Make a Website or Blog in 5 Minutes

1. Go to Namecheap and see if your desired domain name is available.

2. This page will show you if your desired domain is available. I suggest only going with .com, .net or .org. If yours is available, click the check mark on the left and scroll down and click Add to Cart. Your cost will be $10.87 per year for each domain. Do not pay for hosting with Namecheap.

3. For your hosting, go to Hostgator and click on “View Web Hosting Plans”.

4. If you are sure you will only have a single domain, go with the Hatchling Plan. But for just $2 more per month you can host unlimited domains with the Baby Plan. So you might be better off going with the Baby Plan just in case, it is under $6 per month. Click Order Now.

5. Since you already have a domain, enter it in the box on the right. At the bottom, enter the code MISCCOUPON to get 25% off your entire order. You can use the code ONEPENNYHOSTINGPLAN to get your first month for $0.01, but long-term you are better off going with the 25% off. Click Continue to Step 2. At this point you will create a username, password and pay for your hosting.

6. At this point, you should receive a welcome email from Hostgator with your Nameservers in it. If you do not, you can just login to your Hostgator Control Panel and find them there.

To connect your Namecheap domain to your Hostgator hosting, simply login to Namecheap, click My Account, click on the domain, and go to Modify Domain. Add your Hostgator Nameservers here. Click Save Changes. This can take 24-48 hours sometimes.

5. Login to your Hostgator Control Panel, then go down to the bottom and find Fantastico De Luxe (blue smiley face). Click on that and find Wordpress in there. This will allow you to use Wordpress to build your site, which is very easy to learn. If you have a different program that you want to use, don't do this step.

6. When you have Wordpress installed you should be able to access it by going to Your Domain page, then adding /wp-admin to the end.www[dot]yourdomain[dot]com/wp-admin

7. At your Wordpress dashboard you can add new posts or pages. You can change your theme/template, menus or background by going to the Appearance tab. Also under Appearance is the Widgets option. By putting Text/HTML widgets in your sidebar, you can have ads on the side of your page.