How to Start a Health and Fitness Blog (Step By Step Guide)

If you’re reading this post, I’m going to take a guess. You love health, fitness, and wellness. Not only that, but you love reading health blogs.

I’m also willing to guess that people tell you that you should start a health blog. You’ve definitely considered combining (1) your passion for wellness with (2) your enjoyment of web blogs as a creative outlet to share your health expertise.

Well, I’m here to tell you today that NOW is the time to start your own health blog.

Take a seat and read this article carefully over the next 20 minutes. If you follow the 3 steps below, you’ll have your very own health blog up and running in no time.

Let’s do this!

Disclaimer: Some of the URLs below are affiliate links that I can earn a commission from. I’ve got a ton of experience using the products I’m recommending. I truly believe in these companies and I trust them.

1) Web Hosting & Domain Names

This is my favorite part of starting a health blog. What do you want to call it?

My website is called biomedj.org. If I can give you some tips on what worked for us: Brainstorm as many domain name ideas as you can think of. After thinking this through, head over to Bluehost and find out if your desired domain name is available. You can do that via the search box – I’ve provided a screenshot below:

When you are asked to choose a plan, definitely choose the Starter Plan – you can pay for this one as a lump sum rather than on a monthly basis, saving you some serious $$$.

You will also need web hosting for your new health domain name. If I were to explain hosting, it’s basically leasing out web space to show your blog. And speed here matters. Bluehost has some of the best health blog hosting speeds in the industry. In fact, if you choose Bluehost as your health web hosting provider, they’ll give you a domain name for free!

We’re all about good deals here – and this is a great one!

Here’s a screenshot showing the “package information settings” I use:

Domain WhoIs Privacy is super important if you value privacy. It basically blocks people from looking up your website and seeing your phone number, email, home address, etc. I got a ton of spam when I first set up my health blog hosting plan because I did not opt in to Whois Privacy. Those robocalls and emails were horrible to deal with.

2) Install WordPress for your Health Blog

There are a ton of CMS options out there. In my opinion, WordPress is the best for health blogging. So once you’ve registered for a Bluehost plan, you need to install WordPress (WP) on your site.

I mentioned CMS above. A CMS is basically just software for blogging. As I mentioned, I use WordPress for BiomedJ.org. The best part? It’s extremely easy to use, even for beginners. And it’s basically a one-click process to install.

Here are the steps to install WordPress on your health blog.

Log in to Bluehost. Once you’re logged in, look for the Website Builders area of the site. You’ll see a WordPress logo – click it.

Hit the “Install” button on the next page, located in the “Do It Yourself Free” area.

Next, simply click the T’s & C’s checkbox and hit “Install Now”.

You will then get a message saying “Your install is complete!” That means you’ve successfully equipped your wellness blog with WordPress. Next, click the button that says “View Credentials” and type in your Username, Password, and Administrator URL. Don’t worry too much about this as you can change it later. But you need to know these now in order to log in.

Next, load the Administrator URL to your web browser and hit Enter. It’ll ask you for your Username/Password combo.

If you put them in successfully, Congratulations!! You’ve just logged in to your health blog for the first time.

3) Make Your Blog Sparkle

Guess what? You’re now the proud owner of an awesome starter health and wellness blog! Are you so stoked? You should be – you’re embarking on an exciting journey! You’re just a few steps from sharing your health, wellness, and fitness knowledge with the world!

Before you start writing your next amazing wellness blog post, I recommend making your blog pretty. Doesn’t have to be perfect, but put in 10-20 minutes here to get off on the right foot.

There are tons of great free and paid “Themes” for your WordPress blog. WordPress has a lot you can get for free under the “Themes” area in the WP console. Browse free health/wellness/fitness blog themes here.

If you’re down to invest a little bit of cash into your new blog, you can also go after a Premium WP theme. Here are some options I recommend:

1. The Astra Theme. We use this one here at BiomedJ. It’s awesome!
2. Elegant Themes. Easy to use and aesthetically pleasing, you can’t go wrong here. There are lots of different options to choose from. In terms of pricing, these are also a great value.
3. Genesis Framework. I use this on a few other sites that I manage. I’ve been using it since 2015 and think it’s great for health blogs. Very customizable.

Congratulations on starting your new health blogging journey! If you ever have any questions, feel free to reach out to me by clicking here.