Get Web Hosting and

Register a Domain
Name

In order to set up your WordPress (or any other type

of website), you’re going to need two things:

 • Domain Name (a web address like

YourSiteName.com)

• Web Hosting (a service that connects your site to

the internet)

In order to store your images, content and website

files, you are going to need a web hosting. Without
web hosting, your website will not be visible on the
Internet.

Owning your own domain name looks far more

professional than having your site on someone else’s
domain (like yourbusiness.my-free-website.com), and
it’s super affordable, too. Most hosting providers offer
domains FREE for one year (usually ~$15/year).

In a nutshell – without a web hosting and a domain

name, your website will NOT exist.

Where do I register a
domain name and get web
hosting?
Full disclosure: I earn a commission if you end up
purchasing Bluehost through my referral links in this
guide. This helps me to keep WebsiteSetup up and
running and up-to-date. Thanks for your support.

I’ve mostly used Bluehost as a web hosting and

domain registrar.

 Use this link   to get a free domain (for the first
year) with your hosting.

Their introductory price starts from $2.75/mo and

they’re currently throwing in a domain name for free
(first year)– so it’s worth checking them out.

They are also one of the most popular hosting

providers on the market, so they are definitely well-
established and secure enough to host your website.

Although most of their servers are based in the US,

they can handle a lot of traffic from across the world.
And it’s probably cheaper than your local host. As
someone who lives in Europe, I still prefer to use
them.

Already have a domain name and hosting? Go ahead

and skip ahead to step 2, where I’ll explain how you
can set up your website.

Here’s how to sign up with a web hosting provider

(and register a domain name if you don’t have it
yet).

1. Go
To www.Bluehost.com (or
Any Other Web Host)
Remember: Since I’m using Bluehost myself, I’ve
negotiated a small discount for WebsiteSetup.org
visitors. Use this link to activate it.

2. Choose Your Website

Hosting Plan
Once you click “get started now,” you’ll be taken to a
page to select the hosting plan of your choice.

• Basic

• Plus

• Choice Plus

If you are on a budget, you can use their “basic” plan.

It’s great for smaller sites with low or no traffic.

However, if you want to scale or expect more traffic

to your website, I recommend choosing their “choice
plus” plan. It’s truly unlimited.

Whichever you choose, you can later upgrade or

downgrade based on your needs.

3. Choose a Domain Name

If you don’t have a domain name yet, here’s an easy
starting point:

• If you’re making a website for your business, your

domain name should match your company name.
For example: YourCompanyName.com

• If you’re planning to set up a website for yourself,

then YourName.com can be a great option.

For this site (Website Setup), I chose

WebsiteSetup.org because WebsiteSetup.com was
taken at that time.

Domain names usually end with .com, .org or .net,

but in the recent months, a huge amount of domain
extensions (the end part of the web address,
like .com) have come out, ranging from .agency
to .pizza.

My best advice? Avoid the weird extensions and

go with .com, .net or .org unless they perfectly
describe what you have to offer – and even then, see
if you can find a more common name.

If you’ve already got a domain name, just enter it in

and click “Next” on the “I have a domain name” form.

If you aren’t ready to choose a domain right off the

bat, you can do it at a later point in your website
setup.

4. Fill In Your Account

Details
To create your account, just enter in your personal
information on the “create your account” page.

You’ll need to add in your first name, last name,

country, street address, city, zip code, phone number,
and email address. Your receipt will be sent to the
email address you enter here.

It’s optional to also add in your business name within

this form.

Enter your payment information to continue.

5. Check Your “Package

Information” and Finish
Registration
The next step in registering for a Bluehost account is
to select your plan and package.

These are the last steps you’ll go through before your

account creation is complete, so you are almost
there…

Simply choose the length of your web hosting

registration and you’re good to go.

If you chose their “Choice Plus” plan you’ll already

have Domain privacy and Codeguard basic included.
Otherwise, I recommend getting a domain privacy
protection.

This keeps your registration information fully hidden

from the public. No-one can find out that you are the
owner of your domain.

6. Create Your Password

and Log Into Bluehost
Once paid and registered, you’ll be able to create
your password:

UPDATE: I made a simple guide for Bluehost (which

package to choose & how to install WordPress).

 Set Up Your
STEP 2
Website
Once you’ve bought your domain name and set up
your hosting, you’re well on your way!

