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Do you want to start a blog or a website, but are too intimidated by the tech side of it? In this post I have put together the ultimate starter guide for you that will show you exactly how to start a WordPress site.
After reading this guide, you will be able to setup a WordPress site – and finally start that blog or website you always wanted to. Stop dreaming of creating an online business and start doing it! The first step is right in front of you, in this post.
The following step-by-step guide is written especially for beginners – no tech or WordPress skills needed! The steps described below will work no matter if you plan to start a blog, a business website or an online shop. This guide is applicable for every kind of WordPress website.
Plus: It will only take about 30-45 minutes. Surprised? Well, I guess you don’t have any more excuses now, so let’s start right away!
What do you need to start a blog with WordPress?
Not much! Essentially, you need the following three components for starting a successful WordPress website:
Hosting & Domain
Your web hosting space is a space on a server where all your content and essentially your website is saved, so people can view it.
Theme
To show the content on your site, add blog posts you need a theme. This is the design of your website and will determine how visitors can navigate around.
Content
Of course, maybe the most important thing! You need content – images, text, blog posts, an ‘about me’ page, and so on.
And this is it! If you have those three things set up, you are ready to launch. But, first – let’s go through the exact steps to get those three components together – hosting, a beautiful WordPress theme and your content.
I’m so excited already, but maybe you are asking yourself now: This looks expensive? How much will it cost me to setup a WordPress site?
Can I start a WordPress blog or website without money or with a small budget?
Starting a serious blog or website that will turn into a business someday doesn’t come at no cost. This is something you have to face if you really want to start a successful website. You will have to invest money, this is the hard truth.
Luckily, starting a self-hosted website is way less expensive than going with a hosted blogging system like Squarespace or WordPress.com. The good news is, you can get a self-hosted WordPress website for a fraction of the cost of those systems (this is just one of the big advantages of WordPress.org).
How much does it cost to start a WordPress website?
You will have to calculate a budget for the three components outline above. Your content will come for free if you decide to write it yourself. Hiring a copywriter and maybe a photographer can be a great investment, especially for business sites – but if you are on a tight budget, you can get your content totally for free. All you need to invest is your time.
Are your prepared for your Website Launch?
Sign up for our Free Website Launch Checklist and launch your new site with a BANG!
We will only use your data to send out the launch checklist email and further, monthly news mails. Read more in our privacy policy.
How much does WordPress hosting cost?
When it comes to the hosting space of your WordPress site, there are big differences between different providers and their hosting packages. You can get hosting from as low as 3.95$ per month to premium plans for 79$/month and more. When deciding which provider and which hosting plan is the best for you, you have to take into consideration what you want to do with your website. Is it a smaller blog, or do you also want to sell your own products, maybe grow it into a bigger business?
In this guide I’m going to show you how to setup a easy-peasy WordPress hosting with Bluehost, the hosting company I recommend for everyone who is just starting out. They offer hosting packages that start from 3.95$ a month. And remember that you can always upgrade your plans or switch hosting if your site grows bigger.
How much do WordPress Themes cost?
The same as for hosting also goes for your WordPress theme. You will find free themes and themes for as low as 5$ to high-end themes that will offer you everything you need (and beyond) for 100$ and more.
Most important about the WordPress theme you choose is that it fits your site, your branding and that is offers the functionality you need. Most mid-range themes are priced between 30 and 70$ – from my experience this amount is a good compromise between price and quality/functionality. All our themes, which are perfect for starting out, come at a cost of 49€ and offer not only free lifetime updates, but also extensive theme support for the first 6 months. Free themes oftentimes don’t include any support or updates, so that is why you want to avoid them for starting a website.
Get an easy to install Theme for your first WordPress site
If you are willing to prepare content, setup hosting and install the theme yourself, you will have to spend about 100-150$ for starting a WordPress site.
This number can of course grow bigger if you decide to outsource the content creation or the installation of your WordPress theme – but if you are on a budget, investing 100$ can lead to building a successful blog or website that will make you a lot more money in return.
Now we are getting to the really important stuff: The following steps will show you how you can DIY your WordPress website and have it setup in only 30-45 minutes.
Step 1: How to setup WordPress Hosting with Bluehost
Bluehost is one of the best hosting providers for WordPress starters. The following steps will show you how you can setup your hosting with them in less than 5 minutes.
Click the Get started button to start with the sign up process.
Which is the best WordPress Hosting plan?
You can choose between four plans – the Basic plan starting from 3.95$/month to the Pro plan for 13.95$/month.
For beginners I recommend Basic (if you want to start one website or blog and don’t plan to host more than one site on Bluehost) or Plus if you have plans to host more than one website in the future.
WordPress Hosting for Beginners: Get a Domain
Aside from hosting you also need a domain – that is the internet address where people will find your website or blog. With Bluehost, you will get one free domain (on the basic plan, but unlimited domains on the higher tiers!) together with your hosting.
If you already own a domain (e.g. because you are migrating from another provider or service), you can take it with you and Bluehost will take care of the transfer for you.
Finish the hosting registration with adding your account and payment information and choosing a payment plan (12, 24 or 36 months).
Bluehost will also try to upsell some extra services in the Package Extras section. The only extra I would recommend to add is the Domain Privacy Protection. The other services are not necessary as there are WordPress Plugins that will do the job for free.
Double-check your information, then hit the green Submit button.
How to install WordPress on your web hosting
The fantastic news is that Bluehost will automatically install the WordPress software for you and guide you through the inital setup.
Once you are done, you can go to yourdomain.com/wp-admin and login into your new WordPress site.
Step 2: How to find the right WordPress Theme for your blog
When you have set up hosting and WordPress, the next step is to find a matching theme. The Theme is basically the design of your website and will determine how your content looks and how visitors navigate on your site.
What do I have to consider when choosing a WordPress Theme?
- Is the theme suitable for my purpose? If you want to start a website with customizable pages, look out for a theme that supports a page builder.
- Is the theme user-friendly and easy to navigate?
- Do the theme authors offer support and (free) updates?
- Is demo content included and is it easy to setup?
These are a few questions you should always ask when buying a WordPress Theme. Depending on what business you want to start, check if you can extend the theme easily at a later point (e.g. add an online store or landing pages).
Check our easy-to-use Themes in the Shop
Other great places to find suitable WordPress themes for starters are:
- Etsy
- Creative Market
- Theme Forest
- Mojo Marketplace
Step 3: How to launch your new Website with a Bang
If you’ve come this far, have setup hosting, WordPress and found the right theme – congratulations! You have already made a huge step towards your own website.
Now it’s time to prepare your website launch and tell the world about your shiny, new site!
The Website Launch Checklist: Launch with a BANG!
There are various ways how you can launch your website, and many different points you need to check before going live. Lucky for you, I have put all of it in one PDF file – my ultimate Website Launch Checklist. You can simply sign up below to get the checklist and a ton of tips, tricks and regular motivational emails for growing your new website into a real business.
Are you prepared for your Website Launch?
Sign up for the Free Website Launch Checklist and launch your new site with a BANG!
We will only use your data to send out the launch checklist email and further, monthly news mails. Read more in our privacy policy.
That is it! I would love to know if you have already successfully setup your site and maybe already launched it? Pop your website launch story below in the comments and leave a link to your new site (don’t be afraid to show it to the world, that’s a part of every successful website launch!).