Here's the deal
You can decide to waste your extra time chatting
or start a lifestyle blog and make money!
if quick money, is your choice, am going to show you exactly how to make money with a lifestyle blog for beginners.
From the words of Pele,
Everything you are going to learn here today is going to work out perfectly as a result of your hard work and sacrifice.
and not by Magic or Accident.
Let's get into it already.
Before starting, It's good, you know me.
I'm Prince John Okosun, a blogger, marketer, and student.
Spent the past 3 years learning and blogging. Be sure of getting the absolute working lifestyle blogging tips from this article.
Blogging is now a career people can venture into. Instead of spending most of your days doing nothing or chatting,
You could easily start a blog and start making money online. One good thing you are going to love about blogging is Freedom.
Bloggers are their own boss.
No one is pressuring you to do what you don't wish to do. Your blog is yours and 100% of your activities get to be decided by you.
You don't have a boss telling you when to come to work and the time to spend at work daily. No.
In blogging, you are fully in control - your own boss.
Apart from that, blogging can also be a part-time job for you. Many bloggers did this successfully.
What do you do when you get back from work? Sleep... What if you could make extra income with just about an hour of your sleep dedicated to blogging?
Makes sense right?
That's what blogging can do, give you a stress-free life while making tangible income monthly or even daily.
Like the idea? - let's turn your weird personality into a lifestyle blog!
The first few questions here are
In other words, a lifestyle blogger is a person who blogs about herself, things she uses, the decisions she/he have made, places she has been to etc.
Lifestyle blogging is one easy to practice niche because everything about it is all you are, no need to read long articles to gain knowledge and share with others
because the knowledge people want is your own reflection of a situation.
Meanwhile, those in the lifestyle niche, have no competition on their way because readers of such blogs search for personal reflections and not cloud suggestions.
So if a reader finds you interesting, such a person will definitely read your blog daily.
Here are the steps required...
A domain name is a combination of a blog name and a domain extension. i.e
John (blog name) .com (domain extension)
It acts as the address of your blog, with a domain name, people on the internet can access your blog.
No blog exists without a domain name.
Ready to get yours? if yes, do note that it is not FREE.
The common domain extensions for blogs are .com, .net, .org, .com.ng etc
Make it related to your niche
Domains are important because they go a long way to affect your SEO rank and audience.
Brain dean uses "Backlinko" for his blog where he posts about how to increase SEO with backlinks.
Therefore, removing the "o" gives you "backlink". Making it super easy for those in the SEO niche to remember and write.
Unique and Personal
A good example for this is "Neil Patel" which is owned by Neil Patel.
Yea.
The dude used his name.
So if you remember the blog you have got to remember the person.
Another good example, you are probably familiar with, is Linda Ikeji.
Short and Easy to write
Short domain names are cool but should not be too short.
Many top domains tend to be around 4 - 6 letters long
e.g Facebook, Twitter etc
but there are others which are long but still easy to write
e.g ShoutMeLoud, BloggingPrince etc.
In summary, use a combination of words which users can easily write and pronounce.
Using a Blog name generator
Blog name generators are online tools which can help in mixing words together to form a good domain name.
Though not all suggestions are considerable, sometimes a lifestyle blog name generator can actually be of a great help.
Found the right blog name?
Let's get a domain name registered for you.
Here is a deal for you
Get a cheap .com domain name for $0.88 with NameCheap coupon code
interested?
2. Input your desired domain name (for example bloggingprince.com)
3. Check if your domain is available, if yes. Click "Add to cart"
4. On the right, Click "View Cart".
5. On the next page, You get to use Namecheap $0.88 coupon code and also get free Whoisguard.
6. Paste the coupon code "COM88" and click "Apply".
7. The above message, will display, Follow the create account link to create a NameCheap account.
8. Here is the account creation page, Fill in the details and create.
9. It will redirect back to the purchase page and automatically apply the coupon code.
My domain above now shows "$1.06" (i.e $0.88 for the domain and $0.18 ICAAN fee) instead of "$11.16"
Please note: it works only for 1 year!! - renewal is $10.98
Cool right?
Go ahead and confirm the order.
