How To Start A Website With Hosting.

Website building may seem like rocket science to most people. I am here to tell you it is easier than you think, and you can make your website with WordPress and hosting; for as little as sixty-three dollars per year. For those of you who are unaware, every site needs a domain name. If you are wondering what is a domain name here is a guide for beginners on almost everything you need to know. A domain name is like a P.O. Box number.

You may own a house but if you do not have a postal code, how can anyone find you? Sadly there is no known, legal, safe and secure way to acquire a domain name free. Bluehost is the most reasonable and WordPress, friendly hosting company. WordPress is open-source software for website building that is entirely free. Many people shirk away from WordPress due to the scary idea of building their website from scratch. Please have a little courage and read on. Making your site with WordPress is easier than you can imagine. Do not use other site builders like Wix because unlike WordPress, other site builders are just not made in a way that comes up in Google search. WordPress makes over a third of the websites on the internet, and it is a google friendly software, so make full use of it. For whatever reason, you are making a website; being found on Google is critical.

This website has affiliate links that I earn a commission from without any extra cost you. This means that if you click on a link and purchase something, I might make a little money. You will not be charged extra, and some of the affiliate links I use have discounts so stay tuned!

Where Should You Buy Your Domain Name And Hosting

Which hosting and domain names are best? Well, I use Bluehost because the domain name for a month is just a little over three dollars monthly. With hosting and privacy, your site will ready for a year at under a hundred dollars. Webgator is another cheap hosting option, but it can cost up to ten dollars a month. Another advantage of Bluehost is that they have a wonderfully helpful support team. They updated my PHP and much more without any hassle; the team was polite and courteous to a fault. Also, Bluehost has 24/7 support. It is not only affordable but WordPress friendly.

WordPress Website Building Tips

WordPress is free, and you can get a theme free too. Many themes are free, but they will not let you adjust minor details in the theme because the theme will want you to “go pro”. Of course “going pro” means that you have to pay a fee. The good news is that you can set up your entire website with whatever theme entirely free of any cost.

The best themes to try are Twenty Seventeen, WP Ocean and Astra. These are easy to use and understand for beginners. Minute adjustments like adding links for social media and a comments section can be added in with the WordPress page builder. If you are new to all this, then WordPress has an informative forum for any question you may have. Not only will you get expert advice, but they sometimes solve the issue for you, as well.

Also, you can just build your entire website from scratch on WordPress. If you are new to the game, stay away from the coding aspect of WordPress as it could damage your site if done incorrectly. Your website building possibilities are almost innumerable on WordPress, so have fun.

How Much Does A Website Cost

You can buy a domain name and hosting in under a hundred dollars. Do not overspend on privacy and a colossal hosting plan. Firstly WordPress has over 40,000 free plugins for anything and everything, including spam detectors and privacy plugins. When first starting on your website it will take you about a month to get a handle on your site (which I hope you build yourself) and all bloggers do not need a fancy dandy website.

Think about it when you search for information online do you admire the site, or do you quickly read what you searched for and move on? All of us do the latter. Your website should be easy to navigate and have essential elements like an about page, a blog post page or menu and a landing page.

My websites landing page has my latest posts. Is it a problem no! Even if you want to create an online store or promote print on demand items, you designed then a basic easy to navigate website is all you need, and that is all your customer expects as well.

Do it yourself because you can! Not to mention getting your website built by a website builder could cost anywhere from 300$ to 5000, and I wish this were a joke. Save that money and try this route. Youtube tutorials can teach you anything and everything about website building free of any charge.

What Is The Importance Of Finding A Niche And A related Domain Name

Honestly, who on earth cares what your domain name is?! I don’t give it a second thought. When I visit a site that I want to revisit, I just add it to my favourites page. Statistics have other ideas. First and most importantly decide on a niche (“niche” being the most overused word on the internet ;)) and then root your domain name from there. I recommend keeping a full name that you can use in many different avenues.

Do not write specific, niche related names that you may have no room for new information. For example “ideaswithsally.com” is a name that is broad because your ideas could be on anything. Of course, your name is probably not Sally, but this is just to give you an idea. If you wrote “doggroomers.com”, it would leave you with little room for expansion. Try to find a domain name with a .com as it is easy to remember and the most common. Sometimes being common is best because it helps people remember (people unlike myself who may actually remember your domain name) your site.

Website Essentials

A blog page with blogs that are 2000 words each; write about your product if you are selling something or write about your topic informatively and effectively. When writing an about page, write like you are talking to a friend. Be natural, tell people what your hobbies are and maybe talk about your favourite book, movie or your hidden talents.

Be relatable on this page and do not be a marketer here. You should have a page that is your home page which is entirely business. Here be professional and don’t hold back on what services you offer or what the objective of your website is. Every site has a menu bar or all your posts lined up like a menu, so make sure you have this done as well.

Social media links to your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest etcetera links should be on all your pages. Like this, people can easily follow you and revisit you. A word of caution would be only to put up social media links to accounts that you use to sell the same thing your website is selling. Also, make sure your social media accounts are updated. Do not redirect people to an empty Pinterest account.

Once You Have Setup Your Website What Next

Ask a friend and relative to look over the site and get some feedback. They call it “constructive criticism” I call it abuse ;). Still, the benefits are many because other people will spot small details you may have missed, and just be strong no one is perfect, and we all have room for improvement; it makes life interesting. I compared my site with sites that are blogging sites, and I got my cousin to skim through it. Monetize your site by all means necessary you can read my post but just to be quick Affiliate links, paid reviews, get traffic from social media and Google AdSense.

Do Not Fall for Spam

When you first set out on this journey, you will undoubtedly get messages from people trying to get you to buy something or the other to up your viewers or traffic. If it costs money, don’t do it. If it is a free application, look into it! The only way to get traffic is by building a valuable website, because that is what search engines want.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, start a website and make money with blogging, affiliate marketing, and so much more. Think of WordPress as your site-building friend! Trust me they pay me nothing to promote them! WordPress is free for everyone.

Start a site today so that you can have a better tomorrow.