Starting a website Part 2, select domain name, other minor tasks

By this point you are likely very serious about starting a website.

For those of you just joining, you may want to read Starting a website Part 1, Get a web host.

If you have been following along, you've already secured your hosting and are ready for the next step.

Select a domain name. That means your website will be www.yourselectedname.com.

You can choose a .net or .biz, however, if the name you want is available, I'd recommend you choose .com. 

Spend some time thinking about what name you want and make it relevant to the topics of your blog.

If your blog is going to be about ice cream, for example, then you want to incorporate the words ice cream in your domain name. Perhaps bobbysicecream.com or besticecreamnewyork.com or some variation.

Don't make it too complicated. Simple and catchy is best.

To register your domain name on Dreamhost, you will need to sign into your account.

Once signed in, simply click the tab on the left that says, Manage Account.

Scroll down to the section titled, Domains Registered.

Since you are just starting out, it will be empty so simply click on Register New Domain.

There will be an area on top for you to enter the name of your choice and to check availability of the selected name.

You will be walked through a straight-forward process of entering you information and when you are done, you will receive a message that the transaction is completed.

You will also see a message letting you know that it will take a few hours for the domain to be registered.

In the meantime, since you have some time, check out the WordPress themes from the official theme repository.

They are completely free, as is everything other than the hosting, and you will need your selected theme for the next step.

Spend a little time looking around at the themes.

You can preview each theme to get an idea of how it looks.

Your goal should be to find something that you think will work for you so you do not have to spend countless hours on customizing.

I'd also recommend that you use the WordPress filter to search for themes.

Useful options to consider include custom backgrounds since just changing the background color can really give your site personality.

Do you want a right sidebar, a left one, or none at all?

Find a few that you like - perhaps 2 or maybe 3 and download them to your computer.

Do not unzip them.

So far you have obtained hosting, registered a domain and have selected a theme.

The next article, Part 3 in the series of Starting a website, will walk you through installing WordPress, adding a user to your account and  installing your theme.

Related articles

• Be A winner and choose the Best Domain Name

Starting a website Part 1, Get a web host

Over the past two years, I have spent a lot of time researching how to create a quality website or blog and, let me tell you, there are what seems to be thousands of tutorials out there, but none really provided me with the detailed yet easy-to-understand information I wanted or the step-by-step directions that I needed.

Fortunately, I had the time to research and I also found enormous support on a number of forums where I could ask all the questions I wanted.

If you have read any of my previous posts, you will know that I wanted to create a web presence and I wanted to do it professionally and not just throw something together.

Money was a big consideration too. I had been un-expectantly laid-off from my job and from there things went downhill including accumulating enormous medical expenses so my goal was to develop my site and, as thing improved, I could then consider investing money to improve my site.

If you've been searching for help, you have probably found that many other sites will focus on the mindset one should have and the topics you might want to cover before starting your website and, although I might cover some of these topics at a later times, I would think that you already have that part down so this series of articles is focused on the more technical side of things - in easy-to-understand language and with easy-to-follow instructions.

Sign up for web hosting

You need a web host.  This platform that I am writing on is blogger and, much as I am a HUGE Google fan, this site did not even get off the ground for years because, for me, as someone starting out, I found the wordpress platform much easier.

Also, way back when blogger wasn't even owned by Google and it was difficult for me to get started,

I could have signed up for a free wordpress account at wordpress.com and many people do, but I didn't go that route because I knew I was serious about starting and maintaining a website.

I wanted my own name such as www.yourname.com rather than www.yourname.wordpress or blogspot.com. 

Now there are plenty of people who have signed up for free hosting and a free site somewhere and then, as their site became popular, they moved it somewhere else but I could not be bothered with that. 

I did not want to be bothered with that.

That would just be a big extra step with yet another learning curve and extra work and, like I said, my goal was to do it right the first time.

I researched a number of hosts. I am very computer proficient but have never administered my own site so, in addition to being not too expensive, the main qualities I wanted in a host was the ability to:

• set up my website easily
• have access to 24/7 assistance
• provide room to grow

As I started searching for web hosts I was overwhelmed by all the offerings and after much research, I decided on Dreamhost and I have never looked back.

I've been with them for over two years and now operate a number of websites on both shared hosting and private hosting.  

For now, if you are just starting out, shared hosting on Dreamhost  is the way to go, and, it's the most economical.

So that's obviously who I recommend.

You can check out their offerings at Dreamhost and if you use the promo code CWBLOGSPOT1, you will receive a discount off their already low prices and have the ability to interact with me by leaving comments and I will try to help you too.

So, the first step is to secure web hosting.

At this point, if you are not experienced, I would not recommend installing anything or securing a domain name, just lock in your web hosting.

The next installment will cover selecting your domain name and setting up the mechanics of your website.