10. On the next page, you are requested to fill in more details about yourself.
Note: untick, "I am registry on behalf of a company"
11. On the payment page, you can make payment with Paypal, ATM Card (verve not allowed) etc.
12. Make the payment "Pay now" and that's all.
You now have a cheap .com domain name on Namecheap!!
Can I use my domain now? - Yes but then you need a web host before you can actually use the domain name.
Other options though include how to start a blog for free and make money (blogger blog).
it is a Storage space,
where users can access your website via your domain name.
i.e Domain name is the address while Web host is the house and WordPress is the occupant!!
Therefore, you need a web host in other to start blogging. This is why I recommend users who have initial capital ( above NGN15,000) to use WordPress.
But if you can't afford such, you can always start a lifestyle blog for free on the blogspot platform.
Have initial capital?
Let's purchase a cheap and reliable web hosting plan but first, let's see what matters in web hosting packages.
Things to note when purchasing a web host
Let me break them down for you!
Server Uptime
This talks more about the reliability of your website online. Certain times, your host is going to go offline almost compulsory for all shared plans.
The Uptime percentage, enlighten you on how long such constant offline occurrences are going to last.
99.9% uptime is usually 0KAY.
Data Storage (Disk Space)
A host as earlier explained is a storage space where your website is being stored.
Now, a website is made of files which include CMS files, theme files, plugin files, Images etc.
The amount of Disk space you get, determine the number of files you can save on your server.
Bandwidth
At every point, you are going to expect visitors to access your blog, now these visitors are referred to as "traffic".
The bandwidth space determines the number of traffic your website can take before going offline.
Having a high bandwidth is good for you, but then small blogs with only a few visitors per day don't need super high bandwidth space.
Hosting Support
A blind man needs a helper to help walk easily
and so do you.
Hosting support is a group of customer agents that help out in setup and in fixing issues whenever any arouses.
A few weeks ago (while in WordPress), I faced email abuse issues after uploading a blunted plugin.
I could not solve it, so I had to refer to Namecheap support and they got it fixed.
That's the advantage of using a Web host with good support.
SSL Certificate
Often referred to as HTTPS, is a secure protocol that helps you protect your users from online hackers
So if at any point, you decide to sell products on your blog, the HTTPS will help safe guide your customers
Other benefits of SSL certificate includes
Therefore, you should be SSL certificate considerate when purchasing a web hosting plan for your lifestyle blog.
Automatic backups
While talking about Hosting support, I talked about facing email abuse problems which my host helped me fix.
Automatic backups come handy in such situations.
Having a web host that automatically backup your files and posts will ensure you maximum security against online problems such as hackers and viruses.
You can easily restore your backed up data.
There are many other features to watch out for...
But these basic criteria are quite enough to get yourself a good web host.
I have reviewed a lot of Hosting companies, based on pricing and features
Of all, I happen to prefer Namecheap (after a Namecheap review) as a first choice and Garanntor as a second choice.
This is because these two web hosts provide really affordable packages with good features.
Ready to get a web host?
let's get started...
Click here to get 28% OFF Namecheap Hosting.
On the hosting page,
Choose any plan of your choice - For a beginner blogger, you can go for the "Stellar" plan which costs $2.88 per month and $24.88 (NGN9,043) per year i.e 28% discount.
Renewal price is $34.56 (NGN12,574) per year.
Features of Namecheap Stellar plan are
Reasonable for a beginner lifestyle blog.
Ready for it?
Select 1 year and US Datacenter >> Add to Cart.
On the next page, click "Use a domain I own with Namecheap".
If you are not signed it, Namecheap requires you to sign.
After logging in, you can then select the domain name which you previously registered.
Next, is to click continue at the right side.
Go ahead and Confirm Order.
On the next page, Add your card details and Continue to make the purchase.
After purchase,
It's time to set up your Namecheap hosting for WordPress.
You have first got to configure your domain Nameservers with your new hosting package.
and here is how to get it done.
Here it goes.
Open your email,
Look for a mail from "Namecheap Hosting Team".
Title of email is usually "Your Hosting Welcome Guide for yourdomain.com".
Found it? - if yes, screw down to "Our Nameservers".
Those are the nameservers you are going to set on your domain name.
Here is a well-detailed guide from Namecheap Knowledgebase to setup nameservers.
Let me take you through a quick WordPress tour.
All that this means is, with WordPress, you don't need to work hard to get things done.
