Creating your own WordPress website and blog is an easy and cost-effective way to get started creating content to promote your personal brand or business. In this article, I will show you how to create a WordPress website in under 10 minutes!
Step 1: Choose the Best Hosting Provider, Bluehost
You have a lot of options for website hosting platforms to choose from. I have used Bluehost since 2015 and I highly recommend them. You have 2 options: Shared hosting or simplified site builder which is similar to wix or squarespace. I’m a fan of DIY so I’ve always used shared hosting and set up my wordpress site myself. Either way, these options are way cheaper than using wix or squarespace which costs $16/month to start with very basic features.
1. Navigate to bluehost.com. Choose shared hosting and then click Host Your Site.
2. Next, you should see some options for pricing tiers, I suggest that you choose basic and then click Select.
You can either create a new domain or use a domain that you own when you create a WordPress website with Bluehost. I want to set this up for a domain I already own but if you create a new one, there are some additional nominal fees. You will have to pay for your hosting plan yearly & I suggest starting with the basic 12-month plan. This comes with your primary domain registration configuration as well as an SSL certificate which you need to ensure that your site is secure. Google takes into account the security of your website for SEO and it can affect your ranking in search results so I highly recommend that your site has an SSL cert.
3. The only package extra that I choose is Domain Privacy & Protection. For only $0.99 per month, it’s a good addition to further increase the security of your website. You can leave all other options unchecked.
Once you fill out this information, it will take a few minutes for your account to be created and you should get an email. You will need to create your password and login to your account to continue.
4. When you login for the first time, you can click on Create Your Website to get started!
Step 2: Configure Your WordPress Website
If you navigate to your site, you should see the maintenance page since we have not yet configured the site. You should also see that the site is not yet secure which is expected for now.
1. Navigate to [your url]/wp-admin to log into WordPress. You should see that your site is in “coming soon mode”.
2. Go to Appearance > themes if you want to play around with different styles. I decided to go with the standard twelve blog theme. You can install and activate as many themes as you want until you find one that suits your needs. Most free themes include the same settings that I will review next.
3. Now let’s customize the homepage! Click Appearance > Customize > Homepage Settings > Latest Posts. You can also create a static page to serve as your homepage if you want more customization options.
4. Go to Menus > Main Menu > and then Create new Menu. Click Add items and select the home page. If you had other pages on your site such as a blog page, about us, or professional services, you could add those here as well. You can also add custom links to the menu.
5. Go to Header Image > Upload header image. I created a few images for my website using Canva which I highly recommend. After you upload your image, add some alt text and then click Select and crop. Then, select the area for your image and click Crop image.
6. That’s all for the homepage! Go ahead and click Publish. This does not mean that your site is live just yet as it is still in coming soon mode.
Step 3: Launch Your WordPress Website
That’s it! We are ready! Go back to the WordPress dashboard and Click Coming Soon Active. This will take you to a page to walk you through setting up your site. We’ve already set up our homepage so click on Launch with Confidence and then Launch Your Site!
Navigate to your URL and verify that your site is launched! You may notice that your site is not secure at first. This is because it takes time for the SSL certificate to work.
You can check the status on the Bluehost dashboard, then click my sites, and manage site. You will most likely see a message saying that your SSL cert is still pending.
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