by Robert Mening (reprinted with permission)
Step 1: Choose the Right Platform
If you want to build a good, mobile-friendly and functional website quickly, you’ll need to choose a platform (also known as a content management system). To put it simply, a content management system (or website building platform) is a user-friendly platform for building websites and managing your own online content instead of using a bunch of loose HTML pages.
Most Popular Site-Building Platforms in 2018
In recent statistics made by W3Techs, WordPress is the most popular content management system (55%) followed by Joomla (20%) and Drupal (11%).
Here’s why I recommend using WordPress to build your website:
WordPress vs. HTML & CSS: Learning HTML from scratch can take 6+ months, let alone learning CSS and PHP. Having a basic knowledge of HTML can help you gauge things more quickly, but if you want to create a website within a day or two, learning HTML isn’t a viable option.
WordPress vs. Website Builders: Website builders are expensive and often very limited. They are good for one-page websites, but not more.
WordPress vs. Joomla/Drupal: Drupal is a very powerful platform that is popular with web developers and experienced coders, but it comes with a very steep learning curve that makes it a bad choice for beginners. Joomla is similar to WordPress and works great for online stores, but you’ll need at least a little bit of technical coding to make it work the way you want.
Step 2: Get a Domain Name & Web Hosting
In order to set up your WordPress (or any other type of website), you’re going to need two things:
- A domain name (a web address like yoursitename.com)
- Hosting (a service that connects your site to the internet)
The WordPress platform itself is free. However, the domain name and hosting will cost you around $3 – $5 a month, which is less than a coffee, so it won’t break the bank. Owning your own domain name looks far more professional than having your site on someone else’s domain (e.g., yourbusiness.my-free-website.com).
Having your own hosting will also make sure your website loads quickly and won’t go down for hours at a time (very important for anyone who visits your pages!)
Where do I get a FREE domain name and hosting?
I’ve mostly used Bluehost as a web hosting and domain registrar. They’re really affordable, have good customer service, and they’re currently throwing in a domain name for free, so it’s worth checking them out. When you get a domain name, you’ll also get a personal email account(s): you@yoursite.com, which is way more professional than a generic Gmail or Yahoo address.
Step 1: Go to Bluehost.com
Since I use Bluehost myself, I’ve negotiated a special discount for you (67% OFF).
Step 2: Choose Website Hosting Plan
Once you click “get started now,” you’ll find a page to select the hosting plan of your choice. I selected their basic option, which is a great choice for new websites. Plus, at the moment they’re running a special discount of $2.75/month (usually it’s $7.99/month).
The Plus and Prime plans are great, but you don’t really need all the extra bells and whistles they offer unless there are millions of people flooding your site each day. Save your hard-earned cash and opt for the cheapest package to start with.
Step 3: Pick a Domain Name
If you’re making a website for your business or publishing company, your domain name should match your company name. For example: YourCompanyName.com
If you’re planning to set up a website for yourself as an author or artist, then YourName.com can be a great option.
For my site I chose WebsiteSetup.org.
Domain names usually end with .com, .org or .net, but in the recent months, a huge amount of domain extensions (the end part of the web address, like .com) have come out, ranging from .agency to .pizza.
My advice? Avoid the weird extensions and go with .com, .net or .org unless they perfectly describe what you have to offer, and even then, see if you can find a more common name.
If you already have a domain name, just enter it and click “Next” on the “I have a domain name” form.
If you aren’t ready to choose a domain name right off the bat, you can do it at a later point in your website setup.
Step 4: Fill in Your Details
To create your account, just enter your personal information on the “create your account” page. You’ll need to enter your first name, last name, country, street address, city, zip code, phone number, and email address. Your receipt will be sent to the email address you enter here. Enter your payment information to continue.
Step 5: Check Your “Package Information” and Finish Registration
The next step in registering for a Bluehost account is to select your plan and package.
These are the last steps you’ll go through before your account creation is complete, so pay close attention to the extra options available, like Domain Privacy Protection.
Domain Privacy Protection is only $0.99 cents more per month and keeps your personal information such as your name and address under the wraps.
If you want to keep your website and domain information anonymous, you can spend the extra $0.99 per month. If you don’t, be sure to uncheck this box.
Step 6: Create Your Password
Once paid and registered, you’ll be able to create your password.
For more information about installing and using WordPress, read the rest of the article at: https://websitesetup.org
WebsiteSetup is a free resource site for helping people create, customize, and improve their website. The main goal of the website is to provide step-by-step instructions for beginners to setup a website or a blog. Most of the content on WebsiteSetup.org is written by Robert Mening, a nomad web developer. They also answer WordPress-related questions, such as choosing the best WordPress hosting or how to speed up WordPress.