Let us now learn how to get a free domain name using DreamHost & host your blog.
This is one of the chapters of “The Blog Strategist’s Master Blogging Course”. This free course includes multiple chapters covering the A-Z of everything you need to know to achieve blogging success (and mostly everything you would probably find on a $497 paid blogging course). I know it because I personally bought and went through thousands of dollars worth of blogging courses!
Before we begin, here’s the table of content for this course. I recommend starting from the first chapter if you are new to blogging & want an overview of how to set up a successful blog.
- How to Start a Blog & Make Money (in 2025)? – Introduction
- How to Choose the Right Niche for Your Blog?
- How to Choose the Perfect Domain Name for Your Blog?
- Where Should You Host Your Blog? (I recommend Dreamhost & Cloudways)
- How to Get a Free Domain Name & Host Your Blog on DreamHost?
- Which Blog Themes Should You Use? (I Recommend GeneratePress)
- Which Blog Plugins Should You Use? (+Plugins I Recommend)
- WordPress SEO Settings – Understanding What Google Likes
- How to Write the Perfect Blog Post? (Writing Module)
- How to Get Visitors from Google? (SEO Module)
- How to Drive Visitors from Pinterest? (Pinterest Traffic Module)
- How to Make Money from Your Blog?
- How to Set-Up Your Blog for Long-Term Success? (Email Traffic Module)
- 17 Things I Truly Wish Someone Told Me When I Started Blogging!
- My Final Thoughts on Starting a Blog
At The Blog Strategist (TBS), my mission is to bring the kind of premium content you would see on $497 blogging courses to my fellow bloggers, for free. I don’t sell blogging courses, I hate putting information behind paywalls and I am not an affiliate sellout recommending anything & everything for a commission.
I am transparent about what I do, I publish monthly income reports, operates this blog as a public case study and believe in genuinely helping my readers scale their blogs. I do not write for search engines or social media, but to create truly helpful content for my readers – that’s my mantra.
Click here to read more about The Blog Strategist.
Click here to explore the Free TBS Master Blogging Course.
Click here to download our Free TBS Master Blogging E-Book.
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My Policies: No AI Content Policy, No Paywall Policy, Affiliate Disclaimer
The first step is to visit the DreamHost homepage.
In the homepage, click on “Hosting” and “Shared Website Hosting“
Under shared hosting, you will find two plans:
- Shared Starter
- Shared Unlimited
You must choose “Shared Starter” amongst the category. This is because starter is a cheaper plan built for beginners. In case you blogged for some time and later decide that blogging is not for you, you can limit your losses to just $35 if you go with “Shared Starter” (yes, $35 is all it costs – for the cost of a couple of meals, you can have a live blog with free domain name & 1 year of hosting!!).
You will also find 3 timeframes – Monthly, Yearly & 3 Year.
I recommend going with “Yearly” or “3 Year“. Do not go with monthly because free domain name is available only with yearly or longer plans. Paying for 1 month plus a domain name will cost you good money. If you can pay a few more dollars with “Yearly” plan, you’ll get a free domain name plus you get 1 year of hosting.
I fully recommend going for the “Yearly” plan.
If you are confident that you’ll make blogging work as a side hustle, you can opt for “3 Year” also. But chances are, within a year, you’ll either drop blogging or your blog would grow to a decent degree that you’ll migrate to Cloudways. In essence, go for the “Yearly” plan, that’s the best option for a beginner. Once you start seeing success, migrate to Cloudways – that should be the way ahead.
Just to reiterate, I would recommend starting with DreamHost because Cloudways is very costly ($11 per month minimum vs $35 annual including domain with Dreamhost) and hard to set up (you have to buy domain in GoDaddy, set-up server & application in Cloudways, link NameServers, etc).
This website is hosted on Cloudways because I have experience building so many blogs over the years. In my honest opinion, Cloudways is the superior hosting service as well. But it’s a bit too much for someone just starting out (costly & tough to set up). DreamHost on the other hand is perfect for beginners – it’s simple, affordable & a good hosting service! I recommend starting with DreamHost & graduating to Cloudways once your blog picks up pace.
You can see the features of Yearly Shared Starter plan below.
Click on “Sign Up Now“
In “Pick Your Term“, choose “1 Year” & choose the “Shared Starter” plan.
As you can see in image below, free domain will be available with all annual terms. So, please make sure to opt for “1 Year” and not monthly while choosing.
Then click on “Register a new domain“
As you can see in image below, it will cost you $35.40 for annual plan with a free domain name.
Now, enter the domain name you need. It could be a business name like “theblogstrategist.com” or it could be personal domain names like “jamesclear.com”, “sethgodin.com”, etc.
Click on “Add for $0.00“
You’ll now reach the checkout page. You can enter the card/payment details & proceed to check your mail for DreamHost login details.
Congratulations on successfully initiating your blogging journey!
If you still haven’t started setting up your blog, Click Here to visit DreamHost.
As the saying goes, “well begun is half done”. Whether blogging works or not, you’ll never know unless you test it out. So, test it out!
Your loss is limited to only a few dollars (you can literally skip a grand meal & save for 1 year of hosting your blog!), but the upside is uncapped (sky is the limit). I recommend you to give it a solid try for 1 year & then make a decision. You never know unless you jump in.
Now that you have a domain name & hosting purchased, the next step is to set up your blog. It includes adding a theme, installing necessary plugins & making some SEO settings in the dashboard.