For example, if you wish to start selling right on your blog, you can start doing it in a few minutes,
By installing Woocommerce (free).
If you then wish to receive your earnings from selling items you can install Paypal (free), Paystack (Free), or VoguePay (Free) etc.
In times of SEO, you can install the free version of Yoast SEO and you are good to go.
What about making your blog look cool? - WordPress has a large collection of both premium and free themes for lifestyle blogs.
Last good thing is,
WordPress is 100% free all you need is a domain name and hosting which you already have by now
i.e if you have followed all the steps in this post.
ready to install WordPress?
It's automatic and will take less than 5 minutes.
First thing first, is to access your email account (same email you used on Namecheap for purchasing hosting plan).
Look for a mail from "Namecheap Hosting Team".
Title of email is usually "Your Hosting Welcome Guide for yourdomain.com".
Found it? - if yes, screw down to "cPanel Access".
Open your Control panel using "https://server234.web-hosting.com/cpanel"
and log in with your Username and Password (provide in the mail under cPanel Access).
On your Cpanel, Scroll down to the very bottom and click "WordPress" under "Softaculous Apps Installer".
Click "Install Now".
Finally, "Install".
It will take a few minutes to do the installation.
Go to https://yourblogname.com/wp-admin/ to access your WordPress dashboard.
Welcome to your dashboard.
This is where you are going to be spending most of your free hours!
Your website is already active and you can view it using yourdomainname.com
Let's get started with the customization of your Lifestyle blog.
Setting Up WordPress Permalinks
Permalinks are URL structures that determine who each post on your blog's address is gonna be like.
WordPress gives you the option to choose your own permalink structure.
Go to Settings >> Permalinks
Select "Post name" and save.
Visit other settings sections "General, Writing, Reading, Discussion, Media, Privacy etc" for further options.
Next, is to install and setup basic plugins for your lifestyle blog.
Installing Plugins
Just before installing plugins,
Its good you know what plugins are...
WordPress plugin are PHP files which help improve the functionality of a WordPress blog,
Functions such as E-commerce which by default are not available can be made available using plugins.
These Plugins are not developed by WordPress except a few.
Some plugins are free while others are premium (paid).
Get the Concept? - Let's install and set up important plugins.
Akismet WordPress Plugin
Akismet WordPress plugin is a free plugin from Automatic to help protect your blog from spamming comments.
Spamming comments are links embedded in a comment which does not come from real humans instead they are sent in bulk to gain abusive backlinks.
Akismet is one of the best WordPress plugins for business due to its fight against spamming comments.,.
To install and activate it,
Go to Plugins >> Add New.
Search for "Akismet Anti-Spam".
Install it, then activate it.
watch the above video from ShoutMeLoud.
Jetpack WordPress plugin
Jetpack is another great and recommended WordPress plugin for blogs with features such as site tracking, image optimization, website performance etc.
To install Jetpack,
Go to Plugin >> Add new >> Search for Jetpack.
Download Jetpack (Install) and Activate it.
Follow, the onscreen instructions.
Yoast SEO WordPress Plugin
Yoast SEO is a basic WordPress plugin with both free and premium versions.
The plugin helps to make your site search engine friendly.
It also shows you how to write a search engine friendly blog post
While optimizing how your contents are being displayed on both search engines and social media.
Yoast SEO plugin's alternative is ALL in one SEO pack.
To download Yoast SEO plugin for free,
Go to Plugin >> Add new >> Search for "Yoast SEO"
Install and activate it.
Here is a complete tutorial to set up Yoast WordPress SEO plugin (https://kinsta.com/blog/yoast-seo/)
Ithemes Security Plugin
In other to keep your website from hackers, you have got to protect your website with security plugins.
Ithemes is a very good WordPress security plugin for lifestyle blogs.
Its top alternatives are Securi, WordFence, and VaultPress.
Ithemes, comes with a free version and a premium version, to get the free version, follow the steps below.
Go to Plugin >> Add new >> Search for "Ithemes security"
Install and activate it.
You can follow this link to get the Ithemes security pro for $48 instead of $80 i.e %40 Off
Here is a good video tutorial by WpCrafter to set up Ithemes WordPress security plugin.
These are the basic plugins you need, but don't hesitate to try out more plugins.
