When it comes to starting a new blog, it’s not always easy to find useful and relevant information. The Internet is full of how-to articles, but most of them are obsolete as things are moving very fast ahead.
In this short article, I want to tell you about the five biggest mistakes you should absolutely avoid if you decide to start your blog.
These are the mistakes I can see around time and time again. Chances are you’re off to a great start if you learn about them and avoid them at any cost:
- Not having your own domain
- Not owning your content
- Not paying for web hosting
- Not learning from successful bloggers
- Not using simple and clean theme
If you’re just starting and don’t have your blog yet, stop right here and read How to Start a Blog where I explain exactly what to do to get you up and running. Don’t worry, this article will wait here for you 🙂
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links in this post are affiliate links for products I use and love. This means if you click on such a link and take action (like subscribe, or make a purchase), I may receive some coffee money at no extra cost to you. This helps me create more content free of charge for you. And, as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support!
Mistake #1: Not having your own domain
Nothing is more important than purchasing your own domain name which will reflect the content of your blog. If you’re not sure yet what niche you want to target, but you want to start the blog anyway, go with your own name.
Many successful bloggers run their website on domain consisting of their full name or some shortcut. Just make sure not to fall victim to some third-party free services which offer your-name.their-name.com or something similar.
Here’s my detailed article where I explain every important aspect of choosing the best domain name for your blog.
Mistake #2: Not owning your content
This mistake is related to the previous one. You see this too many times. People will slowly build their content and audience on some popular platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Medium only to find out later that their content has been removed because of issues with terms of use.
I totally understand that it’s more convenient to go where the traffic already is and nothing is more appealing than popular social networks, but you need to realize one thing.
Once you upload your content to their servers, it’s not your content anymore. It becomes their content and they can do whatever they want with it.
Make sure to have your content on your own server. This means you’ll need to pay for web hosting services, but you’ll also have total control over your articles, images, links and mailing lists.
If one day your web hosting provider goes under, you just move your content somewhere else (provided you have regular backups).
Mistake #3: Not paying for web hosting
I hope you see the pattern already; one mistake leads to another one and another one. Unlike your own domain, which you absolutely must pay for, some hosting providers offer free services as a part of their marketing campaign.
Avoid such offer and pay for the service. Most of the time, you get only a second-grade or watered-down version when you go free, you’ll waste time by trying to optimize your slow blog only to finally realize that you need to upgrade to a paid plan anyway.
Don’t waste your time trying to save on wrong things. Skip your morning Starbucks session and pay for a quality web hosting.
I can personally recommend Namecheap and SiteGround hosting, but there are many other great services out there. Here’s my list of 10 best web hosting plans that I update regularly.
You don’t need to spend money on the managed hosting, but choose wisely so you can start your blog right away.
Mistake #4: Not learning from successful bloggers
There are many amazing bloggers who offer their experience for free. Follow them and learn from them.
Don’t try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to blogging. Lots of others already pushed through, make sure to learn from them and to avoid embarrassing mistakes.
Mistake #5: Not using simple and clean theme
I get it. When you start, you are stoked and you see yourself as a new worldwide content provider for masses.
There are lots of WordPress themes that will play in this mood. But you’re not building Newspaper or Magazine website, you’re building a blog.
Don’t fall victim by purchasing expensive themes you absolutely don’t need.
You need to realize that it’s not 1990 anymore and most of your potential readers are using primarily only one device to access the web these days, their smartphones!
You need to make sure that your blog looks great on a smartphone first, then you can worry about those few sitting in front of the monitor behind their desks. Not the other way around!
You need to make sure that your blog is fast and loads on smartphone immediately.
With super complicated theme full of plugins, banners, and other useless and irrelevant content, the page will take ages to load and your visitor will probably be gone a long time before your website will finally show up.
That’s why I always recommend limiting the number of plugins to an absolute minimum and using a fast and simple theme like Hello from Elementor.
Here’s a simple step by step guide when you will learn How to Quickly Create a Professional WordPress Layout with Elementor Pro.
If you don’t like Elementor, here’s my list of 17 fastest WordPress themes you can choose from.
There you have it. Five biggest mistakes to avoid when building your new blog. Get your domain, use quality web hosting service, learn from others and don’t blot your design. Pretty easy.
