Launch your WordPress site in 10 steps

The Ambitious Guide to Launch your Website on WordPress

You’ve done your research, and you’ve decided that WordPress is the tool you will use to build your website. It fits your needs, and you figure you can do it yourself with a little bit of help. Here’s the little bit of help to get you started. Here are 10 steps to starting your WordPress site.

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Here’s our 10 step checklist to help you launch your WordPress site.

Step 1: Find a hosting company.
Step 2: Select your plan.
Step 3: Choose a Domain Name
Step 4: Enter your account information
Step 5: Choose a Hosting Package add Privacy
Step 6: Billing Information
Step 7: Login to Your Account
Step 8: Install WordPress
Step 9: Choose Install Location (Domain)
Step 10: Enter WordPress User Information

STEP 1: Find a hosting company.

Your first question might be, what is a hosting company? Well, a hosting company is a service that you pay for space on the internet for your website. If you want other people to see your site, you must publish it with a web hosting provider. Although there are many hosting providers for you to choose from for this tutorial, we will be using Blue Host as our hosting company.

To get started click here to be taken to the Blue Host website. *(Don’t worry if pictures look slightly different, sometimes Blue Host will change the marketing photos on their pages.)

Click on the green “Get Started Now” button.

Step 2: Select your plan

After clicking on the get started now button, you will need to select your plan. If you have plans to host more than one site, or you’re not sure, I’d start with the Pro Plan because of the unlimited features that Blue Host offers. If you are on a strict budget, you can upgrade later so don’t let making a choice stop you from moving past this step.

Step 3: Choose a Domain Name

Getting started on the web is very similar to a brick and mortar business, you need an address. On the web, your address is also known as a domain name. My domain name is AmbitiousPursuits.com. Choose a name that is easy to remember, easy to spell, and hard to mistype.

Make sure the drop-down button to the right of the box has the extension of your choice selected (.com, .org, etc.)

Step 4: Enter your account information

Enter your information into the boxes. Your account information and a receipt will be emailed to you, so double check to make sure that your type this correctly.

Step 5: Choose a Hosting Package add Privacy

When you choose your package information, you get to pay once a year, every two years, or every three years. You should also add domain privacy. As demonstrated in the second picture below, this hides your address information and replaces it with Blue Host’s information if someone searches for the owner of your domain. The rest of the extra features are not necessary to get started.

Step 6: Billing Information

Enter your billing information and read about your rights and all the fine print and then click next.

Step 7: Login to Your Account

Now that you have your account, you need to login to install WordPress. Go back to BlueHost.com and click on Login. You will then need to enter your domanin or username and password from your welcome email.