How to host your blog online with Bluehost

Now that we learned the basics of starting your own blog and how to publish a blog post on WordPress, now is the time to talk about Bluehost. Obviously, before you are ready to publish your first blog post, you need to set up your blog by choosing a hosting website. This is basically your blog’s house. Let’s see how to host your blog online with Bluehost.

For this blog, I used SiteGround because I’ve heard many good things about it. However, for my other blog about #Motherhood and #HowToAdult, A Grammar Nerd’s Life, I’ve been using Bluehost since I launched it and I really like it!.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I will receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you. For more information, please read the disclaimer.

First, visit Bluehost.com

The image below is the first thing you will see. Click on Get started. (Can we all agree that the look and feel of their main page is dope?)

Choose a package

You will land on this page. Choose the package that suits your needs. Bluehost recommends the option Choice Plus, which is most likely the best value, but you can choose different options and durations. Personally, I went with the basic option for 12 months since I was new to the blogging world. I will see where I am after those 12 months and if everything goes well, I will probably update my subscription.

Set up your domain

Once you choose your plan, you need to set up your domain. You have the option to check if your domain name is already taken or simply use a domain you own. If you are still unsure, you can skip this step and get back to it later.

Create your account

You will now get to create your account. Enter your information right there. FYI, it’s also available to Canadians 😉

Confirm your plan

Then, you get to confirm your plan (if you changed your mind, there’s a drop-down menu to change the duration). You also get to choose some extras if you want. To get started, I didn’t add any of these extras, but you can always add them later.

Payment information

And finally, enter your payment information, check the box to confirm you have read the legal policies, and click on Submit.

Bluehost dashboard

Once you are done (and your domain name is now set), you will be redirected to your dashboard. To access your WordPress dashboard, hit the WordPress button on the top right of your screen.

Bluehost in WordPress

On WordPress, Bluehost is accessible through your left side menu.

Dashboard in WordPress

From there, you have access to Content options, Design and Build…

Staging, Performance…

And hosting. I want to mention two things for this specific section.

Create your email address

First, click on Email to create your email address where your readers can reach you. For instance, I created 3 emails: my own email address for regular emails, my Translation email address for translation and review requests, and a Privacy email address for any privacy concerns (this is a legal requirement, I’ll get back to this in another post).

Secure your website

Second, click on Manage my sites.

You will get this menu. Click on Security.

Your website should be secured

This means that your URL should start with “https://”, and not “http://” I can’t remember exactly the steps to make your blog secured, so I will address this topic in another blog post.

There, your website is now hosted on a reliable web hosting service. Is this guide detailed enough? Do I need to explain more thoroughly any of the above? Please let me know! You can either email me or hit me up on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!