Step 2 – Get Hosting

After you get your domain, you will need hosting. There are different levels of hosting, but for all but very high traffic sites, inexpensive shared hosting costing from $5-$10 per month will work fine. My personal favorite for hosting is HostGator and I use it almost exclusively – if you go with hostgator, use the coupon code FREEBLOG25 – this will give you a 25% discount which is 5% more than the default coupon. I have a site, drywallinfo.com,  that gets over 1500 visitors per day and features videos that require a fair amount of bandwidth (3 GB per day) and I have never had any problems with the shared hosting I use.  I have tried 4 other shared hosting services and they have let me down in some way. What I like best about HostGator is their service that keeps my site up nearly all the time, and their chat support that answers my questions thoroughly (and quickly), no matter what questions they are. I use the $9.95/mo plan that allows me to add unlimited domains for no extra charge. So for example, if one has 6 domains, the hosting cost per domain will be about $1.67 per month. HostGator also offers their lowest price plan for a single domain (no add-on domains) for $4.95/mo if you commit for 3 years ($6.95/mo for a one year commitment). HostGator offers very easy 3-click WordPress blog installation.

You don’t have to use HostGator hosting to run a hosted WordPress blog. Most shared hosting services (at least every one I have tried) also feature fairly easy blog installation. The other web host services may or may not offer support when you need it. In fact, some may refuse to help you with any WordPress blog software problems you have since the host themselves did not develop the software – and that can be a real bummer! Anyway, if you use HostGator, a tutorial for signing up is shown below. the process should be somewhat similar for other hosts you might choose.

Step 1 – Go to the HostGator hosting page. If you are on their home page, click on Web Hosting so that you see a screen like the one shown in the next step.

Step 2 – Choose one of the shared hosting plans. If you are sure you will only do a single blog, then the Hatchling Plan will work. If you plan to add more blogs or sites, the Baby Plan is better because add-on domains are free. “Baby Plan” is perhaps a poor choice of words on their part – I use this plan to host the drywallinfo.com  site I have that gets over 1500 visitors each day and I host 5 additional sites at no extra cost. Note that the top prices listed are for 3 year commitments – the drop down menu lists prices for two year, one year, or even a monthly commitment. If you use some other hosting, you should not be paying more than $10 per month – if you are it is probably money wasted.  

Step 3 – Enter your domain that you registered, as shown below. If you have not registered a domain yet, you should do so before getting hosting – see this guide. It is always a good idea to register your domain separately – this gives you control over your site.

Step 4 – Complete the checkout process. During this process you will choose a User Name and a Password – write these down as you will need them again! Also, it is important to use a secure password – use at least 12 mixed case letters combined with numbers.

Step 5 – Watch for an email from HostGator that lists your Name Servers, also known as DNS settings. They will be settings similar to NS195.HOSTGATOR.COM.  If you used a different host, I am assuming they will send you a similar email providing your Name Server Settings. You will need those Name Servers in the next step.

Step 6 – Log in at NameCheap.com (Or GoDaddy or whoever you registered your domain with). Click on Manage Domains, as shown below. (GoDaddy will be similar)

Step 7 – Select you domain using the check box and then click on Edit Selected, as shown below.

Step 8 - Select TRANSFER DNS to Webhost, as is shown in the screen shot below.

Step 9 – Enter the Name Servers that Hostgator (or whoever your host is) sent to you in the email . You need to enter the Name Servers that were provided to you. The name servers will look something like (but not exactly like) those shown below. Remember to Save Changes. That will do it! Anywhere from 10 minutes to a day or two, all requests for pages from your domain will not be directed to your server.

Now, once your site is properly redirecting, you can create your blog. It is easy. Just follow the simple steps at this WordPress Hosted Blog Creation tutorial.

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate of HostGator. I promote their product because it is about the best buy for the money and their support is great. They even once helped me get a blog back that I accidentally deleted. As I mentioned, some other hosts will not help you if you have problems with a 3rd party software application like WordPress.

Hostgator offers support for even very complicated questions! And with 24 hr chat support, I get an answer quick!
Get Hostgator and Great Support - Click Here! Use Coupon FREEBLOG25 For 25% Off!

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