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Can I build a WordPress site without hosting?
Yes, you can build a WordPress site without hosting. There are various ways to do this. The basic versions are all free and will allow you to build a WordPress website without any hosting.
You can even build a WordPress website without the domain name if you like using these methods:
- MAMP.
- WAMPServer.
- InstantWP.
- Local.
- WordPress.com.
The first way to build a WordPress site without hosting would be to download some software. The software you download will depend on whether or not you’re using a Mac or PC. Although the Mac link does have a Windows version as well.
Here are the ways to build a WordPress website without hosting!
MAMP.
The first is called MAMP. This free software basically creates a local server environment that can be installed on your Mac OS as well as Windows PC.
It provides you with all the tools you need to run WordPress on your PC or Mac for testing and development.
You can download their free MAMP software and get started. If you want more functions and features you can also upgrade to their Pro version. Here is the link: MAMP.
WAMPServer.
The next is called WAMPServer. This is a Windows PC based web development software.
Unfortunately, it does not have a Mac version so you can only use it on a Windows-based PC. But it basically does the same thing as MAMP does for both. It’s also free and they do have a paid or pro version as well. Here is the link: WAMPServer.
InstantWP.
Another local WordPress installation software I’ve come across is called InstantWP. This will also create a local WordPress installation environment and works on Windows as well as Mac.
This is also a free download that you can use to develop your WordPress website offline without a host on your own computer. Here is the link: InstantWP.
Local.
Another one developed by Flywheel is called Local. This too is an offline WordPress development environment software that you can download onto your computer to develop your WordPress website.
The free download not only works with Mac and Windows, but also with Linux based systems as well. Here is the link: Local.
WordPress.com.
There are other ways you can build a WordPress site without paying for hosting which I will go into more below one of which is with WordPress.com.
Does WordPress need hosting?
WordPress only needs hosting if you actually want to be on the internet. If you just want to build a WordPress website, perhaps because you want to get to know the dashboard and what you can do with it etc. build your WordPress site without even having to put it online, you can also do that.
The methods that I had given you above shows you how to do just that.
Regardless, if you want your website to be visible to the world and on the internet then, yes, your WordPress site would need hosting.
Does WordPress host your website?
WordPress.com can host your website for free. They have both free and paid plans available. Most people who have their WordPress website hosted on WordPress.com use it as a way to get their thoughts and creativity out on the internet without having to pay for hosting.
Here’s a link to WordPress.com to find out their various plans.
However, most people who want control over their websites, including things like monetization etc. will need to have a paid plan either with WordPress.com or with another web hosting service provider.
What’s the Difference between Web Hosting and WordPress Hosting.
Web Hosting and WordPress Hosting are two different services that allow users to publish information online. For example, both Independent Web Hosting Providers and WordPress.com offer space on their servers for upload, storage, and access of website files.
Both also offer specific WordPress Hosting, which usually involves all the aspects of running and managing a WordPress site in particular, such as security, managing plugins, updates, themes, even having specific servers set aside that host only WordPress websites.
The main difference, however, is that Independent Web Hosting Providers also offer other Hosting packages and will also host websites made with other Content Management Systems (CMS).
These other web hosting packages usually aren’t “managed” which means the webmaster, i.e. usually the website owner, is responsible for security, managing plugins, updates, themes etc. These other Web Hosting Packages are often referred to as “Self Hosting”.
In addition, Independent Web Hosting Providers also offer additional features based on the type of hosting account a customer wants.
Neither type of account is inherently superior to the other, although Web Hosts tend to offer additional services while WordPress Hosting is focused on the use and management of a that particular CMS software program, WordPress.
WordPress.com, on the other hand, only offers WordPress Hosting.
So, if you are looking for a highly specialized hosting plan that only exclusively works with WordPress, then WordPress.com may be difficult to beat as far as specialized WordPress Hosting is concerned.
How many hours does it take to build a WordPress website?
It took me literally half a day or about four or five hours to build my first WordPress website.
I had no experience in coding as well as no experience with web hosting. I simply purchased a cheap shared hosting plan and read some posts on their website on how to set up WordPress.
I also read some posts on their website about how to work with a cPanel which is what most shared hosting plans use as a “dashboard” for your web hosting.
I then used the “one click” WordPress install etc. It’s funny because when I first set up a website I didn’t really know anything about WordPress, except that I wanted to learn it. Why?
First, WordPress is open source, meaning it’s not owned by one company.
