Setting Up a Website in 10 Minutes or Less

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Every day we see numerous posts from business owners on public forums looking for information on how to set up a website for their business. Of course, the comments that follow throw out all sorts of platform names like Wordpress, Squarespace, Wix, Joomla, etc, but there is never a “how to do it” step by step.

Whenever we see these posts we ALWAYS recommend Wordpress (self-hosted); yes there is a difference between Wordpress.com & Wordpress.org – but that’s a blog post for another day.

We try to offer as much help to those looking to set up their own hosted Wordpress site, and it does get confusing. Luckily enough we have broken down the process of setting up a hosting account through Bluehost.

Why Bluehost?

Having used Bluehost previously for over 30+ of our clients, Bluehost has provided us, and our clients EXACTLY what they need when their business needs it, and is an easy set up process. No need to select a service, or how many TB of Bandwidth you need, just pick a plan – and WordPress is installed ready to use.
Besides, the easy of use, they also provide the following:

FREE domain for your website – if you need a domain name take FULL advantage of what they offer, or you can transfer a domain name from another provider!
Affordable rates, as low as $3.95/month – When purchasing more months the rate goes lower and lower. Pick a plan that fits EXACTLY what you need.
Easy & Quick Sign Up – Bluehost makes an easy walk-through on signing up and getting your site up and going. Our steps help you go through the process in less than 10 minutes.
One-click install WordPress – No need to install WordPress files on your database, WordPress is installed in just one click!
Free SSL Certificate – Bluehost includes a free SSL certificate with EVERY package. This is roughly a $60 value.
24/7 Support – Support is ALWAYS available to help you. If you provide a good description & screenshots on what is going on, this will better your chances of having something solved in a timely manner.
No hidden costs – the entire time while going through setting up a plan, Bluehost provides live pricing.
30 Day Money Back Guarantee – if within 30 days you’re not satisfied with their service, you can always get 100% of your money back!

Overal Summary: Bluehost is Risk-Free

Step 1: Plan Selection & Purchasing

If you haven’t already, go [HERE], and click on the green GET STARTED NOW BUTTON. The page will look similar to below.

PLAN SELECTION: Select a plan that is sufficient for your business. Basic is perfect for about 90% of businesses. Click the green SELECT button to proceed.

Plus & Choice Plus would be for e-commerce websites with 1000+ products, or a blogger that is posting once a day.

MAKE NOTE: When first signing up for Bluehost, the prices listed are introductory rates. These rates will not be the same after your initial term you select. We highly suggest if you budget allows; to purchase the most months (36) at the this lowest cost. After your term is over, you will then be charged the normal rate.
Bluehost does price packages per month, however you pay “annually”.

Step 2: FREE Domain Registration

DOMAIN SELECTION: You’ll be asked to either:

A. Enter a new domain name that you have researched, and chosen (along with the extension) – this is Free!

B. Enter a domain name that you currently own. (ie: purchased via GoDaddy, have it on another website platform ie. wix, squarespace etc)

If currently, you don’t know a domain you want to use just yet, wait a few seconds and a popup will come up mentioning you don’t have to choose right now. KEEP IN MIND this then will set your username to a very hard to remember username that cannot be changed.

Step 3: Purchase & Finalize

PACKAGE TERM SELECTION: On this page you’ll enter your Account information, and then select your package term (length), and any extras. The pricing you are signing up for right now is their introductory pricing – this pricing will go back to the normal pricing after the term you select expires. Keep this in mind as if you purchase the 36 month price your first time, that pricing will be good for 3 years!

Package Extras: Out of the extras they offer, we only recommend you get the Domain Privacy Protection. This is to keep your account information private and no one can look you up online using your domain. You DO NOT need the SiteLock Security, CodeGuard Basic, SEO Tools, or the Office 365 mailbox.

These plugins will be replaced with other FREE plugins such as Wordfence, Yoast, and UpDraft Plus!

SET PASSWORD: Choose a password for your account. Do NOT make this an easy password, this shouldn’t be guessed – and not even resemble a word. We recommend using a program like Last Pass, or Dashlane to maintain your passwords. The harder the password, the harder it is to be hacked.

Step 4: Setting Up Wordpress

Luckily enough, Bluehost already has Wordpress installed – so you do not need to download Wordpress Files & upload them. After setting your password you will be directed to picking a theme.

PICKING A THEME: You can select a theme that Bluehost suggests, or if you are using another theme such as Divi, or you’re not sure what you want to use you can just click Skip by scrolling to the bottom.

Our preferred theme

The theme that we prefer (and use here on our website, and all our clients websites) is called Divi by Elegant themes. This theme allows for a drag and drop visual builder, as well as mobile optimization is made easy. There are thousands of other themes out there that are free, however Divi best suits our needs and makes our client’s lives easier when it comes to editing their site. Divi is a premium theme, and does have an annual & lifetime plan!

NAMING YOUR SITE: Once you’ve selected your Theme, you will be brought to naming your site. You’ll put your business name in the first box, and then your tagline can be anything. This will (for now) be seen in the tab on a window browser – but this can be changed later on with SEO.

ABOUT YOU & COMFORT

SETUP SITE & BLUEHOST DASHBOARD: This will be your main Dashboard page for Bluehost. They provide you a checklist on what you can do to your site.

To access your Wordpress site dashboard, click the blue WORDPRESS button to access.

Summary

Congrats! You now have your hosting set up for your new website/blog! This will be an exciting process for you! We are here to help if you need assistance, feel free to drop us a line if you come up with any scans!

If you need inspiration for how you want your website to look, check out some of our inspiration pins on our pinterest