The important of sports psychology and how it affects performance

I would first like to start off with how truly important the mental side of the game is for athletes.  It is one of the most important determinants between the good and the great athletes.  It can give you that slight edge over your opponent that you need to compete better and ultimately enjoy playing.  I also would like to mention that some of these philosophies and ideas can be taken into other areas of life, so if you aren’t a high level athlete anymore, continue to read you still might learn something that you can apply to your life as well!

I am going to share some mental training skill tips and philosophies of my own, that have personally helped me take my game and life to another level.  One of the key aspects for me in this area is my own mindset and outlook on life and sport.

I would first like to challenge you and ask, what is your focus when you are training or competing in a game?

• -        Coaches thoughts – trying to prove yourself
• -        Pressured feeling due to the crowds and sponsors
• -        Are you focused on the result and just winning?
• -        Are you fully engaged in what you are doing or focused on something outside of your control?
• -        Worried about being better than someone else
• -        Wondering who the coach is going to start

A big lesson I learned that made a huge difference in my game and life, is that you need to focus on the controllable, as well as, the process, not the RESULTS!  I will go into this with more detail down the road but briefly, I want to open your eyes to how this can help make a huge impact on your life.

So many players are focused on the things they can’t control (coaches thoughts, teammates reactions or judgments, crowd judgments, etc.) that they lose themselves in this process.  They create extra pressure on themselves by thinking along these lines.  So my first advice to you is to let go of the things you can’t control and focus on what you can control:

• -        Attitude
• -        Effort
• -        Concentration
• -        Perspective
• -        Enthusiasm
• -        Communication
• -        Your own development

When we take away the power from others to judge us, and allow this not to affect us, it creates a freedom throughout yourself as a whole, and this applies to all areas of life.  So first I want to make it clear that you need to let go of this judgment.  Secondly, you need to let go of the comparisons of yourself to others.  My mentor once told me, Comparison is the thief of all joy.  Everyone has their own “talents” that they have developed, but you shouldn’t focus on others and being better than them.  Instead focus on developing to become the best you can be, on and off the field.  You can control your effort, attitude, and your focus to become the best you can be.  You can’t control who makes the decisions of who starts, or who gets that promotion at work.  What you can control is being your very best self each and every day, while continuing to grow as an individual, and treating people really well regardless of the situation.

                                                              

The second focus I would like to point out, is that a lot of individual’s today focus on the result.  They have a sales quota they are trying to meet, or the coach just wants to win and will do anything to get there, the athlete is so focused on the result of doing well to impress others that is develops a sense of pressure.  This creates a negative feeling for individuals especially when they don’t reach those benchmarks, which then can create an even lower level or performance.  But if we can reverse this way of thinking, and focus on the process of getting better each and every day the results will come.  Don’t focus on winning and results but instead, BE PRESENT, and focus on training that day in that exact moment.  Focus on what little things can you do now, to help you develop as a player, which will ultimately allow you to obtain the results you always wanted.  When we focus on the process of development and growth each and every day, the results will come.

Some Tips and Exercises for Mental Training:

-        Visualization:  Research based evidence shows that we can develop muscle memory (myelin) throughout the nervous system by doing vivid visualization training exercises.

So find a quiet place to sit down, determine a specific situation in a game that you are looking to work on.  For example, a free kick or stopping a penalty kick.  Now try to visualize your surrounding environment; smells, sounds, sights.  You need to be fully emerged into the process of what is going on to get the most out of the exercise.  Then, visualize the process in very specific detail of your movements up until you perform the task and visualize the end result, while experiencing the feelings you might feel once you have successfully completed the task.  Do this for 5-10 minutes a day, with multiple repetitions of the specific situation.

Another visualization exercise I love, is watching (YouTube) some of my favorite players who play the same position as me, that I would like to imitate their style of play and learn from.  But you need to do this with a lot of attention, focus on all of their movements, how they approach certain situations, and try to determine exactly what they are doing; where they are looking, their explosiveness, timing and so on.  This one is great especially on game day, it gets your brain going and mind thinking, without much effort and at the same time you are enjoying what you are watching!

                                                         

-        Writing down notes after training:

1)     List 10 – 15 things you did well and be very specific.  Visualize yourself as you did these things early and successfully completing them.

2)     List 2-3 things of Areas to improve.  And think about any small mistakes you might have made, and visualize how you would actually want to complete them if you were to do them again so that they would become successful plays.  Mistakes are there for us to learn from, as well as, help us develop to become smarter and better players!