Second, WordPress is after all, the most popular content management system (CMS) on the internet today for website platforms. So I’m glad I went with it and never looked back, nor have ever wanted to switch out of it.
This may have been tempting as new entrants came into the CMS market, like Wix, Squarespace, Weebly, etc. They began to muddy up the waters. But, I’m glad I didn’t follow those rabbit holes. Why?
Because WordPress is and will hopefully always remain open source. WordPress allows the ultimate independence in it’s content management system. Whereas, those others are not open source and don’t.
With those other CMS’s, sure it may be a lot easier to set up a website, but you are also stuck with their hosting, their prices as well as their themes and support.
All of which, you will come to find out very quickly, are vital in setting up, running and managing a website.
Can I use my own domain name with WordPress?
You can use your own domain name not only with WordPress.com, but also with any other paid hosting service provider for your website.
How much does a WordPress site cost?
The cost of having a WordPress website can vary from free to 1000’s of dollars, even more. It all depends of course on your theme, your hosting plan as well as any other functionality or plug-ins you want to add to your WordPress website.
But starting a WordPress website can cost absolutely zero. However, if you want to have a legitimate presence on the internet as well as control, then you will need to probably buy a WordPress theme, which is highly recommended.
You will also need to get on some kind of paid hosting plan so your website could be live on the internet.
Don’t let paid plans and paid themes scare you off from starting a WordPress site. You can get shared hosting, which will allow you to host unlimited websites on some plans for as little as 5 or $10 a month.
A website theme can be free or cost you thousands of dollars if you hire a developer to create it from scratch.
However, you can get a really great paid theme for about $100, sometimes even less depending on the developer. I highly recommend GeneratePress.
You can click the link in the footer, if you’re interested in checking out GeneratePress themes.
Why is WordPress so difficult?
WordPress seems difficult to so many who have never had a website before, not because of coding, because you really don’t need to know coding in order to set up and run a WordPress website.
It’s more to do with information overload. You can literally find hundreds of videos and instructional posts on the internet that could show you every way to perform any function on WordPress, including coding for that matter.
The question is not that WordPress is difficult to learn, but where do you start? Which videos and instructional posts can explain how to use WordPress best, set up a website, etc. in a succinct and clear way.
I can’t tell you how many hours of videos that I personally had watched and got very little information from.
It seems like in many of these video clips, the WordPress instructors fill it with a lot of fluff and skimp on the meat and potatoes.
If you are going to use instructional videos about how to use WordPress, my advice would be to either use the WordPress.com videos or to go on YouTube and filter the videos by what you want to learn and video length.
Try to keep them under 10 minutes per video, perhaps under 4 would be ideal, if it answers your question.
How to build a WordPress site without a domain?
You can build a WordPress site without a domain simply by following the methods I have given you at the beginning of this post.
Not only can you build a WordPress site without hosting, you could also build it using those same methods without a domain name as well.
How to build a WordPress site without going live?
You can build a WordPress site without going live by simply building it on your computer using the software or WordPress.com as I went over at the beginning of this post.
However, if you already have a shared hosting plan for other WordPress websites, you can simply add a subdomain to one of those websites.
You can work on it from there and even preview it to see how it looks on the web as well as how it looks on mobile devices.
Don’t forget the software and methods I had mentioned in the beginning of this post may require you to purchase a pro plan for you to see what your website would look like on a mobile device or other screens.
However, if you already have your own hosting plan, then you can preview your site on all devices without ever going live on the internet. How would you do that?
Simply by setting up a “sub-domain” on one of your already hosted websites, using the “one click” install for WordPress and working on your WordPress site doing that.
Remember, when you first set up a WordPress site, you actually have to click it to go live.
Once you’re satisfied with how the website looks and it’s functionality, you can just buy a domain name and transfer all the files within your shared hosting plan to that domain name.
You could do this by using the All-In-One WP migration tool plugin or any number of migration tool plugins.
Building a WordPress site without hosting, conclusions.
As you can see building a WordPress site without hosting is actually much easier than it looks.
The free methods that I have mentioned above will allow you to build your WordPress website on your computer without a domain name and without hosting.
However, if you do not want to download software, you can simply go on WordPress.com and get a free WordPress.com website.
You can then download a few free themes and start practicing your WordPress skills.
Either way, it’s not necessary for you to either purchase a paid theme or paid hosting in order to learn WordPress and develop a WordPress website on your own.
In fact, WordPress.com also has many tutorials that can show you the ins and outs or at least the very basics of getting a WordPress website up and running. The rest is up to you.
