If you’re creating your first website and are not sure where to start, this guide is for you. Here, we’ll walk you through the full process of building a website from scratch and publishing it on Spaceship Web Hosting.
You’ll learn how to prepare your domain, upload your content, and make your website live on the Internet. The following methods to build your site are available on Spaceship and will be helpful to you during this process:
WordPress (including Extendify (WordPress AI Tool), provided with the Pro and Supreme plans)
SiteJet Builder with its AI Website Generator
Before you start building your website, make sure your domain is correctly connected to your Spaceship Web Hosting plan. This ensures that when your site is ready, visitors can access it.
If your domain is registered at Spaceship, no action is needed. It already uses the correct nameservers by default.
If your domain is managed by another registrar, connect it to your hosting via nameservers or DNS records. This guide may help: How to connect a domain on third-party nameservers to our hosting.
Note: After updating DNS, changes may take up to 24 hours to fully propagate worldwide. During this time, you may still see a parking page or an older version of your site.
You can check more about this process here.
There are several ways to create a website with Spaceship Web Hosting. Which one you choose depends on your experience level and the type of site you want to build. Below are the four most common options, from beginner-friendly tools to full manual control.
Option A - WordPress (great for beginners)
WordPress is the most popular website platform in the world. It allows you to create pages, install themes, add features, and fully customize your site, without writing code. It works great for blogs, business websites, portfolios, online stores, and more.
At the same time, there is Extendify - the WordPress AI tool that provides you with a site creation experience built natively on WordPress. It uses only core WordPress components so that sites built with Extendify are fully extensible and compatible with all plugins, themes, and WooCommerce functionality.
You can install WordPress in one click from your Hosting Manager. For details, see: How to use WordPress with Spaceship Hosting.
Option B - SiteJet Builder (drag-and-drop editor)
SiteJet Builder is a tool included in all Web Hosting plans at no extra cost and can be found in cPanel under the Exclusive section. It allows you to effortlessly create professional, responsive, and SEO-friendly websites without coding or hiring a designer. Pick a template, customize it with our drag-and-drop editor, and publish in no time, all while embedding AI-powered content directly into your site.
The SiteJet AI Website Generator uses artificial intelligence to create a ready-to-edit website based on a few key details. With its help, you can complete a short three-step form with their business information, after which the system automatically generates a complete one-page website with a structured layout, images, and content.
No coding or technical skills are required. Once the website is generated, it can be easily customized using Sitejet’s visual Website Builder, allowing you to edit content, adjust the design, add pages, and tailor the site to your needs before publishing.
It is ideal for fast landing pages, small businesses, and personal blogs, as well as for users who want a no-code, visual website builder, or anyone who simply wants a clean template to modify.
The builder overview can be found in this guide.
Option C - Softaculous (to install website applications)
If you want to build something more specific, such as a forum, an online shop, a CRM system, or an alternative CMS, you can use Softaculous, which is available inside your cPanel.
Softaculous allows you to install and manage over 190 web applications with just a few clicks, including:
CMS platforms: Joomla, Drupal, ModX, TYPO3
E-commerce systems: PrestaShop, OpenCart, Magento
Blogs: Serendipity, Dotclear
Forums & communities: phpBB, SMF, MyBB
Educational apps: Moodle, Chamilo
CRM & project tools: SuiteCRM, Kanboard
Wikis, photo galleries, analytics tools, and more.
Softaculous also provides convenient options to manage your installations, including automatic updates, backups, restores, cloning, and staging environments.
Additionally, Softaculous includes SitePad, a simple drag-and-drop website builder designed for users who want a quick, visual way to create websites without installing a fully-fledged CMS.
With the free version, you get:
1 website
15 free themes
Up to 3 pages per site
Unlimited blog posts
Option D - Upload your own website files
If you already have a website or prefer to code your own pages, you can upload your files directly to your hosting account.
You can upload files via:
File Manager in your cPanel account
FTP for larger sites
Check these articles for more details: How to migrate a website to Spaceship Hosting and How to create and access an FTP account.
Once your files are uploaded or your CMS is installed, the final step is to make sure your website is accessible on the Internet.
Open your browser and visit your domain. If everything is set up correctly, you should see your website or the default WordPress/SiteJet/other CMS welcome page.
If something looks wrong, here are the most common reasons:
Parking page -- you may see it if DNS changes haven’t finished updating or if your files were uploaded to the wrong folder. Give it some time, or check that your site files are in the correct folder (note that public_html is not the default folder; check the domain’s eponymous folder instead).
Index of/ – appears when the directory is empty or missing an index.html or index.php file.
Old version of the website – typically caused by browser or DNS caching, which should be fixed after refreshing the page or clearing the cache.
WordPress-specific issues (such as a blank page) can happen when a theme or plugin was installed incorrectly.
HTTPS warnings – your SSL certificate may still be activating, which usually resolves within a few hours after DNS propagation.
For more detailed troubleshooting, refer to this article: My website is down: how to troubleshoot and fix it.
Use SSL. SSL certificates (FreeSSL or PositiveSSL) are installed automatically if your domain is properly pointed to Spaceship hosting. No manual setup is needed. Just ensure your DNS is set up as instructed. You can manage SSL certificates in the SSL Manager.
Set up a domain-based email if you want a professional way to communicate with your visitors, users, or clients. The Spacemail special plan is included for free for 1 year with Web hosting for connected domains. To set it up, open the Hosting Manager, find your hosting, click the three-dot menu next to your domain, and select “Get Email” to activate Spacemail.
Enable backups to protect your work. The AutoBackup add-on starts from $5.88/month and offers automated daily, weekly, or monthly backups. You can restore or export backups at any time. Manual backups are also available via cPanel’s Backup menu.