In this article, we will show you how to easily set up a WordPress personal website that can make money for you. Operating a personal website may be mostly for your own enjoyment, but if it can also generate additional passive revenue, it is worthwhile. Allow your monthly pocket money to grow, and you’ll have the best of all worlds!
From the perspective of an online marketer, you’ll discover how to choose the best web hosting service in this WordPress personal website setup lesson. Sophia will then go over some of the most popular themes and plug-ins for making money online. Of course, our primary goal is to create a profitable WordPress website.
Are you still using a free blogging platform?
Many people use free blogging platforms like Blogger, Medium and others to host their blogs. This type of blogging software is not only simple to use, but it is also completely free. Bloggers should solely focus on writing things to distribute rather than worrying about technological issues.
Although there are numerous benefits to using a free blogging site, there is no such thing as a free lunch. It also comes with a slew of vexing flaws:
- You can only get a subdomain, not your own domain name.
- It is difficult to migrate a website.
- The blog’s functionality is very limited, and changing the theme and expanding the plug-in is difficult.
- There are official adverts that have an impact on visitors’ reading experiences.
On the other hand, renting a host to put up a website might provide a number of advantages:
- A private domain and email address give the site a more professional appearance.
- You have complete control over your blog, so you don’t have to be concerned about your account being terminated.
- You have complete control over the blog layout.
- There are no limitations on the functionality.
- You have the ability to create your own brand.
- You can monetize your blog and earn money from it.
Is your website not generating any income? Why not try setting up a WordPress personal website instead?
Why should you use WordPress to create your website?
WordPress is currently used to create about a third of the world’s websites. Everyone can see how popular it is. WordPress is an extremely capable content management system (CMS, Content Management System). It has the ability to create a great website in a short amount of time. It is frequently the software of choice for creating a blog site because to its simplicity and convenience of use.
When it comes to creating a website, some people may consider using a platform other than WordPress, such as Wix or Weebly. The reason for this is that free versions of these web development platforms come with a lot of limitations, and good functionality are only available in paid versions. The majority of its clients are corporate websites or online stores. In general, it’s not a good idea to use it in a personal blog like the one mentioned above.
Using WordPress to create a website, on the other hand, can provide the following advantages:
- WordPress is a website builder that is available for free. It is free to use on any website.
- It’s simple and straightforward to use, and even those with little prior website builder experience can quickly create a stunning blog.
- WordPress software is currently used to create around 30% of the world’s websites. Not only are there a lot of individuals utilizing it, but it also has a lot of technological resources.
- There are numerous topics from which to choose. It makes it simple for folks who aren’t familiar with art design to create a professional and attractive website.
- The site’s functionality can be expanded in a variety of ways. There are over 10,000 plug-ins available for installation and use.
- You can quickly turn your blog into a full-featured online store using the WooCommerce shopping cart system.
- It’s simple to modify your website with open source software, and the development costs are frequently lower than with traditional website building software.
- The software is very stable, and it can easily handle websites with a lot of daily visitors. It is highly ideal for a small personal blog or a major commercial website.
How much does it cost to create a personal WordPress website?
Because WordPress is an open source free program, the only costs associated with creating a website are the domain name and web hosting.
When many people hear this, they may quickly think of tens of thousands of dollars in annual expenditures, which is a significant burden. This issue may have been true a few years ago, but due to intense competition among hosting companies, the costs have become significantly more inexpensive.
Yes, you can get your website and hosting for under $36 per year if you use a service like Bluehost, which provides a free name for a year. In addition, many hosting companies provide large discounts to new customers. You can acquire a 3-year hosting package for the first time, which can save you a lot of money on hosting fees.
What is the best way to set up a WordPress website?
The process of creating a website can be broken down into three main steps:
Step 1: Choose A Domain Name
The first step in setting up a website is choosing a domain name. So it is important to choose one that will be easy to remember and also available. There are many things to consider when choosing a domain name for your personal website. You’ll need to choose a domain name that is relevant to your business. For example, if you plan to focus on promoting hosting, then a domain name like “webearnphia.com” would be appropriate.
Choosing an excellent blog domain name is difficult; it’s similar to naming your company; if you want to change the name later, you’ll have to spend a lot of effort rebranding the image, which will have an impact on the website’s original traffic and client base.
