How To Host a Website: From Choosing Your Platform to Registering Your Domain

A website is the centerpiece of an ecommerce business, and web hosting is the key to making that website accessible to customers.

However, if you’ve never had a website before, hosting can seem daunting. In this article, we’ll walk you through the steps involved in hosting a website, whether you’re using a website builder or WordPress.

1. Consider your website platform

The first task in hosting a website is to decide which web hosting platform you want to use. Essentially, there are two choices: WordPress or an all-in-one website builder.

WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that’s highly flexible and can be used to build websites for nearly any purpose. However, it usually involves more hands-on work, and you’ll need to find hosting and any other tools you need separately. Most web hosts support WordPress, so that shouldn’t be a problem, but it does add to the complexity.

The other option is an all-in-one platform like Squarespace, Wix, or Shopify. These include all the features you need to get your store running online: web hosting, a website builder, templates to help you create your site, SEO tools, and more. They tend to be more straightforward to use than WordPress, particularly if you’re building your own site. However, they can lack WordPress’s flexibility, which is basically a blank canvas.

What’s the difference between a website builder and a CMS?

A website builder is exactly what it sounds like — a tool to help you build your ecommerce website. Typically, these are designed as drag-and-drop editors that aim to make website building accessible to non-technical people. They’re often focused on the layout of elements on a page.

A content management system (CMS), on the other hand, is a system designed to create, categorize, and manage content, such as blog posts, website pages, or image galleries. The focus is more on the content of the page than on the layout. WordPress, by default, places a lot of emphasis on blog posts — for example, the home page is set to a listing of blog posts out of the box.

A CMS can be used to build a full website (as with WordPress), but this usually requires either a lot of manual fiddling or the installation of plugins to add a website builder on top of the CMS. All-in-one website builder platforms, such as Squarespace or Shopify, typically include a content management system as part of their suite of tools.

2. Select a web host

If you decide to go with an all-in-one provider, your web hosting will be taken care of. If you opt for WordPress, you’ll need to choose a secure web hosting service. This is basically the company that provides the server on which your website resides. Think companies like GoDaddy or Hostinger.

There are a ton of web hosting companies on the market, so choosing can feel overwhelming. Here are some key criteria to consider:

• Uptime: Uptime refers to the percentage of time a web service is online and functioning properly. For an ecommerce website, look for a host that advertises 99.9% uptime.
• Storage: The amount of storage offered on your hosting plan is crucial — you need enough to ensure you can continue building and growing the site.
• Bandwidth: This refers to the amount of data that can be transmitted per website on a hosting plan. Ensure your host provides sufficient bandwidth to accommodate website traffic as your business expands.
• Security: Security is crucial for any website, but especially for an online business that will be responsible for customers’ personal information.
• Support: Strong customer support ensures you can get help with any issues as they arise, minimizing downtime.
• Performance: Look for a website that offers fast page load times. This is vital for a good customer experience.

3. Get a domain name

Your next step is to register your domain name. This is the name of your website — the part of the web address that comes after the “www.” Domain names are available from various sources, known as registrars. Often, hosting companies are also domain registrars, but you aren’t required to purchase a domain from your hosting company.

Domains aren’t free. Sometimes hosting companies will offer a discounted or free domain name when you sign up for a hosting plan, but generally, you’ll need to pay. Pricing is based on several factors, including the top-level domain (e.g., .com, .net, .org), the length of registration, and the demand for the domain.

Registering your domain through your hosting company is convenient and often cheaper, as mentioned. However, you can end up locked in with that provider, and transferring the domain can be a pain.

You can also opt to go with a third-party registrar. This gives you more control, as you can switch hosting providers without worrying about your domain registration. It can also provide enhanced security, compared with having everything with one company. However, you’ll need to connect your domain with your hosting provider, which may require more technical know-how.

4. Connect your domain

To get your website online, you’ll need to connect your domain to your web host. In some cases, like if you purchase your domain through your host, the connection may be handled automatically. In most cases, though, you’ll need to do this yourself. Fortunately, once you know what you’re doing, it’s pretty simple. Basically, you need to update your domain’s nameservers to point to the hosting provider.

Here are the steps:

1. First, head to your secure hosting provider account and locate the nameservers. Make a note of them. You can usually find this information in your account details, although the exact location may vary depending on the provider. You can also reach out to support to request them or run a quick Google search with “[Your Hosting Provider’s] nameservers.”
2. When you find them, copy and paste them into a secure location that is easily accessible.
3. Head to the account settings for your domain registrar — the place where you purchased and registered your domain name.
4. Head to the domain’s DNS settings page and locate the nameservers.
5. Now update the nameservers at your domain registrar to match those of your hosting provider.

It can take some time for the change to take effect, sometimes up to 72 hours.

5. Use a WordPress integration or migrate your website

The final step in setting up your website hosting is to install WordPress on the site. Most web hosts that support WordPress offer a one-click installation feature, which automatically installs the WordPress platform on your site. Typically, these installers are found in your host account settings.

If you already have a WordPress site that you want to migrate to your new host, the best way to do that is with a plugin that automates the process. It can be done manually by downloading the old site, importing databases, and uploading site files, but it requires some technical know-how and can be overly complicated for some users.

A WordPress plugin like Duplicator or WP Migrate can automate the process. You can head to your old WordPress site, install the plugin, and follow the directions provided.

FAQs

Bottom line

Hosting a website seems complicated, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re using WordPress or one of the best website builders to create your site, the steps are simple: Choose a platform and hosting company, get a domain name, connect it to your host, and install WordPress. Once that’s done, you can build your site and start growing your small business.