Welcome to Step Two! You’re here because you just finished buying a domain name (or you already have a domain name) and you’re ready to give your website a “home” on the internet.
This step involves getting setup with a hosting company. Basically, a website consists of a bunch of files that tell an internet browser (like Firefox or Internet Explorere) how to display your website. All of these files need to be “hosted” on a server that’s connected to the internet. This is where a hosting company comes in.
I’ve used three or four hosting companies over the years and have settled on BlueHost. They offer the best range of options, the best customer service and they keep their servers up-to-date and well maintained. I run every single website that I own on BlueHost servers and can’t recommend them enough.
CLICK HERE to sign up for a hosting account. (You must use the links in this article to qualify for the $96 project pricing) Why?
When you get to the BlueHost page, you’ll see a giant Sign Up Now button right in the middle of the page. Click on that. The next page basically asks whether you already have a domain name. Since you’re here because you already completed Step One, enter your new domain name under “I Have a Domain” and press ‘Next’.
Now you’re going to have to register with BlueHost. They ask a lot of the same questions that GoDaddy did, but it’s worth the time to fill out, trust me. You’ll have your choice of pricing plans down to as low as $6.95/mo (if you pay for 36 months in advance). I recommend the 12-month plan where you pay $7.95/mo in advance ($95.40) and you don’t have to pay a setup fee. In case you’re wondering, GoDaddy charges $4.99/mo for hosting but then adds other fees for email hosting ($1.99), blog hosting ($4.99) and so on. In the end, using BlueHost will save you money.
Once you pay on this same page (which is much less cluttered than GoDaddy), you’ll be the proud owner of hosting space! You’ll get an email from BlueHost with all of the details of your order, along with temporary login information, passwords and other important information. This is one of the emails I’ll need so that I can help you get your site up and running.
O-Kay. You’ve pretty much got all the pieces you need to get your idea on the internet. This is where I come in. I’m going to take your domain name, make sure it gets “pointed” properly to your new hosting account, setup some email addresses for you and get the basics of a website installed. If you’re really curious as to how this process works, we can go over it on the phone, but I find that it’s better to get setup first and then we can go over any questions you have when we talk on the phone.
CLICK HERE to go to Step Three -
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