An overview of Bluehost's shared hosting plans - you should choose the Basic Plan

Next, you get the chance to register the domain name you found in step two. You already know it’s
available, so this step is a breeze.

Type it into the box on the left, make sure the dropdown is set to .com, and click Next.

Setting up your new domain name with Bluehost

Next, either sign in using your Google account or manually enter your personal information.

Then, scroll down and choose your registration term from the dropdown menu under “Package
Information.” You’ll get the best deal with a 36-month registration by locking in a lower rate.

You can also choose a 24-month or 12-month agreement if you’d rather spend less today.

Now, you have a few extras to choose from.

Package Extras – What You Need and Don’t Need

Let’s take a quick look at these package extras and walk through which ones you need and don’t need.
Honestly, you only need one of them.

But, let’s briefly talk about each one:

Domain Privacy + Protection – keeps your personal info off the public record by replacing it with
Bluehost’s business information. I highly recommend investing in this.

Codeguard Basic – creates daily backups for your blog. There are other options out there, so you don’t
need it.

Bluehost SEO Tools – straight up? You don’t need this. There are far better free SEO alternatives, like
Ubersuggest.

Microsoft 365 Mailbox Trial – this is for managing your business email account. It’s free so you can try it
out if you want to check it out, but I highly recommend Google Workspace instead.

SiteLock Security Essentials – protects your blog from malware. There are much better options for this,
so you don’t need it.
To recap, domain privacy + protection is the only package extra you need.

It exists to keep your private information safe and secure. Without it, anyone can access your phone
number, home address, and email.

Bluehost uses this example to show how the domain privacy + protection keeps personal information
from becoming public:

You still own the domain name, but your contact information is protected against scam callers and
unsolicited mail.

It’s certainly worth the extra investment.

So, make sure you uncheck all the boxes except privacy + protection.

You’re almost there – just one more thing

Enter your payment information, read the auto renewal terms, and hit submit.

After that, you’re done with the hardest part! Congrats on your new blog!

Don’t forget to follow the rest of the instructions to set up your account. Then, you’re ready to move on
to the next step.

Step 4. Install WordPress – Your Blogging Software

You can’t start a blog without blogging software. I run all of my blogs on WordPress because it’s user-
friendly, free, and powerful.