If you have ever wondered how to start a nursing blog, then this is for you! From set up to hitting publish, you can have a brand new blog ready on your day off.
This guide will walk you through every single step.
I have said before, and I’ll say it again: We need more nursing blogs. There are so many different specialties, points of views, and ways to do things that there is more than enough room for all of us to work together. Every nurse has a story to tell and blogs are the perfect platform to tell these stories. Maybe you have thought about starting a nursing blog but were not sure exactly how to go about it. If that is the case, then this post is for you.
Start a Nursing Blog in 3 Easy Steps
By following these three simple steps you will have the groundwork laid to start a great new nursing blog!
If you already have the basics set up, then you’ll want to head over to the Blogging Tools page to level up your blogging game. However, if you haven’t gotten started, or perhaps are on another platform besides self-hosted WordPress, and are looking to get serious, keep reading. You’ll be set up and ready to go in no time.
1. Domain Name and Hosting
This is where the creative part really comes into play.
What do you want your name to be? I went with The Nerdy Nurse and it fits everything about me so well. Start by brainstorming what you want to convey with your name. Think about things you love, what you are excited about, and try and use that to craft your name. When I was deciding on a blog name I considered many things. I am a nurse of course, but I also love Informatics, tech, and all things ‘nerdy’. So my name was the perfect choice for me.
So now you have picked your domain name, you need to make sure it is available to purchase and then set up hosting. You can do both of these steps through the same site.
For hosting Blue Host is an affordable and reliable choice. They will actually give you a free domain name, so you’ve already knocked out 2 birds with 1 stone.
Now you need to check and make sure that the domain name you want is available for purchase. Just enter the name into the box for a New Domain.
Now you will have to pick which plan you want to go with. Don’t worry about picking one that will not work, you can always upgrade your plan later if need be.
The Basic is usually perfect for anyone just starting out, but because of all the extras, I really like the Plus plan.
Now you will need to purchase your domain name and have it hosted. Think of hosting like renting space on the web to show your blog. As I mentioned earlier, Blue Host will give you your domain name for free if you decide to host with them.
For package information settings you can pick from many different options. The Domain Whois Privacy or Domain Privacy Protection will block your personal address and phone number from being displayed to the public. I would really recommend purchasing the Domain Privacy Protection. I’ve personally had a couple of weirdos find my contact information via whois and call me up. It freaked me out and I made sure to put privacy protection on all my domains after that.
2. Installing WordPress
Once you have your domain name and have set up hosting, you will need to install WordPress.
WordPress is the back end blogging software, or content management system (CMS). The great thing about WordPress is that it is very user-friendly, has loads of customizations, free plugins, it’s super search engine optimization (SEO) friendly, and is the industry standard for blogging. I use WordPress right here at The Nerdy Nurse. Installation could not be easier.
After you’ve registered for your account, log into Blue Host. Find the Website Builders section. Click on the WordPress logo. This will open a new page. Click the “Install” button in the “Do it yourself FREE” section.
Select the domain you want to install WordPress on. Click the “Check Domain” button.
Check the terms and conditions box and then click the Install Now button.
WordPress will then install. This could take a few minutes so be patient.
Once you get the message that says “Your install is complete” you’ll want to click on View Credentials in the top right corner. Be sure to write down your Admin URL, Username, and Password. You can change these later, but you’ll need them for your first time logging in.
Type your Admin URL into your web browser. You’ll see a login screen like the one below. Enter your Username and Password you copied down from the View Credentials step.
Congratulations! You have officially installed and signed into WordPress.
3. Make It Pretty
You are now the proud new owner of a brand new nursing blog. Let me be the first to officially welcome you!
Now comes the really fun part. You get to come up with the design and layout of your blog. Don’t worry, this is not near as hard as it sounds. Remember when I said WordPress was very user-friendly? It is so easy to customize without knowing any HTML or coding.
First up, it is time to pick your theme. WordPress has hundreds of free WordPress themes to pick from. Studio Press also has hundreds of free themes to pick from. They’re who I use, and recommend.
The Genesis Framework, by Studio Press, provides highly customizable and SEO optimized WordPress theme that many bloggers swear by. I have been using Genesis themes for years and am thrilled with the results.
This blog uses the Genesis Framework and the Magazine Pro theme.
A Thesis Theme is another popular theme that many bloggers swear by.
And just like that you now have a brand new nursing blog that is ready for you to start posting. You can get started today writing content that can change the world and shape the nursing industry.
Once you’ve gotten your feet wet, or today if you’re feeling like you want to get more tips and tools for blogging, be sure to check out my Blogging Tools. There’s tons of information for beginner and advanced bloggers including plugins, marketing tools, and other resources that have made my blogging life easier.
Now that you’ve got all the steps to set up a nursing blog, tell us what you’re going to blog about in the comments below. If you’ve already started a blog, share your blog url with us.
Start a Blog Today!
Nurses are natural storytelling and blogging can be therapeutic and educational. I’m a firm advocate that nurses need to learn the business of blogging and that blogging is an important tool useful in the nursing practice. You’ve got no excuses to put off starting a blog now. So, what are you waiting for?
The Nurse’s Guide to Blogging: Building a Brand and a Profitable Business as a Nurse Influencer
I love this guide! It basically listed all the steps I went through last night as I converted my blog on Blogger to WordPress! And now that I’m on WordPress, I’m hooked!
I would like to start a blog about a nursing students journey. From applying to college, FAFSA, studying, applying to the program. Have study groups and everything in between. Just unsure of how to come up with the content and a way to grow the blog after graduation.
If you are looking for next steps, you can check out the Blogging Tools post and I also recommend checking out Health Media Academy. There you will find lots of tips for coming up with content as well as growing the blog.
