Website Resources
This page lists various recommended resources to help you host, build and promote websites. (For more recommendations click here.)
Domain Registration
Every website has a domain name such as google.com, apple.com, and amazon.com. You’ll need to register a domain name using your real name such as garynorth.com or else name it after your business name. *.com, *.net and *.org are all “top level domains” or TLD’s. There are many others to choose from such as *.biz and *.info. *.com are best for businesses yet are difficult to obtain.
Best practice is to register your domain names at a domain register and use a different company for website hosting. This allows you to change hosts without having to move your domain names at the same time. As a student it’s fine to break this rule because you’re not yet building websites as a business owner.
Good and Better: NameCheap
My recommended domain registrar is NameCheap. Most of my domain names are registered here. This company is based in Phoenix, Arizona.
Remember to point your domain at NameCheap to your hosting company’s name servers. Call or chat with technical support if you get stuck on this step.
Best: EasyDNS
Ron Paul Curriculum instructor Tom Woods interviewed the founder of EasyDNS Mark E. Jeftovic on his podcast. I recommend this more expensive option for highly controversial websites at a risk of being de-platformed. Not for my students!
https://easydns.com/ (use promo code WOODS to save 50% on your initial order).
Website Hosting
You need one hosting plan for your family. If you have several students in your family building websites, get a hosting plan which handles more websites. You save money by signing up for a longer term. Check with hosting companies about their current refund policies.
Good:
You can use WordPress.com to create a free website for your Ron Paul Curriculum affiliate project created during lessons 61 to 70.
https://wordpress.com/
Better:
NameCheap is great for registering domain names. Name Cheap also offers very inexpensive hosting plans with the purchase of a domain name. This is a good option for students who want an affordable hosting plan to learn how to create websites. You purchase a domain name and then add a shared hosting plan.
Best:
InMotion Hosting is a US-based, employed-owned company. All support is handled by their employees in Los Angeles and Virginia. InMotionHosting has been my website host for over 10 years. I strongly recommend it for students who create websites for local businesses. You need great technical support when you need help fixing a problem with a business website.
Website hosting plans and pricing change so click the link above to view current pricing. Remember that the longer the term, the lower the per month cost. However, you pay upfront for the entire term and renew for the same number of years. I recommend signing up for a one year term to save money now and keep your options open.
WordPress Themes and Plugins
Good:
Themes: https://wordpress.org/themes/
In general, you can choose WordPress themes which have been recently updated, have good ratings, and many downloads on WordPress.org. You should expect the better free themes to have a “Pro” version with more features. The people who pay for the Pro version make the free them possible.
Plugins: https://wordpress.org/plugins/
The same criteria applies to choosing free plugins. You want plugins which are up-to-date and have thousands of downloads.
Better:
Themes: These themes were suggested during various lessons:
https://wordpress.org/themes/graphy/ https://themeisle.com/themes/neve/
https://wordpress.org/themes/search/photographer/
This is a search for photography themes:
https://wordpress.org/themes/search/photographer/
Plugins: See website building worksheet for suggested plugins.
https://www.ronpaulcurriculum.com/Biz-Build-Your-WP-Website.docx
https://wordpress.org/plugins/Elementor/
The Elementor plugin can be used to build landing pages with any WordPress theme. The developer offers a “plain-vanilla & lightweight theme for Elementor page builder” to use with its Elementor plugin.
https://wordpress.org/themes/hello-elementor/
Best:
Thrive Themes Thrive Themes offers themes, plugins, and incredible technical support for building marketing savvy websites and landing pages. Most of you won’t need this much power while you take this course. Mainly because you won’t be able to justify the $149/quarter (or $299/year) membership fee until you start building websites for paying clients.
Website Builders
Good and Better:
Each of these proven website builders has different strengths and weaknesses. All get improvements on an ongoing basis. The one you choose should get the job done well and keep you at or below your budget.
https://www.duda.co/
https://weebly.com/
https://wix.com/
https://www.squarespace.com/
Best:
https://webflow.com/
“Webflow empowers designers to build professional, custom websites in a completely visual canvas with no code.”
Webflow is specifically designed to help freelancers create websites for clients and then give the business owner the option of taking over the ongoing maintenance of the website.
In this video, a freelance website developer explains why he uses Webflow for all his freelance gigs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6187ybWf-8Y
Disclosure: Please note that some of the product links are affiliate links. At no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase. Please understand that my recommendations are for products I have used or have been used by people I trust. I recommend them because they are helpful and useful, not because of the small commissions I make if you decide to buy something. Please do not spend any money on these products unless you feel you need them or that they will help you achieve your goals.