Starting a blog checklist – The ultimate blogging checklist
Are you starting a blog and you could really use a blogging checklist to make sure you don’t forget anything?
There is a lot more to blogging than writing blog posts so it’s very understandable that you would like to check things off a list so you can feel confident you didn’t miss anything and you’re doing things the right way.
A lot of blogging tasks are new to beginner bloggers, this is why a complete blogging checklist that covers all areas of blogging is a must-have blogging tool.
This post is an online blogging checklist to help you launch a blog, if you would like a printable version of this checklist that includes extras like: blog post writing, SEO and blog promotion, make sure to grab this printable PDF here.
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How should I prepare for a blog?
The best way to prepare for a successful blog, is to plan out all the details.
You need to ask yourself:
- who your target audience is
- what they are struggling with and
- how you can help them overcome their struggles
To answer all these questions and more, grab my free Ultimate Blog Planner Workbook and plan your blog for success.
GET THE FREE
Ultimate Blog Planner Workbook
Starting a Blog Checklist
The checklist below is all about starting a blog and getting your blog ready for launch.
It’s divided in 7 parts:
- Things to do before starting a blog
- WordPress hosting setup checklist
- WordPress blog setup checklist
- Branding your blog checklist
- Blog Pages checklist
- Blog Post checklist
- Blog Equipment checklist
If you would also like a checklist for content writing, SEO and a blog promotion checklist that shows you what to do after publishing a blog post, make sure to grab my 7 page printable blogging checklist PDF here:
The Ultimate Blogger’s Checklist
Grab this $5 printable checklist and never miss a thing again!
7 PAGES OF CHECKLISTS
✔ Blog Launch Checklist
✔ Blog Post Checklist
✔ SEO Checklist
✔ Blog Promotion Checklist
Starting A Blog Checklist
Here’s my complete list of things to do before launching a blog.
Things to do before starting a blog
✔ Determine The Purpose Of Your Blog
Why do you want to start a blog? What are your goals?
✔ Decide On A Blogging Topic
What are you going to blog about? What is your niche?
To help you decide on a profitable blog niche, read:
Blog Niche Ideas (That Set You Up For Success)
✔ Choose Your Target Audience
Even though you have picked a niche, it’s still important to pick a specific target audience within that niche. For instance: You could start a blog in the travel niche but your audience will be completely different if you would write about luxury cruise holidays for retirees or if you write about budget backpacking holidays.
✔ Research Your Competition
Is your niche competitive? How does your competition promote and monetise their blog?
✔ Choose A Blog Name
Brainstorm catchy blog names and check for domain name availability. For blog naming tips, read this post:
What Should I Name My Blog? 20 Tips For Finding The Perfect Blog name
Type in your chosen domain name in the box below to see if it’s available.
✔ Plan Your Blog
Before starting a blog it’s a good idea to plan all the details of your blog. Grab my free Ultimate Blog Planner Workbook below and plan your blog step by step.
Get the Free
Ultimate Blog Planner Workbook
WordPress Hosting Set Up Checklist
To start a professional blog that can turn into a money making business, your have to start a blog with WordPress.org. The next few steps show you how to set up web hosting for your WordPress blog.
✔ Register Your Domain Name
If you’ve found a domain name that’s available, make sure to register it ASAP. You can register your domain name with Namecheap which usually costs between $9 and $19 per year. Or you can get it for free when you host your blog with Bluehost.
✔ Buy Web Hosting
To be able to get your WordPress blog online, you need to buy web hosting. Bluehost is a top recommended WordPress host that makes setting up your WordPress site super easy. They do all the technical stuff for your, like installing a SSL certificate, linking your (FREE) domain name and if you sign up with the link below, they even install WordPress for you.
Start Your Blog With Bluehost Here
For a complete step by step hosting set up guide click here.
✔ Install WordPress
Most web hosting providers will make you install WordPress yourself. But if you host with Bluehost and set up your hosting with this special link they will install it for you.
✔ Install an SSL Certificate
An SSL certificate stand for Secure Sockets Layer and it encrypts data that’s sent on the internet. Google prefers websites with SSL certificates, it shows them that your site is secure.
If you don’t have an SSL certificate, it will say NOT SECURE in front of your domain name in the Google url bar. This might scare your audience away and Google doesn’t like it either.
If you host with Bluehost, you’ll have nothing to worry about, they install a free SSL certificate for you.
WordPress blog setup checklist
✔ Install a Premium WordPress Theme
Building your website is a lot easier when you use a premium theme. For what they are, they are actually really affordable, because you literally get a website in a box. Great lightweight fast loading themes are Astra and Generate Press.
These themes even have a free version available so you can always start with that and go from there.
