This 5 lesson series parallels the first 5 lessons of our Start Building Your Website Here course. The original series uses BlueHost as a hosting company. This tutorial series uses HostGator to set up a website instead. If you’ve chosen to host with HostGator please follow these 5 lessons and then pick up at Phase 2, Lesson 6 of the Start Building Your Website Here course using either the Thesis 2 theme or the Genesis 2 theme framework. The entire series consists of 70 self paced videos that take you step by step through each part of the process. You’ll need no prior knowledge of website building. We only assume that you can use a web browser and a word processor.
Lessons 1 – 5 for InMotion Hosting
Lessons 1 – 5 for BlueHost
Before you begin
Lesson 1 – Tour Your HostGator Hosting Account
- Tour the HostGator control panel
Lesson 2 – Setup and Configure Email
- Setup your primary email account
- Configure Outlook to receive mail from your primary account
- Configure Gmail to receive mail from your primary account
- Configure Yahoo to receive mail from your primary account
- Setup additional email accounts
Lesson 3 – Install WordPress on your Site
- Install WordPress
- Initial WordPress Configuration
- How to login without a login button
- Configure WordPress to act like a traditional website
- Introduction to the file system
Lesson 4 – Setup your FTP System
- Download and install FileZilla
- Configure FileZilla to connect to your website
- Download customization section from your website
- Configure FileZilla to synchronize with your website
Lesson 5 – Installing and Using Themes
- Free WordPress Themes
- Download and install free theme
- Switch Themes
Sign up for a hosting account
We recommend using HostGator. While there are several good hosting providers out there HostGator’s service is outstanding, their system is easy to use and they have help videos. This is one of the hosting providers that we use. Begin the signup process by clicking on this link and then watch the video as you sign up. Sign up now.