Step 1: Choose and register the Domain Name

Your domain name is your identity on the internet. Choose the name that reflects your brand and is easier for people to type into their browser and find you.

• Namlix can help you generate short, branded names relevant to your business idea, if you are still trying to come up with a name for your business
• namecheckr.com is great to check the availability of your name online. Finding an appropriate and available name is a challenge. You will most likely have to do this loop through Namlix to namecheck multiple times before you find a suitable name that is also available.
• Namecheap is a good place to register your domain, but I personally like to register the domain name and hosting from the same provider to be able to manage it all from one account and one dashboard.

Step 2. Get web hosting

Shared Hosting

If you starting and you don’t want to spend much from the beginning. Shared hosting is great for new websites with no heavy traffic. It’s easy to use, allows you to host/manage many sites, and is still fast if you pick a good web host. You can always upgrade, when you get more traffic and hopefully generate some income.

• Verpex – It’s the most affordable hosting company I’ve tried so far, that still offers fast load speeds, all the functions you will ever need, and fast support that is handy when you set up your first WordPress website. I’m not associated with them in any way, so not pushing, just use the pricing and services they offer as a benchmark in your research.

Managed hosting

It’s also a straightforward way to host your new website where the hosting company handles the setup, administration, management, and support of a server. You install WordPress and your new website is live. 

Managed hosting is suggested for the majority of the clients so they have hosting support when the developer is not available. This ease of mind these companies offer comes with a price though. 

WP Engine/Cloudways/Kinsta offers reliable and fast-managed hosting solutions.

Managed VPS hosting

VPS (virtual private server) hosting is a premium option with greater control over system specifications, operating systems, and the overall software stack than is the case in shared hosting. It used to be a super geeky ground but becoming more and more approachable for regular power users. If your tech skills allow, or you are willing to spend time googling, this would be the best performance/price ratio.

• RunCloud.io –  Cheaper, with great performance, and a user-friendly interface. They offer a lot of features and it’s more suitable if you work with a developer.
• SpinupWP – If you want a simple server check this new company in hosting space. 

Hosting Server Location

When I choose a location for my servers, I like to place it in as close to a central location to my user’s geographic region as possible. As an example, in the US I would place servers in the center of the country so that visitors on the East and West Coast will have somewhat similar latency, so the user experience is relatively same regardless of their state.

All hosting companies offer multiple server locations across the world. Choose the one that is closest to visitors to your website.

Step 3. Set up WordPress

How to install WordPress on your server will depend on the hosting provider you choose. Managed hosting providers will offer one-click installation. Shared hosting providers will give you access to cPanel where you can access Softaculus in the software section that will guide you through the installation process. 

When you decide to go VPS road, you might need to install WordPress manually. Go to the WordPress website where you can download WordPress and find the technical guidance you need.

Step 4. Choose a Theme You Like

With the fresh installation of WordPress, you have the freedom to create your site from scratch on the default theme that will be activated (twenty-twenty-four is the name of the theme in 2024 ;)) It’s completely free and you can achieve a lot. You will have to wrap your head around the new FSE (Full Site Editing) approach. It’s probably the future the whole WordPress is moving towards and well worth it to give it a try.

Designing a website is not easy though and it can take way longer than expected. From the beginning, I would highly recommend choosing the theme from the wordpress.org directory that is the closest to your ideal website, downloading, activating, doing some necessary personalization, and getting straight away into creating content. 

There are thousands of themes to choose from. Just filter out the one that supports FSE

Step 5. Install WordPress plugins

Depending on what functionality you will require, you will need to install the plugins. Here is the selection of my favorite WordPress plugins, that I install on almost every new WordPress website. All these plugins are clean-coded, super-fast, and best in class.

Always research before you install any plugin on your site and if possible, use the test site to test new plugins first. Use it as a playground to try anything new. Do not experiment on the live site.

• Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) –  Admin and Site Enhancements (ASE) help you to easily enhance various admin workflows and site aspects while replacing multiple plugins doing it.
• WPVivid – full-featured backup plugin. Has extra convenient clone/staging features.
• Fluent Forms – now my #1 favorite form plugin for both FREE and PAID. Easier to use in some ways and nicer design and extra features.
• FluentSMTP – email plugin that works well and offers multiple SMTP senders
• SEO Framework – Clean and bloat-free. Most simple and doesn’t try to do everything for your site. SEO only!
• LiteSpeed Cache – the best free cache plugin that can also optimize all the images. For FREE!
• Scriptless Social Sharing – Scriptless Social Sharing is a wee plugin to add buttons to your posts/pages, to make it easier for your readers to share your content on social networks.

Step 6. Happy blogging.