Hosting a WordPress Blog Directly on Your Server or on Another Hosting Service?

WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) used among bloggers around the world. In fact, it is the most popular CMS of all time, with 365 million active monthly users as of September 2018.

With such incredible momentum behind it, it’s fair to say that WordPress is here to stay. Whether you’re a seasoned blogger looking for ways to grow your audience or an individual wanting to publish some sweet words, WordPress is a superb content management solution to host your blog on.

One of the most powerful features of WordPress is its modular architecture. This allows creators to easily combine and upgrade the functionalities of various components to fit their specific needs. This article will examine two cases where an enterprise level business and an individual blogger had to tackle similar issues but from a different perspective. In both instances, the ultimate goal was to launch a successful, online marketing-ready content publication. We’ll cover several key considerations including pricing, features, and resources needed for each approach.

The Individual Blogger’s Approach

Traditionally, when a business or enterprise wanted to run an online publication, they’d turn to a web host for support. More often than not, they’d rent or buy a dedicated server with enough space to support their needs. Then, they’d install a WordPress application and start building their site. On top of that, they would typically purchase a premium theme to give the site a professional look. Finally, they would launch the site and begin content addition and publishing to their new online hub. This is where most people in the industry still begin their blogging journey.

However, today’s blogger doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. There are several services that offer everything a seasoned blogger needs to get started quickly and cheaply. For example, Bluehost is a web host that provides bloggers with the tools to launch their site quickly and easily. What’s more, it offers some premium features that make content publication easier and more enjoyable. Let’s take a quick look at how a new blogger could use Bluehost to host their WordPress site.

Step one: Sign up for Bluehost

To get started, the first step is to visit the Bluehost website. On the homepage, click on the Get Started button to continue to the signup screen. Once you’re on the signup page, simply enter a desired username and a password. You will then see a verification screen to confirm your email address. After verifying your email, you will be taken to a page where you can choose a plan. There are several plans to choose from, but we recommend going with the cheapest one initially, as it will save you money in the long run.

Step two: Install WordPress

Once you’ve chosen the plan that suits you, click on the Next button. You will then be taken to a page where you can download and install WordPress. Keep in mind that if you’ve already installed WordPress on your computer, you can skip this step and go to the next.

Step three: Activate WordPress

After you’ve installed WordPress, go to your dashboard and click on the Dashboard button in the upper right-hand corner. From here, you can access different tools and features to help you build your website. You’ll see a small bar on top of the screen indicating that WordPress is already active on the site. If you click on the button, you’ll be brought to the WordPress dashboard. From here, you can click on Settings in the upper right-hand corner to access the WordPress Settings screen. On this page, you can choose your site’s theme and color, as well as activate additional plugins.

The Enterprise Level Take

While many individuals opt to go the Bluehost route and begin their blogging journey that way, more and more businesses are looking to take a different approach. Instead of using a cloud-based hosted WordPress service, an enterprise level business may choose to install WordPress on their own server. For this to work, they will need a few things:

• a domain name for the site (this can also be installed on the server)
• a web host for the server (this can also be Bluehost)
• a SSL certificate for the site (this can also be installed on the server)
• a WordPress security certificate (this can also be installed on the server)
• 1 or more MySQL databases (this can also be installed on the server)
• an email marketing program (MailChimp is a popular choice)
• a landing page (a static page that will contain a video or some other form of content to draw people in)

With that list in mind, it’s time to dive into how one of the most popular content management systems in the world works.

Step one: Download and Install WordPress

Similar to the previous step, the first step in setting up a WordPress site is to visit the WordPress website and click on the Get Started button. You will then be taken to the download and installation screen similar to the one below.

Step two: Activate WordPress

Once you’ve downloaded and installed WordPress, you will see a screen similar to the one below. Here, you will need to click on the red Activate button to continue to the dashboard. From here, you can click on Settings in the upper right-hand corner to access the WordPress Settings screen. On this page, you can choose your site’s theme and color, as well as activate additional plugins.

Step three: Configure WordPress

After you’ve activated WordPress, it’s time to configure it. Similar to the previous steps, go to the WordPress dashboard and click on the Settings button in the upper right-hand corner. Here, you can access different tools and features to help you build your website. You’ll see a small bar on top of the screen indicating that WordPress is already active on the site. If you click on the Settings button, you’ll be brought to the WordPress dashboard. From here, you can click on the Writing tab in the upper right-hand corner to access the WordPress writing screen. Here, you can configure your site’s main language and then click on the Languages tab to view the different languages that WordPress supports. You can click on the SEO tab to access the WordPress SEO screen, where you can choose from several different SEO tools to help you optimize the performance of your website.

Step four: Test your WordPress installation

Once you’ve launched your WordPress site and configured it the way you want, it’s time to test it. To do this, first go to your site’s homepage and click on the Visit Website button in the upper right-hand corner of the screen. Once you’ve done that, you’ll be taken to a new page containing an install link. Simply click on that link to continue to the WordPress installation screen. Here, you can test different options using the Try It Out button. Once you’ve tested a feature or option, click on the Options tab and click on the Save settings button at the bottom of the page to continue to the dashboard. Now if you click on the Writing tab, you’ll be able to see your new blog posts, which you can then publish.

This blog post was pretty lengthy, but we wanted to give you all the important information to get a better understanding of how WordPress works, as well as provide some guidance on whether an individual or enterprise level blogger should use it.