How to Host a Website: A Step by Step Guide [2023]
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TL;DR:
- Choose a reliable and affordable web hosting provider like Bluehost for beginners. Look at factors like price, features, and support.
- Select a hosting plan that fits your needs. Start with shared hosting if you’re new. Upgrade as your site grows.
- Buy a custom domain name to give your site a professional identity. Many hosts offer a free domain.
- Install a CMS like WordPress to easily build and manage your site’s content. Most hosts have 1-click installs.
Do you want to learn how to host a website? It’s easier than you might think.
In this article, I’m going to walk through the steps of how to host a website, and the factors you need to be aware of when choosing various hosting services.
Step 1: Find a Web Hosting Provider
The first step in hosting a website is finding a hosting provider.
There are many web hosting providers available, so it is important to do your research and find one that is right for your needs.
Some important factors to consider when selecting a web host include price, features, and support.
🏆 Check out our choices for best web hosting providers
Step 2: Choose a Hosting Plan
Now that you know where you are going to host your site, the next step is choosing a hosting plan.
If you’re a beginner, your best bet is to go for a shared hosting plan from Bluehost. It will give you the most flexibility, while still being easy enough to use for a newbie.
You can always start with the cheapest plan and upgrade as needed.
If you don’t mind paying a little extra money for increased performance, consider buying a cloud or dedicated hosting plan.
📖 Read our guide to understanding web hosting plans
Step 3: Buy a Domain Name
Now that you have hosting you need a memorable address so visitors can find your site. This address is called a domain name.
Many cheap shared web hosting providers like Bluehost will give you a free domain name if you sign up for a year or more of service.
If this is the case, then just add your desired domain name when signing up for your hosting service.
If your hosting provider doesn’t give you a free domain name, then you should buy your domain from a register that gives you free Domain Privacy.
My favorite registrar that included Domain Privacy for free is Namesilo.
The process of buying a domain is pretty self-explanatory. Search to see if the domain name you want is available and if it is you can purchase it.
Step 4: Change Your DNS Address
The last thing that you need to do before your site goes live is to change the nameservers from the address that your domain registrar provides to the one your hosting company provides.
Regardless of where you purchased your domain name, all you need to do is change the default nameservers on the domain registrar account to the ones displayed in your hosting account dashboard.
Step 5: Install your CMS
Unless you are writing your HTML by hand and uploading it to your server (this is called a static site), you will need a content management system (CMS) to manage and display your website.
Almost every hosting provider includes a 1-click installation of a variety of CMS platforms and applications.
The most popular CMS to start a website on is WordPress, but depending on the type of site you are building you may need to choose a different solution like Drupal or Joomla.
Congrats! Now you can start building your website!
How to host a website at home
Don’t like doing things the easy way? Here are the steps for building a web server to host your site from home.
- Install WAMP(Windows) or LAMP(Linux) software
- Upload site files
- Configure IP address
- Configure Apache (Make website public)
Keep in mind that hosting a site locally is not recommended and will require expert-level knowledge and serious technical know-how.
Additionally, there are numerous expenses involved including purchasing a static IP address, high-speed internet connection, and web server equipment.
In conclusion…
With so many quality web hosting providers and plans to choose from, hosting a website can feel a bit overwhelming.
In order to make the process as painless as possible, you need to be aware of your overall goals and budget.
Once you are clear on exactly what you need, setting up web hosting is a breeze!
