Be the boss of your blog and use WordPress as self-hoster

If you’ve ever thought, “I should start a blog,” you’ve probably stumbled across WordPress. But here’s the catch — there are two WordPresses:

1. WordPress.com – Like renting an apartment. It’s easy, but you can’t knock down walls or install a hot tub without permission.
2. Self-hosted WordPress (WordPress.org) – You own the house. You can paint the walls neon green, build a secret room, or even run a nightclub in the basement (metaphorically speaking).

In this article, we’re talking about self-hosted WordPress — the one that puts you in control. And yes, I’ll walk you through installing it on Hostinger because it’s cheap, fast, and doesn’t make you feel like you’re talking to a robot when you need support. I use it, it's f*cking awesome!

Why Self-Hosted WordPress is Awesome

• You’re in control – Themes, plugins, custom code… do whatever you want.
• No annoying limitations – Want an online store? A membership site? A blog that automatically posts pictures of your cat when you tweet? Go for it.
• Cheaper in the long run – Hosting costs a few bucks a month, but you’re not paying extra for every tiny feature.
• Massive community – If you have a problem, a thousand other people have already solved it.

What Can You Do with It?

• Run a blog (obviously)
• Build a portfolio to show off your coding projects
• Start an online store with WooCommerce
• Run a private community or forum
• Automate your publishing with scripts & APIs (this is where dev magic happens)

Installing WordPress on Hostinger: Step-by-Step

(Yes, you can do this in under 10 minutes if you’ve had your coffee.)

Step 1 – Get a Hosting Plan

1. Go to Hostinger
2. Pick a Shared Hosting or WordPress Hosting plan (cheapest one works fine to start), or if u are feeling like a pro go for VPS.
3. Choose your domain (something like myawesomeblog.com). With Hostinger you get free domain for a year!

Step 2 – Access hPanel
After purchase, you’ll get access to hPanel (Hostinger’s dashboard).

Step 3 – Install WordPress with Auto-Installer

1. In hPanel, go to Website → Auto Installer
2. Select WordPress
3. Fill in your admin username, password, and email.
4. Click Install.
5. Wait 30 seconds while Hostinger does the magic.

Step 4 – Log Into Your New Site
Go to:

myawesomeblog.com/wp-admin

Enter your username & password from Step 3. Welcome to your WordPress dashboard!

Using Your Self-Hosted WordPress

The WordPress dashboard is basically your command center.

• Posts → Where you write and publish articles.
• Pages → Static content like About, Contact, or Privacy Policy.
• Themes → Change your site’s look without touching code.
• Plugins → Add new features (SEO tools, contact forms, e-commerce, security).
• Settings → Control your site’s basic configuration.

Pro Tips for Developers

Since you’re a dev, you can go beyond point-and-click:

• Edit theme files directly in PHP
• Build your own plugins to automate or integrate
• Hook into the WordPress REST API for headless setups
• Automate deployments with Git + WP-CLI

Final Thoughts

A self-hosted WordPress site is like having your own tech playground.
You can make it personal, professional, or weird (why not all three?). It’s flexible enough for non-techies and powerful enough for developers to go wild.

If you’ve been holding off because it sounds complicated — trust me, if you can code a for loop, you can install WordPress.