A lot of people hear that WordPress.org is the best way start a website these days. It’s a great way to get a business or personal website or blog up and running quickly. The problem is that WordPress.org (unlike WordPress.com) is “self hosted”.
What is “Self Hosted”?
On a site like Blogger or WordPress.com (note the “.com”) you sign up for a blog and you’re up and running right away. These services “host” the website or blog for you for free. You don’t have to worry about the servers that the website is actually physically hosted on. They take care of that for you. Unfortunately these platforms have limitiations that “self hosted” WordPress.org doesn’t have.
Self-hosted means that you have to find and pay for the hosting yourself. It doesn’t mean that you have to buy a server (like a big computer), but you can. What most people do is to rent space at a Website host. This typically costs between $5 and $20/month.
How to Choose a Host?
Well, you’ll get what you pay for. If you go for the cheapest host, you’ll often have limited support, older or less up-to-date hardware and you may even have trouble leaving the host. I choose a host based on support, reliability and ease of use. For that reason I recommend the two hosts below.
What About a Domain Name?
If you don’t have a domain name, you can buy any domain name – .com, .net, .org, etc. – to use with the recommended hosts below. You can buy them when you get the hosting or if you want, you can buy them at a domain name registrar like godaddy.com and “point” them to Bluehost or Host Gator. If you already have a domain name, you can often “point” them via the DNS settings to your new host where you would set up your new website or blog.
Recommended Hosts:
These two hosts meet my test for ease of use, reliability and up-to-date hardware and software. If you check host reviews or ratings you will often see these two coming up on top as well.
WordPress and Your Host
Once you purchase a hosting plan (I recommend starting with the minimum hosting with no add-ons), both services offer a very easy “push button” method of setting up WordPress. I like Simple Scripts in Bluehost the best for ease of use (you find it in your control panel after you sign up). You can be up and running within a few minutes.
I hope this has helped. Feel free to contact me with questions and good luck with your new WordPress site!
(Note: If you sign up using the links on this page I will get a small commission. I use or have used these hosts myself for my business and only recommend them because I believe in their quality. If you prefer not to use those links, feel free to go directly to www.bluehost.com or www.hostgator.com)