✔ Install a Security Plugin
Many WordPress websites get hacked every year, to protect your site you have to install a security plugin like iThemes Security or Wordfence Security.
For more details on protecting your blog, read:
How To Protect Your Blog From Hackers
✔ Create a Secure Password
Creating login details that are impossible to guess is super important. Never leave your username as admin, change it ASAP. For more details read this post.
✔ Install an Image Compression Plugin
To make sure your website loads quick enough, you need to compress your images. The best way to do this is with a plugin. ShortPixel is the best image optimisation and compression plugin that will improve your overall website performance.
✔ Set Your Permalink Structure
Setting your permalink structure is SUPER IMPORTANT. It is one of the most important things to do when setting up your WordPress blog.
When setting this up, you are basically choosing how your urls are going to look. Sometimes WordPress has it set as default to show the date in the url, this is NOT what you want. The best way to show your url is with the blog post title in it (this will also help your SEO).
For exact details how to do this, read:
What To Do After You Install WordPress
✔ Create Categories
Decide on your 3-4 main blogging categories and create them (in the WordPress dashboard > Posts > Categories > Create New Category.)
✔ Set up Google Analytics
To be able to track your blog’s traffic and performance, it’s a good idea to set up Google Analytics. For a step by step guide how to do this click here.
✔ Upload Your Website to Google Search Console
Another great Google tool is Google Search Console. You definitely want to upload your site to get more insight about your blog. Adding your site is easy, you can follow these instructions here.
Branding Your Blog Checklist
✔ Create Your Logo and Branding
If you want to create a brand that your audience can recognise and trust, it’s important to put a little bit of effort into branding your blog. It doesn’t have to be complicated, the main thing is to be consistent.
For a full DIY guide on creating a brand for your blog, go here:
How to Design a Kick-Ass Brand for Your Blog
And for logo inspiration go here:
1000+ Feminine Logo Design Ideas
✔ Take a Friendly Profile Picture of Yourself
Use this profile photo in your sidebar introduction, on your About Page, and as profile pic for all your social media accounts.
✔ Create a Gravatar
A Gravatar is that small image that shows up when you comment on other blog posts or Youtube. It is a good idea to create one, because it makes you stand out in the comments and it makes your brand recognisable.
If you don’t know how to create a Gravatar, here’s a quick tutorial:
✔ Create a Favicon
A Favicon is that little icon in the browser tab that makes it easy to recognise your site when someone has 39 tabs open. You can find out how to create one in this post:
How to Design a Kick-Ass Brand for Your Blog
✔ Set Up A Domain Email Address
Another important part of branding your blog is to create an email address with your domain name. Here’s a tutorial on how to set this up with Bluehost:
How To Set Up A Free Email Address With Bluehost
Blog Pages Checklist
Every blog should have the following pages:
✔ Home Page
Every blog should have a Home Page. Tell you audience what to expect from your blog and how you can help them.
What is the main thing you want your audience to do when they get to your site? Turn this into a relevant Call To Action.
Offer a helpful optin freebie to entice your site visitors to sign up to your email list.
✔ Blog
Create a separate page for your blog posts.
✔ About Page
Tell your audience a little bit more about you, but make sure to keep it short and relevant. Use your About Page to tell your readers how you can help them and what they can expect from you. Always include an email sign up form with an optin freebie on your About Page.
✔ Contact Page
Always create a Contact Page for your blog. Let your fans know that you’d love to hear from them and make it easy for them to contact you by adding a contact form to your page.
You never know who wants to contact you:
- Your blog visitors with questions or feedback
- Bloggers interested in collaborating
- Bloggers wanting to write a guest post on your blog
- Potential sponsors
- Clients (if you offer a service)
✔ Privacy Policy
All blogs collect personal information from your website visitors by using cookies, email newsletter sign up forms, comments sections, Google Analytics etc.
Because of this you are required by law to have a Privacy Policy page on your website.
✔ Disclaimer
Your disclaimer lets your site visitors know that you don’t take legal responsibility for anything you publish on your blog. You need a disclaimer to protect yourself from lawsuits.
✔ Terms & Conditions
Your Terms & Conditions are basically your website rules. Although it’s not a legal requirement to have a Terms & Conditions page, it is in your best interest. Your terms will protect your rights and your intellectual property.
These last 3 pages are legal pages and you are required by law to have legal pages on your blog. To learn more about blogging legally you can read my post here:
Is Your Blog Legal? Follow These 7 Steps To Make Sure
And you can buy all legal pages you need in one Affordable Bundle here.
Blog Post Checklist
✔ Blog Post Has A Clear Goal
Before writing your blog post, think about the purpose of your post. Are you trying to get more traffic, more email signups or is it an in depth “How to” post to help your reader?
