Web hosting might seem intimidating, but it’s something that anybody can do without any technical expertise. With the right approach and a reliable hosting provider, you can quickly set up and launch your website.
In today’s digital age, web hosting is crucial as it makes your website accessible to everyone online. Moreover, it lets you publish content on your website and interact with your audience.
In this article, we will walk you through five simple steps to hosting a website.
Five Steps to Hosting a Website
Step 1: Select a Content Management System (CMS)
The first step is to choose a content management system or platform where you will build your site. Typically, people choose between WordPress and all-in-one website builders, such as Wix and Shopify. The difference between these is the ease of use, customization capabilities, and cost.
Step 2: Choose a Website Hosting Provider
After choosing a CMS, the next step is to select a hosting provider that helps you launch your website smoothly. They assist and guide you in each step of your website creation, from buying a domain name to designing a site.
When choosing a hosting provider, consider how user-friendly their site-creation tools are, that is, look for a hosting provider that offers easy integration with popular CMS. Also, make sure to read in-depth comparisons of different providers to make an informed decision.
Step 3: Select a Website Hosting Plan
There are different types of hosting plans, depending on your website and business needs you can choose from Shared, Virtual Private Server (VPS), Cloud, Dedicated, and WordPress hosting. Selecting a website hosting plan is essential, as each hosting type offers different resources like storage space, memory, and CPUs.
Step 4: Choose a Domain Name and Complete Domain Registration
A domain name is the address visitors type into their browsers to access a site. It consists of a Second-Level Domain (SLD) and a Top-Level Domain (TLD). For example, in WordPress.com, WordPress is the SLD or website name, and ‘.com’ is the TLD or domain extension.
You can register your domain name directly with domain registrars or your web hosting provider might provide you with a free domain name and registration. This means that you don’t need to pay the registration fees for the first year that you operate. It’s generally advisable to get your domain name from your web hosting provider as it saves you time and is cost-efficient.
Step 5: Create and Upload Your Website
The last step is to take your website live and make it accessible to the audience. You can go the traditional way of building a website from element to element or choose a one-click website builder and create a professional-looking site in seconds. After creating your website, choose a website theme, install supporting plugins, and create the website content. Then, you can upload your site on the server and make it available to the public.
