The Blogging Brilliantly course is built around helping you refresh your blog, kick start it, and use it to dominate your market. I realize though that you may not have a blog at all. That is ok, there are still plenty of tips in the course that you can use to help your business online! While I won’t be covering specifics on how to select a hosting company and install WordPress, there are many sites that do a great job of covering that information!
WordPress.org or WordPress.com?
WordPress.org is the self-hosted version of WordPress and the one that I recommend. It allows for the most flexibility, and it is free for commercial and personal use. It does require hosting and a domain, which will cost you a few dollars. WordPress.com on the other hand is free as well, but not for commercial use. If you have a business, or you ever want to run ads on your site, you will have to pay to use WordPress.com. You are also limited on only using the themes and plugins offered.
I recommend hosting with HostingMatters – http://hostingmatters.com/bpc.html – this is not an affiliate link but rather one that gets you a special rate. I have used HostingMatters for over 13 years now and I can not say enough good things about them. The tutorials listed below mention other hosting providers. Who you use is up to you; I have only ever used HM so I can not give reviews on the others. The key factors that you want from a host is reliability, speed (if your site loads slowly it will impact your readers and your SEO), and quality customer support. Read reviews online of the different companies before you select one.
Tutorials for Setting up WordPress
http://michaelhyatt.com/ez-wordpress-setup.html
http://www.blogtyrant.com/wordpress-blog/
http://www.molly-greene.com/how-to-set-up-a-free-wordpress-blog/
While Michael Hyatt & Blogtyrant both mention Bluehost in their tutorials, you can do the same steps with most other hosting companies.
Should You Consider SquareSpace?
SquareSpace is also a great option for setting up your website. Similar to WordPress.com, they will host the website for you. You have a bit more flexibility in design. They do not have plugins, but I’ve read that the SquareSpace team keeps an eye on the most popular WordPress plugins and add the same functions to their service.
I recommend SquareSpace to people who do not mind less flexibility or the lack of plugins, and who want someone to handle things for them. Hosting, updates, everything you need is included.
Tutorial for Setting Up SquareSpace:
https://elleandco.squarespace.com/?offset=1422270000000