Why you’re here
If you’re reading this sentence, it’s probably because you know that you need a website.
Maybe you’ve recently become an entrepreneur (congrats!) — or you’re in the process of becoming one at least. Or perhaps you’ve already got a business or a project you’re working on.
And the first thing you need is a website. Duh! Everyone knows that.
And you might need a domain name too. And then you did some research, and you realized that you need web hosting too.
The realization
And then maybe you googled “what is the best web hosting” or something like that. And you learned there’s a ton of hype-y and sketchy results trying to steer you down a particular path. It just feels vaguely manipulative.
It kind of feels like you’re reading biased opinions, and you worry that you might pick the wrong web host and regret it.
And you worry that you might overpay. Or do something wrong in the setup.
Or waste a lot of time trying to figure it all out, when you just want to be done with the website part and move on to your actual business/project.
Don’t believe the hype
News flash: those other pages are hype-y and sketchy. They are biased, and they are trying to get you to sign up with any of the bajillion web hosts they link to, so they get paid a commission. They don’t care if you sign up for the best host, mind you, but just any old host that will pay them the most. Ugh.
I got tired of that crap, and that’s why I built this website — to cut through the noise and give you the straight truth about:
- how to get a domain name
- how to get laser fast & reliable web hosting without paying more than you should
- how to quickly install a basic website that will probably do everything you need.
News flash #2: you don’t need all the add-ons that sites like GoDaddy and HostGator try to foist upon you. And you don’t need their “Plus” or “Premium” packages, either. You don’t need them at all in fact — you can have much faster cloud hosting for about the same price anyway, I’ll show you how.
Why I built this site
My goal here is to help you pay only what you should, to keep the control in your hands, and to not take forever doing it. So that you can move on to bigger & better things.
I don’t have anything to sell you on this site. I really don’t. Nothing, nada, zilch. I don’t have a $2,997 genius make-money-online course to offer you, sorry! I don’t have a coaching/mentoring/mastermind program that will lighten your wallet either.
What I do have is my very direct, no-fluff, straightforward step-by-step guides based on my expertise. And I made some explainer videos to along with them, if you’re into that. They’re very simple “do this, then click here” guides. No extraneous info, no useless details.
My aim is to help you cut through the hype and the BS — so that you can benefit from my years of experience and save time & pain, and get to the straight truth about domains, hosting, and websites.
And — this is important — I want you to actually take action instead of just reading about it. I write about getting past those mental hurdles and fears (and my own struggles) on the Taking Imperfect Action blog. Check it out if you’re interested.
I’m a real person
If you’re still reading this, I hope you’re starting to see that honesty and authenticity is my “game”. Hope that’s yours too. My goal is for this to be the realest motherfucking site on the internet. (P.S. sometimes I swear, but only for emphasis.)
I support my family financially as an affiliate, so I get a commission if you buy through one of my links, but please understand that I only recommend services and products that I personally use and love — NOT because they pay a lot. I only recommend one web host, because it’s the best!
(If I was only about the money, I’d recommend Bluehost because they pay their affiliates the most. But I don’t recommend them, because they suck! Here’s why. Instead I recommend Cloudways, the best host I’ve found so far.)
I feel strongly that I’m different from most affiliates, and I feel really good about what I recommend. If you’re concerned at all, please read my personal commitment to being an ethical affiliate. And as always, you’re not obligated to click any of my links (although I hope you do), you’re welcome to just Google the companies instead if you prefer.
Who the hell is Billy?
Look, I’m nobody special. Well, my mama thinks I am, but that’s beside the point.
I’m not going to pump myself up and post photos of myself standing next to a fancy European sports car, or relaxing in a private jet. Mostly because I don’t have those things. Fun fact: neither do the coaches/gurus who do post those photos — they rent the cars and the jets to promote an image.
So here’s my “image” then:
- I’m a regular dude, who happens to have been building websites since the beginning of the Web. Way back in 1996 I built my first website and started a web design company with my wife.
- I’ve built dozens (hundreds?) of websites since then, for clients and myself, across many different platforms like WordPress, Drupal, and ClickFunnels.
- I have oodles of experience with hosts like Bluehost, Dreamhost, Siteground, Cloudways, and probably some others that I forgot.
- Due to the above, I like to think I know my shit.
I’ve also been fortunate enough to enjoy a successful professional career in digital advertising and marketing, working at such companies as AdRelevance, WhitePages.com, Razorfish, Expedia, and Mixpo.
I was born in Haiti, spent 20+ years in the Seattle area, and now I live in Costa Rica’s southern zone with my family. Along the way, I managed to survive in Indonesia for five years as an English teacher. Ask me about any of that, if you’re interested!
More than anything, I like to think I’m a real person. I’m trying really hard to be open and honest and authentic with this site, and I hope that resonates with you. I’m trying to do something different, I’m trying to be helpful, and I hope you find my content useful. If you need some help, that’s what I’m here for — don’t hesitate to shoot me an email anytime at and I’ll reply.
Let’s get a website
Okay, so we’ve established that you need a website, and that you’re willing to at least consider my guidance in selecting vendors and methods. (If you’re already an expert on this stuff, or super technically knowledgeable, then you probably don’t need my help.)
Your choices for getting a website:
- You can pay a “web guy” or a website agency a bunch of money to build you a site, and then you’ll pay them a large monthly fee for hosting it, OR
- You can try to figure it out yourself, and save some money & control
If you’ve got the cash to go with Option 1, and you don’t mind paying more to have someone else figure it out, then more power to you, and no judgment. Heck, I do run a digital agency — we’re happy to take your money to figure it out for you, if you like.
But most of us fall into Option 2: we’d like to figure it out ourselves. And here are some added benefits of going this route:
- you maintain control of your site and aren’t held hostage by anyone
- you pay only what you should
So assuming you’re willing to figure this out for yourself, then it’s time to dive into the WHYs and the HOW-TOs below. Happy learning, and remember to email me directly if you get stuck!