3)     List the controllable of the session; ex: attitude, effort, work rate, mind set and self-talk during training, etc.

4)     List the uncontrollable of the session; ex: coaches’ comments, teammate’s comments, bad bounces, outcome/results not completely in your control when working as a team, teammates playing styles, etc.

-        Breathing exercises before training or matches: 5 seconds in 5 seconds out for a minute

-        I also like to right down 3 things I am grateful for each night and 3 things I did well during the day at the end of the night (Doesn’t need to be sports related).  This helps develop a grateful outlook and perspective on life, as well as, a more positive mindset.

 

That is all I have for you guys this time around.  In the future, I will talk about other areas of mental training philosophies and mindset, but for now I wanted to give you guys a bit of an introduction to the process and a few tips that I use myself personally.  Theses techniques might be able to help you take things to the next level, and overall allow you to feel a bit more freedom.

This post was written by Brittany Persaud.

What are the benefits of compression clothing? How does it aid recovery?

Now that I’ve got an introduction out of the way, and given you all a bit of an insight into my opinions on S&C as an industry, I’m going to move on to specific subjects. Each of these articles are going to be research driven, so if any of them are on a subject you find interesting or want to read more about you can follow the references from each article.

The first of these is Recovery Methods. Recovery plays a huge part in performance; if you don’t recover sufficiently in between bouts of exercise or between competitive fixtures, your performance may suffer as a result.

I am going to break this subject down into more manageable chunks, so over the coming weeks my articles will be based around the following:

• Compression Clothing
• Ice Baths/Cold Water Immersion/Contrast Showers
• Massage/SMR
• Active Recovery
• Rest & Nutrition

I didn’t want to try to hit all of them in one go as it would be one hell of a long article, and each of these subjects deserves enough credit to warrant separate articles. So check back weekly to the Macro Man Health &Fitness blog to find out more.

First up is… Compression Clothing

Compression clothing has been popular for a while now, firstly to either facilitate thermoregulation (keep you warm or keep you cool), but also some garments have been made claiming to aid the recovery process.

This is done by helping to improve blood flow and regulate temperature, which in turn will lead to improved removal of waste products from the muscles after exercise. This means a lower amount of perceived delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS – or that sore aching feeling you get after exercise). Sound complicated? Basically - the idea is that these items will allow you to recover quicker and therefore train more frequently².

The most popular types that have been researched are compression socks (ankle to knee), and tights or leggings (ankle to hip). There are upper body recovery garments available, but for most people competing in sports lower body recovery is emphasised.

If someone came up to you and said “Good session today, you should get an ice bath tonight to help you recover. Or, you could throw some compression leggings on overnight.” I’m guessing you’d probably join the majority who would wear the leggings? Especially in the winter! (In case you’re wondering, the person who said it was your coach, not just some random dude on the street. That would be weird.)

Some studies have found that compression garments can help the athletes feel less sore after using them than they would if they hadn’t worn them. This is all well and good, but actual physiological recovery was only minimal^3.4.

Other studies have found scientific benefits to wearing the garments such as reductions in muscle swelling alongside muscle soreness, and improved blood lactate removal following maximal strength and power activities⁵.

It seems to be fairly accepted across the majority of articles that DOMS was reduced when wearing tights and multiple studies have found that they are beneficial in improving physiological symptoms as well.

For this to have effect the garments have to be able to provide a good amount of compression to the muscle⁶ – basically they can’t be loose or baggy. So if you intend to use a pair of leggings as part of your recovery, try to get hold of a brand new pair that won’t have lost their fit – and pay attention to the size guides, or if possible use a company who make them to fit your own personal measurements.

So, after reading through a bunch of articles and going off recommendations from exercise professionals, my advice would be this;
If you want to wear tights as part of your recovery process – go for it. Athletes often found that they felt less sore when they used them, and some research has found positive physiological effects.
At the very least – they’re not going to do any harm. Plus they’re nice and cosy in bed during the winter months, although your partner may say different.

Thank you for reading, and make sure to check back next week to read Part 2 of this look into recovery. Next week’s article will go into some detail on the attention grabbing Ice Bath (plus some more bearable alternatives).

This article was written by Rob Nitman. BSc. ASCC.

REFERENCES

1.       http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sampleworkouts/a/After-Exercise.htm - accessed 20/12/2014

2.       http://www.skins.net/uk/mens-compression/recovery/ry400-men-s-compression-long-tights-for-recovery - accessed 20/12/2014

3.       Duffield, R., Cannon, J. & King, M. (2010) The Effects of Compression Garments on Recovery of Muscle Performance Following High-Intensity Sprint and Plyometric Exercise. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 13 (1).

