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If you have a passion for selling products or services online, you might be wondering how to start an online store with Bluehost. Bluehost is one of the leading web hosting providers that offers a range of hosting plans, domain names, and WordPress integration for your website. In this blog post, we will show you how to start an online store with Bluehost in a few simple steps.
Step 1: Choose a Hosting Plan and Domain Name
The first step to start an online store with Bluehost is to choose a hosting plan and a domain name. A hosting plan is the service that provides the space and resources for your website to run on the internet. A domain name is the address of your website that people can type in their browsers to access it.
Bluehost offers several hosting plans for different needs and budgets, such as shared hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated hosting, WordPress hosting, and online store hosting. You can compare the features and prices of each plan on their website and choose the one that suits your online store's goals and requirements.
For example, if you want to start a simple online store that sells products or services, you can choose the Online Store plan that starts at $9.95 per month. This plan includes:
- Online store website
- Website analytics
- 40 GB SSD storage
- Free domain for the first year
- Free SSL certificate
- Yoast SEO plugin
- Powered by YITH plugins for bookings, appointments, gift cards, wishlists, product search and filtering
- Jetpack daily backups
- Automated WordPress updates
- Secure online payments
- Unlimited products
If you want to start an online store that sells across multiple marketplaces like Etsy, Amazon, eBay, and more, you can choose the Online Store + Marketplace plan that starts at $12.95 per month. This plan includes everything in the Online Store plan plus:
- 100 GB SSD storage
- Multi-channel inventory management
Bluehost also offers a free domain name for the first year when you sign up for any of their hosting plans. You can search for the availability of your desired domain name on their website and register it with Bluehost. Alternatively, you can use your own existing domain name or transfer it to Bluehost later.
Step 2: Install WordPress on Your Site
The next step to start an online store with Bluehost is to install WordPress on your site. WordPress is the most popular and user-friendly website platform that powers over 40% of all websites on the internet. WordPress allows you to create and manage your online store's content, design, and functionality with ease.
Bluehost has a unified WordPress integration that makes it easy to set up WordPress on your site in minutes. You can simply follow these steps:
- Login to your Bluehost account and go to the My Sites section.
- Click on the Create Site button and enter your site's name and tagline.
- Select the domain name that you registered or transferred to Bluehost.
- Click on the Next button and wait for Bluehost to install WordPress on your site.
- Once the installation is complete, you will see your site's dashboard where you can access your WordPress admin area.
Step 3: Customize Your Online Store's Appearance and Functionality
The final step to start an online store with Bluehost is to customize your online store's appearance and functionality. You can do this by using themes and plugins that are available for WordPress.
A theme is a collection of templates and stylesheets that define the look and feel of your online store. You can choose from thousands of free and premium themes that are compatible with WordPress and Bluehost. You can browse and install themes from the WordPress admin area by going to Appearance > Themes > Add New. You can also customize your theme's settings, colors, fonts, layouts, and widgets by going to Appearance > Customize.
A plugin is a piece of software that adds extra features and functionality to your online store. You can use plugins to enhance your online store's performance, security, SEO, social media integration, ecommerce capabilities, and more. You can find and install plugins from the WordPress admin area by going to Plugins > Add New. You can also manage your plugins' settings, updates, and activation by going to Plugins > Installed Plugins.
Some of the plugins that are included in the Bluehost online store plans are:
- YITH Bookings & Appointments: This plugin allows you to manage rentals, travel bookings, Airbnb stays, hourly sessions, and more. You can sync to your Google calendar, and automatically update customers.
- YITH Gift Cards: This plugin allows you to create custom virtual gift cards for your customers to send to friends and family. You can set the amount, expiration date, and design of the gift cards.
- YITH Store Creation: This plugin allows you to build your online store with a guided process, using the exclusive Wonder Theme powered by YITH. You can customize your store's layout, colors, fonts, and features with ease.
- YITH Customized Customer Accounts: This plugin allows you to design account pages for your customers to give them a personalized and unique experience when they log in. You can create promotions, coupons, order tracking, and more within the customer's account.
- YITH Wishlists: This plugin allows your customers to create lists of products they want and share them with family and friends. You can use this feature to boost brand awareness and manage your inventory.
- YITH Product Search & Filtering: This plugin allows your customers to find the products they are looking for faster and easier. You can create advanced filters based on categories, tags, attributes, prices, ratings, and more.
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Conclusion
Starting an online store with Bluehost is easy and fast. You just need to choose a hosting plan and a domain name, install WordPress on your site, and customize your online store's appearance and functionality with themes and plugins. With Bluehost's reliable hosting service, unified WordPress integration, large storage capacity, scalable hosting plans, and 24/7 expert support, you can enjoy a seamless and hassle-free online store creation experience.
If you are interested in starting an online store with Bluehost, you can use our exclusive link to get a special discount and a free domain name. You can also take advantage of their 30-day money-back guarantee and test their service risk-free.
We hope this blog post has helped you learn how to start an online store with Bluehost. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below. Thank you for reading!
