Starting Your Niche Site From Scratch

Starting your very first niche site can seem intimidating, and for people unfamiliar with technology, this can be really discouraging. I am going to do my best in this post to show you what you need to get started with your own domain, hosting, and your WordPress blog (which is going to be as easy to use a Facebook once you are done, I promise.)

One of the biggest mistakes I see first time niche marketers make is thinking they can start with a free blog hosted by Google or WordPress. Little do they know that all it takes is one complaint from a reader that your site is “spam” (and trust me, someone will as you are – gasp – offering an ebook for sale) and your site is GONE without any warning or way to bring it back. Do not let this happen to you!

Instead you need to buy your own hosting (I like hostgator.com as it is under $10 per month for unlimited domains) and domain name (I always use namecheap.com. Always under $10 for unowned domain names.)

First you will want to buy a domain name. This will be the name of your site as it is displayed in your web browser. For example, my domain is “build-niche-websites-fast.com.”

You domain name must:

1. Include your target keyword (example: guinea-pig.com)! After all, this is what your site is about.
2. Be easy to spell and remember.
3. Avoid numbers.

Don’t be afraid to be creative as frequently, a lot of the domain names you might want to get have been already claimed.

Once you find a domain name that you are happy with, buy it! Don’t try to test it out yet using your web browser as it doesn’t point to anything just yet.

Now you will want to buy hosting. This is where you website and all of its files will be stored. Again, I use hostgator and have close to 20 domains. I am very happy with their service overall and I use their CHEAPEST plan. I recommend you do the same. You will never pay more than $10 per month no matter how many domains you want to host.

When you sign up with Host Gator, they should give you the opportunity to link up the domain name you just purchased (there will be clear instructions to follow). Afterwards you will get a confirmation email with your username, password, unique name servers, domain name, etc. I recommend you save this email.

Next, you will want to install WordPress on your domain. Log in to your control panel, if not in already. It should be located at http://yourdomain/cpanel You will be prompted for the username and password Host Gator sent out to you.

Scroll down to the section headed “software/services” and click on Fantastico De Luxe. This software will automate the installation of WordPress and save you 40 minutes at least. All you need to do is select the directory (same as your domain name) and create one username and password (you will use this to log in to your site to creates pages and posts, etc.)

Now You will need to find a WordPress Theme  for your site. Theme’s give your site a distinctive look. I use Niche Profit Classroom’s theme (free for all members) for all of my niche sites, but if you wanted to you could go with a free theme or a different paid theme like Thesis.

Okay, that should be enough to get you started for now.