Let’s walk you through purchasing hosting with SiteGround*, as they’re my favorite company, but consider that those steps can apply to a lot of other companies!
The first thing you’ll need to do is select the plan that’s right for you.
SiteGround offers three plans:
- STARTUP PLAN: This is the perfect plan if you’re a new blogger. It offers one site (you don’t need more than that now) and everything you need to get your blog off the ground.
- GROWBIG PLAN: If you have more than one site/blog, or if you require more storage or monthly visits, this plan is great! It also comes with SiteGround’s site cacher, which is great at speeding up sites.
- GOGEEK PLAN: Unless you’re an experienced blogger, I wouldn’t recommend that plan. It has a lot of awesome features, they’re just targeted at bigger sites.
Go ahead and select the plan that’s right for you! (Not sure which plan is right for you? SiteGround support is excellent, so shoot them an email or a message! They’ll definitely help you pick the right plan for you)
Next, it’s time to either get your domain name or add the one you previously purchased. Since SiteGround offers domain names for $15+ per year (and domain privacy is an extra $12/year) while Namecheap* is around $10 or less (with free domain privacy), I’d definitely recommend getting your domain names with Namecheap*.
Select “Register a new Domain” if you haven’t bought it yet and want to buy it via SiteGround or “I already have a domain” if you bought it on Namecheap. We’ll show you how to integrate the two in “How to link your domain name to your host“.
Once you’ve added your domain name, it’s time to get your account set up and pay for your hosting. Add all your account + billing info.
Make sure to select the right upfront payment you want to make.
Here’s how much money you can save by paying more upfront:
- If you get 1 year at their $3.95/month price, you’ll be paying $47 for your first year and $143 for every year after that. After three years, that’s a total of $333.
- If you get 2 years upfront, you’ll be paying $94 right away, and then your third year will cost you $143. After three years, that’s a total of $237.
- If you get 3 years upfront, you’ll be paying $142 upfront, and won’t have to pay again until your three years are up. After three years, that’s a total of $142.
When it comes to the SG Site Scanner, get it if you think you need it, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You can install something for free on your website that will monitor it, and if your website gets infected with malware, SiteGround will let you know no matter if you get the scanner or not. They don’t want malware on their servers, so they’ll definitely monitor that either way. If you want the weekly reports, you can opt-in for it, but I don’t think it’s necessary.
Congrats, you’re now the proud owner of a tiny tiny bit of internet real estate! Now let’s set up your domain name with your hosting so you have a site, and if you bought your domain name with SiteGround, just skip to how to set up your site!