1. Use .com as often as feasible as a domain suffix
Many new domain extensions have emerged in recent years, including .tk .ml .ga .cf and .xyz. People may feel stylish and popular, but they do not give them a sense of trust .com to high. Which domain name do you believe is more valuable and authoritative for us to use, Webearnphia.com or Webearnphia.xyz?
As a result, if you want your website to succeed, it’s ideal to use a domain suffix that ends in .com as frequently as feasible. It’s acceptable to be a little flexible if you’re selling to a very narrow geographic audience, such as .uk and .us.
2. Pick a memorable name that will make it easier to develop a brand
Exact Match Domain (EMD) was popular a few years ago since it was effective at enhancing website rankings in Google. However, the outcomes are no longer as effective as they once were. Building blog brands has become the current trend.
For example, if you want to start a hosting blog, one domain to use is HostingReviews.com, while the other is SophiaTalk.com. The former is an EMD (exact match domain), whereas SophiaTalk.com can be used as a trademark. The former is an EMD (exact match domain), whereas SophiaTalk.com can be used as a trademark.
3. The website’s name should be simple and easy to remember.
In general, a domain name should be no more than 12 characters. For example, VeryGoodHostingReviews.com is incredibly long and easy to misspell. The number of visits to the site will decrease as a result.
4. In the domain, do not include the hyphen ” – ” or any numerals.
When typing on a cell phone, hyphens and digits are not only cumbersome, but they can create errors. As a result, avoid registering a domain name like this: Web-earnphia.com, Webearnphia123.com.
Register your own domain
Finding a domain that hasn’t been registered by someone else is difficult. The most reliable technique to find out if a domain name has been registered is to create a few ideas and then use a domain lookup site like GoDaddy to see if it has already been taken.
You can also use domainwheel.com, which is a free domain generator. Simply enter your keywords, and it will provide you with a list of unregistered domains from which to choose.
After you’ve decided on a domain name for your website, you may purchase it directly from a domain registrar. In most cases, the cost is based on an annual charge.
In most cases, you can purchase your domain and hosting separately. The key benefit is that the cost may be lower. The disadvantage is that you will have to re-do your domain’s DNS pointing configuration (but it is pretty easy). If you don’t want to deal with the bother, you may simply buy from the same hosting company.
NameCheap and NameSilo are the two registrars that Sophia uses the most. Some web hosting companies include free domains in their annual plans (e.g. Bluehost and GoDaddy). This might also help you save money when it comes to creating your own website. Another benefit is that the domain name and web host are the same, therefore DNS pointing is not required. Another option for purchasing a domain name is to use NameCheap’s domain name auction marketplace.
Step 2: Buy a hosting
Types of Hosting
Although there are not many types of hosts, there are many different price plans from providers according to different service levels. Therefore, it often makes novices hesitant to choose which one is better than the other.
Web hosting can be classified into the following categories:
Shared Hosting – This is the most affordable and widely used web hosting solution. Simply put, multiple websites are hosted on the same computer server. Its downside is that if there are more users, there are fewer resources available. As a result, the website’s overall efficiency is bad.
WordPress hosting – Not only has the hardware been optimized for WordPress, but the entire hosting solution has been created specifically for WordPress. In most cases, it will also give automatic software updates and backups. If you run into any issues, it’s also simple to discover WordPress customer service that knows what they’re doing. This form of web hosting is also highly suitable for renting.
Virtual Private Server Hosting (VPS Hosting) – Despite the fact that it is a shared computer, each user is assigned a fixed resource. The site will not be interrupted by other users on the same server.
Cloud Hosting – Cloud hosting is similar to VPS hosting in that it makes use of several cloud servers to provide online services in a shared resource way. The benefit of cloud hosting is that the hardware specs can be changed easily and rapidly, and the overall cost performance is better than VPS dedicated web hosting. As a result, it has progressively become the favored hosting upgrade choice.
Dedicated Servers – The most expensive choice is this one. You’ve decided to purchase the full computer server. On the host, you are the sole user. At the same time, because no other users are interfering, your website can get the most out of your computer resources. Your site’s speed, functionality, and security can all be considerably enhanced.
Sofia has tried practically every type of web hosting and has used over 15 different web providers. In truth, a low-cost shared hosting plan is an acceptable choice for the average traffic of a new blog. When the number of visitors to the site grows in the future, it’s not too late to consider upgrading.
