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Launch Your Site Today

One of the best ways to share your vision or create your own internet business, is to launch your own blog or media platform. When you create your own platform, you give yourself creative control and you open up a world possibilities for yourself both creatively and financially.

A Website Is A Digital Asset

That said, there are a few free hosting platforms out there. However, they are typically generic, you’ll lose creative control, monetization is limited, and if you have growth in mind, scaling your operations will be a challenge, if not impossible.

Not to mention, if it’s free, you don’t own it. And if you don’t own it, it’s not your digital asset.

So, if you’re looking to launch your own blog or online enterprise, and you’re really serious about turning it into your own digital asset, then this is the page for you.

Below is a simple guide to help you to quickly launch your own blog or media platform. It’s short and sweet, because the most important thing is just getting started. Too many people think that the process of setting up a hosting service and installing WordPress is complex and time-consuming. So they never set one up.

But, it’s not difficult. You don’t need any technical know-how, and you can do it in less than half an hour. You just pull the trigger and take action. So, follow these simple steps, and you’ll have your very own media platform or blog set up in no time at all.

Note: If you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

STEP 1: CHOOSE A DOMAIN NAME

To set up a self-hosted WordPress blog or website, you will need:

  • A Domain Name
  • A Credit Card
  • 20 – 30 Minutes

If you haven’t already registered your domain, that’s great, you can get a free one through Blue Host, so long as you choose to purchase their web hosting service first. If you intend to use the other recommended hosting services, you’ll need a domain name first (WPX offers domains, but Rocket.net does not).

Money Saving Tip: If you need a domain, and you intend to use Bluehost, be sure to purchase the hosting service first (Note: It’ll have to at least be the Choice Plus option.)

STEP 2: SET UP YOUR HOSTING ACCOUNT

The Hosting Account is where your site/blog will be housed. This is essentially a server (i.e., a remote computer), where you will rent space to install and run the WordPress software to manage your blog.

That may sound complex, but it is far easier than it sounds, trust us. That said, there are hundreds of thousands of hosting services available. However, based on our experience and research, we highly recommend any one of the following three services below.

LAUNCH YOUR FUTURE

BLUEHOST

For Beginners + Affordable.

WPX

Fast + Easy.

ROCKET.NET

Lightning Fast + Easy.

Note: If this is your first site, Bluehost will be your best bet because they offer a free domain and are the most affordable. However, if you willing to pay a little more per month for site speed + ease of set up, WPX is also great option.

That said, if you’re looking for a detailed write up about the best web hosting services for beginners, this review is worth spending a few minutes reading: Best Web Hosting Plans

Once you’ve chosen your hosting. Just follow the website’s directions. They all have easy to follow guides to help you, as well as chat bots to walk you through every step the process.

As soon as your site is live, go to your dashboard and write your first post in the field directly below the title. Consider explaining why you are starting your blog and what you plan to write about.

Go ahead and click the Publish button. This publishes your post for the whole world to see. Well done! You have just published your first post on your very own self-hosted WordPress blog. 

The world is now yours for the taking!

STEP 3: CHOOSE A THEME

The next step is to install a theme. There are literally thousands of free ones available, and you can find these in the Word Press back-end under Appearance.

You don’t have to purchase a premium theme to get started.  However, if you want to gain a specific look and feel to your site, and have more freedom customize the look and feel of your site, you have plenty of paid options to choose from:

ENVATO MARKET’S BEST SELLING WORDPRESS THEMES

You Inc.

The choice is yours….

STEP 4: SET UP GOOGLE ANALYTICS

This step doesn’t have to be done right away. However, if you want to eventually grow your site, you’ll need to measure your results.

The best way to measure the traffic that your site generates, is through Google Analytics. So, once you’ve taken care of your hosting, you picked out your theme, and spent some time customizing it, then you can get started with measuring your site’s performance.

Here’s a terrific resource that walks you through the set up process:

Video Credit: WPBeginner (Subscribe Here)

BONUS: Powerful FREE Plugins We Recommend

Plugins are the micro programs behind your site.  They add specific functionality to help you get your site to do what it is you want it to do.  All the programming has been done, you basically just add it (activate it), and then start using it.    There are literally hundreds of them to choose from.  To help you quicken your plugin search, we’ve included this list of the free plugins we use below.  They have worked terrifically for us, as such, we highly recommend them.  (just click on plugins, and there is a search box in the upper right corner.  Enter these names in that search box to learn more about them).

  • Advanced WP Columns

  • Disqus comment system

  • Foo gallery

  • Gumroad

  • Image widget

  • Mango buttons

  • Sumo me

  • Updraft plus – backup/restore

  • W3 total cache

  • Widget context

  • Yoast seo

MORE ABOUT WORDPRESS

If wordpress is completely new to you and you’d like more information to get you feeling comfortable with it…take a look at WP101.com.   It’s a tutorial site with tons of videos on just about every aspect of WordPress.

ACTION IS THE NAME OF THE GAME

Great job taking action and moving through the steps provided above. Nothing happens, unless we take action. So, big kudos to you!

Now that you’ve taken a giant step in creating something awesome for yourself and the world, just remember, action, persistence, and big dreaming will take you farther than you can imagine. We’ll see you at the top!

“Dream Big, Start Small, But Most of All, Start.”

– simon sinek –

PS: If you decided not to take action today, no worries. We still wish you all the best, Godspeed. That said, consider reading this if you haven’t already: The Virtual Millionaire.