How to Create A Travel Writer Website in WordPress

If you want your travel writing noticed and don’t have a website, you’re falling behind. Here are 5 quick steps to launch your travel website in WordPress.

If you want your travel writing noticed and don’t have a website, you’re falling behind. A website is your online business card and portfolio. A website showcases your work to editors andpublishers as well as marketing and PR reps and makes you accessible to anyone who might want you for a book or article assignment. There has been one common theme in my podcast interviews from almost everyone I have spoken to, and it is every travel writer must have a website. If you don’t have a site, the time to act is now. That is why I wanted to share this article on How to Create A Travel Writer Website in WordPress.

There are two main ways to build a website: Do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you. We offer reasonable website packages if you don’t think you have the time or the tech savvy. Our websites are done in an average of 10-14 days after we receive images and content. If you’d like to learn more about the ‘done for you responsive websites‘ simply click here http://breakintotravelwriting.com/products/website/

If you feel like you can dedicate the time, below is a 5 Step Check List to build a website using Wordpress.

Create A Travel Writer Website in WordPress

Step 1: Domain Name, Registration and WordPress Website Hosting

The first thing you need is a good domain name and to get that registered. Now you need somewhere for your website to live so it is reachable by everyone on The Internet. I recommend SiteGround. I’ve recently switched both my travel blog, www.52Perfectdays.com and www.breakintotravelwriting.com to Siteground. I’ve worked with two other hosting companies in the past, and I absolutely love SiteGround. The actually moved my website from my old host to SiteGround for free, which saved me time and a lot of money, because I didn’t have to pay a web programmer to do it.

Click here to learn about setting up hosting with SiteGround, then use the tutorial below for the additional steps to set up your blog.

Step 2: Install WordPress

After you secure your domain name and website hosting it’s time for WordPress installation. The latest stable release of WordPress, Version 4.6 is available in two formats.

I could share a super complicated process of installation, involving MySql database and unzipping files. Instead, I strongly suggest you sign up for hosting with one of WordPress’ web hosting partners that offers a one-click install of WordPresssuch as SiteGround.

SiteGround’s support team have advanced WordPress expertise and are available 24/7. This is why I love them. I don’t have to learn about all the crazy programming lingo. I only need to know that SiteGround has tools that make managing WordPress sites easy like their one-click install.

Step 3: WordPress Themes and Layout

WordPress layouts and site presentations are done with themes, which make it very easy to change the way your website looks. I suggest picking a pre-done responsive theme. If you choose a pre-done layout it will make your life so much easier. You can find a few of my favorite travel blogger responsive design examples at the bottom of my responsive website products page here: breakintotravelwriting.com/responsive/website/

Step 4: WordPress Plugins

Plugins are basically add-ons to your WordPress site that introduce additional functionality. You can add an almost unlimited amount of plugins to do some fancy cool stuff. Anything from running a poll on your site, putting up social icons, newsletter pop ups and comment spam filters are all done by plugins. I recently created a list of the 15 Essential WordPress Plugins for Travel Blogger Websites.

Step 5: Pages Every Travel Writer Website Needs

Now that you have the scoop on how to build a site (or have one built), what do you do about the content? Organizing your content in a way that is easy to navigate is a must. Here are the must-have pages for a site that will wow editors and readers:

• About. Somewhere on your site—whether it’s the front page or an “About Me” page—should be a bio that lets editors and readers know who you are and shares your mission with the website.

• Contact. Don’t forget to tell people how they can contact you. If the content on your site is appealing to an editor or publisher but they can’t easily find your contact information, that’s bad. A dedicated contact page is important.

• Travel or Destinations Page Part of a travel blog is sharing your travel stories.

• Travel Tips This is a great page to include on your blog and where you can share your top tips for traveling with your readers.

• Resources Page This is a great page to share all the travel resources you personally use and trust. You are building a relationship with your readers and they will appreciate knowing your favorite travel items, apps, booking engines and more.

• Book A Trip Page Offering a section on your site with links to TripAdvisor, Booking.com and other booking engines offers your readers a great spot to quickly look for travel deals. You can even sign up for CJ and earn commission if they purchase a hotel, airfare or travel package.

Click here to sign up for CJ and start earning affiliate income as a travel blogger!

• Press Page/ Samples This is a page where you can add links to all guest blog posts. You can also link to your media kit from this page.

These are the basics to getting your travel website up and going quickly! Have questions? Have other suggestions for new bloggers about “How to Create A Travel Writer Website in WordPress”? Please leave your suggestions in the comments below.

Here are more website-related posts and podcasts you should take a look at:

This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on some of the links in this post and sign up for SiteGround, I might receive a commission. There is no additional cost to you and it is a way you can help support this website and podcast!

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Saturday, July 22, 2017