If you are starting a brand new website or blog, Bluehost is definitely my number one recommendation. It offers a great website package with a free domain, free SSL, good hosting, and more for only a few bucks a month for your first year.
Bluehost is even partnered with the most popular website builder called WordPress, which powers more than one-third of the World Wide Web! So rest assured that, if you choose Bluehost, they will hook your site up directly with WordPress for great, user-friendly website building, as part of their package.
Now you’re in this article because you want to know how to create your new blog using Bluehost. That’s what I’ll be going over in this tutorial. I will show you how easy it is to find a domain and then purchase your site through it, how you can get started using it, and all the benefits it offers that you may not be aware of.
So, with that being said, let’s start with this Bluehost tutorial.
How Do I Get Started?
1. Go to the Bluehost website
Every website needs two things: a domain name and hosting, and Bluehost makes sure that both of those needs are met in a really straightforward manner.
First, head over to the Bluehost website (link opens in a new tab).
You will see the lowest available price for your new blog listed on the screen. At the time of writing, it is $3.95 per month for your first year. This comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you change your mind about starting your blog, there is really no risk!
This offer pays for your hosting and gives you a free domain name for your first year as well as a free SSL certificate, automatic WordPress install, and customer support.
This is really a great offer to get started with your blog. Now, when you’re ready to move on, click the green Get Started button.
2. Choose Your Plan
You will then be presented with Bluehost’s list of website plans. Each of these has its own introductory offer compared to its normal price. However, all of these plans include a free domain for your first year and a free SSL certificate.
Here’s a rundown of each of Bluehost’s plans:
- The Basic plan is perfect for beginners and solo bloggers. You can only run one blog, have a domain name, and 50 GB of content and media in your blog with this plan.
- The Plus plan is good if you would like to run multiple blogs or establish a team of bloggers as your online business. This plan gives you an unlimited number of blogs, domains, and storage space.
- The Choice Plus plan is just like the Plus plan, but with backup and website security enhancements included.
- The Pro plan gives your blog its own IP address and dedicated server, making it lightning-speed and more reliable.
If you are a complete beginner or you’re planning to run your blog yourself, I recommend sticking with the Basic plan. But, if you would like to run multiple blogs or take your blog to a more professional level, then feel free to pick one of the higher plans. Take your time and choose the plan that best suits your needs.
Click Select on the plan that you would like to choose.
These are all of Bluehost’s shared hosting plans. If you want, you can check out Bluehost’s other hosting plans such as WooCommerce hosting, professional WordPress server hosting, virtual private server hosting, and dedicated hosting.
3. Pick a Domain Name
Now you’ll be asked if you already have a domain name or if you need to create a new one. Chances are you don’t have a domain name, so you should pick one.
When you pick your domain name, make sure it aligns with your blog identity. You can use your own name, use the topics you’ll be talking about, or a comination of both when picking your domain name.
An easy way to choose your domain name is by using Bluehost’s domain checker below. Feel free to keep trying until you find an available domain name.
Although I recommend a .com domain name, any extension will work. Just keep in mind that people tend to remember .com and .org better than other extensions.
If your domain name is available, you get to move on to purchasing your new blog. However, if it is not available, try to think of more domain name ideas. It might help if you make your domain name choice very unique, one that most people would not normally think of. So be a little creative.
Need help thinking of a domain name? Sites like DomainWheel can give you ideas.
Once you have an available domain name, it’s time to move on with the purchasing.
4. Purchase Your New Blog
Account Information
On this page, under Account Information, simply fill in your personal information which will be used to create your Bluehost account where you’ll be able to manage your blog as well as all your billing information.
Package Information
Then scroll down to Package Information. Here, you need to keep in mind that you get the lowest price per month if you choose to pay for 36 months (3 years). If you would rather pay upfront for a single year, it will cost you a few bucks more per month.
So pick the way you want to pay for your new blog using the dropdown. Your total cost for your blog is shown underneath the dropdown under “Hosting Price.”
Again, your domain name and SSL certificate are free.
Package Extras
In this section, you can pay extra for added bonuses to your new blog. Let’s go over each of the choices you have.
- Domain Privacy + Protection: Recommended. This protects any sensitive information that comes with your domain name in order to protect your blog’s identity. $12 per year.
- Codeguard Basic: This is a backup service that will save a copy of your blog every day. That way, if something goes wrong with your blog, you can easily restore it back to normal. $36 per year.
- Bluehost SEO Tools: This will give you access to Bluehost’s SEO checker which can analyze your blog to ensure it is optimized for the search engines. I have more information on SEO here. However, I have used it before and I am not impressed with the features there, so I wouldn’t recommend you to add it. $24 per year.
- Microsoft 365 Email: This new add-on allows you to access your blog’s email address using Microsoft 365. It comes with a 30-day free trial and you can choose to pay for it after the trial.
- SiteLock Security: This feature analyzes your blog for security flaws and provides enhanced security to further prevent your blog from getting compromised. $36 per year.
Simply check the box for whatever add-on you would like to include with your blog. Keep in mind that you will be paying for a year instead of by the month.
If you ever want any of these add-ons after you purchase your blog, you can buy them later using the Bluehost Marketplace.
