If you plan to have a number of blogs/websites, investing in a separate hosting package to host your domain can be cost-effective.
Hosting is where the files for your blog live.
All blogs/websites need hosting.
Hosting companies provide hosting for websites and blogs, i.e. they store the files for your blog on servers and they serve up those files when visitors search for them online.
Before you start, you’ll need to choose a blog/website hosting provider and buy a hosting plan. I use DreamHost.
A basic or shared hosting plan works well for most starter blogs and small business websites.
If your blog receives very high traffic in the future, you can upgrade to a VPS (Virtual Private Server) plan or, for more power, to a dedicated server plan.
This post will show you how to set up a basic, shared hosting plan.
Set up your shared hosting plan
Adding a domain (website address) to your hosting is known as fully hosting your domain.
Follow the steps below.
The screen grabs I’ve provided are from DreamHost.
1) Log into your hosting panel
Click on ‘Domains’ and then ‘Manage Domains’.
Click this button:
2) Type in the domain that you want to add hosting to
For example: betterbloggingforbusiness.com3) Choose how you want your URL to appear
I always keep the default option – ‘Add WWW’:
Choosing the ‘Add WWW’ option means that your blog/website URL will appear like this:
http://betterblogging.simply-write.co.uk
The URL (uniform resource locator) is the full, unique web address that identifies your blog/website.
4) Create a user name (or use an existing one, if you have set up hosting on this plan before).
The rest of the fields will be auto-populated and can be left as they are.
Tick the https box:
It will make your URL appear like this: https://www.betterbloggingforbusiness.com
Choosing https from day one will give your blog an SSL certificate.
The SSL certificate marks your blog/website as safe and secure and as having secure connections to servers (this is particularly important when transferring customer information such as payment or personal details).
Leave the other security options ticked (they are ticked as default):
Then click the ‘host your domain’ button!
You’ll receive an instant message confirming that your blog has been added to the hosting system.
What to do next
It may take a few hours for the domain to work.
Now is a good time to set up your custom email to match your domain (for that professional touch), via the on-screen link.
You’ll see your domain listed under ‘hosted domains’ onscreen with a tiny clock icon to the left of your newly-added domain.
The clock icon will disappear when your domain is fully hosted and ready for use.
Note: Make sure your domain is set up (using your hosting company’s nameservers), otherwise your domain won’t work.
