Starting a website can be stressful. There are a lot of little details that are easy to overlook. It is not as simple as designing a site and now it works. You also have to think about buying a domain name and hosting. What about security and SSL certificates. And then there is maintaining the site and creating backups so you don’t lose your work if something bad happens.

Lucky for you, I can take care of all of that!!!

So, whether I am taking care of all of this for you or you would like to do it yourself, I can walk you through the process.

First, there are three definitions that may need further explanation.

Website domain: A website domain is basically the ‘link’ of your website. For example: www.StephanieVA.com or www.JessicaVABusiness.com.

Website registrar: A Website registrar is a company that you buy the domain name from.

Hosting company: A web host, or web hosting service provider, is a business that provides the technologies and services needed for the website or webpage to be viewed on the Internet.

In other words, if your website was a house, then your domain name will be its address.

The Website registrar would be the realtor that sold you the house.

Web hosting is the place where all the files of your website live. It is like the home of your website where it actually lives.

A good way to think about this is if the domain name was the address of your house, then web hosting is the actual house that the address points to. All websites on the internet, need web hosting.

You can purchase a domain name for about $10-15 a year. Hosting starts at about $12 a month.

OK, so how do we set this all up?  As I said, let’s start with buying the domain name.  I recommend going to these three sites and pricing out the domain name you are interested in.

Namecheap

GoDaddy

Google Domains

Once you have purchased your domain name and your website is designed and ready to launch, it is time to think about hosting.  There are many different hosting options out there and a few things that you will need to keep in mind when deciding on your hosting company.

1. You get what you pay for

Just like with most things in life, with hosting, you get what you pay for.  Choosing a hosting provider is a delicate balance between getting the functionality you need and not breaking the budget.  There are many features that a hosting provider can offer.  Security, SSL certificates, daily or weekly backups…. on and on.

2. Security and SSL

Cybersecurity threats are on the rise and small businesses are not immune.  They can even be better targets for hackers because they tend to have lower levels of security.  Don’t let your site fall victim to an attack. SSLs are also important.

3. Backups

If your site goes down, one of the fastest ways to fix it is by restoring it to a previous version.  Having a backup of your site can save valuable time.

4. Maintenance

WordPress sites need maintenance in order to function properly and remain secure.  Plugins need updating and security patches need applying.  Most hosting providers will not do this leaving it in your hands.

Ok, so now that we know what to look for, where should we look?  RIGHT HERE!

I offer 3 levels of hosting.  See below for a quick comparison and a full breakdown.

Choose the perfect plan for your new website.

Plan Breakdowns

All of my plans offer backups, maintenance, and a free SSL! The difference lies in the number of visits your site gets a month, and the frequency of the maintenance and backups. The corporate plan also comes with some additional features.

So what are the differences??

The biggest difference is the frequency of backups and the maintenance schedule.  for the freelance plan you get one backup a week and once a month I will update any plugins or themes that need it.  With the Freelance or Corporate plans, the backups happen daily and the maintenance is performed every week.  Why does this matter?  It is not frequent but sites do go down or break and need to be rolled back to a previous operating version.  If you have daily backups it is likely you will not lose anything you changed or added to the site.  However, if your site is only backed up once a week, you could lose everything you added that week.

The corporate plan also comes with some additional benefits.