How to Start a Blog in 2025

If you’ve been thinking about how to start a blog in 2025, you’ve come to the right place. Is it complicated? The short answer is no, and here’s why. Blogging is a powerful way to share your passions, connect with others, and build a creative outlet.

My Blogging Journey

Fun story, this is not my first blog… The purpose from the start was that I wanted something to give me purpose back when COVID hit. I thought starting a blog, writing about technology, and breaking things down to show others that it’s not that complicated. This experience helped shape my perspective on how to start a blog in 2025 and how to avoid common pitfalls

This is the first blog where I write in English.  The purpose from the start was that I wanted something to give me purpose back when COVID hit. I thought starting a blog about technology and breaking things down to show others that it’s not that complicated. The first idea was to provide tutorials on apps, programs, and tools. I was also still teaching, so I wanted to give tips and tools for teachers to use in their everyday lives.

What Do You Need to Get Started with a Blog in 2025

How do you start? To start blogging, you need three things: a platform, ideas, and some kind of budget.

The first thing is a platform. This is where you store your content. There are both free platforms and platforms with a subscription plan.

The second thing you need is ideas. What do you want to write about? Before you start, a tip is to create a list of topics you would like to explore further. Don’t see this as the only thing you will write about. Most likely, your topics will evolve, but it’s good to have something to start with. 

The third thing you need to decide is whether you want to spend money setting up your blog or not. This can be tricky. You don’t need money to start; there are free platforms out there, each with its advantages and drawbacks.

The Four Key Phases of Creating a Blog Post

Once you have your blog set up, what parts are included in creating a blog post? 

The phases I’ve noticed are the following:

• Drafting
• Reviewing 
• Publishing
• Promoting

Drafting: Getting Your Ideas Out

The first phase starts with having an idea and making a first draft. The form for how you create your draft doesn’t matter. Just make sure you don’t see this as the final piece of writing. The draft is to get your idea out of your head and onto paper or screen.  If you, like me, think it’s easier to talk through things instead of staring at a blank page, you can read more about how dictation can help you.

Reviewing: The Editor’s Perspective

The second phase is reviewing your draft. This is where you make changes. You look for images, you rephrase things, and you start to change the paragraph. A tip from a former teacher here is, if possible, keep a few days between when you write your draft and when you go into review mode. This is because this way you have had your eyes away from the text for a few days, which makes it easier to look at as an editor instead of a writer. If you have problems with what to remove from your text, this is a good strategy. You look at your text with fresh eyes and can start to think of what its value is to someone who is reading this, which is what you want in the end.

During your review phase, you may consider looking for graphics to use both for the post and also for the next phases.

Publishing: Setting the Stage

The third phase is to schedule and publish a post. This is the part where you have made your draft and changed things during your review.  Now you’re ready to decide on whether to post straight away or publish at a certain time and date. This comes down to personal preference. Some people prefer to just write and publish right away, while others want to schedule things according to a specific schedule that they have in mind.

Promoting: Spreading the Word

The fourth, and often the most challenging phase, is promoting your blog post. You can do this in several ways. Again, look at the platforms you already use. If you use Instagram, promote your posts here. Facebook user? You can create a simple, informative post and provide the link back to your post. You might also need to create graphics to go with your post. This will vary depending on where you promote your post, but if you use social media such as Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest, some kind of image is always a good thing to add.

I will cover more blogging tools in future posts. Want to know more? Sign up for the newsletter to get information on when the next tip is published! 

Essential Blogging Terminology for 2025

Below are some words you might have come across when researching blogging:

• Hosting:  This is where your blog files are stored – its “home” on the internet.

• Domain:  This is your blog’s unique address, like www.yourblogname.com.

• CMS: Content management system, software used to create, edit, and publish your content online. 

• Theme: a template you can use to customize the way your blog looks. There are both free and paid themes. Some free themes let you customize basic things, but for more advanced features, you need the paid version (or know how to tweak things using CSS). 

• SEO: stands for search engine optimization. This is where you include keywords or tags, depending on the platform, to make your content searchable and so that potential readers can find your post. 

• Content Planner: a way to visualize when you are playing to put your posts. Excellent if you wish to cover different topics and keep the blog fresh and engaging!

• Plugin: a way to customize your blog by adding different functions that arenÔÇÖt there from the start. Examples can be related to security, allowing readers to opt out of cookies and much more. 

A Bit More About WordPress

When you’re trying to figure out how to start a blog in 2025, you will inevitably come across WordPress. Here’s what you need to know about this popular platform. WordPress is a widely used CMS, and there are two different versions. While the WordPress software itself is open source and free, you will need to either host the installation yourself or have it hosted by someone else. 

For an easier setup, start by using the WordPress.com platform. It will require you to have a subscription, but the hosting will be provided for you. This could be a great option for you. If you only want to try out and see if this is for you. 

Using WordPress.com

The most basic plan is not free, but starts at a fairly low price point.