Here is an amazing list of plugins from various websites,
and now, I am going to show you how to upload a theme either from an external source or from the WordPress dashboard.
Before all that,
What is a WordPress Theme?
A theme is a structural framework that determines the Aesthetical look and functionality of a blog or website.
WordPress themes play a huge role in the outcome of your blog
such as
these are just a few important kinds of stuff a theme get to decide.
Therefore it is wise to choose a proper theme.
There are plenty more qualities of a good WordPress theme.
Think you can choose a theme already?
Let's check out a few free themes.
How to install a WordPress theme
Go to "Appearance" >> "Theme" >> "Add New" >> Search for any theme.
When you find a theme you like, Click "Install" and "Activate".
Most themes, come with setup guides on how to use them.
How to Upload a WordPress Theme
Go to "Appearance" >> "Theme" >> "Add New" >> Upload.
and upload the zip file from your Computer.
Free themes are cool but premium themes tend to be better in terms of support, SEO, speed etc.
Here are great platforms to find quality premium themes
Now it's time to starting publishing articles.
As a blogger, I always like publishing important pages first which are
How to publish a page on WordPress
Go to "Pages" >> "Add new".
How to publish a post on WordPress
Go to "Posts" >> "Add new".
Here are a few important guides to get you used to the WordPress dashboard in no time
Before, signing up for Adsense, your blog is required to be 6months old with nothing less than 30 quality blog posts.
With Google AdSense, you get paid for users clicking on banners and making impressions.
Here are 3 helpful Google AdSense guides
In affiliate, marketing, you are paid on commission bases i.e Assuming a company is selling an item for $10
with a 20% commission percentage, you get to earn $2 from any sale converted.
Here are a few helpful affiliate guides
you can easily open your own shop online.
here are some helpful E-commerce guides for lifestyle bloggers
I love it and am sure you will too
so did you follow my guide to start your own lifestyle blog?
How was the experience?
I would love to hear from you in the comment box.
You can decide to waste your extra time chatting
or start a lifestyle blog and make money!
if quick money, is your choice, am going to show you exactly how to make money with a lifestyle blog for beginners.
From the words of Pele,
Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do. - Source: BrainyQuote
Everything you are going to learn here today is going to work out perfectly as a result of your hard work and sacrifice.
and not by Magic or Accident.
Let's get into it already.
Before starting, It's good, you know me.
I'm Prince John Okosun, a blogger, marketer, and student.
Spent the past 3 years learning and blogging. Be sure of getting the absolute working lifestyle blogging tips from this article.
Blogging is now a career people can venture into. Instead of spending most of your days doing nothing or chatting,
You could easily start a blog and start making money online. One good thing you are going to love about blogging is Freedom.
Bloggers are their own boss.
No one is pressuring you to do what you don't wish to do. Your blog is yours and 100% of your activities get to be decided by you.
You don't have a boss telling you when to come to work and the time to spend at work daily. No.
In blogging, you are fully in control - your own boss.
Apart from that, blogging can also be a part-time job for you. Many bloggers did this successfully.
What do you do when you get back from work? Sleep... What if you could make extra income with just about an hour of your sleep dedicated to blogging?
Makes sense right?
That's what blogging can do, give you a stress-free life while making tangible income monthly or even daily.
Like the idea? - let's turn your weird personality into a lifestyle blog!
The first few questions here are
What is a lifestyle blog?
A lifestyle blog is one of the most popular blog topics in 2018 that portrays an individual's life decisions, suggestions, and expression.In other words, a lifestyle blogger is a person who blogs about herself, things she uses, the decisions she/he have made, places she has been to etc.
Lifestyle blogging is one easy to practice niche because everything about it is all you are, no need to read long articles to gain knowledge and share with others
because the knowledge people want is your own reflection of a situation.
Why choose lifestyle blogging?
One may wonder why should a blogger decide to join the lifestyle blogging niche?. The simple answer is there are so many blogs already in other niches fighting to surviveMeanwhile, those in the lifestyle niche, have no competition on their way because readers of such blogs search for personal reflections and not cloud suggestions.
So if a reader finds you interesting, such a person will definitely read your blog daily.
Can I make money from a lifestyle blog?
Yes, you can make money from a lifestyle blog. Lifestyle bloggers earn money from various platforms either as affiliates or as Publishers of Google AdsenseHow do I start a lifestyle blog?
