Domain and website questions

Hi!

Not sure if this is the right place to post - I looked over everywhere, and this seemed like the closest I could find. If it's not, I apologize!

So, while I've been published since 2017, and have a blog with Wordpress and a website with Wix, I wanted to finally get a website with my own domain name. However, I'm a bit at a loss as to where to start, and thought I'd ask here since people are always very kind and helpful!

A little bit of information beforehand:
- I live in Canada (not sure if this makes a difference, but it may)
- I wouldn't sell my books directly on my website - they would all link out to be bought on Amazon, Smashwords, etc.
- I'm looking for the cheapest possible, but I also don't want to throw a huge chunk of money right out, so I'd prefer a maximum of 12 months hosting at a time
- I already have the Wordpress Theme I'll be purchasing and using to build my website from (it's a theme purchased from Envato Market)

Bluehost is giving me the following price for 12 months hosting: 4.94$/month for a total of 59.40$ (this is likely USD)
GoDaddy is giving me the following price for 12 months hosting: 6.99$/month for a total of 83.88$ (confirmed this is CAD)

Are these really the cheapest prices around when it comes to hosting or am I missing something?

Any recommendations or advice is always appreciated!

Marissa D said:

First things first--have you purchased your domain name?

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Not yet - when I go onto the hosting plans, it gives me the option to put one in there

AW Admin said:

First, I'm moving this to Tech help.

Second. Get the domain name first. Don't use the same company / business for domain name registration and hosting.

Third; are you planning on putting ads on your site other than links to purchase your own books?

If not, you might want to look at hosting at wordpress.com, using a paid plan. You can point your Wordpress.com site to your own domain, for about 40.00 a year.

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Thank you! (and sorry about not putting it in the right category - I somehow missed the tech help )

Any recommendations on where to get the domain name first for cheapest?

I won't be putting ads on my site other than my own links to purchase my books, so I'll definitely look into hosting at wordpress.com - thank you for the advice!!!

AW Admin said:

Don't pay more than 15.00. Consider, strongly, paying the extra 10.00 or so for "private" registration, so that your address isn't publicly listed.

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I bought the Personal Plan for the Wordpress hosting, but it seems as though to upload the theme I bought, I do need to buy the Premium plan instead (which is more like 120$ per year)

Marissa D said:

Make a list of domain names you'd be happy with, in case the most obvious one--yourname.com--is taken. And once you find the one you want, buy it; don't put it off and do it in a few days or anything. Squatters will watch what domains are being searched, and buy them up then more or less hold them for ransom.

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Bought my domain name! I already knew what I wanted since it's the same for my email address, usernames, etc. - thought it would be simpler to keep it all the same!