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Cover image for Set Up Your Own Blog on Hashnode
K M H Mubin
K M H Mubin

Posted on • Originally published at mubinsodyssey.com

Set Up Your Own Blog on Hashnode

You want to start a blog. That's a great idea!

But don't know how to set up a blog. Every time you search on the web, you are overwhelmed by so much info and everyone telling you to do different things. Who do you listen to? Where's the starting point? It's too confusing!

Well, hold up. I'm going to tell you the easiest way to set up a dev blog on your own fully free. I promise it'll be simple, relatively easy, and definitely easy to understand.

Awesome, let's move on.

Table of content πŸ“‡

Create An Account πŸ“

To get started, go to Hashnode and click on the start your personal blog for free blue button to sign up.

https://i.imgur.com/u5Jyiw5.jpg

Fig: Official Website of Hashnode


It will pop up a new window, which tells you to enter an email address to create a new blog. You can choose any email address you want or open an account using a social media account. If you chose to enter the email address instead, you'd receive a secure link in your inbox. Click on it to sign up.

https://imgur.com/GoYcvS2.jpg

Fig: sign up/in with an account


Here, I'm using my google account to sign up because I'm lazyπŸ˜…. You can choose your desire email account.

https://imgur.com/6saw57G.jpg

Fig: choose your desire email address

Setup your profile βš™οΈ

After you choose the email, it will give you an option to set up your profile.

https://imgur.com/hiMfuOS.jpg

Fig: Setup your profile


Complete the form by uploading a photo, adding a unique user name and a tagline, and then hitting the next button.

Give a name to your blog πŸ€”

Give a proper name to your blog. You can name it whatever you wanted to and then hit next. Remember, this is your first step toward creating personal branding.

https://imgur.com/bR5pDXD.jpg

Fig: Give a name to your blog.

Enter a domain name 🌍

Here, Hashnode offers you two options. Those are:

  • Hashnode's free subdomain
  • Personal domain

πŸ’  Hashnode's Free subdomain

Hashnode offers you a free subdomain, which can be used as your personal domain. If you don't have enough money to buy a new domain or don't own a domain name, this option is for you. Even you can choose the name for your subdomain if you want to. Pretty cool, right!🀩

Here an Example:

Sub-domain Example:

=> coolcats.hashnode.dev
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

https://imgur.com/ikQa37q.jpg

Fig: hashnode's sub-domain

πŸ’  Personal Domain

You can add your personal domain name. Enter your domain name without HTTP/HTTPS, and it will map your domain to Hashnode's blogging platform.

Here is an example:

Personal Domain Name:

=> mubinsodyssey.com
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

https://i.imgur.com/LJY6NGx.png

Fig: Adding a personal domain

Map your personal domain πŸ—ΊοΈ

Adding your personal domain requires a few works. You need to add a CNAME record to your domain.

https://i.imgur.com/mB9WFgC.png
Fig: Add CNAME Record message

Hashnode Show you a message like this.

Add a CNAME record where the hostname is @ and the corresponding value is hashnode.network, or you can add an A record at the root whose value is 192.241.200.144

There are many ways to add a CNAME record to your domain, but here I'm showing the two most popular domain register site options. Those are:

Namecheap

If you buy your domain from namecheap.com, then follow those steps.

πŸ”΄ Sign in to your Namecheap account

πŸ”΄ Select Domain List from the left side menu and (3) click the Manage button next to your domain:

https://namecheap.simplekb.com//SiteContents/2-7C22D5236A4543EB827F3BD8936E153E/media/domain_list_manage.png

Fig: select domain list

πŸ”΄ Navigate to the Advanced DNS tab and (5) click the Add New Record button.

https://namecheap.simplekb.com//SiteContents/2-7C22D5236A4543EB827F3BD8936E153E/media/advanced_new_record.png

Fig: add new record

πŸ”΄ Select CNAME Record from the drop-down menu for Type, put your desired host **@** for Host and enter the record itself hashnode.network into Value. The default TTL value should be fine.

https://namecheap.simplekb.com//SiteContents/2-7C22D5236A4543EB827F3BD8936E153E/media/cname_record.png

Fig: Adding CNAME Record



πŸ”Š Follow this value table.

Type Host Value
CNAME Record @ hashnode.network

πŸ”΄ Once you've done this, wait for 30 minutes for the host records to be accepted.

Hashnode automatically provisions an SSL certificate for you when you visit your blog for the first time.

GoDaddy

If you buy a domain from godaddy.com, then the above option will not work. Cause GoDaddy doesn't let you set a hostname of "@" for CNAME records, so this method doesn't work. Instead, we have to use an alternative option. So follow these steps.

πŸ”΄ Sign in to your GoDaddy account

πŸ”΄ Select manage your domain.

https://i.imgur.com/S6J1IU2.png

Fig: Select Manage DNS

πŸ”΄ Here you should see a list of DNS records. If there any A record exists, then remove it. Now click the Add button below.

https://i.imgur.com/qCzLKjj.png

Fig: Click ADD button

πŸ”΄ Select A from the drop-down menu for Type, put your desired host @ for Host and enter the record itself 192.241.200.144 into Value. The default TTL value should be fine.

https://i.imgur.com/Yww6tWB.png

Fig: Adding A value



πŸ”Š Follow this value table.

Type Host Value
A @ 192.241.200.144

πŸ”΄ Once you've done this, wait for 30 minutes for the host records to be accepted.

Hashnode automatically provisions an SSL certificate for you when you visit your blog for the first time.

You are all set πŸ™†β€β™‚οΈ

You're all set to start blogging on your personal domain that's powered by Hashnode's blogging platform.

https://i.imgur.com/upuYdqJ.jpg

Fig: you're all set

Follow technologies you care about πŸƒ

You can follow the technologies you care about. It will personalize and show blog posts based on your following.

https://i.imgur.com/0dtRyc4.jpg

Fig: Follow technologies you care about

Welcome To Hashnode πŸŽ‰

Welcome to hashnode. Now are a proud member of the Hashnode community. Time to share your story.

https://i.imgur.com/zJzuCvv.jpg

Fig: welcome to hashnode


Here are some of my favorite bloggers on Hashnode whom you can follow:

Facing Problem or other info 😲

If you face any problem or want to ask questions or suggestions, you can join the Hashnode Exclusive Discord server and chat with them.


πŸš©πŸ‘‰ I talk about web development and UI design on Twitter @kmhmubin, come to talk with me there!

The cover image is an improvisation on top of the work from Canva.

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