Last time I explained why you might want a website but not a blog. The fact is, there's very little difference in setup. Here are the steps I took to set up my husband's website, PersonalMathCoach.com, on WordPress.
How to Create a Website
I'm certain many of you could turn a service like tutoring or coaching (or virtual assistance, speaking, professional organizing, decorating, bookkeeping, lawn care, digital scrapbooking, etc.) into a viable income stream. So, I recorded what I did for my husband in the hopes that it would help many of you. The videos in this series were all recorded in real time as I worked through the process.
I started from the very beginning because I wanted it to be as straightforward and easy to follow as possible. If you've already used my steps to set up a blog, these first two videos will be familiar and you may not even need the first one at all. (Nony had an excellent point which is, if you have already purchased hosting package and it allows unlimited domains, you do not need to purchase hosting again. The following steps are for those who have never purchased hosting before. Call your current host if you aren't sure if you can host unlimited domains. If you can host unlimited domains on your current hosting plan, set up a new folder for your new site and install WordPress in that folder.) 
Before you start, you might want to work your way through Steps 1-7 on my How to Blog page. You also might want to read my Blogging is Like Ice Cream post in which I use a simple analogy to explain how your website actually gets on the internet.
How to Purchase Hosting from HostGator
(Remember, if you have purchased hosting in the past and your hosting package allows you to host unlimited domains, you can skip this step!)
This time I used HostGator (as opposed to Bluehost which is another hosting company I use). I did this so we could purchase hosting a month at a time instead of a year in advance. So far, we've had absolutely no complaints. I can highly recommend them.
Can't see the video? Watch it here.
Video Notes:
- Go to HostGator.
- Choose a plan. (I chose a Baby Plan.)
- Choose how often you want to be billed. Click "Order Now."
- Enter your domain. If you've registered a domain already, enter it under "I Currently Have a Domain." If you have not yet registered a domain, you can enter it on the other side. (Here are my tips for choosing a domain and how I register my domains.) Click "Continue."
- Enter a Username, Security PIN and your billing info.
- Click "Create Account."
- Look for your welcome email from HostGator with your login info.
- Done! You now have hosting.
Next you need to install WordPress. WordPress is software that allows you to easily publish your content on the web. WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS), meaning, it makes adding and editing content on your website very easy and user-friendly.
Without a CMS like WordPress, you would have to be able to write computer code in order to create your website. With WordPress, however, little to no code is required. Imagine how much money you will save by being able to update your site on your own and not have to hire someone any time you need to make a change or update your site.
How to Install WordPress on HostGator
Can't see the video? Watch it here.
Video Notes:
- Check your Welcome email from HostGator to find a link and login info to your control panel (cpanel).
- Login to your cpanel.
- Scroll down to the "QuickInstall" icon.
- Click "WordPress" in the left column.
- Click "Continue."
- Enter your email, blog title and your name.
- Click "Install Now!"
- Look for the welcome email from WordPress with your login info.
- Done! You now have a self-hosted WordPress site.
(Here's HostGator's own WordPress installation tutorial if mine was confusing.)
At this point you can try typing in your domain into your browser. It may or may not show up, depending on where you registered your domain and whether or not your domain and host are "talking" to each other yet. Don't worry we'll get to that, but first we need to set up our site…
Disclosure: I am compensated for purchases made via the referral links in this post.
I thought that with bluehost, you have unlimited hosting for as many sites as you have. Why did you do separate hosting for his site?
EXCELLENT question. Yes, that is absolutely true, however, because it is a separate business, we wanted to keep everything totally separate. (But I think I'll update the post to include that so that if anyone has hosting already with unlimited domains, they won' t purchase hosting again unnecessarily. So thank you!!)
So how important is it to keep things separate? I'm planning to soon set up a website for my father. I was planning to do it in my account, and just make him an admin. Most of the updating will be my job.
I think that depends. If you're the one making most of the changes and his will be a small site, I'd probably use your account too. My main concern was that I didn't want both of our main streams on income on one server in case something happened and it went down and then we were left with neither site. A smaller concern was the draw on resources, having two sites on one account (although with a small static website, that's probably not a huge, huge issue). We also wanted to make the distinction between the two clean for tax purposes (so we could keep track of each for business expenses etc.).
Hi Amy – this is by God's hand and design that I found your blog tonight (I came over by a link on "Like A Warm Cup Of Coffee" with Sarah Mae). I am anxious and eager to get my website/blog set up with WordPress. While I'm currently on Blogger, I not going to try to move everything over to WP as my following is small (but I'm looking to make it grow). I will start fresh on WP. I want one place to be "home" to host my writing, my photography, etc. Here's my quandry- I had no idea there was a wordpress.com and wordpress.org. HELP! I am not sure which one to use. I'd like to eventually make money by blogging and selling my photography on my website. I'm ok with shelling out the money per month for hosting, and the domain name, etc. (and I'll be taking your advice and using my full name as my domain name- thanks for helping confirm that for me!) Can you point me in the direction as to "which" WP to go with? I hope that makes sense….
