I Have Bought A Domain Name, Now What? (First Things To Do)

• Save

So you’ve bought a domain name but don’t know what to do next?

Don’t worry. You’re not alone.

Having a domain name means you are already one step closer to creating a blog or website. Now you need to do a few more things to get your site live.

Here I’ll be sharing a list of the first things you need to do after buying a domain name. You can do all of these by yourself without hiring any professionals.

Before going further, let’s check the steps you need to take after buying your new domain name.

Now let’s get started with the first step.

Step 1: Get A Web Hosting Plan

If you’ve already bought a web hosting plan with your domain name, you can skip this step.

Most of the domain providers like GoDaddy or Namecheap offer web hosting packages. But they are not as good as web hosting companies.

It’s better to buy hosting from a renowned web host.

Yes, you can buy domain and web hosting separately. And it’s a good idea. I have my domain name registered on Namecheap and hosted on WPX Hosting.

When it comes to buying a web hosting plan, I’d recommend you start with a shared hosting plan. It’s cheaper and suitable for new sites.

I started my blogging journey with HostGator Shared Hosting. You can do so. Here’s a special promo link to get a whopping 61% discount on HostGator.

• Save

For any reason, if you are looking for a HostGator alternative, you can try Bluehost. It’s another affordable web hosting provider.

---

Step 2: Connect Domain Name With Web Hosting

If you’ve bought a domain and web hosting from the same company, you can skip this step.

Otherwise, you need to point your domain name to the hosting server to connect with each other. It’s very easy to do.

Just log in to your hosting account and copy the nameservers. If you are using HostGator shared hosting, just log in to your cPanel and you’ll find the nameservers in the right sidebar under ‘General Information’.

• Save

Then log in to your domain provider and edit your nameservers. If you are using Namecheap, you can do that by clicking on the ‘Manage’ button and then editing the nameservers.

Also Read:

---

Step 3: Install WordPress

To run and maintain your site efficiently, you need to install software on your host. This is known as Content Management System (CMS). It allows you to publish, edit and modify your content easily.

There are plenty of CMS out there. WordPress is the most popular CMS that has been used by more than 40% of the websites in the World. It’s also considered the best blogging platform.

• Save

With One-click Installation, WordPress makes it insanely easy to create a site/blog. You can install WordPress by yourself. All you need to do is, follow some simple steps.

Read: How To Install WordPress On HostGator

---

Step 4: Install A Theme & Essential Plugins

WordPress comes up with a default theme that can be changed.

There are plenty of WordPress themes out there. Whether you are going to create a personal blog or an eCommerce site, you will get available WordPress themes for that.

You can get a free theme from the WordPress Theme Directory or you can buy a premium theme. If you have a budget, it’s better to go with a premium theme.

Here are some recommendations for you :

Once you’ve chosen and downloaded your desired WordPress theme, you need to install it on WordPress.

Read: How to Install A WordPress  Theme.

Now let’s talk about essential WordPress plugins. Here’s a list of must-have WordPress plugins for a new site.

---

Step 5: Create an Email With Your Domain Name

Isn’t it more professional having an email address like name@yourdomain.com than name@gmail.com?

Yes, it is. It increases the visibility and credibility of a brand name.

You can set up a free email address from your hosting cPanel or you can use Google Apps for $5/month.

I prefer using Hosting cPanel as it’s free and easy to set up.

Read: How to Create a Free Email Account With Own Domain Name

---

Step 6: Start Adding Contents to Your Site

The success of your website depends on your content. Once you have your sit-ups and running, you need to start adding content to your site.

Here are some most important pages for your blog or website.

You don’t need to add all of these pages. Just add those that suit your site/blog.

It’s a good idea to have a blog even if you are running a website. Blogging is the best way to build content for your website. It will help you to get traffic from search engines.

---

Step 7: Submit Site to Search Engines

Whenever you create a new site/blog, you always want people to find your site easily. The easiest way people can find your site is through Search Engines.

To get your site found on Search Engines, you need to create a sitemap and submit it to search engines.

Once your site got indexed by Search Engines, you will start getting traffic from search engines.

---

Step 8: Promote Your Site Offline

When you just start a new blog/site, you can’t expect instant traffic from Social Media or Search Engines.

It takes time to build an audience in Social Media and get traffic from Search Engines.

However, you can get instant traffic by promoting your site offline. Here are a few things you can do to drive traffic to your blog/site.

You can do many more things to promote your site offline. Just be creative!

---

Over To You

Hope this post helped you to create your site.

If you have any other questions about what to do after buying a domain name, feel free to ask us via comments.

However, if you found this post useful, help me by sharing this post on Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn.