Are you looking for how to start a blog and earn money online in 2021? then you are in the right place.

Blogging is one of the most trending online businesses in 2021. Nowadays most students, housewives, business owners, and many other peoples of different professions showing interest in blogging.

One interesting thing about the Blogging business is that it does not require much investment in this field. You just need to invest in a domain name and a good hosting plan that will cost you around $60-$70 per year. And this much investment is affordable for all.

So without any further explanation let’s see how to start a blog in 2021 and earn money online.

Step by step guide to starting a blog in 2021

1. Pick a niche –

Choosing a niche is the first step whenever you decide to start a blog. If you are not aware of what a niche exactly is then let me tell you a niche is basically the topic on which you want to create your blog.

Suppose you have enough knowledge about cooking and started a blog where you share different cooking recipes and items. In this case, your niche will be Cooking.

Always try to pick a niche in which you have enough knowledge and you are passionate about. If you select a niche in which you do not have any interest then there is very little chance that you will become successful in that niche.

Things to remember before finalizing any niche

• Always go for the niche in which you have good knowledge and interest.
• Try to find a niche in which there is less competition.
• Before finalizing the niche must do some research about the earning potential of that niche.

2. Select a platform –

When it comes to selecting a platform for blogging there two most platform available, these are Blogger and WordPress.

Blogger is basically a free platform through which you can create a blog absolutely free of costs. You can purchase a domain name and add this custom domain to your blogger website.

On the other hand, WordPress needs some investment for purchasing a domain name and a good hosting plan. If you do not have much money to invest in a hosting plan then you can try free trial hosting. There are lots of hosting company who offers free 60 Day trial web hosting, you should definitely try them in the beginning phase of your blogging journey.

If you are planning to start blogging professionally then I highly recommend you to choose WordPress instead of Blogger. Because there are lots of advanced features in WordPress and also for Search Engine Optimization WordPress is a good choice.

It is not like that you can’t create a professional website in Blogger but it will take much time and effort to do it on the Blogger platform. So it is better to invest some dollars in a good hosting plan and enjoy your blogging journey.

3. Purchase a domain name and hosting plan –

A Domain name is a basic requirement whenever you are going to start a blog in WordPress. The domain name is basically the address of your blog.

Whenever a user types your domain name on any search engine they will be landed on your website. There are lots of domain registrar companies like GoDaddy, NameCheap through which you can easily purchase a domain name.

Once you purchase a Domain name for your blog, now it’s time to purchase a good hosting plan for your blog. Hosting is a place where the files and databases of your website store.

Several factors of your website like loading time, uptime, downtime of your website depend on the hosting plan. So choose your hosting plan wisely. Think twice before you finalize your hosting plan. Don’t be in a hurry while you select any hosting plan for your blog.

4. Install a theme on your blog –

Once you successfully install WordPress on your blog, now it’s time to upload a perfect professional-looking lightweight theme.

Although there will be a default theme installed previously on WordPress when you install WordPress for your blog. But the default theme of WordPress is not so professional-looking.

If you are looking for a perfect lightweight theme for your blog then I will recommend you to go for either Astra or GeneratePress. Both of the mentioned themes are available on both the free version and the premium version.

If you do not have much money to invest in one premium theme then I highly recommend you to go for the Astra free version. Astra is one of the best lightweight themes currently available on the market. I am personally using the Astra theme on my maximum blogs and getting amazing speed and loading time.

And if you can afford some dollars for a good theme then you should go for GeneratePress premium. GeneratePress is a lightweight theme specially designed for Speed, stability, and accessibility. Currently, they have more than 80k happy customers 3,379,280+ downloads across the world.

From the above-mentioned stats, you can make an idea about the popularity of the GeneratePress theme. GeneratePress premium costs only $59 yearly that you can use on up to 500 websites. If you want to purchase this theme for a lifetime then it will cost you $249 and you will receive lifetime updates.

GeneratePress Premium also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. So if you are not happy with their service you can claim the money-back guarantee within the given period of time.

5. Add some essential plugins –

Now it turns to install and activate some essential plugins for your blog. Here is some plugin name that you should use on your blog:

1. RankMath or Yoast – If you want to see your website on the first page of Google then you should effectively do SEO (Search Engine Optimization). And Search Engine Optimization becomes very easy with the help of RankMath or Yoast SEO plugin. Both of these tools are available on the free version and the premium version.

2. Elementor – Do you want to make your homepage and posts attractive? then you should install a page builder plugin like Elementor. Through this plugin, you can easily customize a beautiful homepage for your blog. You can also make your post more engaging and attractive to your audience.

3. UpdraftPlus – If you own a blog or website then you should take the backup of your website regularly. UpdraftPlus is basically used to take backup of our website automatically. It is also available in the premium version but in the initial days, you can use the free plan.

6. Start Writing Content –

All the basic setup of your website now completed. Here comes the final step, now start writing content for your blog.

Do proper keyword research, there are lots of free tools available online for doing keyword research like Ubberseggest through which you can easily find keywords for your website to write an article.

Also, use any online headline optimizer to make catchy headlines, this will help you to increase the CTR.

Conclusion

I hope this article gives you a clear overview of how to start a blog in 2021 and earn money online. If this article is helpful to you then don’t forget to share it with your friends and if there are any queries related to this post then make sure you ask me in the comment section.