Recommendations for Web Hosting
Sophia recommends that you select one of the four trustworthy international businesses listed below: Bluehost, HostGator, A2 Hosting and Godaddy. The advantage of going with these high-profile multinational companies is that they are financially strong, have a lot of resources, and are generally more advantageous than other generic suppliers in terms of physical equipment, technology development, and customer support. And the costs are frequently very reasonable.
| BlueHost | HostGator | A2 Hosting | GoDaddy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year in Business | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 1997 |
| Monthly Fee | $2.95/mo | $2.75/mo | $2.99/mo | $5.99/mo |
| Hard Disk Space | 50GB | Unlimited | 100GB | 10GB |
| Monthly Traffic Limit | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| SSD | YES | No | YES | YES |
| Free Domains | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Free SSL Certificate | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| WordPress official recommendations | Yes | No | No | No |
| Guaranteed Refund Period | 30 days | 45 days | Refundable at any time | 30 days |
In terms of price and service offers, as seen in the table above, there isn’t much of a difference between these four companies. Although some of them have traffic and hard drive storage space limitations, these limitations are usually adequate for new personal websites.
It’s worth noting that only GoDaddy’s basic plan does not presently include a free SSL certificate among the four hosts. SSL is a secure method of encrypting data; once installed, the domain will begin with https:// rather than the original http://.
Because Google cares a lot about whether or not your website has an SSL security certificate. If you don’t have it, it will not only harm your site’s search engine rating, but it will also display a warning notice in Chrome, discouraging visitors from visiting your site. As a result, Fujian advises that you get an SSL certificate when renting a web hosting service.
When it comes to SSDs, some people may emphasize the importance of using SSDs for virtual servers because they provide significantly better performance than regular hard drives. This is the only way to get your website to load quickly.
Of course, switching to SSDs for your website’s hard drives is the current trend, but SSDs are still significantly more expensive than standard HDDs.
If you’re using a low-cost basic shared hosting plan. Because of economic considerations, the vendor may be able to fit more users on the same server with SSDs, but the site will not be faster in the end. Because of the relationship between the number of individuals, the computer’s resources will be diluted.
Then, we’ll introduce these four colocation providers, all of whom have been in business for more than ten years:
1. BlueHost
This top-rated colocation provider is not only cost-effective, but also features a very user-friendly back-end interface.
Endurance International Group, the parent business of Bluehost and HostGator, which will be discussed later, owns and operates both companies (EIG). It currently hosts almost 2 million websites. It’s one of WordPress’s official recommended partners.
Pros
- With one-click WordPress installation, the interface is simple and user-friendly.
- Customer service should be available around the clock.
- Domain that is complimentary
- SSL security certificate for free
- WordPress software updates and upgrades are carried out automatically.
Cons
- When WordPress is installed, there are a few extra promotional adverts (such as MOJO Themes)
- The cost of transferring a website is exorbitant.
- There is a hard disk space limit of 50GB.
2. HostGator
It is Bluehost’s sister company. It just has a significantly larger user base, with almost 8 million people.
Pros
- Hosting is one of the most affordable options available.
- There are no restrictions on hard disk space or bandwidth.
- WordPress relocation service is provided for free.
- A 45-day money-back guarantee is now available.
- There are around 500 tutorial videos available online.
- It comes with a Google keyword ad deal.
Cons
When installing WordPress, there are obnoxious sales advertising, much like with Bluehost.
3. A2 Hosting
A2 Hosting was established in 2001 and has been in operation for more than two decades. It is well-known for its lightning-fast hosting.
Another outstanding feature of his service is that there is no grace period for purchasing it, which means you can request a refund at any moment. This is perhaps the finest guarantee of their hosting service’s quality.
Another advantage of A2 Hosting is that consumers can choose the location of their web host at their leisure. Websites for Asian customers can be hosted in their Singapore server room in addition to Europe and the United States. This improves the speed of the system.
A2 Hosting additionally kindly includes a Website Staging option on the backend, which allows you to test modifications to the twin sites such as theme changes or plugin installations. You can then replace the site with the official one if you’re happy.
Pros
- For new members, there is a very low charge.
- There is no grace period; you may seek a refund at any time.