To start a lifestyle blog, you need to purchase a domain name, choose a blogging platform (WordPress or BlogSpot), buy hosting and start blogging.Here are the steps required...
Step 1. Buying a Domain name
Ever been to a website? then you must have seen something similar to John.com or John.com.ng? Well, that is a domain name.A domain name is a combination of a blog name and a domain extension. i.e
John (blog name) .com (domain extension)
It acts as the address of your blog, with a domain name, people on the internet can access your blog.
No blog exists without a domain name.
Ready to get yours? if yes, do note that it is not FREE.
The common domain extensions for blogs are .com, .net, .org, .com.ng etc
5 tips to generate a good domain name for a lifestyle blog
- Make it related to your niche
- Unique and personal
- Short and easy to write/pronounce
- Using a blog name generator
Make it related to your niche
Domains are important because they go a long way to affect your SEO rank and audience.
Brain dean uses "Backlinko" for his blog where he posts about how to increase SEO with backlinks.
Therefore, removing the "o" gives you "backlink". Making it super easy for those in the SEO niche to remember and write.
Unique and Personal
A good example for this is "Neil Patel" which is owned by Neil Patel.
Yea.
The dude used his name.
So if you remember the blog you have got to remember the person.
Another good example, you are probably familiar with, is Linda Ikeji.
Short and Easy to write
Short domain names are cool but should not be too short.
Many top domains tend to be around 4 - 6 letters long
e.g Facebook, Twitter etc
but there are others which are long but still easy to write
e.g ShoutMeLoud, BloggingPrince etc.
In summary, use a combination of words which users can easily write and pronounce.
Using a Blog name generator
Blog name generators are online tools which can help in mixing words together to form a good domain name.
Though not all suggestions are considerable, sometimes a lifestyle blog name generator can actually be of a great help.
Lifestyle blog name generator
Here are 5 catchy website name generators to try out- Panabee
- Nameboy
- Lean Domain Search
- Wordoid
- NameMesh
Found the right blog name?
Let's get a domain name registered for you.
Here is a deal for you
Get a cheap .com domain name for $0.88 with NameCheap coupon code
interested?
Step by step guide to purchasing a domain name for a lifestyle blog
1. Follow this link to purchase a cheap .com domain name for $0.88 on Namecheap2. Input your desired domain name (for example bloggingprince.com)
3. Check if your domain is available, if yes. Click "Add to cart"
4. On the right, Click "View Cart".
5. On the next page, You get to use Namecheap $0.88 coupon code and also get free Whoisguard.
6. Paste the coupon code "COM88" and click "Apply".
7. The above message, will display, Follow the create account link to create a NameCheap account.
8. Here is the account creation page, Fill in the details and create.
9. It will redirect back to the purchase page and automatically apply the coupon code.
My domain above now shows "$1.06" (i.e $0.88 for the domain and $0.18 ICAAN fee) instead of "$11.16"
Please note: it works only for 1 year!! - renewal is $10.98
Cool right?
Go ahead and confirm the order.
10. On the next page, you are requested to fill in more details about yourself.
Note: untick, "I am registry on behalf of a company"
11. On the payment page, you can make payment with Paypal, ATM Card (verve not allowed) etc.
12. Make the payment "Pay now" and that's all.
You now have a cheap .com domain name on Namecheap!!
Can I use my domain now? - Yes but then you need a web host before you can actually use the domain name.
Other options though include how to start a blog for free and make money (blogger blog).
Note: If you intend to use Blogger (free), step 2, 3 and 4 are not needed but however, I will not be providing a guide for it.
Step 2. Purchasing Web Hosting
A simple illustration of web hosting isit is a Storage space,
where users can access your website via your domain name.
i.e Domain name is the address while Web host is the house and WordPress is the occupant!!
Therefore, you need a web host in other to start blogging. This is why I recommend users who have initial capital ( above NGN15,000) to use WordPress.
But if you can't afford such, you can always start a lifestyle blog for free on the blogspot platform.
Have initial capital?
Let's purchase a cheap and reliable web hosting plan but first, let's see what matters in web hosting packages.
Things to note when purchasing a web host
- Server uptime
- Data storage (Disk space)
- Bandwidth
- Hosting Support
- Allowable domains/website
- SSL Certificate
- Automatic Backups
- Email Feature
Let me break them down for you!