Now it’s time to get your website up and running. The

first thing you’ll need to do is install WordPress to
your domain.

Installing WordPress
There are two possible ways to install WordPress, one
MUCH easier than the other.

1. To create a website with

WordPress (or Joomla and Drupal),
use the “one-click installation”:
Almost every reliable and well-established hosting
company has integrated 1-click-installation for
WordPress, which makes getting going a snap.

If you signed up with Bluehost or any other similar

hosting company, you should find your “1-click-
installation” in your account control panel.

Here are the steps you should follow (should be

similar/same on all the major web hosting
companies):

1. Log in to your hosting (Bluehost) account.

2. Go to your control panel.

3. Look for the “WordPress” or “Website” icon.

4. Choose the domain where you want to install

your new website.

5. Click the “Install Now” button and you will get

access to your new WordPress website.

If you’re unable to locate it, follow this guide

here: How to Install WordPress on Bluehost.

2. … OR MANUAL INSTALL (For

those who don’t use Bluehost or
any similar host)


If for some odd reason (some hosting companies

don’t provide one-click-install for WordPress) you
don’t have the option to install WordPress
automatically, look this manual guide below:

Installing WordPress Manually

Pssst – if they don’t have 1-click-installation, maybe
you’re dealing with a bad host!

 Design Your
STEP 3
Website
Once you have successfully installed WordPress to
your domain, you’ll see a very basic yet clean site.

But you don’t want to look like everyone else, do

you?

That’s why you need a theme – a design template

that tells WordPress how your website should look.
See an example of free WordPress theme that you
can install:

Here’s where it gets fun:

There are 1500+ of awesome, professionally

designed themes you can choose from and
customize for your own sit.

Most of WordPress themes are free to use and

highly customizable. 

Here’s How To Find a

Theme You Like
1. Log into your WordPress
dashboard
If you’re not sure how, type in: https://yoursite.com/
wp-admin (replace “yoursite” with your domain).

This is what the WordPress dashboard looks like:

Everything is easily labeled. If you’re feeling a bit

overwhelmed, don’t sweat it – I’m going to show you
where to go next.

2. Access FREE themes

Once you’re on the dashboard, you’ve got access to
over 1500 free themes! Just search the sidebar for
“Appearance”, then click “Themes”.

I’ve even compiled a list of 27 most popular

WordPress themes.

If you want something more professional or elegant

than what you find here, you can head over
to ThemeForest.net where there’s a big library of
themes to pick from at varying costs.

But before you do that, I really suggest you at least

try spending some time browsing the free themes.
Many of them are actually really professional and well
made; so don’t write them off.

As you can see above, installing a new theme for your

website is very easy.

You can search for specific keywords and/or use

filters to find themes that suit your style. Finding the
perfect theme can take a while, but it’s worth it.

You should also look for themes that are

“responsive”, as this means they will look good on
any mobile device.

Just punch it in as one of your keywords, and you’ll

be all set!

3. Install your new theme

Once you have found a theme you like, installing it is
as simple as clicking “Install” followed by “Activate”.

IMPORTANT: Changing themes won’t delete your

previous posts, pages and content. You can change
themes as often as you want without having to worry
about losing what you’ve created.

 Add Content To
STEP 4
Your Website
With your theme installed, you’re ready to start
creating content. Let’s quickly run through some of
the basics:

Adding and editing pages

Want a “Services” page, or an “About Me” page (like I
have on my menu at the top of the site)?

1. Look along the sidebar in the WordPress

Dashboard for “Pages” -> “Add New”.

2. You’ll find a screen that looks a lot like what you’ve

maybe seen in Microsoft Word. Add text, images and
more to build the page you want, then save it when
you’re done.

Adding pages to the menu

If you want your new page to be linked to your
navigation bar,

1. Save any changes you’ve made to the page by

clicking “Update”

2. Click “Appearance” -> “Menus” in the sidebar of

the WordPress Dashboard

3. Find the page you created and add it to the list by

clicking the checkbox next to it and then “Add to
Menu”.

Adding and editing posts

If you have a blog on your website, “Posts” will be
where you turn to next. You can use different
categories to group similar posts.

If you want to add a blog to your website, you can

use different categories and posts. Let’s say you want
to create a category named “Blog”. Simply add it to
your menu and start making posts.

