3 SIMPLE STEPS TO STARTING
YOUR FIRST WEBSITE
Follow these easy steps to go live with your first personal website, freelancing portfolio, ecommerce store or blog in record time.
STEP 1:
Select your domain name (.com) where your website will live on the internet using one of these services. You can just use this step for research — no need to purchase because you’ll get a free domain in step #2!
Namecheap is our recommended place to buy your domain name since it’s cheap (just like the name implies) and they give you free privacy protection forever.
GoDaddy is a great backup option to purchase your domain name as they provide solid customer service. That being said, we recommend using one of the services listed in step 2 for your hosting.
STEP 2:
Select your hosting provider from the options below and then import the domain name you purchased. Then ask your hosting to help you install WordPress on your domain for free.
Purchasing hosting is one of the critical steps to launching your website, and you can consider it an investment in your project. Bluehost offers the cheapest hosting anywhere on the web and the best bang for your buck (especially for beginners). Selecting a longer period will unlock a bigger discount.
If you can afford the higher rates and want a faster service that provides full customer support anytime you need it via live chat, we highly recommend WPX. This is the service we use! Note: You can always start with Bluehost and upgrade later, they’ll do the switch for you free of charge.
STEP 3:
Install a drag ‘n drop WordPress page builder to easily design your website. You can start for free by installing the plugin via the WordPress dashboard.
Elementor can be installed for free on WordPress and used to create a modern website using their easy-to-use editor. You can watch tutorials on YouTube. You can upgrade to Elementor Pro to unlock more features.
Thrive Themes is another great option for building functional websites using an easy-to-use editor. You can purchase their membership if you want to unlock all of Thrive’s marketing tools.
