Ugh. Just when I think I’m there…. Please help a newbie.
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So I’d really like to just get started and start writing. Or rather, launch the site with the couple of articles I’ve already written and write more. I have purchased a domain name with Bluehost as I wasn’t able to do so with WordPress without getting a paid plan for a year at the cost of £36 as well. When I clicked ‘use a domain I own’ I seem to now have the two options of transferring the domain or mapping it (?). I don’t know what would be more suited to an amateur blog which is being partly used for business purposes but not in a big way and not directly for money. Regardless I want to get it started right away before I have to wade through all this obscure BS and work out what to do next. SOOOOO, my main question is:
Can I just launch my site using the current free site address and *THEN* go through all the hassle of transferring or mapping the domain and using that address instead?
Is that relatively easy to do or is it really complicated?
Will it either take long or screw up the site I will have already launched?
Is this even worth it?
Who am I?
Is any of this real?……..Sorry, ignore those last three.
Please forgive an amateur doing this for the first time and help me out. Thank you! -
You can launch your new site here with a free subdomain ending in .blog or .wordpress.com. But you’ll need to buy a Personal plan or higher here at WordPress.com to use that domain you’ve purchased elsewhere (map it) at the WordPress.com site. Ironically if you’d registered your new domain right here at WordPress.com it would have been included free for the first year along with a paid plan.
https://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/map-existing-domain/ -
Thanks. It’s pretty infuriating as when you go through the process of launching it really isn’t very clear about the various options and their downsides/upsides/pricing. I realise it’s a case of ‘buyer beware’ and I should have researched further but it’s not a great start in terms of trusting WordPress. I don’t think it would have been at all difficult for them to make these things clearer.
Anyway, I just need to be 100% clear so can you please just confirm:
That I can launch with the free site and then, maybe a few weeks down the line, change the domain to a paid one without too much hassle? I understand I’ve now already paid for the Bluehost domain and just have to eat that but I want to know that the process itself is relatively easy.
Thanks, man. -
This also depends on if you bought only a domain at Bluehost or hosting also. WordPress.com is a host like Bluehost, and you only want to buy hosting once. A domain is the address for your site, but hosting is a place to store the site files. WordPress.com will host your site for free, but requires an upgrade for features like adding a custom domain. Bluehost sells hosting where you can install WordPress.org, and WordPress.com is separate. https://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
But yes, if you want to use WordPress.com for free now, you can upgrade the site here any time to add a domain name. All your old links will route to the new address, and nothing else about your site changes.
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Okay that’s helpful, thank you. I just bought the domain from Bluehost and intended to use WordPress as the host but before I have time to sort through all the name/domain/pricing options etc. I just want to get the damn thing up and running. Might as well launch today or tomorrow and then upgrade in a few weeks if I feel the need. Thanks, Darcie.
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