4.       Faulkner, J.A., Gleadon, J., McLaren, J. & Jakeman, J.R. (2013) Effect of Lower-Limb Compression Clothing on 400-m Sprint Performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 27 (3).

5.       Born, D.P., Sperlich, B. & Holmberg, H.C. (2013) Bringing Light into the Dark: Effects of Compression Clothing on Performance and Recovery. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance, 8 (1).

6.       Sperlich, B., Born, D.P., Kasinoro, K. & Laaksonen, M.S. (2013) Squeezing the Muscle: Compression Clothing and Muscle Metabolism During Recovery from High Intensity Exercise. PloS One, 8 (4).

Foam Rolling - How to do it, why you should do it and who says it's worth it

This article is all about the world of self-myofascial release (SMR), in particular, foam rolling.  If you have never heard of this term or would just like to know a bit more information about it, you have come to the right place! This article will be discussing what a foam roller actually is, why they are used, what they actually do and, finally, what does the latest research say about them?

I hope you enjoy!

 

What is a foam roller?

So first up, what is a foam roller? Its not a trick question, a foam roller is simply just a cylinder piece of foam (that rolls).  They come in various sizes and densities, which is usually indicated by the colour of foam. White rollers are the softest, black rollers are the firmest and blue rollers are somewhere in between. They are not hard to find either, just search online for a foam roller and you are sure to find a stockiest.

 

For anybody that has never seen a foam roller and is wondering what I am talking about, this is what one looks like...

 

As you can see, they aren’t flash and they aren’t fancy. 

You might be wondering why this piece of foam is so special?  

 

Why should I use one?

Most athletes will use a foam roller with the aim to reduce muscle soreness and enhance their recovery in order to maximize their levels of performance.  But how is this achieved?

 

What do they do?

In simple terms, just think of foam rolling as ironing (stay with me).

When you train hard, muscles suffer from micro trauma. This micro trauma can lead to the formation of scar tissue and knots in the muscle, which may impede nerve conduction and blood flow. This can then lead to muscle soreness and reduce the contraction speed of your muscles, therefore your performance!

By carefully aligning the roller with particular muscles (like an iron), the roller is used to apply pressure to areas of soreness in muscles. This enables you to break up the scar tissue that may have formed (like creases in a shirt).

 

They can also be used to increase your flexibility and your range of movement, a process called autogenic inhibition. As pressure is applied to the muscle, mechanoreceptors called Golgi Tendon Organs inform the brain that tension is being placed on the muscle. The brain then sends a message back to relax the muscle, preventing it from tearing.  A reduction in tension means a reduction in pain and improvements in muscular function.

 

How do I use one?

As briefly mentioned, rollers are used to apply pressure on areas of soreness in your muscles. They are really simple to use. Place the roller on a sore muscle area and roll slowly, using your body weight to apply the pressure. Once you have found a sore point, stop and apply direct pressure whilst trying to relax the muscle. It is advised to spend between 30-60 seconds per muscle group, depending on your perceived soreness.

Foam rolling is a great method to use as part of a pre-hab routine before your training session or as part of a recovery routine after your session. It becomes a great habit to have in making sure that you are getting the most out of your training sessions.

But does it actually work?

 

 

 

 

What does the research say?

 

There are many studies that have researched the effectiveness of foam rolling but I have summarised the findings of two recent papers. The references can be found below in case you would like to look into them further.

The first paper looked at was by MacDonald et al. (2014). This study looked at foam rolling as a recovery tool after an intense bout of physical activity. Results concluded that foam rolling was a beneficial tool in reducing muscle soreness whilst also improving vertical jump height, muscle activation and passive and dynamic range of motion in comparison to a group that did not use foam rollers.

A study by Pearcey et al. (2014) found results that adhered to the findings by Macdonald et al. (2014). They concluded that foam-rolling effectively reduced the delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS) and the associated decrements in dynamic performance (sprint speed, power and dynamic strength endurance).

So that’s a little bit about self-myofascial release; why not get your hands on a foam roller and try it for yourself. I’d love to hear what you think!

 

References

Macdonald, G., Button, D., Drinkwater, E. and Behm, D. (2014). Foam Rolling as a Recovery Tool After an Intense Bout of Physical Activity. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 46 (1), pp.131-142.

