12 Most Commonly Asked Questions by New Bloggers

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When you start a blog, the questions you have as a new blogger can seem endless and the learning also seems never-ending. There’s so much to do, it seems, when you set up a new blog and get going. I’ve been there; as part of the hoard of new bloggers searching for answers to one of these top commonly asked questions.

So, to help you get your blog going, I’ve noted down the top questions asked by new bloggers which I’ve noticed in the blogging forums that I’m part of, and written the answers below.

How many times should I post a week/month?

That, my friend, is a very good question to kick off with. And unfortunately, there is no correct answer. There are some bloggers who post weekly, twice weekly, fortnightly monthly, or even less.

My personal schedule means that I publish a new post weekly. Between my full-time job and personal life, this is an achievable task for me, however, you might want to post more or less frequently than that.

The Huffington Post apparently post a couple of hundred articles per day. In comparison, other successful blogs only publish once per month.

The sweet spot for published blog posts is supposedly 11 blog posts per month, which averages out at approximately 2 new posts/updates to older posts per week.

However, what these numbers tell us is that it’s not necessarily about the amount of content which you put out, but also the quality of the content, as well as how you promote it. There is, after all, a reason why most bloggers say that they spend more time promoting their content than actually writing it.

Therefore, I would suggest posting as many times in a week or a month that you are comfortable with. You want to be present, but you also don’t want to burn yourself out. You also want to make sure that you have time to promote your content so as people know it’s there and are encouraged to read it.

Remember, consistency is key

Whatever schedule you do choose, be consistent. This is helpful for your audience and SEO. You might want to try a few different schedules to see what works for you. But once you do, remain as consistent as possible. For example, I publish a new post every week, specifically on a Wednesday at around 5pm. I then heavily promote on social media over Wednesday evening, and continue to promote my new and previous posts throughout the week.

How long should my blog posts be?

Again, another very good question.

There are studies which demonstrate that blog posts which are at least 2,000 words long rank better than shorter posts. However, there is also plenty of evidence of log posts that are 500 words or less which rank top of the search results on Google.

Essentially, there is no one ideal answer, just answers led by statistics.

Therefore, my advice is that your blog post should be as long as it needs to be.

Longer blog posts

If you start waffling and you start switching off when reading through your draft, this might tell you that your post is too long. Longer blog posts have been shown to be more widely shared on social media and are more likely to rank better for SEO. This is because the more you write, the more search engines understand what your content is about, which in turns helps you SEO. However, don’t overdo it. If you have a crazy long post that people click off after a few seconds, SEO will pick up on that too. The fact that people won’t stick around to read your content can end up damaging your SEO in the long run, so be weary of writing for the sake of writing.

Shorter blog posts

Equally, if you read your blog post and feel that there’s a lot of unanswered questions, or that it stops too abruptly, that’s probably an indicator that you need to add more content into your post. Blog Tyrant advises not going below 300 words for each blog post. You also need to consider that the longer your posts are, the longer people will stay on your page. After all, the longer that people are on your site in turn is more likely to have readers look at other pages and posts on your site.

What pages does my blog need?

You might think that when you set up your blog all you need is a home page and blog posts, right? I’m sorry to say that this isn’t quite true. There are actually a few pages which your blog absolutely needs in order to get going. Many bloggers will tell you that you need an ‘About’ page and a ‘Contact’ form. This is true, these are great pages. But before you even write those pages, you need your legal pages in order. Skip this step at your peril!

Legal pages

Before you do anything else on your blog, you need your legal pages in order. Legal pages might sound dull and uninteresting, but they’re necessary to ensure that your blog is legal. As a minimum, you absolutely NEED a Privacy Policy for your blog. This is a legal requirement if you are collecting any type of data.

Other legal pages which I would HIGHLY recommend having are:

• Terms and Conditions
• Disclaimers
• Copyright Notice

Why do you need legal pages?

Depending on your location, or the location of your audience, you may also need notices about GDPR or CCPA on your website. These might form part of your Privacy Policy, but should also come in the form of some sort of Cookie Notice which pops up when people visit your site.

