I receive lots of emails from people asking for tips & advice on starting a blog. I’ve thought about writing a post laying out all the advice I give, but I haven’t sat down to do it yet! If I could do things over, I would start out on self-hosted WordPress (affiliate link) from day one. I think a lot of people buy their URL, then don’t put a ton of thought into their host. You want a host that will have minimal down time, great speed, and enough storage and bandwidth. WP Engine offers month to month contracts with no set up fees.
Once you have your hosting, try the StudioPress Theme Selection Tool to find the theme you like. StudioPress.com has tons of themes to choose from, and they’re very simple to set up.
I love WordPress. I had heard people say it was more difficult to use than Blogger, but I love how customizable it is, and that I can use plug-ins rather than having to edit code to make changes. I remember having to add code to number my comments in Blogger, and worrying about messing up my entire blog if I forgot a quote or a carrot!
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Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. 
