Setting up a Hosting account for your website

I have an affiliate account with HostGator and yes, I do earn a commissions if you sign up using my link and the cost is the same as if you were to go directly to HostGator for your account.  Though I would love you to sign up using my affiliate link, I’m completely happy with you choosing not to do so and you can go directly to hostgator.com.

Sign up for a HostGator Baby plan – this gives us all the flexibility we need.  Use this link for my affiliate account or you can use this link to go directly to HostGator

If you used my affiliate link, you’ll want to choose Web Hosting at the top left of the screen below.

If you used the direct HostGator link, you will already be on the shared hosting page.

Scroll down a little to see the three options below.

Choose the Baby Plan in the middle.  This is important!  Click the yellow Buy Now! button.

That will take you to the next screen where you can set up your domain name and add the rest of your details.

Click the I Already Own this Domain to type in the domain that will become the Primary domain for your account with HostGator.  Additional domains will become Add On domains, but for now, this will be the domain that identifies your account with HostGator.

You can see from the Billing Cycle dropdown that you can choose how often you would like to be billed.  Additional information for setting up the account is fairly intuitive.

While signing up, HostGator will invite you to sign up for these additional services:

I do NOT recommend signing up for any of these additional services. The one that’s really essential is the https (security) functionality FREE SSL, so leave that one checked.

Also don’t be tempted to sign up for the Professional email. We already have the ability to set up professional emails for you such as maryna@marynasmuts.com, without needing this $5 monthly service from Google Cloud.

I will be installing a backup plugin called BackupBuddy that includes a Malware scanner.  And if you would like to sign up for website monitoring and cleanup services if your site gets hacked, I recommend a service by Sucuri rather than the SiteLock service mentioned here.

Once you’ve signed up for your HostGator account, please forward the email from HostGator to maryna@marynasmuts.com. I’ll need the link and signup information there to configure your site and install WordPress and Thesis.