Server Uptime
This talks more about the reliability of your website online. Certain times, your host is going to go offline almost compulsory for all shared plans.
The Uptime percentage, enlighten you on how long such constant offline occurrences are going to last.
99.9% uptime is usually 0KAY.
Data Storage (Disk Space)
A host as earlier explained is a storage space where your website is being stored.
Now, a website is made of files which include CMS files, theme files, plugin files, Images etc.
The amount of Disk space you get, determine the number of files you can save on your server.
Bandwidth
At every point, you are going to expect visitors to access your blog, now these visitors are referred to as "traffic".
The bandwidth space determines the number of traffic your website can take before going offline.
Having a high bandwidth is good for you, but then small blogs with only a few visitors per day don't need super high bandwidth space.
Hosting Support
A blind man needs a helper to help walk easily
and so do you.
Hosting support is a group of customer agents that help out in setup and in fixing issues whenever any arouses.
A few weeks ago (while in WordPress), I faced email abuse issues after uploading a blunted plugin.
I could not solve it, so I had to refer to Namecheap support and they got it fixed.
That's the advantage of using a Web host with good support.
SSL Certificate
Often referred to as HTTPS, is a secure protocol that helps you protect your users from online hackers
So if at any point, you decide to sell products on your blog, the HTTPS will help safe guide your customers
Other benefits of SSL certificate includes
- Increase in SEO (search engine optimization)
- Customers trust
- Professionalism.
Therefore, you should be SSL certificate considerate when purchasing a web hosting plan for your lifestyle blog.
Automatic backups
While talking about Hosting support, I talked about facing email abuse problems which my host helped me fix.
Automatic backups come handy in such situations.
Having a web host that automatically backup your files and posts will ensure you maximum security against online problems such as hackers and viruses.
You can easily restore your backed up data.
There are many other features to watch out for...
But these basic criteria are quite enough to get yourself a good web host.
I have reviewed a lot of Hosting companies, based on pricing and features
Of all, I happen to prefer Namecheap (after a Namecheap review) as a first choice and Garanntor as a second choice.
This is because these two web hosts provide really affordable packages with good features.
Ready to get a web host?
let's get started...
Click here to get 28% OFF Namecheap Hosting.
On the hosting page,
Choose any plan of your choice - For a beginner blogger, you can go for the "Stellar" plan which costs $2.88 per month and $24.88 (NGN9,043) per year i.e 28% discount.
Renewal price is $34.56 (NGN12,574) per year.
Features of Namecheap Stellar plan are
- 20 GB SSD-Accelerated Disk Space
- Unmetered bandwidth
- Up to 3 websites
- Website Builder
Reasonable for a beginner lifestyle blog.
Ready for it?
Select 1 year and US Datacenter >> Add to Cart.
On the next page, click "Use a domain I own with Namecheap".
Note: That is if you followed my steps above to purchase a domain name.
If you are not signed it, Namecheap requires you to sign.
After logging in, you can then select the domain name which you previously registered.
Next, is to click continue at the right side.
Go ahead and Confirm Order.
Note: If you have a domain hosting coupon, you have to paste it in the coupon section.
On the next page, Add your card details and Continue to make the purchase.
After purchase,
It's time to set up your Namecheap hosting for WordPress.
Step 3 - Configuring Namecheap servers with Hosting
Before installing WordPress,You have first got to configure your domain Nameservers with your new hosting package.
and here is how to get it done.
Note: This is for those that purchased a domain name using step 1.
Here it goes.
Open your email,
Look for a mail from "Namecheap Hosting Team".
Title of email is usually "Your Hosting Welcome Guide for yourdomain.com".
Found it? - if yes, screw down to "Our Nameservers".
Those are the nameservers you are going to set on your domain name.
Here is a well-detailed guide from Namecheap Knowledgebase to setup nameservers.
Step 4 - Installing WordPress On Namecheap
Before installing WordPress,Let me take you through a quick WordPress tour.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is an online, open source website creation tool written in PHP. But in non-geek speak, it's probably the easiest and most powerful blogging and website content management system (or CMS) in existence today. - IthemesWhy do I refer WordPress for lifestyle bloggers?
