Trust me. I know that starting a website can feel like an overwhelming responsibility but you deserve a beautiful place on the Internet that your business, hobby, or blog will get to call home. Disclosure: Some of the links on this page are affiliate links. Purchasing through these links is at no extra cost to you but if you do purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission. You guys know the drill and you know I will only recommend what I love. You can read the full disclosure below.

I’ve loved Bluehost for months and recently, I became a Bluehost affiliate. If you haven’t seen my blog introducing Bluehost and telling you a little about my self-hosted WordPress site, you can read that here. In that blog post, I explain why I love Bluehost so much and why I recommend hosting your self-hosted WordPress site with them. If you’ve already seen that and you’re wanting to get started but you’re still feeling a bit overwhelmed, I’m here to break it down step-by-step so that you can turn your hobby into a side hustle today.

Step 1: Create a Bluehost account. 

For this step, it’s as easy as following this link and hitting that “get started now” button.

 

 

 

 

Step 2: Select the plan that works for you. 

Next, you’ll select the plan that works best with what you’re looking for. I currently have the basic plan, which for me was perfect in price and value for what I needed. However, in the photo above, you’ll be able to see the difference in the pricing of the plans and what comes with them.

 

 

 

Step 3: Choose your domain name. 

When choosing your domain name, you want it to be what describes you. This could be your business name, your Instagram handle, what you want your blog to be called… the list goes on. My personal recommendation is to go with “.com” for no reason other than personal preference but choose whatever you’d like!

 

 

Step 4: Fill out all of your information and create your password. 

 

Step 5: CONGRATULATIONS! 

Your account is officially set up. Log in and the fun really begins.

 

 

 

 

Step 6: Pick a theme (choose whatever you’d like because you can change this at any time). 

For your theme, you can pick anything that catches your eye or that you think would work best for you. You’ll probably go through quite a few in the lifetime of your website unless you just happen to find one you love off the bat. I started with a free theme and quickly realized I was better off purchasing one. Totally up to you!

 

 

 

Step 7: You’ll see this and you’ll click that pretty blue button!

You’ll see this screen and that means you’re ready to get to building your self-hosted WordPress website.

 

 

 

Step 8: Welcome to your WordPress dashboard.

This is where all the magic happens. This is a tab that is open at all times on my computer because it is truly the hub of your website. You’ve got a few options from here because you can hit either of those blue buttons depending on what you’re setting up your website for or just skip this step by clicking “I don’t need help.” On the left-hand side, you’ll everything you’ll need listed and they’re pretty self-explanatory. For example, posts is where you add blog posts and pages is where you’ll add new web pages. Appearance is where you’ll find quite a few things but most importantly, it is where you can go to change that theme we talked about earlier at any time. You’ll be spending most of your time here in this dashboard so take some time to click through everything and get familiar with things. The Plugins button is also one you’ll want to learn more about as it can help you achieve a lot of things on your website VERY easily. This page would be almost never ending if I started to list some of my favorites and explain them so I’ll make a note to write a blog post about that soon and once that is done, I’ll link it here. Until then, remember that Google is your friend and you can learn a lot from other bloggers and businesses who already have posts about their favorites up!

 

Step 9: Welcome to your Bluehost tools. 

If you take a look at the very first thing on the list, you’ll see Bluehost. This is where you’ll find your Bluehost tools. The most important thing from this page for this blog post is that pretty blue Launch button you see. Right now, your domain name is displaying a “Coming Soon” page. This lets you work on your website until you’re comfortable with your theme and you’ve added some content and you are ready to launch it for everybody to see.

 

Step 10: After probably quite some time learning the process, finding a theme and adding content to your website, you’ll be ready to hit that blue button. 

You’ll hit that Launch button and then you’ll fill out the information you see above. WOO! Congratulations on launching your very own website. As I mentioned in my original blog post, the process of creating your own website can be a frustrating one (specifically the time period between Step 9 and Step 10). Don’t feel discouraged. Take time to walk away from your computer and go back to it later. I did that a lot in the beginning. You’re going to have to take time to learn but like I always say, part of that is learning to love the process. Once I had a theme I loved and began to add content, it was smooth sailing from there. Remember your end goal and remember how much you wanted this website in the beginning! There are so many articles and how-to’s out there and a ton of Youtube videos if you’re more of a visual learner. It is so worth it for your business and your brand to be able to have a pretty place to call home on the Internet.

I’m already so proud of you for taking such a huge step (and reading such a long blog post). I can’t wait to see you guys turn your hobby into a side hustle. Until next time, stay bossy y’all.

 

**Bossy Brushstrokes, LLC is a site that receives compensation from affiliate programs. However, all opinions are my own and I only recommend what I truly believe in. Bossy Brushstrokes, LLC is independently owned and the opinions expressed here are my own.**