- Uptime is greater than the industry average.
- The official Turbo plug-in is offered, as well as a fast web page display.
- Customer service is outstanding.
- Location of hosting is completely up to you.
- Web testing environment (Website Staging) features are included in the cheapest hosting package.
- SSL security certificate for free
Cons
- When the hosting plan is up for renewal, the price is very high.
4. Godaddy
GoDaddy is one of the world’s oldest companies, having been active for almost 20 years. GoDaddy is the world’s largest domain registrar and one of the most prominent colocation service providers.
GoDaddy currently has over 70 million websites registered. About 17 million people use GoDaddy’s colocation services. He employs approximately 6,000 people worldwide.
Pros
- There are more than 20 WordPress tutorial videos available.
- Free domain
- For one year, you can use Microsoft Office 365 business email for free.
- Backups are taken on a daily basis, and the website may be restored with a single click.
- Updates to software and security are performed automatically.
- 24/7 network monitoring
- Thousands more high-resolution pictures are available for free.
Cons
- Customer service wait times are very long, and customer satisfaction is low.
- The use of less free plugins is prohibited by the WordPress plug-blacklist. in’s
- There is a hard disk space limit (30GB)
- There isn’t a free SSL certificate available.
The four providers listed above each have their own set of benefits and drawbacks, with Godaddy being the largest in the field and providing reliable hosting services.
Bluehost and HostGator are owned by the same company, there isn’t much of a difference between them. Only HostGator is less expensive, and there are no storage or bandwidth limits, so it is ideal for usage with WordPress blogs.
A2 hosting, on the other hand, is the newest entrant, focusing on website speed and efficiency. It makes use of SSDs, which are speedier than traditional hard drives like HHDs. In addition, among the four providers, the customer service rating is the highest. It is still a hosting platform worth considering, despite its severe limits in terms of storage capacity and traffic.
When looking for a web host, newbies may want to examine the following qualities as a starting point:
Choose a basic (low-cost) shared web host that is easy to use, and then consider upgrading when it is no longer sufficient.
- Linux is the computer server operating system.
- There are no traffic or bandwidth restrictions (unlike Bluehost and Hostgator’s web hosting plans).
- There are no storage limitations.
- Provide a cPanel backend administrative interface for web sites.
- Ideally, with an SSD.
- Customer service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Uptime rate (uptime) can reach 99.9% or more with a stable server operation.
Other value-added services, such as website backup, domain privacy protection, and so on, are not essential and should only be explored if the budget is large.
How do you choose the duration of your web hosting contract?
New customers are usually offered a very excellent price plan by colocation service providers. When it comes time to renew, though, the price jumps dramatically.
Take A2 Hosting’s starter web hosting plan as an example, which has a promotional offer of $2.99 per month for new customers. However, its renewal price is $10.99 each month. In the center, that’s a significant increase.
Choosing a longer period will save you a lot of money if you want to establish a long-term money-making website. Sophia normally purchases a three-year period at a time.
Of course, not everyone’s motivation for creating a website is the same. You have the freedom to choose the appropriate lease length based on your requirements.
Step 2: Install WordPress
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in the world. It’s free and easy to set up, so if you’re looking for a personal website that can make money for you, WordPress is a great option. To get started, first download and install WordPress on your computer. Then, create a new website by following the simple steps provided on WordPress.com. Once your website is set up, you can start monetizing it by selling advertising space or hosting fees. Either way, WordPress makes it easy to get started making money online!
We’ve covered everything from how to pick a web hosting service to how to set up WordPress. Now comes the meat of this article: how to set up a money-making WordPress site.
There are a variety of ways to make money with blogs, and WordPress has a number of excellent themes and plugins for this purpose. Although many of them are expensive, if your budget is low, you can easily locate free alternatives, but the functions may be limited.
WordPress installation with a single click is simple and quick.
Most hosting companies now give a simple one-click installation option (1-Click WordPress Install). This activity is simple to accomplish and does not require any technical knowledge.
Now take HostGator as an example, it offers a one-click WordPress installation from the host’s backend (cPanel). By clicking on this link and following his directions, users can quickly install the WordPress software on their website.
Bloggers frequently utilize these themes to make money.
When it comes to choosing a WordPress theme, the first decision you’ll have to make is whether to go with a free or paid option. The answer is simple: buy the paid version if you want to use the site to make money.