Pearcey, G., Bradbury-Squires, D., Kawamoto, J., Drinkwater, E., Behm, D. and Button, D. (2014). Foam Rolling for Delayed-Onset Muscle Soreness and Recovery of Dynamic Performance Measures. Journal of Athletic Training. [In Press]

 

This article was written by Rob Etherington.

How to get a website for less than £100 and promote it!

Every business needs a website. That’s a fact these days. No one can find you online if you aren’t online, seems obvious doesn’t it? Getting a website doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. In fact, you can actually get a fully functional website for under £100! And that includes advertising! Sound good? Read on…

There are certain things you can’t get for free. But the majority is out there for you to find if you put in the effort. Not everyone needs to hire a website designer. Maybe in the future, when you have expanded your business to a nationwide service. But when you first want to put yourself out there, you aren’t going to need to fork out thousands. Here is all you need:

·         Domain name – For those of you who aren’t up to date with the tech lingo; this is your website address (for example www.ArunGrayPT.com). Obviously some of these website names are taken (such as Facebook.com and Google.com) but chances are, if you are going to be using your name, it is probably available. It doesn’t have to be your name however. If you have a business name, use that! Have a play around with ideas and see what you can come up with. This will cost you around £6.99 per year for a .co.uk domain, or £9.99 for a .com domain; depending on what you would like to go for. I would stick to these two rather than .org or .net… but that’s just my preference as I think they don’t look as professional to customers.

·         Website host – This is the service that will put your website on the Internet. Basically, they are the middle man between your website and your customers. There are hundreds out there to choose from and I will recommend a few below.

 

Buying a domain

As I touched on above; your domain name can be anything… within reason. If you decided (for some reason) to add expletives to your domain, it will probably get blacklisted by Google and customers won’t find it. But that would be stupid so I’m sure you thought of that! I would choose something that clearly shows what you do. So, instead of www.ArunGray.co.uk you could go for www.ArunGrayPT.co.uk which shows you’re a PT. This way, customers know what they’re getting. If they see “Joe Bloggs” on Google and then see “Arun Gray Personal Training” below it, even though it’s lower on the list, they are more likely to click on it as they can see it’s the website of a personal trainer.

GoDaddy are one of the biggest domain selling sites in the world and their website it pretty easy to navigate. As I mentioned earlier, you can pick up a domain for under £10.

 

 

Website hosting

Hosting can again be simple, as long as you do a few YouTube searches and have a look at some how-to guides. I like Yola. It starts just £27 a year to host your website under their Bronze package. This is all I use and I attract a good amount of traffic. They use a simple drag and drop style design so you don’t need to learn any html programming which is what puts most people off creating a website. You simply drag a text box or image box from their easy-to-navigate tool bar and place it where you want on your page. There are also little widgets you can add such as Facebook “like” buttons which you can link to your Facebook pages.

 

If you want to keep everything in one place, GoDaddy also offer a hosting service for just £29.88 per year.

 

What should you include?

The basics you need on your website are:

·         Home/Welcome page – Again, sounds obvious but this is the first thing your potential customers will see. It needs to be clear, professional and appealing. Images always stand out more and if people see loads of text, they probably won’t read it. Put on some pictures of past clients, yourself, your equipment.

·         Contact page – Once you’ve attracted anyone to your website, your next goal is to get them to contact you. This is how you clinch your sale. They will be interested if they have visited your site. The only way they can get hold of you is if you show them how too. Include everything. Phone, address, email, social media accounts, even a map. Yola automatically places a map on your contact page if you have entered your address. This is visually appealing and will attract your customers’ attention.

·         About page – Again, an obvious but vital page. You need to explain who you are, what you do, how you can help people. Include details such as, how experienced you are, what qualifications you have, what sort of things you offer and what you specialise in. Think about the things people will be searching for. People often want to hire a personal trainer either for weight loss or for muscle building. Think about this when writing your bio. It’s a way of selling yourself. It will be there for the rest of your career, make it impressive. It’s like a CV. You wouldn’t apply for a job with a thin, short CV.

 

 

Promote!

Once you’ve purchased your domain name and you are hosted online, you need to get people on your website. The more people that see your website, the more sales you will make. If 5% of the people that visit your website become customers, for every 100 people that see your site 5 will become clients. This figure is much more flattering if 10,000 people are seeing your website! This can be done in two forms: online and offline promotion.

Online promotion involved adverts, getting your name out there and giving your page the best chance of being found on search engines. Look into search engine optimisation. Hire a SEO consultant. Purchase ads on Facebook, Google, Twitter.

