On this page, I’ll share the basic blog tools necessary to run your relationship blog.
I created another page to share the blog marketing tools necessary for relationship bloggers to make money.
Whether you want to make money or run a relationship blog for just for fun, either way, you will need certain essential blog tools to run it.
And we will look at what I use on this page.
However, I suggest that you first figure out what will separate you from the other relationship bloggers.
Discover your story and valuable message to deliver to your readers.
Read about my story.
In fact, you can read the story that led to me launching my first relationship blog.
Here, let’s look at what you need to run your dating and relationship blog if:
Affiliate Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links that pay a commission if purchase made.
It houses your blog on a server.
Hosting stores your blog’s data and makes it accessible to the internet.
I do not claim to be an expert on this, but that’s the basic gist.
You can get free or paid-for hosting (self-hosting).
Access free hosting that come included with free website builders like:
If you want to blog as a hobby, interact with other bloggers and interact with your visitors then do consider doing free hosting.
However, if you want to make money blogging then I do not recommend free hosting because it comes with limitations and vulnerabilities.
Simply put you have…
(Unless you are an IT, computer software and coding pro, know how to build everything from scratch and maintain it all yourself and do not mind investing the time to do it then get self-hosting.)
Even if you know how to do all of this on your own, why would you?
If you want to make money blogging then focus on what makes money…
…content creation and marketing.
These two components by themselves are quite time-consuming.
There is simply too much to do even for the smallest blogs of less than 20 pages.
Work smart and efficiently.
Get self-hosting like any of us serious relationship bloggers.
Again, I’m not an expert on this, but I’ve used them since the beginning and many other relationship bloggers and other bloggers do too.
==>Click here to get Bluehost for just $3.95 per month.
Packaged options
If you’re starting out then you do not need all of these. If you already have Bluehost then I’d wait until you consistently make at least $500 per month.
You can customize your plan and purchase what you need and can afford, then add options later when you’re ready.
You do not share the servers with other blogs (yours or anyone else’s) which makes them faster and safer.
Automatically backs up your site daily. When you update the plugins (think of them as apps on your phone) or the newest version of your blog’s theme (the visual framework), parts of your blog can stop working correctly (even the whole thing).
That’s why you want to back it up.
They’re available via phone or chat 24/7. It’s rare I need to call to ask questions. Usually when I do it was something I did.
But they’ve walked me through it and I’ve called late a few times.
I’ve called a few times when things didn’t look right or when I wanted to manually back up my site (before I purchased auto back up).
I can host more than one blog without having to purchase a separate account. (This only makes sense if you plan to build more sites).
This helps protect your data by encrypting it as your server communicates with others over the internet.
Bluehost packages include one free domain name, which is the name of your blog, the URL.
I build my blogs with WordPress.org (again, not the same as Wordpress.com). Bluehost allows you to install WordPress blogs easily. Their customer service agents generally understand how WordPress works and can answer your questions more easily.
Bluehost has the reputation of keeping the sites they host up and running with little maintenance time and glitches 99>% of the time.
These are a few reasons that stand out to me why I’ve stayed with them.
Overall, I am satisfied. And many other bloggers stick with them too.
I like how easy they make it for me and their fast, quality customer service.
And above all my site runs well and I feel protected.
Bluehost packages the services I need to keep my site up and running, loading fast, keeping it safe and backing it up.
They give you the best start-up deal which lasts 36 months.
Currently, it’s just $3.95 monthly and includes
Here are some other noteworthy hosting services that I know other bloggers tend to choose.
High Rated Hosting Service Alternatives that Other Bloggers Like Instead
The blog theme is your site’s layout.
It’s how your site appears visually- your site’s design.
Free versions come with WordPress.
But they offer less features and design options than paid for themes- premium themes.
The more options your theme offers, it will make it easier and faster for you to create and publish your blog posts.
Plus, they will appear more visually appealing and allow your calls-to-action (newsletter opt-in pop-ups, links to affiliate sales pages, pop-ups that link to sales pages, etc.) to stand out.
Which is vital.
Actions that you want your visitors to take must stand out from the rest of the content.
Your visitors need to see them or they will skip right over them.
Even something as simple as the color of a CTA button that takes a visitor to an affiliate sales page must differ from the images and graphics around it.
Generate Pro by Studios Press
Most themes you buy once with lifetime access and then you activate their regular updates.
I recommend that you choose one that will make you happy at the beginning.
Yes, you can swap out themes later, but you run the risk of the new theme not being compatible with your plugins (similar to apps on your phone).
This could cause functionality problems.
Choosing a theme is important but do not waste time choosing it.
You can even look at other people’s blogs and see what they use.
Just scroll down to the bottom and below the footer, the blog theme name will appear.
Or copy-and-paste the URL into this tool and it will tell you the blog theme name.
For this site, I use Generator Pro by Studio Press
And for my others I currently use ReHub by Themeforest.
Both give me the features that accomplish my biggest priorities:
Before you choose a blog theme, you will:
1. Install WordPress.org on your computer
2. Choose and buy your domain name and hosting.
3. Follow Bluehost’s instructions to upload WordPress and connect to your domain.
4. Buy your theme.
5. Then within your WordPress site (blog) activate your theme.
I guess this should come as no surprise that you cannot build a website (blog) without a website builder.
Most of us relationship bloggers and all bloggers, choose WordPress for their customization abilities.
Blog themes and plugins (similar to phone apps) make customization possible.
You’ll find advice on how to use WordPress all over the internet.
There’s no shortage.
WPBeginner.com offers easy-to-understand advice on all-things WordPress for all levels of WP users (not just beginners, like the name suggests).
Circling back to the hosting service I prefer, Bluehost, they make it easy to launch your WordPress blog within minutes of obtaining the domain name (blog name and URL).
Just make sure you go to WordPress.org (and NOT Wordpress.com).
Hobby bloggers not looking to make money can go to Wordpress.com)
There are other website builders that are better suited for simple online stores or businesses with physical locations.
But your blog is your business.
Just go with WordPress.org.
With a self-hosted site, like the one I have and recommend you get through WordPress.org and host through Bluehost, you must buy a domain name.
Luckily, they are super cheap.
Usually less than $15 a year.
Get a free domain name for the first year with Bluehost.
I recommend you do everything with Bluehost (if you choose them as your host), it’s just easier.
You’ve got a ton of content creating and marketing tasks to focus on.
It made it easier for me and it will do the same for you to get the hosting and domain name in the same place.
You can save money by getting them elsewhere, but honestly, if you want to save $5 or $10 a year then ask yourself, “How serious are you about making money?”
But it’s your choice.
You can go with the following companies:
…and then there’s plenty of help online on how to assign a domain (purchased with one company like GoDaddy) to a site hosted elsewhere (like Bluehost).
Example: Do a Google search such as “how to point a GoDaddy domain to Bluehost”