Free themes typically include less functionality, no customer service, and frequent interruptions in version upgrades, which can lead to future anomalous site operations, security vulnerabilities, and other problems.
The themes of WordPress are not prohibitively expensive, costing between $50 and $100 for a good one to use. A good theme often has the following attributes from the standpoint of producing money through online marketing:
- Design is stunning.
- Page response time is quick.
- Simple to use
- Increased click-through rate, resulting in a higher conversion rate of visitors into subscribers or customers.
Theme Forest
Theme Forest (Envato Market) is the largest trade site for WordPress themes in the world. There are currently tens of thousands of themes from which to choose.
It includes the Avada Theme, a popular full-featured WordPress theme.
WordPress Plugin Recommendations
Sophia will go over the WordPress plug-ins that are frequently used on websites for online marketing:
WP Rocket
An All-In-One Plugin for Web Performance
WP Rocket is the greatest caching plugin for achieving fantastic speed results and optimizing your website for the Core Web Vitals, according to WordPress experts. Let’s take a look at why.
Instantly improve your PageSpeed scores
Discover great performance in a way you’ve never seen before. You’ll notice an immediate boost in your website’s performance and Google PageSpeed Insights score — including Core Web Vitals — thanks to WP Rocket.
WP Rocket is a WordPress plugin that not only speeds up your loading time but also drastically improves your entire website performance, allowing you to address the most crucial PageSpeed Insights recommendations. It is continually updated to stay up with the current web performance standards.
Math Rank
When it comes to having a personal website, one of the most pressing concerns is how to generate traffic. This is where the Rank Math plugin can assist you with your website’s search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
Rank Math will automatically propose how to alter the location and density of your keywords whenever you have a new content to publish on your site. This is extremely beneficial to your website’s rating on Google and other search engines.
Ad Inserter
For many blog sites, Google Adsense or sponsored advertising are a major source of income. This WordPress plugin gives you a lot of flexibility when it comes to ad placement. At the same time, it can target different ad placements based on the devices that blog visitors use (PC, tablet, phone).
Pretty Links
When it comes to affiliate marketing, promotional links are frequently excessively long or even unsightly. This tool can be used to shorten and beautify links. Make it more professional-looking. These plugins both have free and paid upgrades. In most cases, using the free version will suffice.
The benefit is that affiliate marketing schemes are available in many other countries and locations if you come across the same product. Because they each have their own promotional connections. Then, through the corresponding link, you can use the geographic redirection capability to send users to the local product page.
WooCommerce
About 30% of the world’s online retailers are currently powered by WordPress and the WooCommerce shopping cart system, which is available for free.
If you ever have the urge to sell anything or provide a service on your website, the WooCommerce shopping cart plugin makes it simple to convert your personal website into an online store or e-commerce platform.
The WooCommerce shopping cart system has a comprehensive set of capabilities for managing your e-commerce site’s day-to-day operations, including product listing, order processing, cash flow, logistics, and inventory management.
In addition, Bluehost is a WordPress hosting company that specializes on WooCommerce. This is a really useful shortcut for individuals who want to make money through e-commerce. It’s also a good idea to install some security plugins to your website.
All In One WP Security – improve your website’s security and prevent hackers from infiltrating it.
Akismet Anti-Spam – help you manage and block spam messages.
To sum it up:
Using WordPress to create a personal website is more difficult than using Blogger or Wix. However, it has significantly more capability and scalability than the previous two. Sophia initially mentions how to utilize GoDaddy’s domain name checker widget and domain auction platform to find the perfect domain to buy in this article on WordPress website setup.
She then went over the benefits and drawbacks of the four major worldwide hosting platforms, including Bluehost, HostGator, A2 Hosting, and Godaddy, as well as how to pick a shared web host that may fulfill your demands. Sophia has mentioned some of the current versions and plug-ins often used by Internet marketers, in addition to the WordPress feature extensions. So that your website can truly become a money-making machine.
In fact, learning to use WordPress is not difficult, and there are several educational tools available on the Internet, including YouTube videos. After two or three days of learning, I believe you will be comfortable with it and ready to begin your website marketing and earning journey. Now that you know how to quickly and easily set up a personal website, go out and do it! You can make money from your website in a number of ways.