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Have you been thinking of starting a website? Or beyond that, you’ve been on the search for suitable options. Maybe you already found one, but as a naira spender, those exchange rates from foreign hosting companies are sizzling high and above your budget. Whichever category you fall into, you are in the right place. My name is Chukwunenye Glory, and in this blog post, I will be sharing information based on my experience and the challenges I faced before launching my website.

You don’t have to be a programming geek to start your blog (God knows I am not one) or website. Here, I have written a simple yet comprehensive text about the procedures I followed. Through this method, you can open a self-hosted, functioning website for yourself.

So let’s get into it!

FIRST: HAVE A SUBJECT

Opening your own space on the internet indicates you have an interest you are willing to share with the world. This interest (or subject) is something you are passionate about and could be almost anything; from traveling to fashion to food to football to history, the options are almost endless. There is a wide range of possibilities and topics before you.

The good news about the blogging world is that it is wide enough to accommodate EVERYONE. If your goal is to expand your brand’s audience or you are just hunting for fun, whatever it is, there is room for you. With an estimation of 1.75 billion websites in the world as of 2020, a figure that keeps growing, tell me what’s going to stop you from having yours.

Again, when choosing this subject, evaluate your passion for it. Is it a topic you can read and write about every day without getting bored? Otherwise, you might want to pick something else. This is because you will dish out content about this area consistently through your space.

SECOND: KNOW THE 3 ESSENTIALS

These 3 essentials refer to what you need, and these are:

Ø  A domain name

Ø  Web hosting

Ø  Web building

You see these three, right? They caused me some zigzags that I really didn’t need to go through. That’s one reason this post is here, so you do not face the same complex drama.

Ø  Domain name 

A domain name refers to the name given to your online space. This domain name is redeem-ed.com, and it’s what I am recognized with on the net. It’s like a personal name, i.e., the address people search for when coming for a visit to my space.

A domain name is usually linked to an IP address. This IP address is made of numbers and dots, something computers can easily read and understand. For humans to remember this address as easily as computers do, it is assigned letters. These letters make up your domain name. The URL address of your website, e.g., https://redeemed.com, consists of your domain name, which, as I said before, is linked to your IP address.

Also, domain names are not permanently given or bought; you renew them repeatedly (mostly after one year).

Ø  Web hosting

Just like a domain name, web hosting is what the name implies. It is the hosting of your space on a web server such that your stored files are visible on the net. It’s where your web basically lives. Think of this as a house, and the domain name as the address of that house.

To have a functional website, you need both web hosting and a domain name. Without the first, there will be no place to store your information and build your website. Without the second, there will be no address to locate you on the net.

Ø  Web hosting companies.

Web hosting providers are organizations that host your space on their web servers. Website hosts create a space for you to store your online files, such that they become visible on the internet.

Again, simply put, web hosting companies host your website.

Beyond this, they also provide the software, support, and security required to run the site. They offer different hosting solutions categorized based on the amount of server base you need for your files. They sometimes call these plans. You buy plans depending on what your website requires.

DOMAIN NAME, WEB HOSTING, AND WEB HOSTING COMPANIES

Most hosting providers sell both domain name and hosting, though the two are different services. If you buy them from separate companies, you will need to link your name to your web hosting server. When you buy both from the same company, both services will be managed by the same hosting provider.

There is quite a list of hosts available. These include Whogohost, Bluehost, HostGator, GoDaddy, and so on. At the end, though, it’s not just picking from the list; it’s picking what’s best for you.

Let me mention here that a free website isn’t always the best option. I should know since I have tried one myself. There are so many free offers out there, most of which are usually not what they present. Aside from the limitations involved, you can get shut out without warning. You also get unprofessional addresses like yourname.theirname.com, higher exposure to security problems, a slow website, and more annoying issues you don’t want to opt-in for.

When looking for good hosting, there are certain things you search for. These include speed, security, bandwidth, storage, customer service, and so on. A free website offers you a low-scale version of all that.

CLICK HERE FOR DOMAIN NAME AND REGISTRATION.

MY EXPERIENCE

In all sincerity, Bluehost was my first option. Now if you register with Bluehost for your web hosting, you get a free domain name, a free SSL (security) certificate, 24/7 support, and a discounted price of $2.95 per month. Bluehost is very compatible with WordPress and offers a money-return guarantee (in case something comes up and you want your money back within thirty days after your payment).

Understandably, I wanted all these. Until the exchange rate of our blessed currency paused my proceedings.

With Bluehost, you are offered different hosting plans. There is the basic, plus, choice plus, and then pro plan. The $2.95 comes with the basic plan. To get this discount, you need to pay the basic 36-month price. That will be $106.20, a very reasonable price. But upon conversion to naira, you have to rethink.

What if you have no means of paying in dollars? What if all you do is in naira?

If you have a dollar card, I don’t think this is an issue for you. But what if you don’t? Because this was my case, I had to backpedal.

So, what did I do?

I looked for a web hosting provider that allowed payment in Naira. I asked around and, Thank God, found Whogohost.

Whogohost is among the leading hosting companies in West Africa, and they accept payment in different currencies, including Naira.

With Whogohost, you can buy your domains at a very affordable price, secure your site using SSL and SiteLock, backup your website using CodeGuard, improve your website traffic using SEO tools, and order a hosting package with 2GB or more.

Since I have used Whogohost for a while, I should be able to give you a real review and say their services are great. It hasn’t given me any problems so far, and though I knew ziltch (nada) when I started, I could maneuver my way, understand their dashboard, and build my website. In summary, I understood what I bought. For me, that’s big.

You can also get a dot-com.ng FREE domain. If you are aiming for a global audience, though, stick with dot-com., which is given at an affordable price.

Whogohost also has good customer support that operates 24/7, a money-back guarantee, and every blogger’s first check, hosting that allows easy WordPress installation.

Whogohost: No 1 web hosting company in West Africa. Click here for your web hosting and domain registration.

There are so many reasons people open a website or blog, from advertising a brand to increasing sales and sharing a passion (yeah, I am still all for that). The main purpose is always to reach a larger audience and garner better publicity. You hear stories every day about how good and amazing blogging is, the success, the exposure, and all that. It’s true. But one thing you should understand is that it’s not a one-day achievement. You can’t attain that well-publicized and elevated position at once. Blogging takes time and effort before it’s all that. I call it fun stress, and it’s worth it. The technicalities might seem too much at first, but they're not. In minutes, you can buy yourself a functional space on the web and begin the first steps in a journey of many miles.

YOU CAN DO IT.

REGISTER WITH WHOGOHOST TODAY.