Thanks for being an inspiration! I successfully started a nursing blog that highlights everything I wish I knew when starting my nursing journey. I am a floor nurse that has been struggling with burnout recently and this experience has been therapeutic for me.
To anyone thinking about doing this… Be aware that there is a serious learning curve to web development, but it is time well spent. It is marketable skill.
Also, to those worried about your job seeing the blog. I think about how my boss would react if she saw my post, and I write accordingly.
Thanks and have fun!
I would like to start a blog that can be a way to help support other fellow nurses in my type of nursing. My goal is to offer tips and general health education. However, I am worried about the possibility of being fired for blogging about my job. Of course, I am aware of HIPAA and would not use names, dates, etc. But I do work for a large health care company. I was wondering what your take on this subject is? Do you have any guidelines that would be helpful?
My best suggestion is to talk to your employer. They may have some guidelines or even rules in place already for what types of things you can share besides any HIPAA violations.
Hi Brittney,
I have a question about Facebook. You’ve mentioned a couple of Facebook groups for nurse bloggers, and I’m interested in joining. I’m wondering if I can join a group through the Facebook page I use for my blog while keeping my personal Facebook account private. If so, how do I go about doing this?
Thanks for your help!
Hi Diane, Unfortunately Facebook does not allow blog pages to join groups. You would have to join from your personal profile page.
Hi Nerdy Nurse! This blog post has really helped me feel motivated to get blogging/writing in a new way. I have maintained a personal blog for almost 10 years that has included mostly creative non-fiction, poems, and impressions of my personal philosophy (spiritual, political, entertainment). I love to write and my current professional role as a nurse has me doing more medical/narrative writing than ever (which is an unexpected but providential gift!!)
For years, I’ve wondered if there was a way to blend my creative impressions with my experience as a nurse. Your out has really got me thinking!!
I think there is a niche for me somewhere!!
Hi Brittney, I am a new nurse, but I’m even newer to blogging. I wanted to share my experience through nursing school and my current journey as a nurse. I wasn’t sure how to go about it — in fact, I only knew of one nurse who blogged, so I didn’t know that blogging was a thing for nurses.
I had a domain and with a hosting company, but wasn’t clear on what else I should have or do until I came across your blog showing how to start a blog. Thank you for sharing!
I am so glad you found the blog then. If you have any questions or need any help, please do not hesitate to reach out. Good luck to you!
Hi! I’ve been wanting to start a blog forever and I think I have a different stance than what I’ve seen out there. I just wanted to ask, when you write under your own name, are there certain precautions you have to take to avoid risking your license?
Christian,
Using your name is not really an issue. You just want to make sure that whatever you publish online you can stand by. This means that being sure that if you printed out any of your content and put it on your bosses desk that they wouldn’t have a problem with it. Of course, you also have to be aware of HIPAA considerations. Use common sense and be very thoughtful about what you put online. It will take more effort this way, but you’ll build a wonderful nursing brand, do great things for the profession, and create incredible employment opportunities for yourself.
I am a blogger too and I usually blog on medical uniforms and medical discipline.
Writing my Blog has been very therapeutic for me after have a medical crisis late in 2014. It has allowed me to heal and share information with others who can learn from my experience. I recommend those who have information to share that will assist others in learning and growing personally and professionally consider blogging.
This is a great success story. I’m so glad that your blog has not only helped others but also helped you.
Do you have any tips on keeping a nursing blog HIPAA compliant, other than avoiding personal stories all together?
Thanks!
Always stay away from the main Patient Identifiers. Never talk about a patient you had the other day or last night. Instead use phrases like, “I once had a patient”. Be careful of giving away anything that could identify a patient no matter how trivial it may seem.
This was a great read, and I agree. I am a Norwegian RN who works at Oslo Accident and emergency Outpatient Clinic. We don´t have many nursing blogs in Norway, we simply don´t seem to think that it´s “normal” or even possible. I am launching my nursing blog later this fall, and are happy to tell you that nurses, and others as well, say they are looking forward to reading it. The positive reactions has so far been beyond my expectations, and I haven´t even startet yet! Thanks for sharing, I love your blog! Best, Michael Hartmann, RN, Oslo. Twitter: @HelseHartmann.
How exciting Michael. Once you get your blog up and running be sure to come back and share the link so I can check it out.
Great post! I write the blog for the American Association of Nurse Life Care Planners (www.aanlcp.org) to share tips and resources available for the long term planning of care of the catastrophically ill and injured.
I ran a blog while I was in nursing school, but now that I’m going back to school for a Health Informatics degree and I’m doing “non-traditional” nursing (no direct patient care), I’m worried that I would have a rather jumbled stream with no focus…much like my twitter feed is today. Any tips on finding your blogging “voice”? Any thoughts on finding and attracting the right audience once you decide what you are writing about?
John, at the start of this blog I had a very jumbled stream of posting. It did take me awhile to find my groove and my voice. My biggest advice there is to just start it. Your voice will come and you will find what you are passionate about and what you want to say. As for attracting the right audience, use keywords that someone would search for to find you and lots and lots of social media.
I would like to scream this post out into the universe! 🙂 Nurses are the most trusted profession. Nurses are great curators and educators. People are hungry for practical content from trusted sources. A huge thanks to you, my friend for encouraging & mentoring so many nurse bloggers…including myself! My advice? Don’t worry about making things ‘perfect’…just get started. Blogging will re-energize your love of nursing…I guarantee it!!! Here’s my blog: thesocialnurse.com. To all posters: I’d love to connect, comment and leverage YOUR content via Twitter, using the hashtag #NurseBlogLove
If I were to start a blog, I’d use it more as reflective practice, exercise and recipes.
There is always room for more blogs, even if they are not nursing focused.