The number 1 question I get every day is, “How do I create a blog like yours?”. It’s actually really simple, and a lot of people don’t realize that it doesn’t cost very much to do it. Today I’m going to show you step by step how to create a blog just like OTN.

1. Hosting and Domain

First things first, you need somewhere to put your website, and a domain for the website (something like www.omnitechnews.net). If you don’t already have a domain, they cost $9.95 over at Will Hosting and you can get any one you like that is available. Obviously, make sure that your domain relates to the website you’re creating. I recommend going with a .com domain to start off with as it is the professional option. It does cost to start a professional website, but hopefully it will pay off.

The next step is to buy hosting for your domain, this is the place where your website is stored (like a hard drive except for websites). I highly recommend going with Will Hosting as they offer unlimited storage and bandwidth for only $5 a month. The speeds are good, and they also have AMAZING customer support. They also have a starter option for $2 a month which is also great for starting websites. Use promo code OTN at Willhosting.com for 15% off webhosting.

2. WordPress

Out of the many blogging platforms, WordPress is by far the best. It’s incredibly customizable, and is constantly being improved. OmniTechNews is proud to say that we use WordPress for our blog.

If you went with Will Hosting (which I highly recommend you do as it makes setting up a WordPress site a breeze), then the steps are quite simple. First, log onto the cPanel in your product details on Willhosting.com. Then find the button titled Softaculous and click on it.

From there it’s just a matter of clicking WordPress in the sidebar under blogs. You can configure WordPress to your liking, then log into your site

Tip: If you didn’t go with Will Hosting, then follow the steps on installing WordPress on other hosting providers here. It only takes 5 minutes.

When you’re done installing WordPress, whatever way you’ve done it, you’ll have access to your site WP-Admin directory. (www.*yoursite*.com/wp-admin).

3. Site Configuration

You can do lots with WordPress, and installing plugins etc. is really easy. Now to make your site look professional. These two WordPress theme makers are what OTN uses for our website. Our current theme is on Elegant Themes.

4. Monetization (Making Money)

As you’ve probably heard, Adsense is the best way to go if you want to make money. It’s pretty easy to set up Adsense ads on your WordPress blogs, and Elegant Themes and Woo Themes implement tools to make it easy to put Adsense ads into hard-to-code places on your site. You can sign up at Adsense.com.

If for some reason you can’t use Adsense, I also recommend Microsoft PubCenter.

So there you have it, a fairly simple way to make a site just like the one you are currently viewing. If you have any questions, feel free to pop me a line at robert@omnitechnews.net.