The easiest and quickest way to build a platform and share your ideas or creative work in today’s world is to start a blog. You can be up and running in less than ten minutes. Seriously, it’s that easy. While you can do this with free hosted options like WordPress.com, TypePad.com, and Blogger.com, you will get the most control by using self-hosted WordPress. This is what most serious bloggers use. It is what I use here for Alltopstartups.
WordPress is one of the most popular self-hosted blogging platform. Getting started with WordPress is quite easy, and the very first step is to install WordPress on your hosting account. Most of the shared hosting for WordPress offers quick script to install WordPress, and you don’t have to take manual route to create your WordPress blog. Learn more about WordPress.
However, this is where many people get stuck. They assume that the process of setting up a hosting service and installing WordPress is complicated and time-consuming. It’s not.
Okay, so where do I get hosting?
There are many hosting companies out there, but for a WordPress site, Hostgator should definitely be at the top of anyone’s list. There are many reasons why Hostgator is so highly recommended, but here are just a few:
Your best choice today for a WordPress website or blog is going to be HostGator.
1. HostGator web hosting is easy to use. I have created all my websites through HostGator with no problem whatsoever. Their QuickInstall is phenomenal, the backend is easy to look at, and we’re always happy with the result.
2. HostGator makes it very easy to create a WordPress blog with just a few simple clicks. I do it for all my blogs.
3. HostGator web hosting offers technical support and a 99.9% uptime guarantee. I particularly like Hostgator because of the live chat support. Even when it’s just a WordPress theme or plugin problem they still do everything they can to make fix it in time without problems.
Here I will be sharing steps you need to follow to install WordPress on Hostgator hosting.
Hostgator offers various hosting packages and I suggest you pick a baby package that cost only $6.36/month and offers an unlimited hosting package. You can also start with a basic plan for only $3.96 a month and upgrade later when you have to.
You can learn more about Hostgator on their official page.
How to select and register a hosting plan
Head over to HostGator.com and click on View Web Hosting Plans in the centre of your screen as seen above.
Next, select your plan. The “Hatching Plan” at 1 year is the recommended choice for beginners, however, selecting 3 years will reduce your price per month. You could also try things out on a monthly basis, keeping in mind you can use the 45-day money-back guarantee.
Most people stay with HostGator long-term as they grow their business, so a longer option, if you can afford it up-front, is what I recommend.
Got any questions about selecting a plan? Just us know in the comments.
Now, input your domain name of choice. You can either register a new domain name right there on Hostgator or input a domain name you’ve registered elsewhere.
The next three steps are quite simple:
1. Confirm your package type and billing cycle
2. Create your Username and Security Pin (these don’t have to be fancy)
3. Scroll down and uncheck all the hosting addons. You don’t need any of these for your new blog or website to run flawlessly.
Fill in your billing information as you would for any other online purchase like at Amazon for example, and make your payment.
The domain and hosting setup is now done!
Congrats, you’re already well ahead of other newbies. Next, we’ll install a fresh copy of WordPress.org – known as the easiest to use and elegant software for blogging and simple websites.
It’s time to check your inbox for an email called HostGator.com Your Account Info which contains three vital pieces of information (so don’t delete it, ever):
That would be your new…
1. Username
2. Password (can change this later on if you want)
3. Control Panel Link
Once you’ve read this over briefly, just click on the Control Panel link right in the email, and you’ll be taken to the HostGator control panel, commonly called cPanel. You’re making great progress!
Keep that email open, because you’ll now need to enter your username and password that it contains.
A simple, step-by-step process to create a WordPress website or blog
One of the fastest and easiest ways to Install WordPress on your hosting account is using QuickInstall. It will make the installation process easy and within minutes you will have your WordPress blog installed, up and running.
Hostgator offers various ways by which you can install WordPress on their server. Quick Install makes the process way quicker but you can also use manual. You don’t want that. Choose Quick Install.
1. Login to your Hostgator cPanel.
Under services/Software click on QuickInstall.
2. On the QuickInstall page you need to select “WordPress’ under the blog software category on the left side.
On the next page, click on continue and from the drop-down select the domain on which you want to install a WordPress blog.
Here you can decide where you want to install WordPress. Either at the root of the directory or under the subdomain. For example :
- Root Directory: http://www.alltopstartups.com
- Subdirectory: http://blog.alltopstartups.com or http://www.alltopstartups.com/blog
If you are new to Hostgator and have a baby plan or above plan, you can add as many domains as you want and you can host multiple websites on a single hosting package.
Make sure that you don’t use “admin” as a username, as this is a security risk. Rather use your email address or your nickname. The point is to make it really hard to guess. Before hitting the magic button Install WordPress, Crosscheck if you have done everything right. Else rolling back things will consume time.
It will take a few minutes and your WordPress blog will be installed on the Hostgator server. Don’t close the tab yet when the installation is done. You will be shown all the login details you need to access your new WordPress website or blog. You will also be emailed all the details you need.
What Next?
The next step is to install a theme. There are literally thousands of free ones available. Personally, I suggest spending a little money and buying a premium theme to make your site or blog unique. Head over to the following tutorial and link to theme resource and plugins which will help you to configure your WordPress blog.
1. How to Install a WordPress Theme