How to sign-up for web hosting for your website—and everything else you need to know!

Hi everyone, my name is Maddy. I’m a Digital Marketing Intern here at That’s Her Business. Gemma, Founder of That’s Her Business, has assigned me the task of laying out how to sign up for web hosting. I’m going to let you in on a little secret, I’m pretty new to this too! Through this blog, we will learn how to sign up for web hosting and if I can do this, you can too!

What is web hosting?

First, what is website hosting? To have a webpage or website online we need to find a host. There isn’t one specific host that everyone uses to launch their website, but one That’s Her Business would highly recommend is SiteGround [affiliate].

Siteground manage the technical side to the website, in a nutshell, they make your website functional for your audience to use.

Websites are stored on servers which are essentially special computers that hold the code for your website. When your site users type in your domain it will connect with your server and allow them to complete the action you have set for them, like checking out your services or booking a consultation.

Why we recommend using Siteground for your web hosting

That’s Her Business have worked with SiteGround [affiliate] for a long while now, and after testing out a few different providers, Gemma also used SiteGround in her own business in the pre-THB days.

SiteGround have easy to use packages and services for both beginners and experts – making their web hosting a match made in heaven for us to work with you on your website! They also provide second to none customer service for when something boggles your mind and you need a bit of extra support. Last but definitely not least, they’re affordable. Triple threat web hosting, done.

Do check out what’s out there though of course and if you see something you think is a better fit, feel free to let us know which web hosting provider you’re eyeing up and we’ll answer any questions!

How much does hosting your website cost?

I’ve popped a picture down below of the packages SiteGround provide (accurate as of June 2020).

As you can see the web hosting packages are reasonably priced and you get a lot for your quid! I’m assuming you’re reading this blog as a beginner, so we’d recommend you use the StartUp package, to begin with. When your business starts to grow you can upgrade to the larger packages (if you need to).

This example shows the StartUp package, including 1 website and 10gb of space, costing £5.99 per month excluding VAT. This price is discounted from £11.99.

Here’s a breakdown of the cost:

£5.99pm + VAT = £7.18pm

£7.18 x 12 = £86.16 annually

If you don’t already have a domain, you will need to purchase this too. SiteGround’s domains start at £14.95 excluding VAT annually (£17.94 including VAT).

Web hosting add-ons

SiteScanner is an added level of security for your website that will detect malware and let you know of any issues so they can be fixed ASAP. This is an optional add-on by Siteground (costing £15.60 excluding VAT at the time of writing). If you would like to chat about website security options for your website, drop us a message.

Website File Transfer is a free add-on from Siteground that easily transfers files from your old web hosting provider to your new one. As most of our clients are new to website creation, 99% of you lovely lot won’t need this. If you think it’s something may need, let us know and we can guide you through the process.

Choosing your domain name

Select your package with your web hosting provider, and then decide what you want your domain to be.

But Maddy, you’ve mentioned domains a few times now, what is a domain?

A domain is your website’s URL, for example, an easy URL everyone remembers is google.com, this takes you straight to Google’s site. When selecting your domain, it should be easy and straight to the point.

Quick SEO Tip: If it makes sense to do, add a primary keyword to your domain to give your Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) a helping hand! E.g. cupcakesbymaddy.co.uk

Our website URL is www.thatsherbusiness.co.uk not over complicated and says what it is on the tin.

A bad example of this might be www.thatsherbusinessbygemmathirskinmanchester2020.co.uk

This domain is really long, not many people will remember it and we’d struggle to get it on a business card!

Learn more about choosing the perfect domain name for your business by reading the full guide here.

.com or .co.uk?

You may notice that we have .co.uk at the end of our domain, on the other hand, a lot of people have .com – what’s the difference?

.co.uk is recognised as UK based business, .com is more international (or American) – it’s as simple as that. If you’re trading in the UK only, go for a UK domain. If you’re planning on being a travelling go-getter or just want to serve clients in another country, grab yourself a .com, done!

It is possible to have more than one domain and have them all pointing towards your site, so in some cases you may want to register both variations in your name. Let us know if you plan to do this we can get you set up!

Paying for your web hosting

The next step is to enter all your detail and pay.

P.S. These are not my actual details, you thought you could get away with my precious pennies then didn’t you ? No, I’ve actually already spent all of my pennies on clothes and food this month, mmm pizza.

You can choose to pay on either a monthly or yearly basis, depending on your preference. Your domain is yours for a year, after this, you will then need to renew your license – you can set this to renew automatically in your SiteGround [affiliate] account.

You’re in, what’s next?

After your payment has processed, you’ll need to create an account. Your web hosting provider holds the key to your website so it’s a good idea to keep these details safe!!

THB Client Tip: If you’re working with us on Brimful of Branding, make sure you use a password that you’re happy to share with your web designer – we’ll need access to your web hosting to install WordPress and create the website of your dreams!

How to sign-up for web hosting – Key takeaways

1. Choose your web hosting provider
2. Choose your web hosting package
3. Register a domain, or two!
4. Activate your account
5. Share your account details with your web designer and watch the magic happen!

Then you’re good go! See, I told you we could how to sign-up for web hosting together.

Thank you for reading this blog. If you have any questions or even just fancy a chat, drop us a message!

You can keep up to date with our website and branding tips on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn or have a look at our done-for-you website and branding package, Brimful of Branding.

We’ll be back soon with lots more advice and support to guide you through your website and branding journey. Ciao ciao for now ❤

P.S. If you learned something let us know in the comments!!

Maddy x