Are you interested in learning how to start a respiratory therapy blog of your own? I sure hope so, because we need more of them.
Each of us have different opinions and ideas, and there is so much information that we can all learn from one another. By working in the medical field as a respiratory therapist, I’m positive that you will have many interesting stories to share. This is one of the many reasons why you need a blog of your own, so that you will have a platform to share with the world.
Maybe you have thought about starting your own respiratory therapy blog before in the past but just didn’t know how to get started. If so, then this post is for you.
Why start a respiratory therapy blog?
To tell stories
As mentioned already, I know you have hundreds of stories that you could share from your work experience. Most of us work in hospitals, so we see some pretty crazy stuff on a regular basis. And sometimes it’s things that maybe your spouse just wouldn’t understand. But with a respiratory therapy blog of your own, you could share your stories with other like-minded people who would be able to learn from what you have to say.
To communicate and connect
Blogging has quickly become one of the most efficient ways to spread ideas and communicate with people all across the world. The are millions of other blogs online, although unfortunately, there aren’t very many active respiratory therapy blogs at this time. This means that there is an opportunity for you to come in and truly stand out.
To become a better person and writer
I have definitely grown so much along the journey of starting a blog. And while I’m definitely not a professional writer (I’m just a respiratory therapist, after all), I can definitely tell my writing skills have improved drastically. I still have a long way to go but that is just part of the journey. When you start your own blog, you will grow too.
Start your own respiratory therapy blog in four easy steps:
1. Pick out a name
2. Find a host
3. Install WordPress
4. Select a blog design and layout
So let’s get started. Just follow these four easy steps and you will have your own respiratory therapy blog up and running in no time.
Step 1 – Pick out a name for your blog
What do you want the name of your website to be? I went with Respiratory Therapy Zone because I wanted to build a community or zone where respiratory therapy students could come to find information that will help them with school. You can be as creative as you want, and can literally make your name whatever you as well. Just as long as the domain name is available.
A domain name is just simple the name of the website. For instance, mine is:
www.respiratorytherapyzone.com
You can easily check to see if the domain name you want is available by going to Bluehost.com. Actually, as you will see in Step 2, when you register for a host through Blue Host, you will get your first domain name for free. Which leads us to..
Step 2 – Find a host
A host provides server space for your website. It’s essentially where all the content and information that’s on your blog is stored. This step is very important. You want to make sure you have a reliable host so that no problems will arise with your website.
Blue Host is the one I recommend. They are reliable and offer the best rates for new bloggers, so with them you get the most bang for your buck.
Since Blue Host offers a free domain with the purchase of a hosting package, we are basically combining steps one and two. You can knock them both out with one punch.
Go to Bluehost.com and click on ‘get started now.’
Now you will need to select the hosting plan. Since you are just starting out, the Basic level should work just fine for you. Besides, you can always upgrade at any time in the future if it’s necessary.
After you select your hosting plan, now is where you pick your domain name (which you will get for FREE). Just enter the name you have in mind in the field that says ‘new domain’ to check to see if it’s available.
After you select your domain name, the hard part is over. You can now proceed to fill out your account information and proceed with the payment.
When you are checking out, I will add this: If you can afford it, I highly recommend going ahead and purchasing the ‘Domain Privacy Protection’ for and extra $0.99 per month. This will keep your personal information hidden from spammers. Otherwise, you may receive unsolicited spam emails, so I definitely recommend the domain privacy.
Step 3 – Install WordPress
After you set up your domain and hosting, now you can install WordPress on your website.
WordPress is basically the software that runs your blog, otherwise known as a content management system. It’s very user friendly and easy to use, which is why it’s the mot popular blogging software to date.
So login to your Blue Host account and navigate to the cpanel. Then click on the icon that says ‘Install WordPress.’
Then you can proceed to install WordPress on your website. Just follow along and fill in the necessary information. It’s a step by step process form here on.
Then click ‘Install Now’. It may take up to a few minutes for WordPress to install, so be patient.
WordPress is now installed. Now you need to click, ‘View Credentials.’ You can change your user id and password later, but for now, you will just need it to login.
Now type your URL into your web browser and you should see this login screen:
Then you can enter the user id and password that was provided when you clicked, ‘View Credentials.’
Awesome! Now you have installed WordPress on your new website.
Step 4 – Select a blog design and layout
Congratulations, you are now the owner of a brand new respiratory therapy blog.
Now it’s time to work on the design of your blog to make it look good. The beautiful thing about WordPress is that you do not have to be a coder or programmer to build a nice looking website.
The first thing you want to do now is pick a theme for your blog. A theme is basically just the skin or template. WordPress has hundreds of free themes to choose from.
But if you’re wanting more of a professional look, you may opt for a paid theme. That’s what I did. For instance, I am current using Divi by Elegant Themes on this blog.
I love this theme because that make it super easy for to design pages, because they have a drag and drop builder that comes with the theme. I’ve said it before y’all, I am just a respiratory therapist and not a web designer, so the Divi theme was a lifesaver for me.
But if you don’t have the extra cash, no worries, because you can possibly find a nice looking free theme as well.
So install your new theme and start writing today! There are many things you can do at this point. The main thing about blogging is that you learn as you go. You can start by writing articles and sharing your stories with the world, and you never know what opportunities will come your way.
Start your respiratory therapy blog today.
What are you waiting for?