Here’s what you need to do:

a. Create a new category by going to “Posts ->

Categories”

OR

b. Create a blog post by going to “Posts -> Add

New”. Once you’ve finished writing your blog post,
you need to add the right category for it.

Once you’ve created your category, simply add it to

the menu, and you’re in business!

Customization & Endless

Tweaks…
In this section, I’ll cover some of the basic things I’m
asked about all the time that will help you tweak your
website.

Changing Your Title and Tagline

Page titles explain to searchers what your website is
about. They’re also a big part of how search engines
determine your rankings. You want to be sure they’ve
got the keywords you want to have targetted (but in a
natural way, written for real people).

You should use a unique title on every page of your

site. For example, my site’s title is “How to Make a
Website”.

(Can’t find it? Just hold your mouse over the tab at
the top of your web browser).

Taglines are added at the end of titles across every

page. My site’s tagline is “Step by Step Guide”

In order to change the title and tagline on your

website, go to “Settings -> General” and fill in the
form below:

Disabling Comments for Posts &

Pages
Some websites (business/organization sites mostly)
don’t want their visitors to be able to comment on
their pages.

Here’s how to shut comments off on WordPress

pages:

1. While you are writing a new page, click “Screen

Options” in the top right corner.

2. Click the “Discussion” box. The “Allow Comments”

box will appear at the bottom.

3. Untick “Allow Comments”.

Want to disable comments on every new page by

default?

1. Go to “Settings -> Discussion” and untick “Allow

people to post comments on new articles”

Setting Up a Static Front Page

Some people contact me saying they’re frustrated
that their home page looks like a blog post. You can
fix that by making your home page “static”.

A static page is a page that doesn’t change. Unlike a

blog, where the first new article will show up at the
top every time, a “static” page will show the same
content every time someone comes to the site – like a
home page you’ve designed.

To set up a static front page:

1. Go to “Settings -> Reading”

2. Choose a static page that you have created. “Front

Page” denotes your home page. “Posts page” is the
front page of your blog (if your entire site isn’t a blog).

If you don’t choose a static page on your own,

WordPress will take your latest posts and start
showing them on your homepage.

Editing sidebar
Most WordPress themes have a sidebar on the right
side (in some cases it’s on the left).

If you want to get rid of the sidebar or edit out items

you do not need like “Categories”, “Meta” and
“Archives”, which are usually pointless, here’s how:

1. Go to “Appearance -> Widgets” in the WordPress

Dashboard.

2. From here, you can use drag and drop to add

different “boxes” to your sidebar, or remove the items
you don’t want.

There’s also an “HTML box” – a text box where you

can use HTML code. For beginners, don’t worry
about this – just drag and drop the elements you’d
like in your sidebar.

Installing Plugins to Get

More out of WordPress
What is a plugin?
“Plugins” are extensions that are built to expand
WordPress’ capabilities, adding features and
functions to your site that don’t come as built-in.

They’re shortcuts to getting your site to do what you

want to, without having to build the features from
scratch.

You can use plugins to do everything from adding

photo galleries and submission forms to optimizing
your website and creating an online store.

How do I install a new Plugin?

To start installing plugins, go to “Plugins -> Add New”
and simply start searching.

Keep in mind that there are over 25,000

different plugins, so you’ve got a LOT to choose from!

Installation is easy – once you find a plugin you like,

just click “Install”.

BUT – before you go and install every single one, I

suggest you read this article: Things you need to
know about using WP plugins.

To save you some time, I’ve put together a list of

the most popular plugins that webmasters find
useful:

• #1 Contact form 7: My website has a contact

form on my About Me page. It’s an awesome
feature to have, as people (like you!) can fill in the
form and send me an email without logging into
their own email provider. If you want to do
something similar, definitely get this
plugin. P.S. Here’s a step-by-step guide for
setting it up.

• #2 Yoast SEO for WordPress: If you want to

make your WordPress site even more SEO-
friendly, this plugin is a must-have. It’s free, and
it’s awesome. You’ll be able to edit your title tags,
meta descriptions and more, all from within the
page itself – no more fussing with WordPress
settings.

• #3 Google Analytics: Interested in tracking your

visitors/traffic and their behaviour? Just install the
plugin, connect it with your Google account and
you’re ready to go.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Here’s

a list of recommended plugins by me.