Note: This content is part of The First $10,000 Blogging Course. If you find this content from a search engine, consider accessing the course to get the context.
Shortcuts ⤵️
- Step 1: Registering domain
- Step 2: Picking a hosting plan
- Step 3: Adding a WordPress blog
- Step 4: Connecting domain
- Essential settings
Step 1: Register Your Domain on Hover
Go to hover.com. Type the name on the search box to check the domain availability.
Check the available domains. Pick a domain extension you like and click the plus icon to add it to the cart.
Click the cart icon on the menu bar to proceed with the payment.
Click the SECURE CHECKOUT button on the cart page. No need to add extra services. You only need a domain name.
Finish the step on the Checkout page by completing all the required information. Such as your name, organization, and card.
Once the process is done, you can proceed to the next step to setup your WordPress blog.
Step 2: Pick a Hosting Plan on Rocket.net
Reminder: On Rocket.net, you only need to pay $1 for the first month using the service.
Select a Hosting Plan
Visit the Rocket.net website and click the Pricing menu. For a new blog, we suggest you pick the Starter plan, which costs you $30 per month. You can upgrade at any time as your blog grows.
Click the Get Started button to initiate the subscription process.
Create an account by entering your email address and password. Click the CONTINUE button.
On the next step, you will be presented with your order details. Enter your first name and your last name. Pick a payment method (card or PayPal) and provide the payment details. Click the SIGN UP button to continue.
Step 3: Add a WordPress Blog on Rocket.net
After completing the registration process on Rocket.net, you can login with your account to access the control panel.
To add your WordPress blog, go to the SITES menu on the left panel and click the Create Site button.
Give your site a name/label. Select a server location and click the Continue button.
Set the username for administrator, password, and email. On the Additional Options section, you can disable all the options (including the WP Recommended Plugins option). Click the Continue button.
Note: Don’t forget to remember the username and password. You need them to login to your WordPress dashboard. If necessary, store them to a password tool like Proton Pass, NordPass, 1Password or Dashlane.
Wait a moment until Rocket.net is done setting up your website.
Once done, you can access your website via a temporary domain provided by Rocket.net.
To access your WordPress dashboard, you can click the WP Admin button on the top-right corner.
Step 4: Connect Your Domain
You have successfully created your WordPress blog on Rocket.net, but you can only access it via a temporary domain that Rocket.net provides.
To make your blog accessible via the domain you have registered in earlier, you need to connect it with the domain.
To do so, first, login to Rocket.net. Select the SITES menu and click the Manage button on the website you want to connect with your domain.
Click the Get Started button on the Ready to go live? section.
Enter your domain name and click the Continue button.
Setting Up SSL
SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a security feature that forces your blog to be accessed via HTTPS instead of HTTP. Without SSL, web browsers will flag your blog is not secure.
Rocket.net has a built-in SSL feature, but you need to configure it. Here are the steps.
First, login to hover.com to manage your domain. Go to the Domains menu and select the domain you want to connect with Rocket.net.
Click the DNS tab and add a new record by clicking the ADD A RECORD button.
Go back to the Rocket.net tab to copy the name and value of the first TXT record.
Switch back to the Hover tab. On the Create DNS Record dialog, set the record type to TXT. Add the name and content (value) you copied from Rocket.net. Click the ADD RECORD button.
Repeat the above step to add the second TXT record. You can get the record name and value for the second TXT record on Rocket.net, right beneath the first record.
Once you are done adding both TXT records, you can click the I’ve Added TXT Records, Continue button on Rocket.net.
Note: If you find an error message after clicking the above button, retry in 5-10 minutes. Sometimes, it takes for Rocket.net to make the validation.
Start Connecting the Domain
Once done configuring SSL, you can start connecting your domain with your blog on Rocket.net.
Same as SSL, there are also two records you need to add.
Let’s start with the first record. On Rocket.net, copy the value of the first record (the A record).
Go to Hover and click the ADD A RECORD button to add a new record. Set the record type to “A”. On the HOSTNAME field, type “@” (without the quotes). On the IP ADDRESS field, type the record value you copied from Rocket.net. Click the ADD RECORD button.
Click the ADD A RECORD button once again to add the last record. This time, set the record type to CNAME. On the TARGET NAME field, add the value provided by Rocket.net. On the HOSTNAME field, you can type “www” (without the quotes). Click the ADD RECORD button.
Once done adding all the records, click the I’ve Updated My DNS button on Rocket.net.
That’s it.
You can now access your blog via your domain.
Once your domain is connected, you can remove all the default records added by Hover.
Pro tip: You can access your WordPress dashboard by typing yourdomain.com/wp-admin on the address bar of your browser. This way, you don’t need to login to Rocket.net every time you want to access your WordPress dashboard.
Essential WordPress Settings
Before stepping further, there are some basic settings you need to make on your WordPress blog.
Site Identity
You already set the name of your blog on the setup process of your blog, but other settings related to site identity need to be made yourself via the WordPress dashboard.
There three settings you need to make related to site identity:
- Site name
- Tagline
- Favicon
To set your site identity, login to your WordPress dashboard and go to Settings -> General.
As you can see, the top three setting options allow you to set the site name, tagline, and favicon.
Just make sure to click the Save Changes button at the bottom once you are done making these settings.
A little tip, use a transparent image in a PNG format for the favicon. Also, make sure the image is in square with the minimum dimension of 512 × 512px.
If you don’t have Photoshop, you can use free alternatives like Gimp, Photopea, and Pixlr.
URL Structure
By default, WordPress has the URL structure of domain/year/month/date/post-name (yourdomain.com/2024/05/13/sample-post/).
This URL structure is not recommended for a blog. Why? Because you are not going to build a news site.
The recommended URL structure is domain/post-name (yourdomain.com/sample-post/).
To change the default URL structure, go to Settings -> Permalink on your WordPress dashboard. Select the Post name option and click the Save Changes button.
Gravatar
Gravatar is your visual identity when blogging with WordPress. It is an image that shows up when you comment on someone’s blog.
Gravatar also shows up on your own blog. In most cases, it shows up on the author profile section beneath the post content or on the post meta. The placement is completely controllable.
In my blog, I display Gravatar beneath the post content, as you can below.
To add Gravatar on your blog, you need to create a Gravatar account. Simply visit the Gravatar website and create your account. Go to the Avatar menu and upload an image you want to use as your Gravatar.
No extra setting is required on your WordPress blog in order to have your Gravatar to show up. You just need to use the same email address for Gravatar account and the profile account on your blog.