Complete the Purchase
And the rest is straightforward. Just include your payment information in order to finalize the purchase. You may use a card or your PayPal account. (Click “More payment options” to use PayPal) Finally, make sure you consent to Bluehost’s TOS, Cancellation Policy, and Privacy Policy by checking the box.
Last but not least, click Submit and the blog is all yours! You will receive emails telling you how to set up WordPress on your blog and what your next steps are.
What Happened to My Domain and SSL?
So you’ve just purchased your blog but you go there only to find that it’s not protected. That is, your domain starts with HTTP instead of https, and you don’t see a padlock icon on your browser. What’s going on?
Not only that, you may also notice your blog redirects to a temporary domain. The reason for this is that Bluehost hasn’t gotten around to adding your site to their DNS servers. This is what connects your domain to the Bluehost hosting! Now it could take hours or even a whole day before your blog gets added to their servers.
Once your blog gets added to the servers, you should eventually see https on your domain as well as that padlock icon you wanted to see on your browser. So as you can see, there’s nothing you really need to do to get that free SSL. It just takes a little bit of time for your blog to get completely set up, so it’s not a problem!
My Bluehost Account
Now that you have a hosting account with Bluehost, you can always log on to it by going to the Bluehost website, clicking on Login at the top right corner, and then entering your email and password.
After you log in to your hosting account on Bluehost, you’ll see a screen similar to the one shown above. Bluehost makes it convenient for you to access all the features and settings of your new site. Let me go over each of these for you.
- My Sites: You can see the sites you own and manage the settings for them in this section. Learn about these settings here.
- Marketplace: You can purchase plugins, themes, and other add-ons to your blog, including the add-ons you may have skipped during the purchase process.
- Email & Office: You can check your email accounts and manage them here. If you have Office 365 on your site as well, you can access it here.
- Domains: You can find all your domain names listed here, as well as information about your domain privacy and protection and when your domain name will need to be renewed.
- Advanced: This section contains your blog’s cPanel (control panel), file directory, databases, and other sensitive site data. Settings in here could mess up your blog if you’re not careful.
If you need further information on your Bluehost account settings, you can visit the Bluehost knowledge base and find support information there.
Other Bluehost Features
Bluehost offers a variety of features to support you as the site owner. In addition to its site bonuses that offer protection, backup, and SEO for your site, Bluehost provides a few services to help you out, such as their affiliate program, their customer support, and a special feature called Blue Sky.
I’ve provided information about each of these Bluehost features below.
Bluehost Affiliate Program
If you’re looking to start affiliate marketing on your new website or blog, why not promote Bluehost as an affiliate? It’s completely free and easy to sign up for! The best part about Bluehost’s affiliate program is that they are generous.
They pay you $65 every time someone starts their site on Bluehost using your link. And, if you get enough affiliate sales for Bluehost, your earnings could grow to over $100 for every person that starts a website.
Simply sign up with all the necessary information and you will have a separate affiliate account which contains your Bluehost affiliate link. There’s no need to wait to be approved at all, you’re in!
All you have left to do is learn affiliate marketing and, within a few months, you can make some pretty good money just using the Bluehost Affiliate Program.
Blueprint
Bluehost actually offers free e-books that can help you improve your blogging experience. Whether you want to learn WordPress, become a better blogger, or get more advanced knowledge, you can get valuable information for free in Bluehost’s Blueprint section.
With these e-books, it’s easy to take your experience with Bluehost and your new blog to the next level! And, again, these e-books are completely free!
Blue Sky Program
Now, this program is one of the things that makes Bluehost stand out from its competitors. This program is for those who are struggling or find it difficult to make a good looking website or blog for themselves.
As you work on your new website, a WordPress expert will help guide you on the right track and evaluate your progress on the site. That way, if there is something you missed, you will be informed about it, and if you have any questions as you build up your site, you have an expert by your side that you can consult any time.
The Blue Sky program makes it easy for starters and newbies especially to get a grasp of site building as well as for anyone wanting to have their site looking at its best both quickly and easily.
Bluehost Customer Support
If you experience difficulties building up your site, whether it is through Bluehost or WordPress, Bluehost offers multiple ways to help you out. First, they have a knowledge base with articles that you can look through in hopes of finding the solution to whatever problem you might encounter.
If you don’t see your problem listed or would just like to hear from a human being, Bluehost has 24/7 customer service. You can chat with them about your problem or you can contact their phone number listed on their Contact Us page.
So just know you have ways to reach out if you need any assistance with your blog.
Conclusion
Hopefully, you can see why Bluehost is one of the best companies to start building a brand new website or blog with, and why the WordPress team supports it.
Its reasonable plans are unbeatable and its amazing features help its users stay on the right track when it comes to setting themselves up on the Internet. Overall, Bluehost is really supportive of its customers and maintains a strong commitment to ensuring customer satisfaction is guaranteed.
I hope this article encouraged you in any way to give Bluehost a try and showed you how simple and convenient it is to create your blog with Bluehost. All this just goes to show why I highly recommend it for people looking to start a blog or website.
So, if you’re one of them, feel free to check out Bluehost for yourself! We hope that your experience with Bluehost will be well worth it. But, if not, they promise a 30-day money back guarantee, so you have nothing to lose!