How to Host a Website in 6 Easy Steps
(Guide for Beginners)
Every business needs a website that describes who they are and what they offer. Of course, websites differ depending on the type of business you run. While you may be excited to start designing and developing your website, there are a few things you must do first.
Before you can publish a website, you must have hosting. Unfortunately, hosting a website might sound difficult if you don’t know how or if you’ve never heard of it before. However, you must find website hosting before publishing your website, so doing research now can save you time later.
Without hosting, you can’t have a website or post any page online. You can host a website in a few different ways, including self-hosting or finding a website hosting provider to take care of it for you. There are many types of hosting providers, and finding the right one for you will take time, especially if the process of hosting a website is new to you.
Luckily, once you understand the different types of hosting available and find the right provider, you can easily access website hosting and start building your website.
In this beginner’s guide, we will show you the exact steps to host a website without learning any technical skills.
We will also explain how it all works behind the scenes. This will help you gain a basic understanding of different ways to host a website. Ready? Let’s get started.
What Does it Mean to Host a Website?
Hosting a website means putting your website files on a special computer called a server. This computer makes your website files publicly accessible on the internet, so anyone can visit it.
For other people around the world to see the website, these special computers have a particular set of software installed. This software is called a web server.
A web server’s basic job is to receive incoming requests and respond by sending the requested page to the user’s browser. Now, all of this may sound like a bunch of technical jargon, and it is. However, you don’t need to learn how to do all these things in order to host your website. Luckily, thousands of companies offer this as a service (at a small cost).
Website hosting allows your website to go live online, making it accessible to the public. You can create a website for your business, but it can’t go live until you secure hosting. Ultimately, you can’t have a published website without it. When you host your website, you use space on a server to store all of the content, files, and data. Servers are computers that store and send data to website users.
Website hosting providers give you space on their servers, making the process easier if you don’t want to use your own server or don’t know how. The easiest way to make your website and its content live online is to use a hosting provider to ensure it is secure and handle any problems that arise. For example, website hosting providers offer maintenance, software updates, and security.
You also have the option of self-hosting, which is the best way to host your own website. However, self-hosting requires you to set up your own server and network. While there’s more control with self-hosting, it’s not the right option for all businesses, especially if you don’t have access to someone with technical skills who can manage the server.
Website hosting is a necessary part of the website development process. When a user types your website domain name in their address bar, the website host connects them to the server and displays your content. Your website content can’t be displayed without the server and the host, so finding hosting should be a top priority.
All websites on the internet use a web hosting company to host their websites. Even tech giants like Netflix (hosted on Amazon) and PayPal (hosted by Google Cloud hosting) use third-party service providers for their hosting.
There are only a handful of companies like Google, Microsoft, and Amazon that completely host all their services on their own platforms.
They can do this because they have the technical and financial resources to take on such a huge task. All other businesses (including us) use a web hosting company to host their website.
What Do You Need to Host a Website?
You will need the following two things to host a website:
- Web hosting service provider
- Domain name
Web hosting service providers offer you ready-to-use web servers to host your website. They take care of all the technical stuff and provide website owners with easy-to-use tools to manage their hosting.
Now, how do users reach your self-hosted website? This is where domain names come in.
A domain name is the address of your website that people type in the browser to visit your website. For example, pesaplanet.com will bring you to this website. Basically, a domain name is a human-friendly way to connect users’ browsers to the website server associated with that domain name.
You can purchase a domain name from one of these top domain registrars. These are companies licensed to sell domain name registrations.
6 steps to hosting a website
To make a website, you must be able to host it and connect your visitors to a server where your content is stored and delivered. Luckily, anyone with any skill set can host a website, and you don’t need to be a development expert to do it.
Step #1: Decide on Your Website Type
The first step of building a website is to decide whether you need a static or dynamic one. A static website delivers the same content to all visitors. On the other hand, a dynamic site adapts its content based on several factors, like geographical location and user behavior.
