Tutorial: How to Start a Free Blog at Blogger.com

Creating a blog might seem like a daunting task, and you might not know where to begin. Truth be told, it's very easy to create a blog (for free), and you can do it in under an hour by following these four simple steps. What are you waiting for? Join the blogosphere today!

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: Less Than 30 Minutes

Here's How:

Step 1: Choose a free blogging software.
Read these articles from About.com Web Logs to help you choose the best blogging software for you:

Step 1: Sign Up to Create a Blog at Blogger.com

Visit the Blogger.com home page and select the "Create Your Blog Now" button to begin the process to start your new Blogger.com blog.

Step 2: Create a Google Account

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If you don't already have a Google account, you'll need to create one by completing the form on this page.

Step 3: Sign In with Your Google Account

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If you already have a Google account, you can bypass the "Create Google Account" step and simply sign in with your existing Google account username and password.

Step 4: Name Your New Blog

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Enter the blog name and corresponding domain name (to precede '.blogspot.com') in the spaces provided.

Step 5: Choose a Template

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Select a standard template for your new blog.

Step 6: Congratulations - Your New Blog is Active!

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Your blog is now live and ready for you to start writing content.

Step 7: Write Your First Post

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That's all there is to it! You're now ready to write your first blog post in your new Blogger.com blog and join the blogosphere.

1. Step 3: Select Your Domain, Theme and Other Options.
   During the registration process for your new blog account, you'll need to choose a domain name and blog theme. You also might want to take a few minutes before you actually start blogging to customize some of the other preferences for your blog that your blogging software allows you to modify such as the author name, comment moderation process, and so on. However, you're not required to do any customization before you start publishing blog posts.
2. Step 4: Start blogging.
   Once you've completed steps 1-3, you're ready to join the blogosphere and start publishing content on your blog. There are many more ways you can customize your blog with plug-ins, feeds, blogrolls, and more, but these four easy steps are all you need to follow in order to start a simple blog.