One of the big selling points to registering for shared web hosting through HostGator is that you can host unlimited domain names with the same account as long as you purchase the “Baby Plan” or “Business Plan” hosting packages. This can save you a lot of money if you plan on launching multiple niche WordPress websites like me.

Also setting up all of your URLs under one account is easy and fast. The video below outlines exactly how to host multiple domain names with the same hosting package. The estimated time of completion of this step is about 3 minutes. As you add additional domain names to your portfolio, just follow the steps in this video again.

This is an official video training video straight from HostGator. They do an excellent job of outlining this process for you so I didn’t feel the need to create a custom video for this step.

If you’re interested in niche websites or you’re just looking for step-by-step guidance on how to release your own WordPress website, read my entire series on the topic that will take you from zero to attractive WordPress website over the weekend.

When people start releasing their first WordPress websites one of their first questions is typically “What plugins should I download?” This isn’t too surprising since there’s so much that can be accomplished in WordPress by uploading custom plugins.

As part of my comprehensive series that shows you how to launch a niche website using WordPress, I’m publishing the list of plugins I use for mini sites.

Contact Form 7

Website: http://contactform7.com/

Description: THis plug-in let’s you set up an contact form within WordPress so that users can contact you via email. The setup for this plug-in is extremely easy and fast, which is why I use it.

Google XML Sitemaps

Website: http://www.arnebrachhold.de/projects/wordpress-plugins/google-xml-sitemaps-generator/

Description: This plug-in will automatically create an XML sitemap for your WordPress website. Adding a new page? No worries. This program updates your XML sitemap automatically when a new page is added to your websites. Adding an XML sitemap helps improve indexation within Google and other major search engines.

Pub SubHubbub

Website: http://code.google.com/p/pubsubhubbub/

Description: Watch the helpful little video below.

SEO Ultimate

Website: http://www.seodesignsolutions.com/wordpress-seo/

Description: This plug-in allows you edit important on-page optimization elements on your website. For example, the SEO Ultimate plug-in gives you control over meta descriptions, rich snippets, conanical tags, keyword fields and other things that you’ll want control over to ensure your website performs.

Ultimate Google Analytics

Website: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/ultimate-google-analytics/

Description: This plug-in automatically adds tracking code for Google Analytics to all pages of your website. This saves a lot of time and I strongly recommend using this plug in for all WordPress websites.

W3 Total Cache

Website: http://www.w3-edge.com/wordpress-plugins/w3-total-cache/

Description: In 2011, Google announced that they were now considering site speed as one of their 100s of ranking factors. Uploading this plug-in will help improve load times on your website for WordPress.

WP No Category Base

Website: http://wordpresssupplies.com/wordpress-plugins/no-category-base/

Description: This plug in removes the “Category Base” folder that comes standard on URLs that are published on WordPress with default settings. Since shorter URLs are typically considered better for SEO this is a smart plug-in to upload for all new WordPress websites.

TweetMeme Button

Website: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/tweetmeme/

Description: This clever little plugin makes your content more sharable via Twitter. The appearance of this plug-in also fits in nicely into just about any WordPress Template. In fact, you can see what this plugin will look like on your blog by viewing the ReTweet button at the top right hand corner of this post.

Keep in mind that there are literally thousands of WordPress plugins available to test. If there’s some sort of a feature you’re interested in adding to your WordPress website I recommend looking it up to see if it’s possible by uploading a simple plugin. Just be aware that the more plugins you add the longer it will take for your website to load for visitors, hurting the overall user experience of your website.

If you’ve been following along with this WordPress training series, you’ve already purchased a domain name and set up your web hosting at HostGator. In this video I’ll show you how to install WordPress on your website. This step should only take 5 minutes of your time.

1.) Go to the Control Panel Log in Screen. This should be located at yourwebsiteurl.com/cpanel

2.) Log in with the Username and password that you set up with Hostgator
hosting.

3.) Click Fantastico De Luxe under Software Services within Hostgator
Control Panel

4.) On the left side navigation select the WordPress button.

5.) Click “New Installation” on the page that appears.

6.)

Leave the “Install on Domain” field as is.
Leave the “Install in Directory” field blank.

Create Username and Password. Save this information… you’ll need it later to log in to WordPress.

7.) Under Base Configuration: Leave everything default.

8.) Click Install WordPress at the bottom of the page.

9.) Next page, select “Finish Installation”

10.) Write down the user name and password. Also, record the URL to
your WordPress Admin Page.

11.) You should see a stock WordPress Template when you enter the URL of your website into a browser like FireFox or Internet Explorer.

12.) Go to yourwebsiteurl.com/wp-admin to log into your new WordPress account.

In future videos I’ll show you how to upload the Flexibility Template and customize your WordPress website.