Offline promotion is much more simple. Flyers, posters, signs, banners, clothing, business cards, directly telling people about your website.

Everything you do should include your website. Even if people see it and don’t need/want your service… they might do in the future. When they do need your help, they will know where to find you! Get your website printed on everything. Your uniform, business cards, even your car! It can also help with current customers. If they are with your for weight loss and they see you run a boot camp at the weekend, they might want to find out more.

Get yourself out there!

Do You Have a Logo? – A PTs Guide to Logo Design

Why do you need one?

Having a business and getting customers is all about standing out. It is very rare that you are the only business of your kind in your catchment area. Think of builders, gyms, taxi companies. There are almost always more than one in your town. You need to find a way of standing out straight away. So this is where your logo comes into use. When looking out for a personal trainer, if the client finds the details of 3 PT’s in their town, one has a logo; the other two don’t. Their attention is immediately drawn to the one with a logo. Even if it is basic, it’s a step above the other two. The client then looks for more information on that personal trainer with the logo. That’s how the human mind works. A logo makes you look more established and conveys that you are reputable. A logo makes you more memorable. If they aren’t looking for a trainer now but will in a month’s time and they see your logo, it sticks in their mind. Then, in a month when they have put on a bit of weight or have an event coming up and want some help, you jump straight into their mind.  It’s basic psychology and used in every-day marketing. Can you think of any global businesses that don’t have a logo? Me neither.

How do you get one?

You have two options when looking to get yourself a logo. You can either create one yourself, or hire a logo designer. The benefits of creating the logo yourself are obviously that you save money, have more flexibility of the design and that you can make minor adjustments to get it exactly how you want it. However, to make a really professional-looking logo, you need to know what you’re doing with software such as Photoshop. Let’s face it, as a personal trainer, you probably don’t! This is where hiring a logo designer comes in handy, and believe it or not, if you know where to look; they aren’t actually that costly. Freelance designers use websites such as People Per Hour and Fiverr to advertise their services. You can get hold of a designer on these sites and get your logo created for as little as £5! Obviously if you want a better services it might be worth forking out a little extra money. They will often send you their drafts and ask what you think to make sure the logo is what you want. They even come up with ideas if you have no idea what you want. It’s certainly worth looking into.

 

How should you then use it?

Now that you have your logo, stick it EVERYWHERE. This is all about building a brand. Get the logo associated with your business. Use it on social media pages, your website, your uniform and certainly your business cards. Everyone that knows about your business needs to see it. Even people who are aware of what you do may be excited by it and have the impression that you’re successful. You might not have any clients but you will stand out above the PT with 20 clients if he doesn’t have a logo! Get yourself in online directories and add your logo to the listing. You only have to think of things like Football post-match interviews to see the logos printed on the boards behind the interviewed player. Think of Facebook’s logo. It’s just the letter “F”. But almost everyone you ask will know what it means and what business it belongs to. That is the power of marketing. You see that letter “F” and automatically think of Facebook… you’re probably doing it now! Build a brand and along will come the business.

  

 

How to Choose and Register a Domain Name

Choosing a domain name is one of the most exciting things about getting a new website. It could potentially be a nationwide-known website and the future of your business.

Buying a self-hosted domain such as www.JoeBloggs.com can have a very professional look. Customers often trust this type of website and is obviously the option of choice for all large businesses and companies. However it can be a little daunting when buying a domain for the first time from GoDaddy. Once you’ve bought it, what happens next? How do you get your website linked with your domain?

Having a managed domain sites such as Tumblr or WordPress mean your address will look something along the lines of joeblogs.wordpress.com. These addresses are the default address that you will receive when you first open your WordPress account. Although this is the free and the easier option, it doesn’t have the same kind of professional look that a standard domain name does. It looks exactly what it is, a free website address. A quick online search (I recommend YouTube tutorials) can show you step by step how to link your domain to your website. It often takes a few minutes and is easier than you would think!

Not sure about what domain name to choose? Try your business name. This is a simple but effective option. It’s all about building a brand. The best method I have ever used is to use that same business name for EVERYTHING. All social media accounts should use that name. This way more people are hearing about that new business that’s growing. Now, you have a couple options if you don’t already have a business/domain name in mind. You can either use a simple, clear name that shows what your business offers, such as “Skegness Roofing”. This shows clearly that it is a roofing service based in Skegness. Or, you could go for a quirky, memorable name that stands out. “Nuts magazine” for example. In no way does that business name say what it actually is, other than a magazine. But everyone knows exactly what it is. They have to brand their business through other ways. Just because a company is large, it does not mean you should follow their business/promotional plan. Look into businesses that started with nothing. Or that grew with a small budget. These often possess a better marketing plan that you could tailor to suit the needs of your business.

