Want to start a blog? Write first

You want a blog.

So you start researching: domain names, tech stack, design, publishing workflows…

Three months later, the initial excitement has faded, but the site still isn’t live.

You’ve got it backwards.

The most important part of a blog is the content. The website is just a container.

Why do people get stuck on website setup? Because building a website feels like progress, while writing means facing a blank page.

There’s also perfectionism at play: “I’ll start writing once the site is ready.”

But that’s like:

• Wanting to journal but endlessly picking notebooks instead of journaling
• Wanting to open a shop but obsessing over the sign instead of stocking inventory
• Wanting to exercise but shopping for workout clothes instead of exercising
• Wanting to make YouTube videos but buying equipment instead of filming

Domain, name, design—you can change these anytime. Content takes time to accumulate. There are no shortcuts.¹

People who understand priorities know: do the things that require accumulation first.

To start blogging, the most important thing is to write.

So what should you do?

1. Sign up for a free blog today (I recommend Bear Blog), or if you’re technical, set up a simple Cloudflare Pages site
2. Find a way to write 10 posts (write about anything)
3. Once you’ve found your style, then consider migrating or redesigning. You can also tweak the site while writing.

If you don’t know what to write about, consider joining the IndieWeb Carnival—like homework assignments, everyone writes on the same topic each month.

Follow these steps and you can have your own website today—right now, this instant. Write your first post. Once you’ve written one, you’ll feel accomplished and want to write the second. Soon your site will have 10 posts, instead of being an empty shell that never launches.

You might ask: “But what if the site looks ugly?”

Nobody subscribes because a website looks pretty.

Readers subscribe for what you write.