After purchasing a hosting plan, you will find the option to set it up in the Home section of your control panel:
This will initiate the onboarding, which will guide you on how to get your hosting order up and running. Let's go through each step in detail:
NOTE:
If you start the onboarding and need to complete it later, just click on the Hostinger logo at the top to go back to the panel
Step 1 - Personalize Your Experience
When you see the Hello! page, click on Start now to provide more information about your project. Here you can indicate if you will be creating:
A new website for yourself
A new website for someone else, such as a client
Or, if you already have a website
The next few questions will vary according to your initial answer. Alternatively, you can skip the personalization and head directly to the next step.
Step 2 - Create or Migrate Your Website
After completing the personalization, you will be presented with the option to create or migrate a website:
Choose accordingly:
Create website - to start building a totally new website
Migrate website - if you have a website either hosted somewhere else, uploaded on a file-sharing platform, or stored on your local device
Skip - if you want to move on to the next step
Create Website
Here you will be able to select a platform to create your new website:
WordPress - if you have experience with WordPress or are interested in learning one of the most widely used Content Management Systems (CMS)
Hostinger Website Builder - our recommendation to build your first website if you want an easy-to-use solution with fast results
Other platforms - select this option if you have a different platform in mind to suit your specific needs, such as a wiki, or an advanced CMS or framework such as Drupal, Joomla, and many more
Skip - if you want to go to the next step. You will be able to choose at any time after setting up your hosting plan
Before moving to the next step, you will be asked to create a user for your platform by entering an email and a strong password in case you selected WordPress or another CMS from the Other platforms list. For WordPress sites, you will also have the option to add some recommended plugins as well as select a template.
Migrate Website
Once you choose Migrate your current website, you will find these alternatives:
Upload website - select this option to upload and extract a .zip, .tar, or .gz archive of up to 256MB to the public_html folder
Transfer website - select this option to create a migration request if you have a WordPress website or if you have an active hosting plan using cPanel or any other control panel
Skip - to continue to the next step. You will be able to upload or migrate your website at any time after the onboarding
Step 3 - Name Your Website
Now it's time to choose a domain name for your website. You can either use a domain you already own or select a new one:
For new domains, you will be able to choose an available domain name and extension and complete the purchasing process.
For existing domains, an information card will show the current provider, nameservers, and expiration date of your domain. If you need to change it, you will have the option to do so at this point
NOTES:
If your hosting plan included a free domain, you will be able to claim it in this step or do it later from your panel
If you are using a domain purchased elsewhere, you will need to connect it to Hostinger after the onboarding. In case of website migration, you should point your domain after the migration is completed
Step 4 - Finish Setting Up
Before completing the setup process, a summary including the server location and domain will be displayed. If CMS was selected, it will also contain the name of the chosen platform and the admin email.
You can change any of these settings before finishing by clicking on the edit icon:
That's it, your hosting is fully active! If you have selected the Website Builder, the next step will lead you to the Builder, where you can start creating your website right away. For WordPress or other CMS, the setting up process will take a few minutes to complete, and after that, you can edit your website or go to the control panel.
Additional resources:
Feel free to check our collection of articles about Website Builder