is one of the most popular content management systems out there today. It’s not hard to see why, it’s extremely versatile and easy to use even for novice web masters. In response to it’s popularity some hosts have started tailoring their hosting plans to specifically cater to users, here are some of top ones and their current promotions.
Bluehost was one of the first companies to distinguish themselves as a hosting provider set up specifically for sites, and they are the top recommendation on the WordPress.org hosting page. They are also a favourite recommended host of Lifehacker.com. Their general shared hosting plan ($2.75 for the first month, $7.99/month after that) will work just fine for most people’s needs and includes a free domain name, but if you need extra bandwidth or help you can also get a managed VPS hosting plan for $24.99/month (promotional price of $12.49 on the first month).
DreamHost has a similar setup to BlueHost, they have both their standard shared hosting package which works fine for 99% of users, or you can upgrade to their DreamPress managed VPS hosting that is specifically tailored for users that need more speed and security or control over their server. Overall DreamHost is a bit cheaper than Bluehost and they have a 97 day money back guarantee.
GoDaddy is currently running the best promotion for shared hosting out there, they are pretty much giving it away at $1.00/month for the first year. You can sign up for up to 60 months at $3.99/month which is also an excellent deal. Their shared hosting works just fine for GoDaddy, and if you find yourself needing a higher performance hosting package down the road you can upgrade to more comprehensive shared hosting or a VPS package. They offer some excellent deals on domain name registration as well.
If you need some extra help getting up and running with there are tons and tons of great resources out there, one of the perks of using open source software!
How to install on Bluehost - Bluehost is our number one pick for inexpensive hosting, and their quick and easy automatic installation of was one of the reasons why. Our handy guide will make the simple process totally foolproof!
How to install on GoDaddy - GoDaddy will also install for you so you don’t have to bother with setting up a database or anything like that (it’s not that hard to to do, but can be a little overwhelming if you’ve never done it before and aren’t familiar with database management software like phpMyAdmin.)
How to install manually - If your host doesn’t provide a 1-click install option or you would just prefer to do it yourself (learn a new skill!) WordPress.org provides an easy to follow guide on their 5-minute installation. To randomly generate your secret key, visit this link.
Professional themes - Once you have your site installed you’ll want to add a theme that reflects your brand or personal style. The good news is that you do not have to be a graphic designer and you don’t have to know a lick of coding to be able to have a beautiful looking blog or website. ThemeForest offers tons of beautiful and professionally designed themes that are highly customizable.
Free themes - If you don’t want to buy a theme, there are still lots of high quality themes available for free through the Themes directory on WordPress.org. Some of the free themes will have a link back to the developers website in their footer link to offset the cost. You usually don’t get as many customizable options as you do with the paid themes, but you can’t argue with the price!
Online lessons - Treehouse is an online school that teaches people how to write HTML and CSS or program with languages like PHP (the language is written in) or Ruby. If you want to learn how to customize yourself or build your own themes you’ll need to know how to do all this. Highly recommended if you are wanting to become a freelance web developer or use professionally!
WordPress.org documentation - In the spirit of open source software, WordPress.org provides documentation on everything you need to know, from basic installation and setup, to creating your own custom themes (knowledge of HTML, CSS, and possibly a bit of PHP required). If you are a more advanced user and want to learn about the API and how to develop plugins you can also refer to the developer documentation.
Lynda.com tutorials - Similar to Treehouse, Lynda.com also offers tons of tutorials and videos on how to get the most out of whether you are a total beginner or a power user. Tutorials range from setting up to building your own theme to optimizing your site’s SEO. If you are unsure Lynda.com offers a free trial!
SEO by Yoast - With almost 12 million downloads this is one of the most popular plugins out there for WordPress. Yoast’s SEO plugin will help you to have your site rank highly in Google organic search results. Easy to install and use, the site will help you to optimize your content and automatically generate a sitemap. And the best part: It’s totally free! We use it on all of our sites and we love it!
WordCamp - If you want to meet up with and learn from other users you might consider attending a WordCamp, they are conferences about held all over the world. Since the first one in 2006, there have been 346 WordCamps in 172 cities and 48 countries around the world. If you check out their schedule page you can find out when the next one will be that is closest to you.
Wordcamp TV - Not actually able to attend a Wordcamp? No problem! All of them are recorded and made available online, since is all about open source after all. You also might get a little extra than if you had attended with some of the behind-the-scenes videos on WordCamp TV. Check out this video on how to create a great portfolio website by Mel Choyce from WordCamp Connecticut in June 2019:Since there are WordCamps held all over the world, some of the videos are available in languages other than English.
WordPress.tv - In addition to all the WordCamp videos, WordPress.tv has a great ‘how-to’ section with lots of interesting and unique tutorials that you can’t find anywhere else.
Hopefully these recommendations, coupons, and tutorials for have armed you with what you need to set up your very own site now. Have fun, and remember that if you run into a problem, Google it! It’s highly unlikely that you are the first person to ever run into this issue!
Ecoerth Coupon Codes and Hosting Discounts for your Website Hosting Needs.
