The following video is a walk-through of my purchase of www.prosgosolo.com; my video editing skills are lacking, however, there are some great pointers of what you need to consider when buying the name for your website.
Below you’ll find the step-by-step guide.
Quick Note:
- If you have already purchased a domain and hosting elsewhere and want to keep it on that service, not a problem. I enjoy working with namecheap.com, but it is not the only way to get what you need.
- If you have already purchased a domain or hosting elsewhere and are fed up, let’s talk.
Step 1
Go to namecheap.com
*Namecheap is both a website register as well as a hosting company. To get started on your website you’ll need both. Other options include; godaddy.com, A2 Hosting, and Hostgator. Namecheap has consistently been my favorite to work with and your total cost will be less than $21 for the first year.
Step 2
Sign in or create an account
Step 3
Navigate back to the home screen and enter the website that you want to buy into the search bar.
Step 4
Select the URL or website name that you want. In the photo, my URL prosgosolo.com is taken (it was me). This might happen to you where you’ll need to brainstorm different options.
Quick note: .com is a brand name. I wish I had the .com version of highlyanticipated.net before I invested so much time into growing it. A word from a pro, buy the .com if it’s an option.
Step 5
Once your domain is added to the cart, select the big red button to the top right ‘view cart.’
Step 6
Scroll down past the review of your domain and Whois Gaurd to ‘Award Winning Hosting’ and add to cart.
Quick note:
Many clients believe that all a web designer needs to make a website is a domain (yoursite.com). While the domain is an important part, to create a website you will also need hosting. Hosting stores the files for other computers and phones to see the design and information of your website. So at a minimum, you need domain + hosting.
Step 7
Next up, you will need to add a PositiveSSL certificate to your cart.
Quick note:
Have you ever been to a website and your internet browser warned you the website you are trying to open is untrustworthy? Rude. That is because that website does not have an SSL certificate installed. In 2018, Google has made SSL certificates a big deal; so if you want a chance at being dicovered on Google, pop that certificate into your cart.
It is important to note that buying an SSL certificate does not automatically install it. I’ll be making a tutorial later on how that is done. Until the SSL certificate is installed, it’s worthless.
Step 8
Once you have hosting and an SSL certificate selected, you are ready to hit the big button on the right again. Select ‘Confirm Order’
Step 9
Because you have a hosting plan in your cart, you’ll be asked if you want your datacenter in the US or UK. This is where the files will be held so you want this closest to the people who you want to view your website. My web hosting is a US datacenter.
Step 10
Review your cart. You should have:
- domain (prosgosolo.com)
- hosting plan
- SSL certificate
I’ve never looked into Whois Guard, but it’s free for the first year, so, why not?
Complete your purchase.
Congrats! You are ready to have your website built.
Step 11
You will receive an email with your hosting account username and passwords. Hold on to this email. If we are working together, I’ll need access to the cPanel in order to build your website.