You might be thinking that you don’t need these notices, either because they are annoying, or because you aren’t collecting data. Valid thoughts, however:

• Even though they are annoying, these Cookie Notices keep your blog legal
• You might not think you’re collecting data, but anything which defines a person, including an IP address is data as far as GDPR and CCPA are concerned. This is because the IP address and any other cookies may be able to identify the person accessing your blog.

But I do get it. You didn’t get into blogging to get bogged down with legal pages and the law of various countries. This is fair enough, but I really cannot stress enough the importance of being GCPR and CCPA compliant.

Check out my post about writing your blog’s Privacy Policy for ideas and pointers.

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Contact page

I mentioned contact pages before. These are great for enabling your readers to contact you. Perhaps your reader has a question, or someone wants to collaborate with you? Make it easy for them to do so with a contact page.

Having a contact page is wiser than publishing your email address on your blog. The reason for this is because crawlers cannot get contact details off of contact forms and therefore you’re less likely to be targeted by spammers. Having your email address widely available means that bots can take this information and try to hack your email address/spam you. And if you get hacked, believe me when I say that it’s a nightmare to sort out!

The form on my contact page is very simple and easy to use. I built it using WPForms and using the additional feature of reCAPTHA for further security to my site and emails.

What if I run out of ideas for blog posts?

Before you run out of ideas for blog posts, you need to plan your blog. That’s right, grab a pen and pencil, or open up a new document on your computer and write a list of blog post ideas.

I will admit, most of my ideas for my blog posts come to me randomly and then I shape a blog post around that idea. However, at any one time, I also have an Excel spreadsheet of at least 26 ideas for posts. These post ideas are broken up by blog post category, hence the use of Excel.

The beauty of having this spreadsheet of so many ideas, is that at any one time I have at least 6 months’ worth of blog post ideas. Not bad, eh? This also means that I have a constant stream of ideas should I ever run out of fresh ones.

My other trick for keeping up with blog ideas is to write and schedule my posts ahead of time. At the time of writing, I have posts being written now( in mid-October), and scheduled for publishing in mid-December.

And I do understand that as soon as you’ve written a blog post you want to get it out into the world. But this strategy of writing and scheduling works for me because it means that I’m not panicking that I have nothing to publish that week and therefore churn out mediocre content for the sake of it.

Blog post ideas

If you do truly run out of blog post ideas, then try out some of the following strategies to get you back on track:

• Write a how-to guide for your niche
• Consider writing a blog series where readers learn part of a process in each blog post for a number of weeks
• Break up a longer post into smaller posts or a series
• Write a post about how you got into your niche/hobby and why you enjoy it so much
• Look at the work of others in your niche for inspiration (note that I said look for inspiration – DO NOT copy the work of others!)
• Check out Facebook groups/blogging forums to see if you can get some guest writers for your blog
• If you’re still completely uninspired, work on other areas of your blog in the meantime

Where do I get good quality images from for my blog?

There are some people out there who are gifted with the skills and time to create images for the blog. For the rest of us, images need to be slightly less original and come from stock image sites. There are plenty of great choices out there to get free and inexpensive images for your blog. My personal favourite sites are Pixabay and Unsplash.

The images on both of these sites are royalty-free, meaning that you can download and use them for free, for commercial or non-commercial purposes. You can also choose if you want to attribute the creator of the photo or not when you include it in your blog posts.

Using photos from these sites are great because you can reuse the same images over and over. Yes, some people might read your entire blog and notice that the same picture crops up a couple of times. But on the whole, most people won’t notice the same image used a few times on the same blog.

What about originality and SEO?

You might worry that your blog won’t be original because others will have the same image(s) on their website. Or that using images from stock sites isn’t amazing for SEO. When using stock imagery, though, this is just something that you need to accept and move on with. After all, if you use images for free from a stock site, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will be used on multiple sites across the net as well. And when it comes to SEO, make sure that the images are of a high quality, and you use good alt tags to boost your SEO.

