How to Connect Your WordPress Blog to Your 1&1 Hosting Account

A few weeks back we were asked how to connect a WordPress blog to a 1&1 Hosting account. This is a common question among those who are just starting out and don’t have a clue where to begin. Truth to be said, it’s not so straightforward as you might think. There are some pretty technical details that you need to follow. But don’t worry, in this guide we’re going to break it down for you so that even a beginner can connect a blog to a hosting account and start publishing right away.

Step 1: Register For A Free Blog With 1&1 Hosting

The first step is to register for a free blog with 1&1 Hosting. You can do this by clicking on the Get Started button below.

On the next page you will be asked to provide some basic details about yourself and your blog. You can use the Name you want for your blog (e.g. MyBlog) and the URL (e.g. myblog.com) for the address people will see when they visit your blog. Once you provide this information, click on the Create New Blog button.

On the next page you will be taken to the blogging dashboard where you can see the various components that make up your blog. You will notice that at this point your blog does not have any content since you haven’t created any yet. If you would like to publish content immediately, you can do so using the Text area provided.

Step 2: Login To Your 1&1 Hosting Dashboard

Logging in to your 1&1 Hosting dashboard is the next step. To do this, you need to replace the word “myblog” with your actual blog domain name (e.g. example.com) in the URL above.

Then, you can login to your 1&1 Hosting dashboard using your username (i.e. admin) and password. After you login, you will be taken to the cPanel dashboard where you can manage all the technical settings for your blog. From here you can do the following:

• Change the settings for your blog (e.g. the header, footer, and theme)
• Set up email forwarding (you will need this if you use a third-party email service like Gmail)
• Edit your About Me page (you can use the information provided to describe yourself or add more details about your interests or personality)
• Activate or deactivate support tickets for your blog
• Configure the payment methods for your blog (i.e. credit card processing)
• Set up blog notifications (you can choose to receive notifications via email or an RSS feed)
• Design your blog (choose a theme from the dashboard)
• Download the WordPress software (if you don’t have it already)
• Set up your blog (choose a hosting plan from the list)
• Install WordPress on your server (you will need this step to create content for your blog)
• Activate the WP Admin Dashboard (you can use the information provided to configure your blog)
• Set up your blog (choose a storage plan from the list)
• Manage the plugins for your blog (you will need to check this regularly to keep your blog up-to-date)
• Set up the Periscope live streaming service for your blog (you can use this to broadcast live events or simply to add a further layer of engagement to your content)
• Set up the Medium live streaming service for your blog (you can use this to broadcast live events or simply to add a further layer of engagement to your content)
• Set up AWeber for automated email marketing (you can use this to get notified whenever someone subscribes to your blog or reads an article)
• Add an email signature to all your emails (you can use the same signature for all your emails)
• Edit your blog’s styling (choose a template from the dashboard)
• Activate or deactivate your blog’s privacy settings (you can choose to make your blog’s content public or private)
• Install a font like Roboto on your blog (you will need this step to add more personality to your content)

At this point, your blog should be connected to your 1&1 Hosting account. You can verify this by clicking on the Profile link next to the green Get Started button at the top of the dashboard. Then, click on the Domain Info tab to see the status of your connection.

If you are still connected, you can proceed to Step 3. If not, click on the back button to return to the login page.

Step 3: Configure The Header And Footer Of Your Blog

Now that you have logged in to your 1&1 Hosting dashboard let’s get to configuring the header and footer for your blog. These are the areas of your site that you can configure with CSS (cascading style sheets) and HTML code. To add a header to your page, click on the Settings link (it’s the second option from the left in the header area)

On the next page, you will see a form with two tabs, one for the template and the other for the text that will display above the template (the Header Text area). Simply copy and paste the HTML code provided into the Header Text area and reenter it in the proper format.

As for the footer, it is a bit more involved. The first step is to click on the Settings link (the second option from the left in the footer area)

On the next page you will see a form with two tabs, one for the footer template and the other for the text that will display below the template (the Footer Text area). Simply copy and paste the HTML code provided into the Footer Text area and reenter it in the proper format.

Now that you have your header and footer configured, go back to the Profile page and click on the Review Settings link at the top of the page to confirm the changes.

Step 4: Configure The Theme For Your Blog

Your blog’s theme is what gives it its look and feel. Changing the theme for your blog is quite simple since all you need to do is download the same from the 1&1 Hosting dashboard. Browse through the themes available and choose one you like. Then, click on the blue Get Started button at the top of the dashboard.

On the next page you will see the option to install the downloaded theme on your blog. Simply install it and activate it. This will bring you to the dashboard of your blog where you can manage all the settings for your theme.

If you are just starting out and don’t know what theme to choose, it’s recommended to go for a premium theme. These themes are highly customizable and come with a lot of features. They also usually have a child theme (included) that allows you to change the layout of your site without losing your existing content.

Step 5: Configure The Storage Plan For Your Blog

The final step in the process of connecting your WordPress blog to a 1&1 Hosting account is to configure the storage plan for your blog. This is quite important since all the content that you post on your blog will be stored there. You can choose between the following storage plans:

• Basic (unlimited storage)
• Plus (1TB of storage space with a daily limit of 5GB)
• Choice Plus (same as Plus but with the added feature of a free domain name)
• Choice Plus with SSL (same as Choice Plus but with free SSL)
• Pro (5TB of storage space with a daily limit of 10GB)
• Pro Plus (10TB of storage space with a daily limit of 20GB)
• Choice Pro (same as Pro but with the added feature of a free domain name)
• Choice Pro with SSL (same as Choice Pro but with a free SSL)
• Enterprise (15TB of storage space with a daily limit of 30GB and free domain name)

If you decide on the basic plan, you will have unlimited storage space for your blog. This is the most recommended option as it’s the most inexpensive one and doesn’t pose any limitations on the type of content you can have.