How to Setup WordPress on iPage

Today we are going to walk you through how to setup a WordPress blog on iPage, our recommended hosting provider for WordPress.

You most likely have already visited the iPage website through our link, but if you haven’t, click on this link which will unlock the $1.99/month hosting plan (normally $8.99).

Step 1: Visit iPage

Visit the iPage signup page: https://www.ipage.com/join/index.bml?bannerID=992&AffID=828931&LinkName=post-setupipage

Once on this page, click on “Sign Up Now” and proceed with filling out your contact information.

Step 2: Click on Sign Up Now

Awesome! You’ve unlocked our promo code granting you the $1.99/month hosting plan. Now click on “Sign Up Now” to continue.

Step 3: Choose Your Domain Name

Enter in the name of your website, iPage is going to help you purchase the domain name along with helping you host it online for everyone to view it.

In my case, I selected “Wisestartupblog.com” to show you when I purchased my domain.

If your domain name is taken, you will be given a list of suggestions and alternate endings.

Step 4: Enter Your Billing Information

This is our last step. On this page, you need to enter your billing information.

To receive your $1.99/month discount, make it’s selected under the Purchase Information section. We recommend choosing the yearly billing, otherwise you’ll be paying $3.99/month (double).

If you’re hesitant about paying for an entire year upfront, don’t be. I’ve owned WiseStartupBlog.com for over 10 years, and wish I could have paid for all 10 years in advance, as it would have saved me $1000s over the years.

You’ll notice that with your hosting package you’re getting $450 in marketing credits which can be used to drive traffic to your site. So your hosting plan will pay for itself for basically forever 🙂

I recommend a couple of their Website Essentials to go along with your basic hosting plan.

I’ve experienced my website crashing and losing all my data, so I do daily backups on all my sites, and for $1 per month, it’s a no brainer.

Also, if you plan on having users visit your site with their mobile phones (this site receives 50% of its traffic from mobile devices), I recommend installing the $2.99/month mobile phone optimizer.

Now click Check Out and you’re done!

Next Section: Setting Up WordPress on iPage

Step 1: Check Your Inbox & Setup Login Info

Now that you’ve completed your order on iPage, they are going to send you a confirmation email.

Look for the subject line: Your iPage Order Confirmation & Login Info.

This email contains a link you need to click to setup your username and password for iPage.

If you have bought a new domain name, check your inbox for a second email with the subject line Important: Please validate your domain name.

Click on the link in the email, and verify that your contact information and domain name is correct (it will be pre-filled for your automatically and should be correct).

Step 2: Install WordPress

Now that you’ve got your login information setup, your next step is to login to your Control Panel which can be reached by this link:

https://secure.ipage.com/secure/login.bml?err=12

Once logged in, navigate to the Website section and click on WordPress.

This is going to take you to the Wordpress installer.

To install WordPress you can use the free package or you can pay $199 to have iPage set it up for you.

I recommend going with the free option, but if you’re unsure, click on the $199 option, and you are done reading this guide 🙂

If you’re going ahead with setting up WordPress yourself, enter in the domain name you want to install it onto (which should be your domain name you just purchased).

Go through the installation steps, and click agree, and then Install Now.

The installation should take about 3 minutes, during which you can browse the themes available for WordPress.

Themes are design packages which control what your website looks like. The themes available from iPage are awesome, but if you want free themes, checkout our collection of the best free WordPress themes.

Step 3: Enter Your Login Credentials

Once your installation is finished, click on the top bar on View Credentials.

Your credentials will have already been created for you, and use them to enter into your WordPress dashboard.

To get to your WordPress login page, add /wp-admin/ to the end of your URL.

For instance, to reach my dashboard I visit: https://wisestartupblo.wpengine.com/wp-admin/

Yours would be: yourdomain.com/wp-admin/

Use the credentials created for you to login to your WordPress dashboard.

Step 4: Navigating the WordPress Dashboard

You’re in! Now it’s time to get started blogging.

After you have successfully logged into you WordPress account, you will be taken to the dashboard where you can manage your site, create pages, and publish posts. If you are ready to start writing, click on “Posts” in the sidebar menu on the left. Choose “Add New” and you will be taken to a editor that looks and operates a lot like most word processing programs. Compose your first blog post, hit publish, and you are now the proud owner of your very own self-hosted WordPress blog!

It really is that simple, but if you would like a quick lesson on some of the other great features in the dashboard that can help you customize your posts and help spruce them up a little, click here. This concise article will walk you through the 15 best WordPress features that every blogger needs to know about.

Step 5: Customize Your WordPress Blog

Now that you are a big time blogger with your own self-hosted site, you may want to start thinking about customizing your site. There are plenty of free themes available that will help you create a simple and stylish website that best highlights the type of content you are looking to promote. To get started, check out this article: Starting Your First Blog? Checkout These 15 Best Free WordPress Themes.

In under 20 minutes you have setup your own self-hosted WordPress blog that will allow you complete control of your site. Start publishing, making friends with other bloggers and promoting your posts!

As your next step, we suggest you familiarize yourself with WordPress by going over the 15 most useful WordPress features.

If you ever need any help, feel free to reach out to me. I’m here to ensure your success.