- Easy to use and understand
- Mouth opening functionality
- E-commerce ready
- Built for non-techies
All that this means is, with WordPress, you don't need to work hard to get things done.
For example, if you wish to start selling right on your blog, you can start doing it in a few minutes,
By installing Woocommerce (free).
If you then wish to receive your earnings from selling items you can install Paypal (free), Paystack (Free), or VoguePay (Free) etc.
In times of SEO, you can install the free version of Yoast SEO and you are good to go.
What about making your blog look cool? - WordPress has a large collection of both premium and free themes for lifestyle blogs.
Last good thing is,
WordPress is 100% free all you need is a domain name and hosting which you already have by now
i.e if you have followed all the steps in this post.
ready to install WordPress?
It's automatic and will take less than 5 minutes.
First thing first, is to access your email account (same email you used on Namecheap for purchasing hosting plan).
Look for a mail from "Namecheap Hosting Team".
Title of email is usually "Your Hosting Welcome Guide for yourdomain.com".
Found it? - if yes, screw down to "cPanel Access".
Open your Control panel using "https://server234.web-hosting.com/cpanel"
and log in with your Username and Password (provide in the mail under cPanel Access).
On your Cpanel, Scroll down to the very bottom and click "WordPress" under "Softaculous Apps Installer".
Click "Install Now".
- Choose Protocol = https
- Choose domain = youdomainname.com
- In directory = leave it blank
- Site name = Input the name of your blog
- Site Description = Input the description of your site
- Enable Multisite = Don't tick this
- Admin Username = Change to a strong username containing alphabets, numbers and special characters
- Admin Password = Change to a strong password containing Capital letters, small letters, numbers, special characters.
- Admin email = Change to your email address
- Advanced options = Set "Automated Backup to Once a day"
- Choose your preferred settings for Auto Upgrade, Auto Upgrade WordPress Plugins, and Auto Upgrade WordPress Themes
- Select plugins = Tick W3 Total Cache.
- Select Theme = Choose any theme of your choice (it's free).
- Email installation details to = Input your email address
Finally, "Install".
It will take a few minutes to do the installation.
Go to https://yourblogname.com/wp-admin/ to access your WordPress dashboard.
Step 5 - Customizing WordPress.
Welcome to your dashboard.
This is where you are going to be spending most of your free hours!
Your website is already active and you can view it using yourdomainname.com
Let's get started with the customization of your Lifestyle blog.
Setting Up WordPress Permalinks
Permalinks are URL structures that determine who each post on your blog's address is gonna be like.
WordPress gives you the option to choose your own permalink structure.
Go to Settings >> Permalinks
Select "Post name" and save.
Visit other settings sections "General, Writing, Reading, Discussion, Media, Privacy etc" for further options.
Next, is to install and setup basic plugins for your lifestyle blog.
Installing Plugins
Just before installing plugins,
Its good you know what plugins are...
WordPress plugin are PHP files which help improve the functionality of a WordPress blog,
Functions such as E-commerce which by default are not available can be made available using plugins.
These Plugins are not developed by WordPress except a few.
Some plugins are free while others are premium (paid).
Get the Concept? - Let's install and set up important plugins.
Akismet WordPress Plugin
Akismet WordPress plugin is a free plugin from Automatic to help protect your blog from spamming comments.
Spamming comments are links embedded in a comment which does not come from real humans instead they are sent in bulk to gain abusive backlinks.
Akismet is one of the best WordPress plugins for business due to its fight against spamming comments.,.
To install and activate it,
Go to Plugins >> Add New.
Search for "Akismet Anti-Spam".
Install it, then activate it.
watch the above video from ShoutMeLoud.
Jetpack WordPress plugin
Jetpack is another great and recommended WordPress plugin for blogs with features such as site tracking, image optimization, website performance etc.
To install Jetpack,
Go to Plugin >> Add new >> Search for Jetpack.
Download Jetpack (Install) and Activate it.
Follow, the onscreen instructions.
Yoast SEO WordPress Plugin
Yoast SEO is a basic WordPress plugin with both free and premium versions.
The plugin helps to make your site search engine friendly.
It also shows you how to write a search engine friendly blog post
While optimizing how your contents are being displayed on both search engines and social media.
Yoast SEO plugin's alternative is ALL in one SEO pack.