Can’t I just take images from Google Images or someone else’s blog?

In a word: NO.

Google Images has images from other people’s websites on them. Google doesn’t own these images and to use them you need to ask the site owner for direct permission to use them.

Same goes for images found on someone else’s blog. It might be the most perfect picture in the world, but if there is nothing saying that the images on the site are royalty-free, you need to ask permission to use the image first. If you don’t, you’re breaking copyright law, which could quickly land you in hot water if caught.

To keep your blog above board, get your images for your blog in one of the three following ways:

1. Take the photographs yourself and use them
2. Use royalty-free images from credible sites such as UnSplash or Pixabay
3. Gain permission from the content owner if you want to use an image from someone else’s blog or website

Should I use WordPress, or a different platform?

Short answer: Yes, you should use WordPress.

Slightly longer answer: Yes, you should use WordPress. But make sure it’s wordpress.org and not wordpress.com. Also, look for a hosting package which is suited to WordPress for easy one-click instal and other options you can take advantage of (more on that in a minute).

There are a lot of website design sites out there which are easy to use with their drag and drop features and seemingly endless customisable options. The problem is that a lot of these customisable options are around superficial aspects of your site, such as colours and typography, and not around the actual functions of the site itself.

My experience of not using WordPress

For a previous blog (way back in the day!) I decided to buck the trend and that I wanted to be different to the WordPress bloggers out there. I went for Wix. This is not to slam Wix at all. After all, their website states that they have over 200 million users worldwide. You definitely can’t sniff at a user-group of that size. But, as a blogger, I quickly became frustrated with my choice.

You see, a lot of the website builders out there just don’t offer functions and options to the same level that you can get through WordPress (remember .org, not .com!). Many plugins which are available for WordPress either aren’t available for other website builders, or their glitchy/mediocre at best, if they are available.

Also, my experience showed me that lots of website builders simply aren’t set up for blogging. WordPress makes blogging easy (with a little know-how and learning). In fact, you could almost argue that WordPress was built with bloggers in mind! Other website builders have tended to add a blogging aspect onto their website without much thought as to things like layout. This can quickly become frustrating. In fact, I had the experience once of blogging on a non-WordPress blog which constantly lost my blog posts, deleted chunks of them, and other things which were generally frustrating and very unhelpful when I was trying to grow my blog.

Which hosting provider should I use?

This is a million dollar question, and my answer is a little wishy-washy: use the hosting provider which works best for your needs.

It’s a vague answer, but it’s also the honest answer.

There are plenty of people who swear blind about using one host over another, but you need to remember that a lot of these recommendations are backed by affiliate links. This isn’t to say that the reviews and recommendations are dishonest (heck, I’ve got an affiliate link attached to the Hostinger links and banners all over this site!) but you need to do your own research before committing to a certain host and make sure that it’s the right one for you and your blogging needs.

If you’re creating a WordPress blog (and as explained in the previous section, I wouldn’t recommend any other route for bloggers), you need hosting which includes WordPress. This will make your life so much easier from the outset as the host will usually have a one-click install for WordPress and other great features to have you on your way before you know it.

The host I use and why

Personally, I use Hostinger. I have used other hosts in the past, but I find that Hostinger meets my needs for the following reasons:

• One-click WordPress install
• Options for multiple sites
• Free domain name for the first year with my package
• Free daily site backups with my package
• Email included
• Easy to use H-Panel layout
• Customer support which is quick and easy to use (in my experience)

If you’re wondering, I have a Business WordPress package through Hostinger. This is $5.99 per month, paid in one instalment of $71.88 when I first started out. There are cheaper plans available, starting from just $1.99 per month, or $22.80 for the first year if you don’t need all of the features of the Business WordPress plan.

When it comes to choosing hosting, I would recommend asking yourself which features you need and why. It’s very easy to get sucked in by a ‘good deal.’ But if you don’t need, or will never use half the features a package comes with, then it’s not a good deal. It’s a waste of your money.

