Posts in category: Website Tips

If you are interested to find out how to start a blog with DreamHost. Then you have come to the right place.

It will be no surprise for me if you are interested in hosting your new blog website with DreamHost.

DreamHost is also one of the popular web hosting providers that has been around for a long time.

Currently DreamHost has 1.5 million websites under their banner and they claim to have one of the best uptime in the market.

The other interesting thing about DreamHost is that they are also officially recommended by WordPress.

DreamHost offers shared hosting, VPS hosting, Dedicated hosting, Cloud hosting, WordPress hosting and WooCommerce hosting.

In this particular guide, we will be using their cheapest shared hosting plan.

Here is your step-by-step guide on how to start a blog with DreamHost.

1. Purchase Shared Starter Plan

The very first step is to go to the DreamHost Shared Hosting page.

Once you opened the page, scroll down and choose between Annual Hosting and Monthly Hosting.

In my case, I chose Monthly Hosting.

If you want to pay less for each month, you might want to consider Annual Hosting.

The next step is to scroll down and choose which hosting plan you want to purchase.

In this article, we will purchase the Shared Starter hosting plan.

To initiate the purchase, click the Sign Up Now button under the Shared Starter hosting plan.

You will be redirected to a page where you will need to type in your Email Address and preferred Password.

After you filled up the input fields above you can click the Continue button.

2. Purchasing or Adding Existing Domain

In the next step, it will ask you if you want to purchase a new domain and type in a domain you already owned.

If you want to purchase a new domain.

Type your new domain in the input field. If it is available, you will see a Register Now button.

Click on the Register Now button to add it to your purchase.

In my case I already owned a domain from another registrar. After I typed in my already existing domain.

All I had to do is click the I Just Want Hosting button.

3. Billing

You will then be redirected to a page where it will asks you how you wanted to be billed.

In my case, I chose the Monthly option.

The monthly price is lower if you purchase the 1 Year plan or 3 Years plan so you might want to consider those.

After you choose your plan, you can now click the Continue button.

On the next page, you will be asked if you want to Install WordPress.

I checked the Get WordPress Free with Your Plan checkbox.

I keep the WordPress Migration Service unchecked.

After this, I clicked the Continue button.

4. Finishing Your Purchase

You will then be redirected to a page where you will need to fill-up your billing information.

In the the About You section, you will need to fill-up your Full Name and Billing Address.

After you filled-up your Full Name and Billing Address.

You will need to scroll down to the Your Credit Card section.

Click on the Add Credit Card button to unlock the input fields for the Credit Card details.

After you filled-up you Credit Card details. Click the Use Credit Card button to lock it in.

Finally scroll down until you see the Place Order Now button.

Click on the Place Order Now to finish your purchase.

You should see this loading button which means your order is being processed.

Just wait for it to finish processing.

As soon as the order finished processing.

You will be redirected to this page.

Click on the Continue to Your Web Panel button.

5. Logging Into The Control Panel

You will then be redirected to this page which is basically your Control Panel.

In this page you will be able to control your domain, hosting, databases, billing, mail, be able to purchase other services of DreamHost etc.

For now we will focus on getting WordPress installed into our hosting.

6. Installing WordPress

In most cases, you will not need to install WordPress anymore as we chose to install WordPress automatically when we purchased our hosting plan.

But in case you didn’t choose to install it automatically.

Here is the step-by-step on how to install WordPress in DreamHost.

The first step is to click the Install WordPress link.

You will then be redirected to a page where you can choose different applications that you can install in your hosting.

In our case, we just want to install WordPress so just click on the WordPress link.

A popup box will then show which will allow you to choose the domain where you want to install WordPress.

Click the Install To dropdown and choose the domain name you want to install WordPress to.

In my case, I chose my www.gtgmyreviews.com domain.

After this, I clicked the Install For Me Now! button.

You will then be redirected to this page which says that your WordPress installation will be done within 10 minutes.

As soon as the WordPress installation is finished.

You will receive an email containing the information about your WordPress installation.

Go to your email and look for the email similar to the image shown below.

As soon as you received this email, take note of your Username which is either your Email Address or the text inside the close and open parentheses.

After you take note of your Username, click on the Link To Set Your Password link.

You will then be redirected to this page where you can input your preferred Password.

After entering your preferred password, click the Reset Password button.

You will then be redirected to this page confirming that your password has been reset.

It also has a link to the WordPress login page.

Click on the Log-in link if you want to go and log-in to your WordPress dashboard.

It will redirect you to your WordPress log-in page.

Use the Username you take note of earlier and use the Password you just setup in the previous step.

If you logged-in successfully you should be redirected to your WordPress dashboard page.

