If you have read my other blog posts, you know that I have a love for Bluehost hosting.
When I finally decided to switch to Bluehost as my hosting provider, I felt beat up by my previous hosting provider. I had spent two weeks attempting to migrate from one hosting plan to another and my previous hosting provider had failed me in every possible way.
When I spoke with the support team at Bluehost, I was cautiously optimistic. I listed every possible nightmare scenario that my 11 years of experience could muster, and I ran them by the support staff. By the time I reached the end of my list, I was so comfortable with Bluehost that I signed up for 3 years of Business Pro Cloud hosting.
With other hosting companies, I was put on hold each time I would ask a question. With Bluehost, their customer support team could answer the questions without running to a manager. It was like going on an amazing date after a series of bad first dates. I was ready to get married!
After setting up my account, I wasn’t surprised at all to find that the Bluehost Control Panel was easy to navigate. Not just easy; they made the entire WordPress installation process a piece of cake. I can’t tell you the hoops I have jumped through with other hosting providers.
For a newbie blogger, the Control Panel may seem a little daunting. So, I’ve compiled a list of the 7 Things You Need to Know in the Bluehost Control Panel. Once you know these 7 things, you will have mastered 99% of your Control Panel needs.
How did you come up with this list of 7 things?
Easy. They are what I use on a regular basis. I manage most of my blogging needs outside of Bluehost. So, when I visit the Bluehost Control Panel, I find that I typically only needed these 7 things.
I will start at the top of the control panel and scroll through the panel until we get to the end of the list. These “things” can also be found in the main navigation.
To begin, you will need to be logged into your Bluehost account. Then, click the “cPanel” link in the main navigation.
If for some reason you haven’t already set up your Bluehost hosting account, check out How to Start a WordPress Blog on Bluehost where I walk you through the steps of selecting a hosting plan and starting your blog.
Let’s get started…
1. Install WordPress
If you are starting a WordPress blog, this is obviously a “must know”. Bluehost has made this installation process incredibly simple for newbie bloggers.
Where can you find it?
- Main Navigation: (preferred)
You can find this by clicking the “WordPress Tools” button in the main navigation and by click the “New Install” button once you reach the WordPress Tools page. - Website Section:
You can also find the “Install WordPress” button.
I personally prefer the main navigation button. These are two different installation approaches and the main navigation button offers a one-click installation process.
2. Email Manager
One of the first things I do after starting a blog is set up an email address. This helps me manage emails specific to the domain name and prepare for the “Contact Us” page.
Where can you find it?
- Main Navigation:
If you have “Hosting” selected in the main navigation, you can simply click “email” in the sub-navigation. - Email Section:
As you scroll through the cPanel, you will see the “Email Manager” button in the email section.
Once you are on the Email Manager page, you can create a new email address, manage existing email address or dive into any of the other email sections.
Be sure to check out my post: How to Setup a New Bluehost Email Address:
3. Email Configuration
While you are in the Email Manager page, check out the “Email Configuration” page.
Once you have set up your new email address, you may want to setup your email on your cell phone for mobile check-ins or set up an outside email management (such as Gmail).
This page is needed when it comes to configuring your email on your cell phone or a management account (such as, Outlook or Gmail).
Where can you find it?
- Email Manager Page:
From the email manager page, “Email Configuration” link is in the left-hand navigation.
Be sure to check out my posts: How to Set Up your Bluehost Email Account on Your iPhone and How to Manage Your Bluehost Email with Gmail.
4. Domain Manager
The domain manager serves as the hub for everything related to your domains. This applies to domains that are simply pointed to your Bluehost account, as well as, domains that are registered through Bluehost.
From here, you can navigate to #5 and #6 on this list. You can also register new domains, view domain expiration dates and view domain details.
Where can you find it?
- Main Navigation:
By clicking the “Domains” link in the main navigation, you will land on the Domain Manager. - Domains Section:
By scrolling down the Control Panel to the “domains” section, you will find the “Domain Manager” button.
5. Assign Domains
Do you have a domain registered with another domain registrar? If you have a domain registered with another registrar (such as GoDaddy, NameCheap, or 1&1) and would like it to be hosted by Bluehost, you will need to assign it to Bluehost. This process is called updating your nameservers. This is the place to go to update your nameservers.
Where can you find it?
- Main Navigation:
By clicking the “Domains” link in the main navigation, you can then click the “assign” link in the sub-navigation. - Domain Manager:
You can also find this page by clicking “Assign a domain to your cPanel account” in the left-hand navigation.
Both navigation methods take you to the same URL. From here, you can setup the domain preferences once the nameservers have been updated.
If you are new to updating your nameservers, my blog post How to Update Your Nameservers will walk you through the process.
6. Domain Redirects
Did you purchase multiple domains when you registered your dream domain? A common brand retention approach is to purchase similar or misspelled domains when registering your dream domain. For example, if you go to any of the domains listed below, you will find yourself on https://www.amazon.com
http://www.amzon.com
http://www.amazn.com
http://www.amazon.co
http://www.amazon.edu
This is because Amazon has implemented domain redirects to send visitors to https://www.amazon.com.
If you have purchased similar or misspelled domains, you will want to visit the “Domain Redirects” page in Bluehost. This allows you to implement the redirects necessary to get visitors to your dream domain.
Where can you find it?
- Main Navigation:
By clicking the “Domains” link in the main navigation, you can then click the “redirect” link in the sub-navigation. - Domain Manager:
You can also find this page by clicking “Manage Domain Redirection” in the left-hand navigation.
7. SSL
What is the difference between HTTP and HTTPS? No, this isn’t a trick question or a dad joke. The short answer is: an SSL certificate (aka Secure Sockets Layer Certificate).
If your website is still using the HTTP protocol, you need to become more familiar with the SSL area of the Bluehost control panel.
HTTPS is no longer just a sign of security to your visitors. In 2014, Google made an announcement that HTTPS was officially a ranking signal for Google’s search engine results pages (SERPs).
If you have a brand-new blog, this is a very simple task to complete. I highly recommend activating an SSL certificate before pushing your blog live for the world to see.
If your blog is already live and you’ve been receiving traffic to your website (regardless of the traffic source), you will need to do an HTTPS migration. This requires a bit more planning to prevent loss of your existing traffic.
Where can you find it?
- Main Navigation:
By clicking the “addons” button in the main navigation, you will be taken to a page where the SSL button appears. - Upgrades Section:
By scrolling to the “upgrades” section in the Control Panel, you will find the SSL button
That wraps up the 7 Things you Need to Know in the Bluehost Control Panel. Here are some of the links again:
How to Create an Email Address for Your Domain
How to Set Up Your Domain Email Address on Your iPhone
How to Manage Your Domain Email Address with Gmail
How to Update Your GoDaddy Nameservers
What are your thoughts? Do you have other “must knows”? Let’s hear them in the comments below.
How to Change Your GoDaddy Nameservers to Bluehost
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