If you change your mind, any good host will allow you to upgrade your package if you feel that you need more features which are only offered on a higher paid plan.

How do I design a logo for my blog?

There is a lot of advice out there about where you can get logos for your blog. These recommendations include paid-for and free services.

In my opinion, there is no need to pay someone to create a logo when you have free services such as Canva available at your fingertips. Eventually, you might want to pay someone to create you a custom logo, but in the meantime, when you’re just starting out, I’d highly recommend getting a free Canva account and using one of their customisable templates to create your blog’s logo.

How long will it take me to make money from my blog?

See my posts on monetisation for more hints and tips on making money from your blog.

How do I choose my domain name?

This is a tricky one, because whichever domain name you choose, you’re committing to it for a really long time. Plus, whilst you can change your domain name down the line, the redirections and amendments you’ll have to go through really doesn’t make this worthwhile.

Cathrin Manning is a great example of this. She openly admits in her YouTube videos that although her domain is http://thecontentbug.com/, she wishes she’d started out using her name instead. When she rebranded, she’s now Cathrin Manning with TheContentBug, but consider how much easier it’d be if she started out with just her name in the first place?

Side note: If you’re just getting into blogging/YouTube, I’d highly recommend Cathrin’s YouTube channel for hints, tips and inspiration!

When picking your domain name, run it through Google first, see what similar names come up. Also, put it into social media channels to see if your handles have been taken or not.

.com, .net, .domain, .xyz – which should I choose?

This comes down to preference and what’s available, but personally, I would say go for a .com domain every time. .com is the most recognisable domain suffix and one that most readers will connect best with.

If your desired .com domain isn’t available, you can consider using a different website suffix. However, remember that if your desired domain name is taken, the social media handles are likely taken as well. Also, you run the risk of confusing potential readers if they think you’re associated with the .com version of your domain name.

My advice for picking a domain name

Essentially, when picking a domain name, you want it to be narrow enough for people to know what it’s about. For example, your name as this is your brand. But broad enough that you haven’t got yourself stuck in a tight niche. Would you, for example, visit a website called craftycakemakers.com and expect to see a blog post about upcycling old sofas? Probably not. Make sure that you can pivot your brand if needed.

Begin With WP, covers this last objective. The domain name is narrow enough for people to know that this blog is about all things WordPress (particularly for beginners). However, it is not so narrow that I limit my choice of content. For example, I can blog about SEO, monetisation, blog themes, setting up a blog, etc, and it all links to the overall theme of beginning with WordPress.

A word of caution

A word of caution on picking blog domain names. Before you buy your domain name, read it out loud first. Make sure that the words don’t run together and produce a swear word (which does happen from time to time!).

Also, consider how your domain name might be interpreted. I spotted on a blog forum once someone wanting to use the word ‘spunky’ in their domain name. I learned at that point that in the south of the USA, ‘spunky’ means free-spirited and easy going.

Unfortunately, I’m from the UK where the word ‘spunk’ is slang for a man’s ejaculation. Not the same meaning at all, and their blog domain would probably put me off visiting their blog for this very reason. I’m not saying not to use words familiar to you; I’m just saying to research them and make sure there aren’t any crazy connotations attached to the word which you’d rather not have attached to your blog.

Should I buy a theme for my blog?

This is one I hear all the time. You’ve bought your hosting and your domain name, and now you are wondering if you should buy a theme for your blog as well.

I will admit now, but I use a premium theme for my blog. Do I need it? No. Did I want it? Yes. So why did I get a premium theme? Because it felt like the right progression for my blog. And I didn’t just buy one theme. I have a subscription to CSSIgnitor which means that I can access all of their themes for one annual price.

Personally, I bought a premium theme because I wanted more option for my blog in a variety of different areas. However, when you are starting out, there isn’t a need to rush out and buy a premium theme. Instead, I would strongly suggest starting with a well reviewed free theme, giving your blog a good go, and then invest in a premium theme if you feel the need a few months (or even years!) down the line.

