Setup

 

The Right Setup

The biggest mistake new users make is starting off with the wrong blogging platform. You’ll not be making this mistake since you are already here.

We recommend using WordPress.org for your blog because it gives you access to all the WordPress features, and most importantly you can make money from your blog without any limitations.

It’s important you don’t confuse WordPress.org with WordPress.com. They are actually two different platforms. WordPress.com, which is a hosted blogging platform and WordPress.org is a free self-hosted platform. (See our comparison of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org for more details)

Now you might be wondering, why is WordPress.org free? What’s the catch?

There truth is that there’s no catch. It’s free because you have to do the setup and host it yourself.

In other words, you need a domain name and web hosting. See our guide on the difference between domain name and web hosting to learn more.

A domain name is what people type to get to your website. It’s your website’s address on the internet. Think google.com or wpbeginner.com.

Web hosting is where your website files are stored. It’s your website’s house on the internet. Every website needs web hosting.

A domain name typically costs $14.99 / year and web hosting normally costs $7.99 / month.

That’s a lot for beginners who are just starting out.

Thankfully, Bluehost, an official WordPress recommended hosting provider, has agreed to offer our users a free domain name and over 60% off on web hosting.

→ Click here to Claim this Exclusive Bluehost offer ←

Bluehost is one of the largest hosting companies in the world, and they host millions of WordPress websites including some of our own.

They’re committed to giving back to the WordPress community since 2005. They have promised us that if you cannot get your blog setup within 30 minutes by following this tutorial, then our expert team will complete the process for you without any cost. They will compensate us, so you don’t have to. Simply contact us for free blog setup help.

NOTE: At WPBeginner we believe in full transparency. If you sign up with Bluehost using our referral link, then we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you (in fact you will save money and get a free domain + free SSL). We would get this commission for recommending just about any WordPress hosting company, but we only recommend products that we use personally use and believe will add value to our readers.

Now that we have covered that, let’s go ahead and purchase your domain + hosting for your food blog.

Open Bluehost website in a new window and follow along.

First thing you need to do is click on the green ‘Get Started Now’ button.

On the next screen, you need to select the plan that you want (basic and plus are the most popular).

After that, you will be asked to enter the domain name for your website.