This post is a follow up to my other three posts about making as much or more than me. Here are the other two articles:
- I earn $12,000/month – Let me show you how I do it
- I earn $12,000/month - PART 1 Joining An Affiliate System
- I earn $12,000/month - PART 2 researching keywords to target for affiliate website
- I earn $12,000/month - PART 3 Figuring Out Structure & Information Architecture
I strongly recommend you read the four posts above before continuing on.
Picking a domain, registering a name and hosting it
You domain is very important. You want to brand your website so that it's memorable. You don't have to pick the next Apple. You just have to be clear and easy to remember.
Once you know the name of your domain, hop on to https://www.siteground.com/ and check if your name is available.
Please don't ask about Godaddy and Hostgator. They are both garbage for obvious reasons I am not going into. SiteGround is a little more expensive, but well worth it.
Install WordPress & grab a template
Head over to How to Install WordPress? and follow the instructions on how to install a WordPress website.
Once you've installed WordPress, you'll need to find a template that matches your industry. No, don't install a free theme unless you know what you're doing and you can edit the style through code.
I find all my templates on https://themeforest.net/.
There might be a learning curve from here on end. You've now installed WordPress and have domain registered/hosted. There is a slight level of know-how you'll need to practice in order to install your new template. Don't worry. I'll guide you through it
Downloading & installing your template
Once you find the template you're looking for, simply go to your account and download it.
Let's head over to SiteGround. Log in and click on My Account and click on the red button, "Go to cPanel".
Scroll down to "WordPress Tools" and click on "WordPress Installer".
Select http:// in the "Choose Protocol" section (Unless you've opted into getting SSL. If so, pick https://). Leave "In Directory" empty since you want WordPress installed on the root domain. The rest is self explanatory.
Once WordPress is installed head over to http://www.yoururl.com/wp-admin. Obviously change http://www.yoururl.com to your actual domain. Log into your WordPress dashboard from here.
Let's install your template.
Hover over Appearance then click Themes. Click on the "Add New" button on this page.
On the next page, you can click on "Upload Theme". Select what you downloaded from Theme Forest and install it. Once installed, you can activate your new theme.
I'll give you a little secret. Almost all of these themes give you an option to install all of their pages with dummy text so you don't have to figure out how the site works. I always do this and end up saving countless hours. This is where I can't help you since every theme has their own way of installing dummy pages. I just replace the content later with my own.
Final Thoughts
There was a lot of information in this post. I didn't go into great detail. Most of what I am saying is available on Google. It took me a long time to figure how to do all of this when I started. What I didn't have was the help and support I am willing to give you guys. If there is something you need help with, I am here for you. Just let me know. I'll do my best to get you started.
In the next post, I am going to share how you can optimize your website so that it shows up on Google.
Folks this is the most boring and challenging part of what I do since I am not a "designer" or "developer". Don't give up. This is where the people who don't give up shine the most.