The best free themes available currently for WordPress (based on reviews and blogger’s recommendations) are:

• Astra
• Kadence
• OceanWP

Of course, there are many out there, and choosing a theme should be based on two things:

1. The theme being light-weight
2. The features you need/want for your blog (note that site speed comes before how it looks!)

Which plugins do I need for my blog?

Technically, you don’t need any plugins for your blog. Once you’ve set up your host and WordPress, you’re good to go. Although on saying that, your host will most likely automatically install their plugin so as your WordPress site can talk to your host, and other plugins depending on your hosting package.

But as I said, technically, you don’t need plugins.

On saying that, there are a few plugins which I definitely recommend sourcing out:

SEO plugin

SEO plugins are wonderful! They help you to improve your page or post’s SEO whilst you write, and good ones will give you hints and tips along the way to improve your SEO. There are some great SEO plugins available including:

• Yoast. This is probably the most popular SEO plugin, with over 5 million downloads worldwide. Yoast has a free version of their plugin to get you started, and then the paid-for version is $89 per year if you want the premium features.
• AIOSEO. This is the SEO plugin which I use. It’s very similar to Yoast, but my use of AIOSEO comes down to personal preference of its layout. AIOSEO is free to use, and it has a variety of paid for packages depending on the premium features you want and how many sites you want to use the plugin on.
• Rank Math is another SEO plugin I’ve heard so much about, but never personally used. Like Yoast and AIOSEO, Rank Math has a free version, and then you can upgrade to a paid-for version depending on which premium features you’d like. Similar to AIOSEO, Rank Math offers different pricing plans depending on what upgrades you need/want.

I tend to find that people are die-hard fans of one SEO plugin or another. There isn’t necessarily one correct answer, so I’d recommend researching the different plugins available, looking at what features are available, and having a play with them to decide which one you like best.

Something to remember about SEO plugins

On the note of SEO plugins, please remember: SEO take times. No plugin will automatically rank you in the number one spot on the first page of Google search results. In fact, it can take up to 90 days to rank on Google at all! The purpose of an SEO plugin is to improve your SEO and your chances of being found on a search engine. The purpose of an SEO plugin is not to guarantee where you will rank on a certain search engine.

Security plugin

Security plugins help protect your site from hackers, spammers, bots, and anything else on the web which may make your blogging life miserable.

Depending on your need, you may need more than one security plugin for your site. Some of the most popular ones are listed below:

• Wordfence. I use this on my site in order to block out malicious traffic. It never ceases to amaze me how many attempts there are every day to try and hack into my site and, thankfully, Wordfence keeps these bots and hackers out. Bonus, they have a free version which I’ve never felt the need to upgrade from!
• Akismet. Everyone in the blogging world rages about Akismet, and for good reason too. Akismet protects your site from spam which may come through your blog comments or contact form. If you are a personal blogger, then Akismet is free for use. However, if you monetise in anyway, with adverts and affiliate links etc, you do need to pay. On saying that, with Akismet you can set your own price, meaning that this plugin will cost you as much or as little as your budget will allow.

Caching plugin

The purpose of a caching plugin is to improve your site speed. On the internet, site speed is everything, and people will leave your site if there’s even just a couple of seconds delay on the page load.

Essentially, a caching plugin creates static versions of your posts and pages, meaning that when someone visits your site, they don’t have to wait for everything to load before they can start using your site. It is good practice to clear your cache when making changes to your site (particularly big ones) as this refreshes the changes for your readers.

On top of this, caching plugins can have features to help minify CSS, HTML and JSON scripts. They can also have many other features to help speed up your site.

Caching plugins commonly used on WordPress include:

• LiteSpeed Cache (this is the one I use!)
• W3 Total Cache
• WP Fastest Cache

Remember, you only need one caching plugin! Don’t get carried away and install multiple ones!

A word of warning

Plugins can be very exciting and it can be easy to get carried away installing plugins to your heart’s content. However, you need to be considering:

1. Do I actually need this plugin?
2. How will this plugin affect my site speed?

See a list of the plugins which I use on this site on my resources page.