How To Get a Free Bluehost Domain and Hosting - Complete Guide!

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Published DEC 2019 Updated JAN 2023

free bluehost domain

Hungry to get your ideas out into the world? You’re at the right place! Let me take you by the hand and show you exactly how to get a free Bluehost domain name and also how to select the right website hosting plan.

But just before we do…

I’m sure you already know what a domain name is…

But just to clarify, it’s basically the online address you use so the gazillions of internet users out there can access your cool website or blog.

As an example, Earnaholic.com is my domain name.

A domain name can be a .com, a .info or almost anything. There’s a plethora of domain extensions available!

I prefer the "dot com" myself but you can have .club, .live, .art, or even things like .photographer or .surf!

Don’t forget that your spirit-twinkle makes life’s rainbow shine bright.

~ Terri Guillemets

Domain name extensions have definitely evolved over time.

You now have a lot more branding freedom now…

There’s a whole crazy story how I came to get my domain by the way. I won’t get into it now but let’s just say it cost me, in a round-about-way, a hefty $500 to get it.

Rest assured, your domain shouldn’t cost anywhere near that!

Expect to pay the bank-breaking amount of around $10.00 + / year. 🙂

However with Bluehost, you can get a free domain for 12 months when you purchase hosting (which you’ll need anyway!)

No tech skills required!

You don’t need to be a tech whiz or IT guru to do all this domain / web stuff either. All you need to do is click a few buttons and follow the directions below!

We’ll go through all the steps to getting your own free Bluehost domain and setting up your hosting too.

Although I now use DropFunnels I was with Bluehost for a gazillion years and still think they're good to use.

Anyhoo…

Why I like Bluehost

Why was I a big fan of Bluehost? You could get on that live chat anytime day or night and get things sorted! 🙂

Bluehost are easy to use, come with good customer service and fast load times. (Who has time to wait?)

In addition, their live chat is really, really helpful.

They’re also very affordable. There are other web hosts out there that will do specific WordPress hosting for you for $30-$300/month.

Whereas the Bluehost packages start at like $3.95 a month (plus a free domain).

Own your own domain

So in this post we’ll just talk about the important stuff - how to get that free Bluehost domain happening.

I also recommend using WordPress (we'll get to that) to use as the foundation of your blog or website too.

It’s good to act quickly to get your domain name… especially if you already have a great idea and you want to lock that idea in!

Your domain name will be the home of your business and a place where the world can find you and your ideas!

When I saw Earnaholic.com was available, I was (as Jack Reacher might say) unhinged enough to get it.

Pondered for a minute, then pounced.

I wanted to own the asset and make it mine. 🙂

So anyhow... let's go get our free Bluehost domain...

3 Steps to your Bluehost domain & hosting plan

  1. Your Website Concept (If you have ideas already then great!)
  2. Get Your Plan & Free Bluehost Domain (Lock in your domain)
  3. What’s Next / Customise Your Website: (What happens next?)

So let's get our website basics started...

Your website concept

Note: You can always get your free domain later, and just get hosting now, if that's more convenient.

It might sound hard to believe but there are still good domain names to be had out there!

I brainstormed with a friend and helped her snap up the CaravanGenius.com domain recently.

You might think that a domain like that would be taken. But it was available for like AU$12.00 a year.

Quick Point:

You’d be amazed how many people forget to RENEW their domain.

The smart way to not forget is to do these:

  • Set up AUTO-RENEW for your domain/s (Bluehost will ask you for this)
  • Get them to send you notifications (they’ll do this anyways)

Like I was saying at the start, it’s good if you have some ideas already for what you want to do with your online business.

That way you can jump in head first & get your hosting and domain.

If you’re ready to do that now, then use this link (opens in new tab) to go to Bluehost and then come back and follow the visual guide steps below.

When you  go through my link I earn a small commission from your hosting purchase. This doesn’t make your hosting cost any more. It just allows me to keep writing! 🙂

2: Get your plan & free Bluehost domain

To get your Bluehost domain you’ll need to choose a hosting plan.

I previously used the Pro plan because I run multiple websites.

If you have more than one website planned then the ‘Plus’ or ‘Choice Plus’ plans allow you to run multiple domains (or websites).

bluehost hosting plans
The Bluehost hosting plans.

Getting domain privacy and unlimited storage etc can help too.


  • Domain privacy works by basically hiding your personal contact information from the public and replacing it with Bluehost contact information instead.
  • Unlimited storage kind of means there is no limit to the amount of space you can use for your website (images, videos, data, email, etc).

You probably don't need unlimited storage to start out. Only when your websites become huge!

Look at the things you think you need.

I'd suggest going with the Choice Plus plan.

So what is the best Bluehost plan?

By the way: Hosting is much cheaper if you get it for multiple years!

The best Bluehost plan is the one that best suits your needs.