✔ You’ve researched a long-tail keyword for your post
Don’t start writing blog post about random topics. Research your keywords with tools like Ubersuggest, Semrush and MOZ and try to find keywords with a high search volume and a low competition.
✔ You’ve Added Your Keywords In Your Post
Add your keywords in your blog post title, introduction, body copy and conclusion.
✔ Blog Post Has Been Formatted
To make your blog post easier to read, it’s important to format your post. Use headings and subheadings, short paragraphs and sentences, and add images, bullet lists and screenshots.
✔ Font Is Easy To Read
Pick an easy to read font and make sure it’s at least 18pt in size. When increasing your font size, also increase your line height.
✔ Post Has Been Edited
Before hitting publish, always edit your blog post. Read it out loud to see if it flows and pick up on any typos or grammatical errors.
✔ Post Has A Conclusion
Always end your blog post with a conclusion and summarise the main points of your article.
✔ Post has a Call To Action
What would you like your reader to do after reading your post? It’s important to tell them, because they’re not likely to guess it.
Do you want them to:
- buy a (digital) product?
- sign up for your email list?
- inquire about your service?
Tell your reader what to do next at the end of your blog post and also add Call To Actions in other relevant spots throughout your post.
What equipment do I need to start blogging?
Here’s a list of blogging tools that are essential and some that are optional depending on your goals and needs.
Essential equipment you need for blogging
✔ Computer or Laptop
✔ Reliable Internet Connection
✔ Web Hosting
I recommend using Bluehost because they make setting up your WordPress site super easy plus you get a free domain name. They do all the technical stuff for your, like installing a SSL certificate, linking your domain name and if you sign up with the link below, they even install WordPress for you.
Start Your Blog With Bluehost Here
✔ WordPress.org
If you want to start a professional blog, you need use WordPress.org. Don’t confuse this with WordPress.com which is a free blogging platform that’s not suitable for professional blogging.
When you start a blog with Bluehost with this link, they install WordPress.org for you.
✔ Premium WordPress Theme
I recommend Astra or Generate Press. These themes are both lightweight, fast loading, easy to use and mobile optimised.
✔ Legal Pages
To make sure you are blogging legally, you need to add 3 legal pages to your blog: A privacy policy page, a disclaimer and a terms and conditions.
You can get all these pages in the affordable Legal Bundle Value Pack, I’ve shopped around and this was the most affordable legal bundle that I could find that’s is especially created for bloggers.
Check out the Legal Bundle Value Pack here.
To find out more about blogging legally you can take this Free Legal Course For Bloggers.
✔ Image Compression Plugin
To make sure your website loads quick enough, you need to compress your images. The best way to do this is with a plugin. ShortPixel is the best image optimisation and compression plugin that will improve your overall website performance.
✔ Email Marketing Provider
I recommend Mailerlite or Convertkit because these are both easy to use email marketing platforms created especially for bloggers and they have a free plan to get started with.
✔ Social Sharing Buttons
To make it easy for your audience to share your blog post, you need to add social sharing buttons. I use Social Warfare which is easy to set up and they have a free plan available.
✔ Canva
This super handy design tool is every blogger’s best friend! It’s perfect for creating Pinterest pins, social media posts, optin freebies and more.
Canva is free to use so make sure to try it out here.
Optional blogging tools
✔ Tailwind Social Media Scheduler
If you want to grow your blog traffic, you need to be consistent with posting on Pinterest and social media. Tailwind is an approved scheduler and can be used to schedule Pinterest pins, Instagram posts and they’re about to launch a Facebook scheduler as well.
You can try Tailwind for free here with their lifetime free plan.
✔ Stockphoto membership
As a blogger you need a lot of high quality images for blog posts, social media posts and digital product creation. Signing up for a stock photo membership will save you time on searching for suitable images and it will help with creating a branded blog image.
Pixistock is my favourite stock photo library with affordable packages.
✔ SendOwl
If you want to sell digital products on your blog, SendOwl is the tool you need.
SendOwl lets you upload your digital product, track your sales, create upsells or discounts and you can even use it to sell physical products, subscriptions and services.
It also integrates with your email marketing platform so you can add buyers of a certain product to the right subscriber group.
Starting a Blog Checklist
This is my complete blogging checklist. I you want a printable version of this checklist with bonus checklists for Blog Post Writing, Blog Post Promoting and SEO (Search Engine Optimisation), make sure to grab my Ultimate Blogger’s Checklist here:
Need more help starting your blog?
Sign up for my Free Blogging Course
KICKSTART YOUR MONEY MAKING BLOG
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Thanks for sharing
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This checklist is super helpful! I wish I came across in-depth post like this one when I first started my blogging journey! Great post! I’ll highly recommend it to new bloggers. 🌸
Thanks Sandra!