If you’re looking to create a WordPress website for your business, you’ll need a hosting provider that easily integrates with WordPress, such as Bluehost.
Officially recommended by WordPress.org, Bluehost specializes in WordPress site development and shared WordPress hosting, and is known for its performance, range of features, and affordable pricing. These benefits make Bluehost one of the most popular hosting providers on the web, supporting over 2 million websites.
Bluehost also allows users to install WordPress on their site right from their Bluehost account. In this guide, we’ll walk through the steps for opening an account with Bluehost, setting up a WordPress website on Bluehost, and launching your WordPress website.
How to Install WordPress on Bluehost
Setting up a WordPress site with Bluehost involves three steps: creating a Bluehost account, setting up WordPress on that account, and preparing your WordPress site for launch.
1. Create a Bluehost Account
To Install WordPress on Bluehost, you’ll first need a Bluehost account. If you already have a Bluehost account, you can skip to step two. If not, go to Bluehost's website and click Get Started.
You’ll then be taken to Bluehost’s pricing page. There are many factors to consider here, so be sure to choose a plan that best suits your website’s needs. WordPress works with all Bluehost plans. If you need help to inform your choice, see our Ultimate Guide to Web Hosting for explanations of common hosting-related terms.
Next, Bluehost will ask you to choose a domain name. Your domain name is the root name that your WordPress site lives on. For example, “hubspot.com” is the domain name in “www.hubspot.com.” You also have the option to transfer ownership of a domain you already own to your Bluehost account. As an added perk, BlueHost offers a domain name for free for your first year to save you money as you get started.
Lastly, you’ll need to enter your account information, confirm your package information, and choose package extras. Among these offers is free SSL encryption, which is necessary to keep your WordPress website secure, along with other best practices that you can learn about in our Ultimate WordPress Security Checklist.
After finalizing your package, enter your payment information and set up a secure password for your Bluehost account. You’re now ready to set up your WordPress site!
2. Set Up WordPress With Bluehost
When registering for a Bluehost account, Bluehost installs WordPress on your domain for you. To access WordPress, log into your Bluehost account, then select My Sites in the left panel. From here, you have a couple of options:
Option one: To log into the WordPress site that Bluehost made for you, click Log into WordPress. You’ll be taken to the dashboard for your new WordPress account. This WordPress site is located on the domain you used to register with Bluehost.
Option two: To create a new WordPress site on a different domain, click My Sites, then select Create Site.
Follow the instructions to set up your new site, which includes setting a username and password for your site. At the end of setup, click Login to WordPress to open WordPress.
Note: Bluehost’s “Basic” plan only allows for one website on your account. For multiple WordPress websites, you’ll need to upgrade your plan.
3. Prepare to Launch Your WordPress Site
Now that you’ve linked WordPress with Bluehost account, it’s time to prepare your website’s content, appearance, and functionality for visitors. Your live WordPress site is currently showing a “Coming Soon” page that hides the content of your website until you’re ready to launch.
In your WordPress account, you’ll see a Bluehost WordPress menu in the left sidebar. This menu contains helpful tools for setting up and maintaining your WordPress site. Not all of these tools are required, but they can be helpful to get your site ready for its debut.
You can use Bluehost’s tools to:
Create Pages and Blog Posts
Bluehost lets you create pages and blog posts from their WordPress menu. Under the Home tab, you’ll see a Blog Posts section and a Pages section.
Click Add New Page to start putting pages on your site, and see our list of recommended website pages for help. To create a new blog post, click Add New Post. (Haven’t blogged before? Check out our guide to starting a blog.)
Choose a WordPress Theme
There are thousands of WordPress themes to choose from, and the Bluehost WordPress marketplace might make your decision a little easier. It features many options that meet WordPress standards for theme code and security. Find them under the Marketplace tab in the Bluehost WordPress menu or on your Bluehost account page.
Install WordPress Plugins
Plugins are essential for most WordPress websites, regardless of hosting provider. Bluehost automatically adds some plugins to your site, so make sure that these suit your requirements (you can always delete them if you’d like), and install more plugins as needed from the Bluehost WordPress marketplace. Be sure to read about our recommended plugins for marketers and plugins for security scanning for more must-haves.
Launch Your WordPress Site
Once you’ve finished preparing your site (I’m sure it’s amazing), it’s time to show it to the world. In the Bluehost menu under the Home tab, click Launch your site. This swaps out the “Coming Soon” page with the page you’ve set to your website’s base URL (or homepage).
Congrats! Your WordPress site is now up-and-running on Bluehost’s servers. With the flexibility that WordPress provides, you can continue to tweak your site’s appearance and performance to give visitors an excellent experience and grow your online presence. And if you ever need to scale up your hosting, you can change your Bluehost plan at any time.