Welcome, Beth! You can read a bit more about WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org on my FAQ page. You can also google it if you'd like to read some more opinions, but if I were in your shoes, I'd start a self-hosted WordPress blog (.org) straight away. If you said you were not sure if blogging is for you, your budget was super tight or you weren't really sure what you wanted to blog about, I would recommend WordPress.com first (and then transfer it to a WP.org blog later once you had a better idea of what you wanted to do). That would give you the opportunity to "test drive" WordPress and get the feel of it.
However, since you said you have already been blogging on Blogger (i.e. some blogging experience), have a good idea of what you want to write and you don't mind spending the $10 or so a month on hosting, it'll just make it less hassle to start on a self-hosted WordPress blog from the start. Not only will you then own your blog completely, you will also have the option to begin monetizing at any point. Also, it's much more expandable and flexible—just a much better choice overall in my opinion.
I hope that helps! I'm so glad you stopped by.
Hello Amy!
Thanks for all of your helpful information. I am currently looking at starting up a blog and am working through picking my domain, purchasing hosting, etc. Currently on Bluehost it looks like you can get a domain for free when you buy hosting with them, so that saves a little bit! But, I did have a question on the package to purchase. I was looking at just buying one year to get started, then there are other things you can add….Siteblock Domain Security, Site Backup Pro and Domain Whois Privacy. What do you recommend? I'm kinda leaning towards the Domain Privacy, but wasn't sure how necessary it or the other things were. Thanks so much!! Learning a lot of new information through my research and this process!!
Willa
I don't purchase anything extra except Domain Privacy.
Hi Amy, have you used Bluehost's Frontpage web builder? Do you recommend wordpress or genesis over frontpage?
I emailed you my stuff last Sunday (8/14) but don't worry about going through them – I have made some revisions since then.
But as I told you. I am a brand new beginner to all this website stuff! Should I go ahead with wordpress or genesis, or stick with bluehost's frontpage?
Thanx!!
I've never used Frontpage so I can't say anything about it from experience. What I do know, however, is that programs like Frontpage and Dreamweaver (at least when I start blogging way back when) tended to bloat your code (i.e. add more stuff than necessary and therefore potentially slowing things down). I'm not sure how Frontpage is today. I'd google it.
So by going with the monthly plan on HostGator, you only pay upfront the $7.95 right?(The one you demonstrated in your video). With BlueHost I found out it was going to be an upfront payment of anywhere from $107-$207. That blew my mind. I don't have that kind of money at the moment.
Yes, HostGator allows you to pay month by month while Bluehost asks for annual payment upfront.
Nice work, Amy. Saw your folks last night. We had a nice time. Jessica joined us for dessert.
Take care. colin murphy
Glad to hear they made it. I'm sure they enjoyed seeing all of you. Thanks for stopping by.
I have a question about blogger vs wordpress. Not sure if this is where it goes sorry in advance. I can pay blogger $10 to get a domain for my blogger blog. Am I better off doing that first and then transferring to word press or am I better off going to godaddy.com or someone to get a domain name and then buy hosting?
I want to eventually get hosting but not sure when I'll do it.
I've seen it done either way!
Thanks! I was thinking about just becoming a .com through blogger and then moving to self-hosted wordpress. Plus it was cheaper to get a .com through blogger.
I have been reading through your site all night. I have now officially confused myself!! I have a blog on wordpress.com but decided it was time to try to make some $. I went to bluehost after reading your info, paid for 12 months, installed wordpress…and NOW WHAT haha. I registered my domain elsewhere (it expires this coming Jan) so I am not too sure what I do with that. Am I now a wordpress.org user? How do I change my free wordpress.com theme…pay for another? I am stuck and should probably sleep on it, but figured I would whine to you before I gave up for the night
THANKS SO MUCH
Sorry for the confusion!
If you want to move all your posts from your .com blog, you can do that via Tools->Import (on your self-hosted blog). The idea is that you will replace your new blog with your old one entirely. 
Thanks for the response. By doing this, I am avoiding the $119 guided transfer fee if WordPress did it for me? You are such a big help!!! thanks
You're welcome! Thanks for hangin' out.
I'm setting up my photo/devo blog hosting24/wp considering Photocrati's theme and would like to sell link my photos for sale- smugmug? (We're affiliated with Commission Junction so no advertising). Do these things work together or am I off track?
All of your posts are so helpful!!! Thank you!
So glad. Thanks for stopping by Kristi!
Hi Amy!
I just found your website, and thanks to all this great information you have provided. After purchasing a domain and hosting, I had no clue what to do, so I have been following your steps and learning a whole lot. My version of Hostgator comes with a "Post Name" setting, so when I try to set the default to "Custom Structure" and type in /%postname%/ and save it does not work . Should I just click on Post Name…….
Thanks for your reply and for taking the time to provide such useful information