5 January 2017

How to Set Up a Website in 6 Easy Steps

Are you feeling overwhelmed at the thought of creating your own website? I totally get it. There is so much information out there, it’s absolutely daunting. In an effort to help point you in the right direction, I’ve put together this step-by-step guide to setting up your WordPress website.

These are initial technical steps that most people find really difficult to navigate, so I’ve broken it down into a really easy checklist to get you well on your way.

This post contains affiliate links.

Step 1: Register your domain

There are a lots of domain registrars you can choose between, and there’s really not much to choose between them, to be honest.

The registrar I use and recommend over the others is Name Cheap. They have competitive prices, their website is easy to navigate, and they offer great support.

It’s kind of best practice to keep your registrar and host separate, as it makes it easier to change hosts. It’s not a big deal though if you go for a domain+hosting package - whatever works best for you!

Step 2: Purchase Hosting

Picking a host is where you need to get a bit more fussy. That doesn't mean it has to be expensive, just that you should choose your host wisely.

Shared hosting or Wordpress managed hosting is a good place to start, and usually very affordable.

I recommend Siteground (if you’re in the US), VentraIP (if you’re in Australia), or 34SP (if you’re in the UK).

Step 3: Point Your Domain to Your Host

If you registered your domain name with someone other than your host, you'll need to point  your domain to your host.

Sounds technical? Yes, it is a little bit, but essentially you just need to copy and paste 2 snippets of text (the nameservers) between your registrar and your host.

You will need to wait a little while for everything to update. Generally, they say up to 24 hours, but it usually happens much faster than that. In fact, if your domain is brand new, it usually happens straight away.

I’ve created video training for all these steps, which you can access here. 

Step 4: Install WordPress

Once you've got your domain and hosting all sorted, it's time to install a blank copy of Wordpress.

You can do this really easily with the ‘1-click installer’, which you’ll find inside the Control Panel.

Quick tip: when choosing your Admin name, change it to something unique. Leaving it as default Admin is a shortcut to getting your site hacked.

Step 5: Install Plugins

Before you do anything to your website, there are a few key plugins to install and activate. All these plugins are free.

• Updraft Plus: Schedule regular backups of your website, so that you don't lose any of your hard-work, even in these early stages
• Wordfence: Keep your site safe from hackers
• Maintenance Mode: You can put up a holding page while you're working behind the scenes to get your website ready to launch
• EWWW Optimiser: Compresses and optimises your images as you upload them

Step 6: Install a Theme

For a business website, you're really going to need to invest in a premium theme. They come with the functionality and support that you need for a site that's going to support your business growth.

My personal choice is Divi, but there are others you can look into.

I also wrote this comprehensive post about which themes are the best ones for entrepreneurs and small business owners.

Looking for more help?