Have you been thinking about starting a website for your existing business? Maybe you have an idea for a blog. Perhaps you want to sell something online. In the COVID-19 era, many people are realizing that a website can help their bricks-and-mortar business by offering virtual sales, online appointment booking, take-out menus, and more. If the pandemic has taught us anything besides the merits of masking and social distancing, it is that being having an online presence for your brand or business is more important than ever. For those that are ready to establish themselves online, Advantage Hosting makes it is as easy as 1-2-3.
Step 1: Get a domain name
A domain name is how your customers (or followers) will connect to your website on the internet. In the browser on their laptop or mobile phone, they will type your domain name into the search bar of your website (once it is set up of, course) and voila–they have reached your business or blog. How does it work? Think of a domain name like a telephone number. You type a phone number into your phone and it ‘magically’ connects you with the person you wanted to reach. For now, knowing the technology behind it is not needed to build your website. Just remember that your domain name identifies your website to your potential audience/customers.
The domain name you choose should reflect what you want your website to represent. At is simplest, a domain name is a title with an extension separated by a dot — like myBusiness.com. In our site domain name, AdvantageHosting.ca, ‘AdvantageHosting’ is the name and ‘ca’ is the extension. The .ca extension tells visitors that the website is owned by a Canadian company or individual. Other extensions can tell your visitors different things about your site. Common extensions are .biz, .us, .shop, .wtf, .com, .info, .org, .edu, .net and there are many more.
Advantage Hosting has over 250 domain extensions available to help you choose the perfect domain name for your business. You can search for and buy domains using our domain search. Given that every website needs a unique domain name, finding one that is available for you to buy can take some trial-and-error. Our domain search will tell you which choices are not available and make alternative suggestions based on your search terms. Finding the right domain name may take some thought and effort, but it’s the all important first step in your journey to an online presence. Once have your domain name, the next step is finding a home for your website.
Step 2: Get hosting space for your new website
Your website needs a place to live online. A good hosting provider will not only give you space for your website to live, but will ensure that your site is always available and provide you with the tools you need to manage it. A good hosting provider takes care of protecting your site from cyber attacks from malware, viruses, etc. The provider you choose will be an invaluable resource for you when you need help with your site. Think of a hosting provider as your partner; they are there to support your business and help it to succeed and grow!
How do you pick the right hosting plan? If you don’t have a lot of technical expertise, you are best to start with a shared web-hosting plan, such as our Website Hosting Plans or WordPress Hosting Plans. Both these hosting spaces are loaded with features that will take care of all the technical aspects of managing your website. Which you choose will depend on how you want to build your website.
Advantage Hosting’s website hosting packages come with Weebly, a drag-and-drop website builder. Weebly makes it easy to select from a variety of site templates. You can then customize your pages until they are just the way you want them to look and function. Alternatively, we give you the ability to install from hundreds of software titles (1 click app installs that include blogs, e-commerce solutions, and other content management systems). We also provide you with a cPanel account to help you manage email, files, domains, software installations, and more. Website Hosting Plans are ideal for do-it-yourselfers, small businesses, small e-commerce sites, and personal websites.
Our WordPress Hosting plans come with WordPress and many common WordPress plugins pre-installed. With WordPress, you start with a functioning website that is able to create/manage pages, update menus, and upload photos/videos. You can quickly customize the look of your website with unlimited themes and extend your site’s functionality (like adding online sales capability) with unlimited plugins. WordPress is an industry leading web Content Management System (CMS) with a huge community of designers and developers that are constantly improving the platform. Like our website hosting plans, our WordPress hosting plans also come with a cPanel account to make managing your hosting account simple.
Our hosting plans are the simplest way to for you to get started now. View our Website Hosting Plans | WordPress Hosting Plans.
Step 3: Start building your website!
Very few people, these days, build their websites by hand coding each page in their site. A few hobbyists, students, and enthusiasts still love the art of crafting HTML, CSS, and Javascript to create hand coded websites. For most people, even established web designers and developers, using tools designed for creating websites that are easy to maintain and update are the only way to go. Advantage Hosting is pleased to offer you a variety of ways to to build out your website. Here are three popular choices:
WordPress: Start by creating a post to see how easy it is to add content to your wordpress site. Then move on to search for a theme (Look and feel of your site) that suits your content, brand, and vision. Many free and paid themes are available for you to download and start using. After that, the sky’s the limit with WordPress. It is very easy to learn and there are a huge amount of online help to found simply by searching google.
Weebly (Learn more): Weebly is part of a new generation of website building tools. It features a graphical drag and drop editor that let’s you start with various site templates, add content, and then provides you with simple ways personalize the look and feel for your site. While a free version comes with the website hosting plans, there are paid versions that support online selling, membership features, built-in payment processing, additional templates, and much more. It is easy to learn and even a novice can have a professional looking website in no time.
Softaculous 1 Click Installer (Learn more): At last count, Softaculous allows you to install from over 250+ site-building apps. These apps provide you easy ways to build a web-site based on various blog platforms, content management systems, portal tools, online stores, and so much more. You can find software to support almost any business idea and install it with a mouse click. Our 1 click installer is easy and fast and is included with all our hosting plans.
So you see, starting a website really is as easy as 1-2-3. You bring the ideas and we will supply the technical expertise and tools to ensure that your website is protected, always accessible, and grows with you as you grow. Still not sure how to get started? Contact us for a free consultation. We can help you develop a plan to build your web presence. Or, start your website today with our Website Hosting Plans or our WordPress Hosting Plans.
