Start Now – Step 1: Get a Host

You can shop around for a host that will suit your need and budget. However, we recommend choosing the host that is close to your target market geographically.

Who should I host with?

We use GoDaddy for North and South America. For across the Atlantic Ocean in the UK and Europe, we use 1&1 hosting.

You will find that GoDaddy and 1&1 serve both sides of the Atlantic so it all depends on where you register the site.

If you are in North or South America and you sign up wit GoDaddy (godaddy.com) your site will be hosted on a server based in America.

On the other hand if you are in the UK or Europe, signing up with 1&1 (1and1.co.uk) your website will be based in Europe.

Choosing the right host provider goes a long way to ensure peace of mind.

Personally, we have a very good experience with GoDaddy and 1&1 both of whom we trust. GoDaddy and 1&1 offer round the clock support and were able to resolve all our issues promptly either via email or over the phone. We used them for Server Hosting, SSL Certificates and Domain Names registration.

North and South America

• 50% off Annual Hosting Plan when you host with GoDaddy

UK and Europe

• 1 and 1 Internet

Which hosting plan should I go for?

In choosing the right hosting plan, choose the best that your budget will allow but as a minimum, your hosting plan needs to support the following:

• Apache web server
• PHP script
• MySQL database

Typically, you will be offered a client console to manage your hosting plan (sometimes known as cPanel, Parallels Plesk Panel or simply Control Panel). This allows you to purchase and add domain names and setup your first website quickly and easily.

We recommend that you sign up to a suitably large hosting plan, again budget permitting, that allows room for growth. You will find that as traffic to your site increases and/or if you are running a hosted application (membership site, video sharing, eCommerce or learning environment), a robust and well specified plan ensures good visitor experience.

As a general rule, go with the hosting plan that offers guaranteed memory allocation. Random Access Memory or RAM for short is the memory that the host server uses to push your website over the Internet.

Unless you choose a Server package (Dedicated Server, Dynamic Cloud Server, Virtual Private Server or Managed Server), your website will be hosted on a shared server together with other websites.

Having guaranteed RAM ensures that should your website or other users website sharing the same server receive increased demands or number of visitors, you have guaranteed performance and availability.

Other features worth considering are Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Geo Redundancy both use a network of server in multiple data centres to boost the performance and remote backup respectively. If you wish to scale up to an advanced hosting plan, we recommend a Virtual Private Server or a Managed Server.

How do I set up my first site?

Most hosting plan also comes with single click app installation from the Control Panel for a wide range of open source applications. You website will be up and running in no time.

We recommend using the single click and build installer to help you setup WordPress, the world’s most popular website creator.

WordPress is an open source blogging tool and content management system based on PHP and MySQL. What you need to know is that it is the most widely supported platform by developers and designers.

You can choose from a big list of free or paid plugins as well as themes. Both plugins and themes are installable modules that you can select from within the WordPress’s dashboard to add features and enhancements to your site.

If you need help creating custom features and design, there are plenty of freelance developers and designers whom are well verse with WordPress, the possibilities are endless.

If you have chosen to host with 1&1 Internet, we have prepared step-by-step tutorials on how to install your first WordPress site.

Stay tuned for our next article on installing and configuring your WordPress site.

Affiliate Disclaimer: Please note that we make a small commission from the company when you sign up through the links above. You will of course enjoy any discounts and offers currently available from the hosting companies and won’t be paying any more than you would by going directly to them.