A static website is great for building a personal blog, an online resume, an event website, or a portfolio website. As this type of website requires fewer server resources, website owners can start from a more basic web hosting plan and scale as the website grows.
Meanwhile, a dynamic website suits eCommerce shops, membership websites, streaming services, and web apps. As this website needs more flexibility and extensive features, you will need a hosting plan with more server resources.
Once you’ve determined the type of website to build, it’s easier to estimate the resources it needs to perform optimally. From there, you can narrow down the web hosting services that meet your requirements.
Step #2: Choose a Hosting Provider
As your chosen hosting provider plays a crucial role in your website’s performance, carefully considering your options is essential.
Keep in mind that higher prices don’t mean better quality. To get the perfect web hosting service for your project, read in-depth comparisons of different web hosting providers.
Such articles discuss a web host’s technology, hosting features, and plans. They may also suggest what kind of project a specific web hosting plan is best for. Moreover, you can get real user insights into the web host’s pros and cons.
With this in mind, we have written articles on why Hostinger is a great alternative to Bluehost and other renowned hosting providers today.
When choosing a hosting provider, consider how user-friendly their site-creation tools are. Look for a hosting company that offers easy integration with popular content management systems (CMS) like Hostinger’s Joomla or WordPress hosting. Make sure that the provider has an easy website builder if you are going to create your own website.
Step #3: Select a Web Hosting Plan
After choosing a hosting provider, you can pick your plan by choosing the hosting plan you researched in step 1. Most hosting providers have a page on their website that describes and compares the different hosting plan options.
Choosing a web hosting plan is an essential step when planning out website development, as each hosting type offers different resources. Storage space, memory, and CPUs are a few factors you should consider when picking a hosting service.
The longer you plan to use the website host, the more cost-effective your plan will be. Most providers allow you to pay at least once per year, but you can purchase the plan for more than that if you’re ready to commit. You may also purchase add-ons that come with the service, including security features like SSL certificates.
Step #4: Enter your Domain
Some hosting providers offer you the chance to create and purchase a new domain. However, you may already have a domain ready for use, so you just have to enter it when setting up your hosting account.
A domain name is the address visitors type into their browsers to access a site.
It typically comprises a second-level domain (SLD) and a top-level domain (TLD). In WordPress.org, for example, WordPress is the second-level domain or the website’s name. In contrast, .org is the top-level domain or the domain extension.
Website owners cannot change their domain names after registration. Therefore, it’s important to decide carefully.
Before finalizing your choice, check your desired domain name’s availability using an online domain name search. If someone else has claimed your chosen domain name, pick one of the domain checker’s alternatives or switch to another domain extension.
Step #5: Add to Cart and Checkout
Next, it’s time to buy the domain name and the hosting service. Even though getting a domain name and hosting separately is possible, the easiest way is to register through a web hosting provider that also acts as a domain name registrar.
Hostinger is an accredited domain name registrar that offers useful features like a free domain privacy protection service. On top of that, most of our web hosting plans come with a free domain name upon purchase.
You can also use our domain transfer service to migrate your domain name registration to Hostinger. However, note that this method will require you to pay a domain transfer fee.
Step #6: Create or Upload Your Website
The final step is to go live. For an easier process, consider using a CMS or a website builder.
The good news is that many web hosting companies, including Hostinger, offer a one-click installer for the most popular CMSs. As a result, you won’t have to worry about installing WordPress on your hosting account.
Some providers also have their own website builders. At Hostinger, the website builder package comes with hosting services, making it very convenient to build a website.
Once you install your preferred platform, you can start building your site. This process may include choosing a website theme, installing supporting plugins, and creating the website content.
If you already have one, you can upload the website to the web server. To help with the process, you can use handy tools like an FTP client, automatic website importer, migration plugins, and the file manager on the hosting control panel.
Once the upload is done, check if your domain name directs you to your website. Note that DNS changes can take up to 48 hours to propagate worldwide. Utilize a global DNS propagation checker to track the process.