Have a look at what each plan offers.

Do your due diligence on each.

Choose the basic plan if you’re on a tight budget. Upgrading later is easy.

As you can see, the hosting plans are not that expensive. You can be in business for $3.95 a month! 🙂

A: Create your free domain (or use your own)

free bluehost domain
Create your free Bluehost domain (or use your own domain).

Pretty self explanatory. If you have a domain in mind then add it to the 'create a new domain' section.

You may need to play around with the words a bit to see if you can get an original domain.

Or you might just get lucky with it.

The free domain is free for a year, as I understand.

Otherwise if you own a domain already, then simply add it to the 'use a domain you own' section.

Now let's set up your Bluehost account details...

B: Set up your Bluehost account

bluehost account info
How to set up your Bluehost account information.

Add your personal details into the fields on that page.

Then let's select our hosting plan...

C: Select your hosting account plan

bluehost hosting options
Select the right Bluehost hosting package for you.

As mentioned, it's cheaper the more years you get on your hosting plan.

You can check this by clicking in the Account Plan section...

I'm not entirely sure you need the Bluehost SEO Tools option. 🙂

You may be able to use a free plugin like Yoast SEO instead.

Having the Sitelock Security is a smart move.

I'm pretty sure that adds a little padlock to your website (in the top URL section) to show that your website is safe and secure.

Let's add our payment information...

D: Add payment information

bluehost payment information
Add your payment details and hit the submit button.

Add in your card details and make sure you have the check box selected.

Tap on that submit button...

Once you have done all that then congratulations!

E: Create an account password

bluehost domain create password
Create a password for your Bluehost account.

You'll need to create a new password to access your Bluehost account. Do that here.

Type in your domain name. (The one you just created in the last step).

Then click Create Account.

F: Log in to your account

log in to bluehost account
Log in to your Bluehost account.

Yeah, nice work!

Sound of little cogs whirring behind the scenes here.

Getting everything ready for you...

Hit that Go To Login button.

Now let's customise your website...

3. Customising your website

So you have already got the best Bluehost plan (and you've set up your password). Now we are going to get your beautiful WordPress website set up...

Now you should be directed to this Log In page below.

Let's do it...

A: Log in to your new account

bluehost hosting new password
Log in to your Bluehost account.

Type in your domain, and the password you created in the previous steps.

You can also sign in with Google as an option.

Feeling good?

Let's name our new website and create a little tagline...

B: Name your website

name your website
Name your new website and tagline.

You have a name in mind for your website, right?

The tagline sort of means what your website is about.

A good example of a tagline is World & Humanitarian Photographer, for instance.

Or maybe something like Personalised Ugandan Adventure Tours.

If you want a blog then select yes. (Recommended).

If you want an online store then select that option too.

Just select everything. 🙂

Click the Continue button.

Now for a few other tiny details...

C: A bit more about you

This is sort of self explanatory. I'll let you fill this in.

They're just asking what your goals are with your new website...

Let them know if you are comfortable with creating websites.

Probably some algorithm that works behind the scenes to help you. But I could be wrong.

Now let's get your WordPress theme happening...

D: Pick a WordPress theme

wordpress free themes
Pick a WordPress theme you like.

As you can see, there's quite a few free WordPress themes you can use.

They are all 'good enough' to use and start with.

Click on one you like.

Or you can skip this part and do it later.

Here's some beautifully designed paid WordPress themes you might like. 🙂

Now let WordPress work her magic...

E: WordPress auto install

wordpress auto install
WordPress auto install.

More cogs whirring behind the scenes. Can you hear them?

Are we there yet? 🙂

Almost!

F: Start building your new website!

build your wordpress website
Start building your WordPress website!

If you have reached this page then you can pat yourself on the back.

It means everything is hunky dory.

We are almost ready to start building! 🙂

Let's look inside the Bluehost cPanel (Control Panel)...

G: The Bluehost control panel

bluehost control panel
The Bluehost control panel.

You can log in to your new website from that blue button that says Log In To WordPress.

I say that because there are a lot of links and options on that page so it's kind of good to know how to get where you're going!

If you were to click that Log In To WordPress button then you should see the page below...

Finally... 🙂

H: Your WordPress tools & interface

wordpress tools
The WordPress control panel.

This is the inside of your WordPress website.

The place where the magic happens.

Therefore that means you've done everything correctly and achieved your purpose.

This is the end of the road for this stage of things.

Well done!

You should now have...

Your free Bluehost domain, a solid hosting plan and be ready to start making waves!

See you on the inter-webs... 🙂

This post is all about using Bluehost hosting but did you know you can use DropFunnels to do a similar thing? DropFunnels is a fast loading, all-in-one sales funnel and SEO website builder tool that runs on WordPress. You can build an authority website and sales funnels quickly with no technical know-how needed.