Are you looking to start a WordPress website or blog? Smart choice!

It’s important to note here the difference between a blog hosted by WordPress and a self-hosted blog. For the purposes of this article we will be talking about a self-hosted blog which is a blog that set up on your own hosting account. Once you’ve made the decision to go with WordPress for a website or blog, you’ll then need to find out where you want to host it.

Deciding where to sign up for hosting is important when setting up WordPress for the first time. Here is what you need to look for:

1. Cpanel – Cpanel is a user interface for your hosting that most good hosts have included. Cpanel allows you to do many things with your hosting account but for the focus of this article we will talk about how easy it make your WordPress setup. By using Cpanel you have access a one click install setup that will have your WordPress website set up within minutes.

2. Multiple Domains – Once you see how easy it is to set up your own website on WordPress you’ll probably want more than one website. Choosing a host with multiple domain hosting means you play just one price and host as many domains as you like. The host I use charges only $6.95 per month, comes with a free domain and allows me to host as many websites as I want for that price.

3. Excellent Support – Ultimately with any sort of technology things don’t always go as planned. Having superior customer support is a must for any hosting company you choose.

4. Upgrading – You also want a host that allows you to upgrade your WordPress account easily. A good host will always have the most recent version of WordPress available for you and will have upgrades available quickly. It is very important that you keep on top of upgrading your site so that hackers don’t take advantage of any holes in the software from older versions.

Once you’ve made your choice of host, your next task will be to actually set up WordPress on your domain. Since you choose a hosting company with Cpanel this will be much easier than the alternative of actually downloading the files and setting up WordPress manually.

I hope these tips serve you well. Setting up your website and hosting right from the beginning will save you tons of headaches in the future. This type of proactive planning is smart business.