In order to launch any website, the first thing you will want to do is to choose a web hosting company that will allow you to store your website or blog on their hosting site. Basically, these are the people who will give you the storage space for your blog, as well as much needed tools and most importantly, help. As a side note, I cannot begin to tell you the amount of time that I spent talking to people associated with the hosting company. Having had no previous experience first creating my blog, and then creating my website, I really relied on them to provide me with some direction as to where to start, what to install, what to avoid, etc. The hosting company will be your first, and hopefully your last, source for any questions that you might have along the way. Now you can sigh with relief because yes, you will be able to get some help even though you have nobody around you to help.
When you create a blog or website, you will do a lot of research.  And when I say a lot, I mean A LOT. One of the areas that I spent a considerable amount of time researching was which hosting company to choose. Just because you have heard of a specific company does not necessarily mean that they are the best. They might be, but I found out that you should go with whatever company offers you the most things that you want. For me, and not knowing the first thing about creating a website, I wanted a company that offered unparalleled customer service and support. After careful deliberation, I narrowed my choices down to Bluehost and Hostgator. I ultimately decided on Bluehost. Bluehost offers three plan options: 1) starter (mainly for bloggers), 2) plus, and 3) pro. If you are just starting out, I would highly recommend the starter package as that really offers you everything that you might need. The plans are fairly inexpensive too; starting from $3.95 per month and up. The best perk, at least for me, was the fact that Bluehost offers 24 hour support, 7 days a week with extremely qualified people. I can’t stress enough how much I needed it.
If you are like me, you will want a host of options to choose from. After researching, I can suggest the below mentioned companies as well if you would like to select someone else, or simply want to compare it to Bluehost. They are:
1. Â GoDaddy
2. Â DreamHost
3. Â Hostgator
4. Â FatCow
5. Â JustHost
6. Hub
7. Â SiteGround
8. HostMonster
Yes, there are a lot of them and yes, at first it all seems overwhelming, but just do your research and everything should work out in the end. Â I know that I made a good choice. If you decide to go with Bluehost, just go to their website here, and read over everything on the site just to familiarize yourself with things. Are you ready?
In order to sign up with the Bluehost web hosting company:
1. Â Click the Get Started Now window (the green block in the center of the page). Â This will take you to the Select Your Plan page.
2. Â Select your plan from the three options that were mentioned above and click Select.
3. Now we’re on Sign Up Now page where you will find two windows: 1) “New Domain” and 2) “I Have a Domain Name.”  I’m assuming this is your first blog or website and that you do not have a domain name yet. If that is the case, then select the first window which will help you get your free domain.
This is the step you will take when you have already decided on the name of your website. If you have not decided yet, then you cannot go further. So, if you need some more time to think about the name of your website, then you have to step back, think about it and come back later when you know what it is going to be. Remember, there are no second chances here so whatever you choose and register, that is going to stay forever.
4. If you have your website’s name ready then go ahead and type it in the “I Have a Domain Name” window and click Next. Now, you will notice that some of the domain names you want are already taken, or they are available but with endings like .net, .org, .info etc. You will see a page that says: “The domain xxx.com is not available for registration. Select one of the alternate suggestions below, or try your search using a different domain”.  A word of advice: the best ending for any domain name would be .com, but if you really want the name you chose and .com is already taken, then next best in order are .net, and then .org. If the one you wanted in .com is not available, then you will either have to select a new ending, or come up with a completely new domain name (usually adding a word or two to it should take care of this issue). Hopefully one of them will be available.
5. When you finally find an available domain name you like, you will see a page that states:
“Sign up – Congratulations! The domain you have requested xxx.com is available.”
6. After you have received the good news, next you will need to fill out the form with your personal information (name, address, etc), the plan you would like, and your billing information so that they can charge you for registering. Make sure to choose the plan you want under Account Plan. If you want to try things out with your website for a year and see how it goes, by all means choose the one year plan. But, if you see yourself having the website for longer than that, obviously you are going to save more money when you choose either the 24 month plan or 36 month plan. Click on More Information if you want to read about Domain Privacy Protection, Site Backup Pro, SiteLock Domain Security and Search Engine Jumpstart. To be honest with you, when I was signing up I unchecked them all because I did not know much about any of them and because I did not want to spend more money than absolutely necessary. Like with anything, there are always going to be extra options to choose and pay for. But, please, do not take what I did as the only way to do things. Just do your research and if something appeals to you, or you think it will be a good idea for your site or blog, than by all means select that option. Keep in mind though, there are many free plugins, for example, when it comes to backing up your website that you do not have to pay for.
7. When you are done filling out all of the information, click next. At this point, you are done. Congratulations! You have taken the first step. You purchased your hosting and you have your own domain name. You’re now ready to build your website!