It is important to register social media accounts under the same names as your domain name. This will both prevent someone else registering that name (as it is currently illegal to purchase a username from someone), and it will also allow you to build a brand for your business. All social media accounts should use the same username to prevent any customer confusion. If your Twitter username is “@JonesWeightLoss” and your Instagram username is “@JonesFitness” clients can become confused and will not know if you specialise in Fitness or Weight loss. It is important that potential clients know exactly what you offer.

You have two options when registering a domain:

·         Your first option is to purchase a domain name from GoDaddy. There are thousands of domains to choose from and GoDaddy’s website allows you to search for your chosen web address.

·         Your second option is to register a domain name for free when you register for website hosting with online site BlueHost. This again is useful as it allows you to manage everything about your website from one dashboard. BlueHost’s hosting packages start at $3.95 per month; which includes a domain name, personalised email address, domain hosting, and an easy to use website builder with templates to follow.

Publish Your Website in Less than 10 Minutes

Did you know that in the time it takes for you to boil the kettle, you can have a website up and running and online? Well you can! This guide will take you from having nothing to having a custom domain name and a live website in under 10 minutes. Less time spent on developing your website gives you more time to spend on promoting your site and building good customer relationships.

You obviously aren’t going to turn a millionaire over night by creating a website in 5-10 minutes, but it certainly gives you the foundations to work at it and reach the goal of earning a passive income in the near future. Want to learn how you can start your website in under 10 minutes? Well follow my steps below!

 

Visit BlueHost. They are a website hosting service that allow you to manage WordPress sites and a lot more from one dashboard. This saves you a lot of work and makes the whole process a lot more enjoyable and a LOT easier! Their 24/7 support means if you are ever struggling with anything on their site, they are always there to help. This is a great feature for anyone who is new to website development! They also offer a money back guarantee so if you aren’t happy with the service you are getting, you can receive a full refund. By purchasing hosting from BlueHost, you get access to over $200 in advertising offers from high-traffic websites such as Google and Facebook. The perfect platform to start spreading the word of your website, because a lot of people will see your adverts.

When you visit BlueHost you will see a “get started now” button. Click this and you will see a list of options on your next page. The BlueHost packaged start at just $3.95 per month, which includes the registration of your chosen domain name. You can choose from three separate packages BlueHost offers, depending on how many websites you are planning to develop.

Once you have chosen your hosting plan, click “select” and you will be taken to the domain check page. Here you will be able to search for available domain names that you can purchase. You can now register your domain of choice, if it is available. BlueHost allows you to register hosting for 12 months. Once you have chosen a domain name, fill in the box and click select. This will take you to the registration page, where you can both register for BlueHost’s hosting service and purchase your domain name. Fill in your details and payment information and click next. This will create your order record.

You will then be able to access BlueHost’s dashboard. Scroll down and select “Control Panel”. Then find the Software/Service section and the WordPress button. Click this and go to step 2. This will allow you to name your WordPress website and select a username and password which will allow you to log into your WordPress admin page. BlueHost will automatically create a WordPress page for you. For those of you who don’t know what WordPress is, it’s a website building platform that allows you to build a blog-style website. These sites are both popular and easy to build, the perfect starter for anyone looking to get a quick online billboard for their business.

If you are struggling, this tutorial shows you how to install WordPress into your BlueHost account.

Visit your newly created WordPress page and log in using the details you set up. On the left, you will see an Appearances option. This allows you to choose a theme of your site. There are hundreds of themes on WordPress. A quick Google search will find even more for you to choose from. Specialist WordPress themes are available to buy from web designers. Have a play around with these themes and choose a layout you wish to install. Click “install” and then install now. This will then be activated.

Next, click “add new post”. This is where you can publish your first post. It will allow you to add a title, main text and any images you would like to insert. You can edit the search preferences of the post and add tags for search engines to find.

 

Tip: Longer posts are picked up easier by search engines, as there are more words to search from! Make your website posts longer and keep them interesting for better results.

And there you have a website in under 10 minutes! You now need to work on building good quality content and building a relationship with your websites visitors. This will keep them engaged and coming back to your site. Everyone’s website goals are different but to everyone, traffic is key.