Is starting your own website getting messy? I like to save the mess for my calligraphy and the unavoidable ink spills that seem to occur in my life. Let me tell you a little about my recommended process for starting your own blog and website.
I personally did my website as a self-hosted WordPress webpage and use Bluehost as my hosting website. If you’re interested in hosting your own website, I have a link that you can use here. I do earn commission if you purchase your plan through this link but nothing changes for you. See full disclosure below. However, all opinions are my own and I only recommend what I truly believe in here on my blog (y’all know the drill).
I can tell you that the journey to having your own website can be a stressful one if you’re unfamiliar with the process. I know that when I started, I felt so overwhelmed and reached out to a few bloggers I knew to be able to hear their experience with different companies because it’s always better to hear from somebody you trust. Enter Bluehost and self-hosted WordPress. The end product is AMAZING. I can look at my website and truly be proud of it. Not to mention, the few times I have had to call Bluehost’s customer service- they were WONDERFUL to deal with and extremely helpful. I cannot recommend them enough. Oh and by the way, it’s 24/7 customer service. For me that meant that when I’m up later and working on my website that I’m still able to reach their customer support. I also really want to mention that they are based in Utah but they have become one of the largest and most respected hosting providers in the world. How awesome is that for you to get to be helped from folks right here in the United States?!
Let me get technical real quick and let’s talk about what you get when you use Bluehost. You get your domain name, you get to create an e-mail(s) for your domain, you get UNMETERED BANDWIDTH. Yes, you read that right. “But wait, what does that mean?” it means that you don’t have to worry about your site crashing with heavy traffic. That is crucial. And of course, like I’ve mentioned before, you get their awesome customer service that is here for you 24/7.
As for a self-hosted WordPress site, it gives you so much freedom! There are tons of websites out there that sell WordPress theme’s and then you can have a backbone to go off of and personalize it from there. But there are free one’s as well that WordPress offers, and websites across the internet offer as well. It’s all about what you are looking for. There are so many options and it allows you to truly customize things your way. I got to personalize all of my pages to be exactly what I like but I had the backside of things done, which was extremely helpful. Not to mention, the theme I purchased also came with customer service so I had another place to ask questions. Bluehost is actually one of WordPress’ top recommended hosting sites and has been for years now. That was something that made me feel really comfortable knowing that the two were going to work together well.
Plus, the Instagram community can really help! You never know who may already have the answer to your question so you can hear about somebody’s personal experience.
Honorable mention goes to Google. You can type in any question and chances are 100+ other people have asked the same question and after some digging you can find the answer.
The final thing was that I could have my own e-commerce platform. I don’t have to go through a third-party because I get to list right on my website. I personally use WooCommerce and can’t say enough good things about them either.
Thanks to Bluehost and my self-hosted WordPress site, I got to turn my hobby into a side hustle. I made myself a platform to be able to connect with all of you and do what I love: inspire you and be inspired by you.
The moral of the story is when you build your website in this kind of way, it is yours and only yours. You own the site itself and all of the data on it, which is such a fulfilling feeling and puts you in control of your own website. I will warn you that in the beginning the learning curve can be frustrating and sometimes it is going to take you setting aside time to research how to do it. However, like I’ve mentioned previously, after all of the “hard” work is done, you get to look at your website and what you’ve created and be really proud of it. It also only gets easier! Once all of that initial work is done, it is much easier to update your blog posts or list new products because the structure is there until you decide you’d like to change it (like if you were re-branding, for example).
I have found this to be such a rewarding experience and I learned so much in the process. If you’re interested in a self-hosted WordPress website or just purchasing a Domain through Bluehost, I’d love for you to use my affiliate link here. As I said before, if you use my link, I do earn a bit of commission and you can see below for full disclosure. It is so awesome though that Bluehost has their affiliate program because it means that I get to brag about them (which I have done anyway) and now they get to see that my followers trust my opinion. I get to earn a little bit extra so that I am able to take more time to write blogs like this! Lastly, YOU get to look at your website and be proud and know that you’re with a company that you can trust. Everybody wins.
Did you like this blog? Do you want to hear more about starting a website? I definitely want to make a few more posts after I hear from y’all so I can answer your questions fully. Ask me any questions below or via DM on Instagram and I’ll help any way that I can!
**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.**
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