Make A Photograpy Blog

We already know you have AMAZING images, now it’s time for you to make a photography blog, and share those images with the world & make a photography blog!

I am constantly asked how to set up a personal site, so I thought it’s time for a step-by-step tutorial on how to make a photography blog.  Follow these steps and you’ll have YOUR OWN domain (i.e. YourNamePhotography.com) in less than 10 minutes.  If you’d rather see a video, I go through these exact steps in this video in under 4 minutes.

Make a Photography Blog (on YouTube)

It’s best to get your own domain, as opposed to choosing a free host (blogspot, tumblr, etc.) for a number of reasons:

-Stronger branding message
-Better in Google rankings
-More control
-Unlimited design options
-YOU OWN IT.  This is very important!  You’re in control.

HINT:  Bookmark this page NOW!  Even if you aren’t planning to set up a blog today, you’ll have this as a reference for when you do decide to take the plunge! 

PS, if you purchase the hosting plans through my links, I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.  Thanks in advance…It means the world!

Step 1: Sign up for hosting, and get your free domain

Visit Bluehost.com and purchase your domain and hosting package.  It’s a super low rate of $6.95 a month (cheap!) and you get your free domain (YourNamePhotography.com) for a year thrown in as well.  Bluehost is perfect for photographers for a number of reasons and I can’t recommend them enough.  I’ve hosted with pretty much every company you can think of, and Bluehost’s rock solid service, amazing features, and AWESOME/FRIENDLY customer service has me as a life-long customer.

Click on the green “Sign Up Now” button to begin.

The next page is where you enter the domain of your choice.  Don’t worry if you want to change the domain at a later day, or add variations (i.e. YourNamePhotography.com, YourLastNamePhoto.com) at a later date.  The great thing about Bluehost (among many other things) is that you can host UNLIMITED sites under one package.  Score!

Next fill in your contact information.

 In the next step, fill out your billing information and the package you choose.  There are a bunch of different add-ons you can choose, but the one I DEFINITELY recommend getting is the DOMAIN PRIVACY WHOIS.  Without it, anyone can see your contact information, home address, phone number, email etc.  By adding on the PRIVACY WHOIS, Bluehost puts in their contact information so yours isn’t exposed.  This is a must get!

Step 2: Install WordPress

Wordpress is the blogging platform you’ll be using for your website.  It’s SUPER easy to use, and is the standard that pretty much everyone has for their website.  It’s also extremely SEO (Search Engine Optimization) friendly so people can find your awesome site easily!

Now that you’ve purchased your domain and hosting, you’ll have access to your cPanel.  The cPanel is the “nerve centre” of your website where you’ll have control over most aspects.  It looks overwhelming at first, but you can pretty much ignore 90% of the icons listed here.

Under the “site builders” category in your cPanel, click the “Wordpress” icon.

 The next screen is pretty straight forward if you follow these steps.

Step 1:  Asks where you would like WordPress installed.  For the majority of you I would leave this option blank.  Leaving it blank installs WordPress in your home directory so when you go to www.YourSite.com , you’d see your fresh WordPress install.

Step 2:  Advanced options, where you name your site (Your Name Photography) and choose a complex password.  Be sure to write down the username and password because we’ll need that information in a second to log-in to the site.

Step 3: These advanced plug-ins we don’t need right now, so uncheck them all.  They’re an unnecessary extra cost at this point.

Step 4: Accept the legal terms & conditions, and click “submit.”

CONGRATS FRIEND!  You’re done!!!

Wasn’t that easy????   Once WordPress is finished installing, you’ll be given a URL that looks something like this:

http://YourSite.com/wp-admin

This is your login address for your new website where you’ll add blog posts, update pages, and configure your entire new site!  Bookmark this URL, and click on it now!

Once you’re at the login page, enter the username and password that you created.

Step 3: Change the theme

In the final step, here’s where you really start to get creative, and put the finishing touch on your blog.  There are literally endless numbers of themes that you can choose from to define the look of your new site!  Get creative and choose one that best fits your brand and the esthetic you’re going for!

Along the left hand side of your control panel, click on “Appearances” and then click on “Themes.”  This is where your themes are stored. 

 Click on the next tab “Install Themes.”  This is where you can browse through all the free themes available to you.

I like the theme “F8” which is a free theme from the good folks at Graph Paper Press.  It’s a photography specific theme, and great for showcasing images.  Graph Paper Press has an amazing selection of premium themes (available for a price), but “F8” is free, and a great starting place for us!

Congrats!  You’re now officially done.  You’ve gone from no website, to having an awesome looking website with YOUR own custom domain name.  How cool!

These steps are super easy to implement, but remember, Bluehost technical support is available to you 24 hours a day for FREE.  They’re so much fun, you might as well just call em’ up to chat  Click HERE to visit Bluehost.com and signup for your hosting package.

Hope this helps, leave a comment below if it does, and happy website building!  Let me know how it went once you’ve decided to make a photography blog!

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