How to get your first website online
The complete sequence, in order, with the decision points explained rather than glossed over. Roughly an hour of actual work, most of which is waiting for DNS.
- No card to start
- No setup fee
- Then £0.99/month
Three things, not one
Getting a website online involves three separate things that people routinely merge into one: an address (the domain name), a place to put files (the hosting) and the site itself (the files). They are bought from different places, they cost different amounts, and they fail in different ways.
Understanding that split makes everything afterwards easier, because when something does not work you can immediately tell which of the three is at fault.
Seven steps, in this order
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Register a domain name
Pick a registrar and buy the address. Expect roughly £8 to £12 a year for a .co.uk or .com. Ignore the add-ons at checkout; the only one worth considering is WHOIS privacy, and most registrars now include it. Do not buy hosting from the registrar just because it is offered on the same page — keeping them separate makes both easier to change later.
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Get a hosting account
Choose based on what the site will need rather than on the biggest number in the advert. For a first site, almost any specification is enough; what matters is the renewal price and whether the limits are stated honestly. The checklist.
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Point the domain at the hosting
Your host gives you its nameserver addresses — usually two or three. You paste them into the nameserver fields at your registrar, replacing whatever is there. This is the step that connects the address to the space, and it is the one people expect to be harder than it is. Step by step.
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Wait for DNS — and do not panic
The change usually takes effect within an hour, occasionally longer. During that window the site may load for you and not for a friend, or vice versa. That is normal and is not a fault. Why propagation works like that.
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Put a website in place
Either install a content management system — WordPress through a one-click installer is the usual choice — or upload files you have built yourself through the file manager or FTP. Files must go inside public_html or they will not be served. Install WordPress or upload files.
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Turn on HTTPS and check the padlock
The certificate should issue automatically once DNS points at the host. Confirm the padlock appears, then force HTTPS so visitors cannot reach the insecure version. How.
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Take a backup before you change anything else
Generate a backup from the panel and download it to your own computer. Doing this once, now, while the site is simple, establishes the habit at the point it costs nothing. How.
What actually trips people up
Things that will not go wrong
- Breaking the internet by changing nameservers — it is fully reversible
- Losing your domain by pointing it somewhere — ownership is separate
- Being unable to move later — files and databases export as standard
- Needing to understand DNS deeply to get a site online
Things that commonly do go wrong
- Files uploaded outside public_html, producing a blank page or a directory listing
- Expecting DNS changes to be instant, and assuming failure after ten minutes
- Buying a three-year hosting term before testing the host
- Not noticing that the advertised price is introductory only
- Never taking a backup until the day one is needed
Every item in the right-hand column is avoidable by knowing it exists, which is the entire reason this page lists them.
The realistic first-year total
| Item | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | £8–£12 a year | Paid to a registrar. Watch the renewal price, which is sometimes higher than the first year. |
| Hosting | £12–£60 a year at the budget end | Enormous variation. The renewal figure is the one that matters. |
| SSL certificate | £0 | Should always be free now. Being charged for a basic certificate is a signal worth heeding. |
| Website software | £0 for WordPress and most CMSes | Premium themes and plugins are optional and rarely necessary at the start. |
| Email on your domain | Often included with hosting | Check — some hosts unbundle it and sell mailboxes separately. |
Where the money goes
Added up, a first website is generally between £20 and £70 in year one, and the variance is almost entirely in the hosting. At Traxio the hosting side is £0 for 30 days and then £0.99 a month, so the domain is usually the larger line item — which is the correct way round, because the domain is the part you actually own.
Simple web hosting for £0.99 a month
One plan with everything included. Your first 30 days are free with no card required, then it’s £0.99 a month if you choose to continue — with no setup fee and no price rise at renewal.
The hosting is self-managed through DirectAdmin, with a large knowledge base and an AI help desk that escalates to a person when needed. That’s how the price stays this low.
Traxio web hosting
- 3GB NVMe disk spaceIncluded
- 100GB bandwidth a monthIncluded
- DirectAdmin control panelIncluded
- Free SSL, issued and renewed automaticallyIncluded
- An email account on your own domainIncluded
- One-click WordPress and 400+ appsIncluded
- FTP, SFTP and a browser file managerIncluded
- A MySQL database with phpMyAdminIncluded
- PHP 7.4 to 8.3, switchable per domainIncluded
- Cron jobs and daily offsite backupsIncluded
First 30 days£0.00
Then, per month£0.99
No setup fee. No VAT or card fees added.
First website questions
Keep reading
Hosting vs Domain Name
The two purchases, and why keeping them separate is worth doing.
Hosting for Beginners
What matters on a spec sheet at this stage, and what does not.
Step-by-Step Tutorials
Fifty walkthroughs covering every task mentioned above.
Hosting Jargon
Any term above you were not sure about.
Try Traxio free for 30 days
Then £0.99 a month if you decide to stay. No card required to start.
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