To download Yoast SEO plugin for free,
Go to Plugin >> Add new >> Search for "Yoast SEO"
Install and activate it.
Here is a complete tutorial to set up Yoast WordPress SEO plugin (https://kinsta.com/blog/yoast-seo/)
Ithemes Security Plugin
In other to keep your website from hackers, you have got to protect your website with security plugins.
Ithemes is a very good WordPress security plugin for lifestyle blogs.
Its top alternatives are Securi, WordFence, and VaultPress.
Ithemes, comes with a free version and a premium version, to get the free version, follow the steps below.
Go to Plugin >> Add new >> Search for "Ithemes security"
Install and activate it.
You can follow this link to get the Ithemes security pro for $48 instead of $80 i.e %40 Off
Here is a good video tutorial by WpCrafter to set up Ithemes WordPress security plugin.
These are the basic plugins you need, but don't hesitate to try out more plugins.
Here is an amazing list of plugins from various websites,
Step 6 - Installing a WordPress theme for Lifestyle blog
I did tell you, that WordPress has an amazing list of themes both premium and free for lifestyle blogsand now, I am going to show you how to upload a theme either from an external source or from the WordPress dashboard.
Before all that,
What is a WordPress Theme?
A theme is a structural framework that determines the Aesthetical look and functionality of a blog or website.
WordPress themes play a huge role in the outcome of your blog
such as
- Giving users first impression
- Determining how fast your site is gonna load
- Increasing/decreasing your earnings due to placement optimization etc
these are just a few important kinds of stuff a theme get to decide.
Therefore it is wise to choose a proper theme.
Here are 5 qualities of a good WordPress theme for a lifestyle
- Fast loading on both laptops and mobile
- Search engine friendly
- Human-friendly or readable
- Uses proper fonts and colors
- Ads ready etc
There are plenty more qualities of a good WordPress theme.
Think you can choose a theme already?
Let's check out a few free themes.
How to install a WordPress theme
Go to "Appearance" >> "Theme" >> "Add New" >> Search for any theme.
When you find a theme you like, Click "Install" and "Activate".
Most themes, come with setup guides on how to use them.
How to Upload a WordPress Theme
Go to "Appearance" >> "Theme" >> "Add New" >> Upload.
and upload the zip file from your Computer.
Free themes are cool but premium themes tend to be better in terms of support, SEO, speed etc.
Here are great platforms to find quality premium themes
- ThemeForest
- ColorLib
Writing and Publishing lifestyle blog posts
Am quite sure, you like the look of your blog already.Now it's time to starting publishing articles.
As a blogger, I always like publishing important pages first which are
- About page
- Contact page
- Policy page
How to publish a page on WordPress
Go to "Pages" >> "Add new".
How to publish a post on WordPress
Go to "Posts" >> "Add new".
Here are a few important guides to get you used to the WordPress dashboard in no time
How to Make money from a Lifestyle blog
There are various ways to make money from a lifestyle blog for free but the popular ones are Google Adsense, Affiliate marketing, Running of paid adverts and selling of products.Google Adsense
Biggest program to earn from a blogBefore, signing up for Adsense, your blog is required to be 6months old with nothing less than 30 quality blog posts.
With Google AdSense, you get paid for users clicking on banners and making impressions.
Here are 3 helpful Google AdSense guides
- 12 Things to Do Before Applying for Google AdSense + FREE Bonus Checklist
- How To Apply For Google Adsense and Actually Get Approved
Affiliate Marketing
Highest paying earning platform, if practiced well.In affiliate, marketing, you are paid on commission bases i.e Assuming a company is selling an item for $10
with a 20% commission percentage, you get to earn $2 from any sale converted.
Here are a few helpful affiliate guides
Selling of Products
Lifestyle blogging, lets you see your own stuff and with WordPress as your platform,you can easily open your own shop online.
here are some helpful E-commerce guides for lifestyle bloggers
- How to Start an Online Store With WordPress in 7 Easy Steps
- How to Start an Online Store in 2018 (Step by Step)
It's Up to You!
Lifestyle blogging is one of the most popular blog topics in 2018 and also rated among blog niches that make money in 2018.I love it and am sure you will too
so did you follow my guide to start your own lifestyle blog?
How was the experience?
I would love to hear from you in the comment box.
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