That is it, you can now start adding new posts on the Posts section.

Or you can start redesigning your website by installing a new theme through the Appearance > Themes section.

Or maybe you want to start installing new plugins through Plugins > Add New section.

7. Visiting Your Blog Website

You can also now visit the frontend of your WordPress.

You can do this by visiting the new domain name that you purchased with your hosting.

It should look like this with the default theme.

However, if you did not purchase a new domain with your hosting from DreamHost.

Then you will need to do the steps below in order to point your existing domain to your DreamHost hosting.

8. Pointing Domain to DreamHost

The very first step in order to point your domain to DreamHost is to find out your DreamHost nameservers.

You can find these by going to the emails sent to you by DreamHost.

The specific email you need to find has a subject named DreamHost Account Approval Notification!

The section in this email you need to find looks like the image shown below.

In the image above, you can see the nameserver sections.

My nameservers are as follows:

• ns1.dreamhost.com
• ns2.dreamhost.com
• ns3.dreamhost.com

9. Updating Namerservers In Your Domain Registrar

The next step I needed to do is log-in to my domain registrar.

In my case my domain registrar is GoDaddy. But the steps should be pretty much the same in other domain registrars.

Once I am logged-in to My Account section in GoDaddy.

I immediately got access to my domain name. On the right side of it I just needed to click the DNS button to get access to my nameservers.

I am then redirected to this page where I can now change my nameservers.

All I had to do is click the Change button under the Nameservers section.

It then gave me a dropdown option to Choose Your New Nameserver Type.

I chose Custom and it then gave me input fields where I can type-in my new nameservers.

I just typed the DreamHost nameservers then clicked the Save button

That is it! It then redirected me to this page which now shows the new nameservers.

I just needed to wait a few hours for the DNS to fully propagate.

Once the DNS propagation is done. I am now finally able to access my DreamHost hosting through my domain name.

Conclusion

You cannot really go wrong with DreamHost if you want to host your new blog website with them.

Even WordPress highly recommends DreamHost as a web hosting.

The other great thing about DreamHost is they allow monthly subscription unlike its competitors who requires you to pay a year in advance.

This allows new bloggers in a budget to start their new blogs with just a couple of bucks in their pocket.

Once you start redesigning your WordPress installation, you might want to look at my list of best WordPress themes for 2018.

If you are interested to find out how to start a blog with HostGator.

You have come to the right place.

In this article, I will show you the step-by-step guide on how to start a blog with HostGator.

HostGator is a very popular web hosting provider that has been around for quiet some time already.

What makes HostGator appeal with its customers is that they offer a monthly subscription to their hosting packages.

This means that you can start with really low budget. Unlike some of its competitions which will force you to pay 12 months upfront.

Aside from regular Shared Hosting. HostGator also offers Cloud Hosting, dedicated WordPress Hosting, VPS and Dedicated Server.

In this particular guide, we will be using a regular Shared Hosting package.

Here is your step-by-step guide on how to start a blog with HostGator.

1. Purchase Hosting Plan

The first step is to go to the Web Hosting page of HostGator and purchase the Hatchling Plan.

To initiate this click the Buy Now button under the Hatchling Plan.

You will be redirected to a page with multiple steps you need to fill-up.

The first step is to purchase a New Domain or add Your Own Domain.

If you want to purchase a new domain. Type your new domain on the Register a New Domain tab input field.

In my case, I already have a domain I purchased from a different registrar so I clicked the I Already Own This Domain tab.

I the input field, I just typed the domain name I already owned. It is automatically added as my Primary Domain.

The next step is to Choose a Hosting Plan.

We already decided that we will be using the Hatchling Plan so make sure that in Package Type, it shows Hatchling.

In the Billing Cycle I chose 1 month so I will be paying monthly.

Next is type in your preffered Username and Security PIN.

The next step is to Enter Your Billing Info.

You will need to fill-up all the required fields here and your Credit Cart or Paypal details.

Whichever payment method your prefer.

After you filled-up your billing information.

Scroll down to the Add Additional Services section.

In this section, you will have a choice if you want to add services like SiteLock Monitoring, Professional Email, Site Backup and HostGator SEO Tools.

In my case, I unchecked all of them as I will be using free plugins to do these services for me.

2. Adding Coupon

I always encourage my readers to search for a coupon code first before purchasing anything from web hosting providers.

This will allow you to save a lot of money in some cases. Or even get your first 2 to 3 months for free.

In this particular article I am able to get a coupon code which allows me to pay only $0.01 for my first month.

To use a coupon code, just type your coupon code on the Coupon Code input field and click Validate.

If your coupon code is valid, you will see a green check icon on the right side of the Validate button after you click it.

