This service includes:
- Configuring your domain name to point to your web hosting account
- Installation of the latest version of WordPress on your web hosting account
- Creation of three pages where you can start adding your own info:
- Home (optionally can be configured to show blog posts as the home page)
- About
- Contact (including a working contact form)
- Installation and configuration of an SSL certificate, if your hosting account allows it
- Installation of a free customizable theme (Blocksy)
- Installation and activation of a package of eight useful plugins:
- The Blocksy theme companion plugin, to help you get the most out of this theme
- A backup plugin (either the free UpdraftPlus, or the premium BackupBuddy if you’re joining my Peace of Mind Program)
- A security plugin (WordFence Security)
- A search engine optimization plugin (Yoast SEO)
- A website stats plugin (usually Burst Statistics, or Jetpack in some cases)
- A contact form plugin (either the free Jetpack, or the premium Gravity Forms if you’re joining my Peace of Mind Program)
- The Code Snippets plugin
- An email logging and delivery plugin (FluentSMTP)
To get started with this package, you will need:
- A web hosting account (my top two recommended web hosts are DreamHost and Siteground, and here’s my list of criteria for a good web host)
- A domain name (most web hosts allow you to register domain names or even include one domain name in their hosting packages, but you can also use a separate domain registrar — my favorite is Namecheap).
After your purchase is complete, I’ll email you to get your web hosting and domain registrar login credentials so I can get started on your installation.
Installations can usually be completed within a few days of purchase, sometimes a little longer if there’s a weekend or a holiday in the way.
Optional: Let me handle ongoing maintenance
As soon as your site is installed, you can get started adding your own content (blog posts, filling in the About page, etc.). You’re up and running!
But plugins and themes release new versions frequently, and you’ll need to stay on top of updating them. You’ll also need to monitor your site for downtime and security issues, and troubleshoot if any of the regular updates cause problems.
If you’d rather not deal with all that tech stuff, leave it to me!
With your membership in my Peace of Mind Program, you get:
- All plugin, theme, and WordPress software updates handled for you
- Secure offsite storage of your regular backups (and restoration of backups if something happens to your site)
- Security and uptime monitoring, with notifications sent to me so I can swing into action if your site goes down
- Use of the premium BackupBuddy plugin for backups
- Use of the premium Gravity Forms plugin for contact forms (this powerful plugin can even be used as a secure shopping cart!)
- Email spam protection and delivery via Amazon Web Services, so all emails sent from your site (contact form submissions, comment notifications, shopping cart transaction confirmations) will be delivered, logged, and not routed to spam folders