My courses / WordPress for Beginners: The Complete Course / Choosing a Domain Name and Web Hosting

Choosing a Domain Name and Web Hosting

When starting a WordPress website, two of the first and most important steps are choosing a domain name and selecting a reliable web hosting provider.

🧠 What Is a Domain Name?

A domain name is your website’s address on the internet—what people type into their browser to find your site.
Example: www.yoursite.com

Tips for choosing a good domain name:

  • ✅ Keep it short and memorable
  • ✅ Use keywords related to your niche
  • ✅ Avoid numbers and hyphens
  • ✅ Stick with popular extensions like .com, .org, or .net
  • ✅ Check if the name is available on social media platforms too

🌐 What Is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is the service that stores your website files and makes them accessible online.
Think of it as renting space on the internet for your site to live.

Popular types of hosting:

  • Shared Hosting – Affordable and beginner-friendly (e.g., Bluehost, SiteGround)
  • VPS Hosting – More power and flexibility
  • Managed WordPress Hosting – Optimized for WordPress performance (e.g., WP Engine, Kinsta)

🛒 Getting Started

Most hosting companies offer both domain registration and hosting, so you can do it all in one place.

Recommended for beginners:

  • Bluehost – Officially recommended by WordPress.org
  • SiteGround – Great support and performance
  • Hostinger – Budget-friendly and easy to use

✅ Summary – What You’ll Need:

  • A domain name (like myawesomeblog.com)
  • A web hosting provider to store your site
  • A WordPress installation, which most hosts offer with 1-click setup