Set Up a Website With Hosting and a Domain Name

Getting A Hosting Account

In order to have an online presence that does not rely solely on social media sites or shared blogging platforms (such as blogger.com or wordpress.org) you will need to have what is called a hosting account and a domain name.

Hosting your website simply means storing it online so others can visit it. A domain name is the name that your visitors can use to find you.  Google.com is an example of a domain name.

I recommend you choose from one of the better-known hosting companies such as BlueHost, or HostGator.  I have used several different hosting companies over the years and have had varying experiences.

I had about half of my sites hosted with a company run by a young man who provided great service at a great price.  Then he suddenly died – I am not kidding – and poof! there was nothing there anymore.   Another company was able to take over his business but the service was just not very good so I left them.

I currently use HostGator for my hosting company.  I have heard some people complain about them but I have never had an issue with them in over 10 years and I have found their service to be prompt and efficient.  Look around and read reviews to find one that works for you.

These hosting companies will provide you with space on a server, which will remain connected to the web at all times.   Some of these companies can also provide a domain name, which is the URL people will search in order to find your site through their browser, but I don’t recommend doing that.

There is a lot to consider in terms of the hosting package you go with. You need to think about things like bandwidth, memory, and customer service for instance.

Arguably more important than which hosting company is making sure that the URL you want is available, and making sure that you choose a good one to help your site become a success.

Choosing the domain name for your site is one of the first decisions you will make regarding your website – and it is one of the most important.

Catchy Domains

Just as there are many hosting companies available, there are many domain registrars out there too.  There are two that I use, GoDaddy and NameCheap.  I have used GoDaddy for at least 10 years with no issues and NameCheap for about 8 years, again with no issues.

So how do you go about choosing the best domain for your site?

Well, there are a few important things that you need to consider. For instance, it is important to ensure that your domain is catchy and memorable.

This will greatly help when it comes to marketing and advertising and it will also help with repeat visitors. If you have a URL that is long and hard to remember then people will still find your site through Google, but they will be less likely to see an advert and check your page when they get home, and they will be less likely to remember that they found your site useful and so to come back another day.

Personal Domains

Next, you need to think about how the domain suits your purposes. This is of course a personal decision and what works for one person isn’t going to be ideal for someone else. The domain you choose needs to be relevant to your business or to the topic of your site. Large companies will often go for brand names which we will discuss in more detail in a moment.

Websites on a certain topic, or smaller businesses, will sometimes choose ‘exact’ domain names which are the same as the keywords they are targeting (e.g. ‘buy-flowers-in-delaware.com’). While this can sometimes help you do well on Google (despite what Google says), a proper brand name will help you to be taken more seriously and really catch the eyes of your visitors.

If you want your website to be a kind of e-zine or reference, then you will probably call it something that is relevant to your topic but at the same time catchy and memorable – just like the titles of print magazines.