In the last few days, many people that I mentor have approached me asking if it's necessary to “host” their WordPress blog somewhere. The answer is absolutely, “YES!” Aside from it being incredibly inexpensive, hosting a blog makes it yours and protects your baby (as I like to refer to my blog as) should your platform crash. We all know that WordPress is the go-to site for bloggers, but what many don't realize is that, in order to have a properly running blog, it needs to be hosted on a separate server. This article will show you how easy it is to connect your WordPress site with a Web Host.
Choosing a Web Host
Gosh, there are so many hosting companies out there that sometimes it can get confusing. I did a ton of research before ultimately deciding that Bluehost should be at the top of anyone's list. Why? Well, they're the only hosting service officially recommended by WordPress and has been their number-one recommended hosting service for about 12 years now. How crazy is that?! Obviously, there are many reasons why people love integrating WordPress with Bluehost, but here are a few of them:
- Premium customer service, reliability and usability
- Easy-to-use control panel
- Custom-built servers to provide the most stable and reliable hosting environment
- Quickly get started with our one-click WordPress install provided by MOJO Marketplace
- Expert, in-house technical support provided 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- Unlimited websites, email accounts, and domains – all on one account at an affordable price
- No gimmicks, no contracts. Enjoy the comfort of a 30-day money back guarantee and the option to cancel at any time.
And here's the best part. Right now their ads, as seen below, show that it's $5.95 per month for unlimited web hosting; if you sign up through this tutorial, however, you'll get a special offer of $3.95 per month for 36 months, as well as a free domain name for a year! I have to say, it's a pretty sweet deal, and one that you'll struggle to find elsewhere.
I'll be honest — I don't really understand much of this “tech stuff,” but it's relatively easy to set up your hosting account with Blue Host if you follow the steps below.
Set Up Your Hosting Account
1. Sign up.
Start by going to Bluehost's homepage and click “Sign Up Now.”
2. Choose a domain name for your site.
If you already own a domain name, you can enter it here, and you'll just be taken through a few extra steps to make sure that your DNS is pointed to Bluehost. If what I just said makes no sense to you, fear not! If you don't already have a domain name, you can purchase one while you're signing up, and it's free with your new WordPress hosting account purchase.
3. Fill out your personal information.
4. Choose which hosting package you want.
Hosting is priced at 12, 24, and 36-month terms. I bought a 36-month term, as it saved me money in the long run, and I knew that I had zero intentions of giving up on my blog; the longer the term you buy, the lower your monthly fee will be. For instance, by choosing Bluehost's 36-month hosting term, you'll snag the awesome deal of paying only $3.95/month to keep your site protected and functioning properly. A shared hosting package will be fine for almost any blogger, but if you decide you need more at any point, Bluehost will easily help you upgrade to VPS or dedicated server hosting accounts.
You can choose a few different extra offers while signing up, and it's totally up to you which one you want (if any)! I highly recommend purchasing “Domain Privacy” along with your hosting. Domain privacy ensures that your personal information (like your address!) will be kept private on various databases.
After you've chosen your package, click the “Next” button to complete your purchase. There, you will be asked to create a password for your account — make sure that it is strong and secure. You are required to have both capital and lowercase letters, a number, and a special character in order to have a strong enough password to properly protect your account. Once you're signed up and able to log into your account, you can finally start installing WordPress!
Install WordPress
So this is exciting! For a while, you had to use something called the MOJO Marketplace to install your WordPress site, but now Bluehost automatically installs it for you – and it's as easy as could be! Follow these easy steps below:
1. Choose a password for your account:
2. Pick a WordPress Theme that inspires you
3. Voila! You're in WordPress! Follow the easy steps below to officially launch your own WordPress website!
6. Log in at any time! Once you receive the email containing all of your information, you can log into your WordPress site by going to the “Admin Login” URL. Enter your username and password, and click “Log In.” This will take you to your WordPress Dashboard…woohoo! From there, you can do everything that you normally would within WordPress, like writing posts, creating pages, changing themes, etc.
Remember, if you sign up through this tutorial, you'll receive a special offer of shared hosting at $3.95/month for 36 months, as well as a free domain name for a year with Bluehost!
Please note that affiliate links are used in this post. If you purchase some of the products recommended, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. By purchasing items through my affiliate links, you’ll help reduce the ever-increasing expenses of running this site. Thanks so much!
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