Choosing your hosting company can be a very important decision, because it will determine a lot of factors regarding your website’s performance.

Key Criteria for a Good Website Host:

  1. Do they have great customer support?    Especially when you are first getting started, you may have a number of questions.  Can you get ahold of them easily?   Are they helpful?
  2. They are relatively inexpensive.   Different hosting services have different cost equations.  It should be possible to get started for under $5 per month for basic services.   As you expand, this will likely cost a bit more.
  3. Do they include a FREE Domain name?    This is not important to everyone, but generally speaking, a free domain service can save you $10-15 per year.
  4. Do they offer a FREE SSL when you sign up? (Google has begun flagging sites that do not have SSL certificates, quoting lack of security reasons).  This has become a very important deciding factor in recent months, as by the end of 2018, NOT having an SSL will greatly limit the number of website views you will receive.  In the past, SSL certificates were sold for a premium, and therefore only online stores bothered to acquire them. Going forward, SSL certificates will be the norm.
  5. Have they been around a long time, and have a proven track record?
  6. Are there many opportunities to grow and expand within the same hosting environment?  This can save time and money when your business outgrows your initial installation.   Initially, when you are first starting out, you will not need a lot of resources.  However, over time, as your web presence expands, you will want to upgrade.

My Recommendation?

There are several hosting options out there, but the one I use for most of my own sites, and therefore the one I highly recommend – especially for beginners – is BlueHost.  You can follow my affiliate link here to save a few dollars if you would like:

 

Why BlueHost?

  1. They have great customer support
  2. They are inexpensive
  3. It includes a free domain name
  4. They offer a FREE SSL when you sign up
  5. They have been around a long time and have a proven track record.
  6. There are many opportunities to grow and expand within the same hosting environment, saving time and money when your business outgrows your initial installation.

Step 1: Get Started With the Sign Up Process

Step 2: Pick a Plan

For most people, the Basic Plan will be good enough for at least the first year.    As your business grows, and the amount of files and functions you add to your website will slow it down, and you will want to upgrade.  But this can be done at any time.  Web hosting companies are always willing to accommodate growing customers.

 

If you plan on including a shopping cart or a membership area on your website in the next year, you may want to consider the Plus plan.  If you choose it right when you sign up, you can lock in the cheaper rate for up to three years.

Step 3: Collect Your Free Domain or enter your already reserved domain

If you have already decided what domain name you want, simply type it into the FREE domain box and Bluehost will reserve it for you.   If the name is already taken, Bluehost will tell you, and you will be asked to choose another.  Don’t let this step stop you.  However, if you really are having trouble with this step, you can read this article on choosing a Domain Name for more assistance.

If  you have decided to go with a third party name provider such as Namecheap (who stores all of your domain names in one convenient location), simply enter the name that you have already reserved in the second box.   You will have to then go to that name provider and redirect your domain back to BlueHost name servers.  This is not that difficult of a task.  But it is yet another step in the process and might be a little overwhelming for newcomers.

If you absolutely can't decide on your domain name at this moment, Blue Host will still let you sign up and get started building your website.   You simply won't be able to show it to anyone until you hook it up to its name.  So, once again, don't let this step stop you.  Sign up and get started anyway.

Step 4:  Security and Back-up Add-ons

While registering, Blue Host will offer you certain add-ons :

Domain Privacy Protection - if you do not protect your privacy, you may initially get a few calls and letters from people trying to sell you stuff.  Anyone who types in your website ID under WHOIS can find out who the owner of the website is, and the address they used to register the domain.  If this is a problem for you, this is probably a good option - to protect this.   I personally like to check this option, even though it does cost a few dollars per year.  If and when you expand to alternative domain registrars such as namecheap, you will often be offered this service for free, (which basically pays for the cost of the domain name).    For now, checking this box is the simplest and quickest option to retain some of your privacy.

 

Sitelock Security - This options helps protect you from hackers and attackers.   If you are not going to take the (FREE) 5 Day Website Challenge, then this might be a good default for you.  In the 5 day course, we do offer you a couple of free plug-in options that will shore up the security of your website.

Codeguard - Codeguard makes daily backups to your site, and stores those back-ups in multiple locations to ensure you will never lose your data..  If you do not feel very techy, and you are not going to take the 5 Day Challenge and learn about other options of how to configure your own back-ups, this option will give you the peace of mind to get started working on your website.   You will always be able to find your data and re-install your website under this option if something goes very wrong.

SEO Tools - Again, if you are not well versed in SEO, and are not very techy, you may want to consider using these SEO tools.   In the 5 Day Challenge we do offer you an alternative solution, but the choice is yours.  SEO can be important, depending on how you plan to entice visitors to your site.

Step 5:  Install WordPress

Bluehost offers you a quick and "easy button" to install wordpress on your site and get you up and running.  If you do not see the quick and easy button, - or you have signed up with a different host, you may have to walk through the steps detailed below.

You will likely not even have to enter the c-panel, the button should appear as an option right after registering.  As you click the QuickInstall button, you will be taken to a page looking like this:

You do not have to log in or register... scroll down to the "popular installs" section and choose wordpress.  It will then take you to this page:

Select the FREE option for installing wordpress.   You will then be parachuted down to this part of the page:

 

Fill in the data...   Everything you type here can be changed later so don't worry too much about it.  But remember what it is you typed, as you will need to remember some of it to get access to your site later.

Path:  When you click on the little black arrow you should only have one option of what site you are installing.  It should match the domain name you just created.

Admin User:  You can use your first name.  You can use a nickname.  You can use just about anything.  Just make sure you can remember what you used, and that it is relatively easy to type.  (Do not use admin, as this is what hackers traditionally use as a go-to when trying to break into your site.)

Admin email can be an email that you access regularly that you will want to receive notices by

Name: Does not have to be your first and last name.  It can be a business name, or a name of a main poster to your blog.  It can be changed at any time, so do not spend too much time worrying about what you put here.

As wordpress is installing, you will see a number of ideas for themes.  What are themes?   Themes are like a framework for displaying the information you are going to put into your site.  It is far to early for you to decide on a permanent theme at this point.  WordPress automatically installs a few free themes you can use in the short term, and we have a very long discussion on Themes in the free 5 day website challenge you will want to take a look at if this is something new to you.   Just close the pop-up and focus on the orange line at the top of the page which provides you with your credentials.

Once wordpress is installed, click to view your credentials... make sure you copy your user id and your password and place it somewhere safe like in a notepad.  You will need these to Log In!

Step 6:  Install your FREE SSL

Back on your Bluehost page, there should be a quick and easy button asking you if you want to install your SSL.   Make sure you click that button.   And you're done setting up your hosting!

Step 7:  Register for the 5 Day Challenge

Congratulations!  You have taken the first steps to creating your very own wordpress site.   In the 5 day challenge, we will discuss all you need to get a simple but effective 5 page website up and running.    Topics we will discuss include:

  • How to get started - what do I do first?
  • How do I change/add users
  • How do I create pages and add content?
  • What goes on the home page?
  • What other pages do I need?
  • What Theme should I use?
  • What Plug-ins should I use?
  • How do I set up email?
  • How do I add menus and navigation?
  • How do I add security and back-ups?
  • How do I set up my Blog?

Register here for instant access and get started with the rest of your wordpress journey.  You can do this!!!