Installation of WordPress needs a hosting server and Bluehost is one of the recommended hosting companies by WordPress. Before you start the installation process it is necessary to decide your domain name. Bluehost offers the following possibilities to choose a domain for a WordPress installation:
Bluehost Domain Options Besides the above options, you will also have the following options during the installation process: Domain Options During WordPress Installation
WWW is a subdomain of you domain which will be available by default and you do not need to create this.
Installing on a specific directory or a subdomain are technically same from the file structure perspective. For example, a directory installation like “www.yoursite.com/wordpress/” and a subdomain installation “http://wordpress.yoursite.com/” will create a folder “wordpress” under root directory like “/public_html/wordpress/”. The difference is the URL which you can define in WordPress admin dashboard frontend.
Decide the domain based on your need before you start WordPress installation process.
DNS Settings and Domain Accessibility
Once you decided your domain name, open it in a web browser to check whether it is accessible. At this point it should show a Bluehost ad since nothing is setup on your domain. If you see “404 page not found” or any other server error then DNS settings are the immediate thing to be checked. Checking DNS settings is important especially if your domain is registered with other registrars like GoDaddy or HostGator. Follow the below steps to setup your domain’s DNS settings:
- Open your DNS zone editor in GoDaddy or HostGator and change the name servers to Bluehost name servers. This will transfer the DNS ownership to Bluehost servers and your GoDaddy or HostGator DNS settings will be disabled once the changes are propagated.
- Go to “Domains > Zone Editor” in Bluehost and add an “A (Host)” and “CNAME (Alias)” records to point your domain to Bluehost server’s IP address.
Checking Bluehost DNS Settings
Once you changed DNS settings it may take up to 4 hours for the changes to propagate and effective in live. Again open your site’s URL in a browser to check the accessibility.
IP address of your Bluehost server can be found under “cPanel > Stats sidebar”. If you have a dedicated IP then find your server’s IP under “Hosting > Server > Server IPs”.
Ensure your URL does not show any error in the browser like 404 page not found, otherwise you will not able to open your WordPress admin dashboard as well site though you will be still able to install WordPress.
Learn how to install WordPress on Bluehost Domain or Subdomain.
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