This tutorial covers hosting a simple website made of HTML, CSS and JavaScript files. The same flow applies to PHP sites on shared hosting.

Step 1: Prepare your files

Make sure your site has an index.html (or index.php) in the root folder and that all links use paths that work from the live domain.

Step 2: Choose a hosting type

  • Static hosting platforms for pure front-end sites
  • Shared hosting with cPanel for PHP or traditional sites

Step 3: Register or connect a domain

Buy a domain from a registrar or from your host. If they differ, you will update nameservers or DNS records in the next step.

Step 4: Upload the files

Use the host's file manager, FTP/SFTP, or Git deployment to place files in the public web root (often public_html on cPanel).

Step 5: Point DNS

Set the nameservers or A/CNAME records your host provides. DNS changes can take from minutes to several hours to spread.

Step 6: Enable HTTPS

Activate the free SSL certificate in your panel and redirect HTTP to HTTPS.

Step 7: Test

Open the site on mobile and desktop, check every internal link, and submit your sitemap to search engines.