If you’re wondering why WordPress is such a popular content management system, it’s because of this open source nature.
This is also one of the reasons that it’s so flexible. If you need a specific functionality that isn’t included in WordPress, you can always download the open source version and add it yourself. This way, you’ll ensure that your blog has all the features you need and won’t end up with something that was never meant to be a part of WordPress in the first place.
Starting a blog with WordPress is as easy as 1-2-3. You’ll need to choose a good web host for your site (more on this below), install WordPress on their server, and then add content to it. To make it even easier for you, we’ve compiled a list of everything you need to know about starting a free WordPress blog.
The Steps To Take
The first step to take if you decide to use WordPress to start a blog is to choose a good web hosting provider. It’s important to find a reliable company that has an infrastructure fit for heavy traffic and is backed by a highly-available, 24/7 support team. Another important consideration is whether or not you want to use a free or paid version of WordPress. If you choose the paid version, you’ll need to pay for the privilege of having a blog. This may be a good option for you if you’re looking for a way to monetize your blog. Paid versions of WordPress offer more features and are more secure. They also offer additional advantages like taking care of backups for you.
As a beginner, it’s recommended to use a free version of WordPress and take advantage of its many features. Once you’ve mastered the art of blogging with WordPress, you can upgrade to a paid version and take advantage of all the security features and superior functionality that come with that.
Technicalities
If you’re wondering what kind of server to use for your WordPress blog, it’s highly recommended to go with a managed server from a reputable web host. A managed server takes care of all the technicalities associated with running your blog for you. This can be a great advantage if you’re looking for something simpler and do not want to deal with the hassle of setting up a dedicated server. Managed servers are also highly secured against hacking because they’re maintained by a professional team with the most up-to-date software and optimal security configurations.
Managed servers come with a variety of features, from simple email to complex e-commerce solutions. You can ask the web host you’re considering using whether or not they have a managed server available to use. If they do, that’s the perfect option for you.
Legalities
Did you know that WordPress is a registered trademark of the WordPress Foundation? This means that you can’t use the word “WordPress” or any derivation of it in your blog’s title or tagline without being fined by the trademark holder. For the avoidance of doubt, this trademark only applies to the WordPress logo and not its functionality. Still not sure if using “WordPress” is okay? Check out this helpful guide by the WordPress Foundation explaining their stance on the matter.
Also, make sure to read the Trespassers will be blocked policy implemented by WordPress. This policy states that, according to the site’s terms of service, any content that is likely to cause confusion or legal issues (such as copyright infringement) will be removed. In practice, this means that WordPress will remove any content that promotes products or services that are already being handled by their competitors (e.g., content that promotes a specific mattress company when Sleepopolis has an established reputation as a well-known sleep resource online). While this may not be desirable for a business owner looking to establish their own blog, it’s good to know that WordPress is protecting their intellectual property.
WordPress is a very flexible and robust content management system, and it’s perfect for blogging. If you’ve decided that you’d like to try it out but aren’t sure what kind of features you need, take a little bit of time to read this article. It’ll go over a number of tips and tricks for using WordPress to create a blog that you can leverage to its fullest potential.