If you sign up for the Personal subscription, this is what you get:

• Free domain for one year 
• 6 GB of storage, but you can use as many pages and posts as you wish. There is no cap on how many visitors your blog can have. 
• Ad-free browsing experience for your visitors
• Access to premium themes
• Help from the WordPress support team if you need it!
• Stats for your blog

Your blog name will look something like: www.yourblog.wordpress.com, and there are limits for how much you can customize your blog in both terms of aesthetics and function. If you wish to monetize your blog by putting ads on it, then you need to look at the self-hosted WordPress.org instead. 

Plugins can be a problem if you use the WordPress.com plans. If you use a self-hosted WordPress from WordPress.org with your domain and hosting, you can customize to your heart’s content! Using the WordPress.com subscriptions? Then you are restricted to using the ones WordPress has provided for you, no exceptions. 

While not being completely free, using a basic subscription takes the pressure off you as a user. You don’t need to learn how exactly hosting works; you need to come up with a name, pay for your WordPress subscription, and they will handle the rest for you. Nowadays, you can even use AI to get your site up quickly. 

Other Platforms to Consider When Starting a Blog in 2025

There are, of course, completely free blogging options, and I will list a few of them below:

• Blogger: Owned by Google, it’s one of the oldest and most straightforward blogging platforms available. It’s great for beginners because it’s simple to use and completely free, with no hosting fees.

• Medium: This platform is less about customization and more about writing. It’s known for its clean, minimalist design and has a built-in audience of readers, which can help your content get noticed more easily.

• Wix: A popular website builder that also offers a robust blogging feature. It’s known for its drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to create a visually appealing site without needing to code.

• Ghost: A fast and modern blogging platform that is designed specifically for writers and publishers. It’s open-source, so while there is a free self-hosted version, their official hosted plans are paid.

• Tumblr: A microblogging platform with a social media feel. It’s perfect for sharing short-form content, GIFs, photos, and videos, making it a great choice for creative and visual blogs.

• Substack: This platform is primarily focused on newsletters and building a paid subscriber base. It’s a great option if your main goal is to monetize your writing through subscriptions, but it also functions as a blog with an archive of your posts.

Setting up Your First Blog

If this is the first time you set up a blog, I advise you to keep it as simple as you can. 

A common pitfall is getting stuck trying to perfect the site’s design instead of focusing on creating content. This is not gonna do you any favors. Start with something simple; you can always go back and change things after a while. See what you like, change the things you don’t like. This goes for what kind of categories you use, what kind of content you want to publish, and so on.

Don’t focus too much on SEO! When you’re first starting, I don’t want you to focus too much on this. This will evolve, and you can always go back and edit your post as you go. It’s more important that you put the content out there to start with. 

As mentioned above, you might have seen the term content planner. While this can be a useful way to visualize when you are planning to put your posts, it is not something you need to get started. This is another example of something you might want to look at later on. It could also be that you want to have different kinds of content alternating to keep it fresh for the readers, and not have the same kind of content twice in a row. 

A simple way to make a content planner is to create an Excel sheet or a Google sheet and type out the title, the dates, and add a link to your posts. Perhaps you want to include a category, see what categories you have used, and when.

Quick Q&A

• How much does it cost to start a blog?
  • Answer: It can be completely free, but then you’ll have to deal with the fact that ads that you have no control over will probably be placed all over your blog.

• Should I use ads on my blog?
  • Answer: It depends. It can bring your revenue eventually, but you may want more control over the type of ads and where they are placed on your blog. You also want some control to see if they are relevant to your niche. When you start, if you work on a free platform, you will have ads, but they will not give you any revenue. They will be what keeps your site online for free.

• Do I have to be on every platform?
  • Answer: No! This is especially true if you are working on your own. Keep in mind what time you set aside for your blogging, as well as what purpose and goals you have. Keep in mind that more established creators often have teams working with them. This makes it easier to keep up with posting on several different platforms. 

• I don‘t have a team, but still want to post on several platforms. Can it be done?
  • Answer: It is possible, even when youÔÇÖre going solo, to post and be active on different forms and platforms. This is a topic I will cover in a later post. Stay tuned!

• How often do I need to post?
  • Answer: As often as you can! If you can post every day, sure, why not? Just make sure you don’t burn yourself out! Posting more frequently could give you more viewers, of course. My best advice? Find a schedule that works for you! It’s more important that you put out content consistently, whatever this means for you. If you can only post once a week, twice a week, or once a month, then use this schedule. At least this way, readers will know when to expect your next post. In this way, blogging is no different from being on YouTube or any other creative platform.

Should You Start a Blog in 2025?

So, to circle back to the original question: should you start a blog in 2025? The short answer is yes, absolutely! Nothing is stopping you except you, and that’s what held me back as well. So, what are you waiting for? The blogging world is ready for your voice. Trust me, there is still room for more bloggers even in 2025!

Have you thought of starting a blog, or perhaps you have a blog already? What do you struggle with? I’d love for you to share this in the comments!