If you want to create a free blog, one of the best places to do it is at WordPress.com . It is based on the WordPress blogging platform/CMS (Content Management System), a very powerful tool for creating both websites and blogs. What is so great about WordPress.com is the fact that you will be learning how to use WordPress, which will be very useful if you ever want to move your blog to its own domain and add functionality with plugins.

While there are easier site/blog builders out there, WordPress.com is not hard to learn either. You just need to familiarize yourself with the basics and you will be ready to start posting content. Ok, let’s take a look at how to get started.

Step 1: Sign Up

First, visit www.wordpress.com and sign up for a free account. To do this, click on the white “Get Started” button.

You will now need to fill out a form with your details to sign up. Enter your name, chosen username and e-mail address or sign in with one of your social media accounts to continue.

Next you will have to choose a domain name for your blog. You can either choose a paid custom domain name or a free subdomain. For now let’s just choose a subdomain. Your blog’s address will look like yourname.wordpress.com. Take some time to think of a good name. You will find that many names are already taken, so you will have to be a little creative.

Now you will have to choose your hosting package at WordPress.com. Again we will use the free option for now. Click on “Start with Free”to continue.

On the following page you will be asked to answer a few questions about the goals you have with your new blog. Check all that apply to you and click on “Continue” to proceed.

Next you can to enter a title and description for your blog. Choose a fitting title and tagline and click the button to continue. If you prefer, you can also just skip this step and do this later.

You have completed the sign up process and can now start writing your first blog post, watch some tutorials to learn more or choose a theme to determine the look of your blog.

Step 2: Choose a Theme For Your Blog

Now let’s choose a theme for your blog. A theme is basically what determines your blog’s design and layout. To get started click on “View Designs” next to “Choose a design”.

Now you get to pick a design, or what WordPress calls a “theme”, for your site. WordPress.com has a large selection of themes available, so take your time and pick one you like.

You can see a preview of the design by clicking on its thumbnail. When you have decided click on “Continue” on the preview screen.

Step 3: Create Your First Post

Alright, your blog is set up, now you are ready to begin posting content. Click on “Start writing” to begin.

Give your post a title, then type or paste in the text. Don’t worry too much about what your write at this point. You can always change it later.

Now you need to assign your post to a category. A category is a collection of related posts. To do this first click on “Post” .

Now click on “Categories”, then “Add new category”, enter a name for your category and then click the “Add new category” button.

After writing your post you can also add a few tags to it. Tags are clickable terms that help visitors find all post related to a certain topic. For example, if you write a post about cats your tags could be “cats, kittens, cat food”. To do this first click on “Tags” and then start typing your tags in the field. Separate each tag with a comma.

When you are done, click “Publish”.

You will now get a message that your first post has been published. To view it click on the button.

Congratulations! You now have a fully functional blog that is ready to receive visitors. To see what it looks like, just go to your blog’s URL (yourblogname.wordpress.com) .

Step 4: Share Your Blog

Now that you have a blog set up, you can share it with the world. Good ways to get visitors when you are first getting started include:

• Sharing your blog’s address on Facebook and Twitter.
• Posting at popular forums and leaving a link to your blog in your signature.
• Exchanging links with other related blogs.

For more information on how to promote a blog or website, click here.

Creating a blog at WordPress.com is very easy and straightforward. By following the simple steps described in this article you will have your own blog set up, ready to receive visitors in no time at all.