You should also see your Amount Due gets updated after your coupon code is applied.

3. Finishing You Purchase

All you have to do now is scroll down and check the agreement checkbox.

Then you can now click the Checkout Now button to finish your purchase.

If your purchase is successful, you will be redirected to this page.

On the bottom of this page, you will see a loading bar so just wait for it finish processing.

4. Fill Up The Survey Popups

After the previous page finished loading.

You will be redirected to a page with popups asking questions about you.

The first popup will ask you about your experience in creating a website.

I choose Done it Before and clicked the Continue button.

The next popup will ask you if you freelance or belong to an agency.

I chose I develop sites for clients then clicked the Continue button.

The third popup will ask you what platform you will use to build your website.

I chose WordPress then clicked the Continue button.

The last popup will ask you about the purpose of your website.

I chose Personal interest with no income expected then clicked the Continue button.

That is it for the survey questions.

After clicking the last continue button you will be redirected to this page which says your order is now completed.

You can now close this browser tab as we don’t need to stay in this customer portal page.

5. Logging Into the Control Panel

The next step is to open your email that you use when filling up your billing information.

In your email inbox, find the the HostGator email which contains Your Account Info.

In this email you will see your Control Panel link, Username and Password.

Click on Control Panel link to open your control panel login page.

In the login page, use the Username and Password shown on the HostGator email.

6. Installing WordPress

Now that you are inside the control panel.

You can now find and click the Build a New WordPress Site link.

You will then be redirected to a page that shows the Select Domain For Installation dropdown.

Select the respective domain you want to use.

In my case I chose my gtgmyreviews.com domain.

After you chose your domain, click the Next button on the right side.

You will then be redirected on the next step.

On this step you need to fill-up the Blog Title, Admin User, First Name, Last Name and Admin Email input fields.

After you filled-up the input fields above, check the Automatically Create Database and Terms of Service Agreement checkboxes.

Finally, you can now click the Install button.

You will then be redirected to a page which says WordPress Is Installing.

After it finished the installation, you be redirected to a page which says Installation Complete.

Right under it on the right side, it will show you the Domain where WordPress is installed along with your Username and Password.

Make sure to take note of your WordPress Username and Password as this will only be shown to you once.

If you use a domain that you bought with HostGator then you can skip the next step.

However, if you are like me who bought the domain from another domain registrar then you will need to do this next step.

7. Pointing You Own Domain To HostGator – Optional

If you bought your domain from another domain registrar then you will need to point your domain to HostGator.

To do this you will need to take note of the HostGator nameservers.

You can get this by logging into your HostGator control panel and looking at the right sidebar.

Alternatively, these nameservers are also in the HostGator email containing Your Account Info.

In my case the nameservers are:

• ns8437.hostgator.com
• ns8438.hostgator.com

The next step is I needed to log-in to my domain registrar and edit my DNS nameservers.

In my domain registrar, which is GoDaddy, there is a DNS button on the right side of my domain name when I open My Account section.

After I clicked the DNS button, I am then redirected to a page where it shows my Nameservers.

I needed to click the Change button to initiate changing my nameservers.

It then shows me a Choose Your New Nameserver Type dropdown.

I chose Custom, and then it shows me two input fields where I entered the HostGator nameservers.

After that, all I have to do is click the Save button.

The page will then refresh and it showed me this notification which confirms that my nameserver update has been successful.

All I have to do now is wait a couple of hours for the DNS propagation to fully finish.

8. Finishing The WordPress Installation

After you installed WordPress in the HostGator control panel.

The first time you visit your domain where you installed WordPress. It will look like something in the image below.

To remove this, you will need to click the Admin Login button and you will redirected to the WordPress login page.

Login using the Username and Password given to you on the last page of the WordPress Installation step.

Once you are logged-in you will see a notification that says Your site is currently displaying a Coming Soon page.

On the right end of it, it says Click Here. Click on it to remove the Coming Soon page.

The page will then reload and you will be shown a notification saying Congratulations. Your site is now live.

That is it, you can now visit your domain and it will show you a WordPress website with the default theme.

You can start customizing your website by installing a theme that you prefer or installing plugins that you want to use.

You can even start posting new articles in the Posts section.

Conclusion

That is your step-by-step guide on how to start a blog with HostGator.

I got a really good deal on my first month by only paying $0.01 on my first month.

So I highly suggests looking for coupons first before purchasing.

HostGator is also one of the most popular web hosting that has been around for a long time already so you cannot really go wrong with them.

If you are a starter blogger on a budget and can only afford paying through monthly basis then HostGator is a good choice.

After you installed WordPress, you might want to checkout my recommended security plugins and recommended essential plugins.