How to Make a Gaming Website With Web Hosting

Online gaming has been on the rise. Between March and April of 2020, the streaming platform Twitch saw a 50% increase in hours watched within a month. By the end of the year, the number rose up to 101%.

Building a gaming website can be an excellent idea if you’re a game enthusiast and want to take advantage of this momentum to gain popularity. Running a gaming site may also open up dozens of monetization opportunities, from ad revenue to community membership and affiliate marketing.

Thanks to the advancement of technology, setting up a gaming website isn’t too difficult nowadays. This guide will help you understand how to make a gaming website in six simple steps. Let’s get started.

1. Plan Your Gaming Website

Before building your very own gaming website, it’s essential to decide what kind of site you want to have. There are different types of gaming websites, such as:

• Gaming blogs. Such websites contain information on trending video games, game tutorials, release dates, wikis, and cheat sheets. Building a gaming blog is the perfect option to channel your love for games and writing.
• Game streaming sites. Allow players to live-broadcast themselves playing their favorite games. Live-streaming a video game is not only fun, but it also helps you find and build a community of like-minded people.
• Game review sites. Provide in-depth insights to help users make informed decisions before purchasing a game.
• Gaming server sites. Building a private server for your favorite game is a fun way to connect with your gaming buddies. It also comes with many benefits, such as higher server reliability and complete control over the gaming experience.

2. Choose a Domain Name

Once you’ve decided on what type of gaming site you want to build, it’s time to pick a name for it. The domain name of the website will serve as its address on the internet.
Domain names are made up of multiple elements. Our website URL nerdly.co.uk comprises the top-level domain (TLD) .uk, the second-level domain .co and the third-level domain nerdly – the name. Examples of common TLDs include .com, .net, and .org.

It’s no secret that choosing the perfect domain name can be challenging. Users are likely to expect certain content based on the domain name. Therefore, it’s vital to consider your gaming niche when picking a name for your gaming site.

Utilizing a domain generator may help with the brainstorming process. Some of the best tools for this include SmartWP and Nameboy.

Once you’ve got the perfect name, you can purchase it through a domain registrar. However, some web hosting companies include a free domain registration with their hosting plans – be sure to check if this applies in your case.

3. Purchase a Web Hosting Plan

Next, choose the web hosting type and plan for your new gaming site. Whether you’re building a gaming blog or a multiplayer gaming server, you can be sure there’s hosting ideal for your needs.

Gaming blogs or news sites may not require a lot of server resources during their first year. Thus, shared hosting is perfect for them. Apart from being the most affordable hosting type on the market, shared hosting is also beginner-friendly.

Dedicated hosting may be the best option for more resource-intensive websites like streaming and server sites. In contrast to shared hosting where multiple users’ sites are stored on a single server, dedicated hosting reserves a whole server for one user. As a consequence, dedicated servers come with enhanced performance and flexible customization. The drawback is that renting a dedicated server is considerably more expensive.

A virtual private server (VPS) can be a great alternative – it’s the middle ground between shared and dedicated hosting. VPS employs virtualization technology to split up a physical server’s resources. As a result, users will experience better site performance compared to that of shared hosting. VPS hosting is also highly scalable – it’s possible to start small and scale up as the site gains popularity.

If you’re having trouble finding an excellent web hosting service, you may want to check out www.hostinger.co.uk. This provider offers an extensive range of hosting types, including shared, VPS and cloud hosting, guaranteeing 99.9% server uptime and fast speeds.

4. Pick a CMS or Site Builder

A content management system (CMS) is a highly customisable platform used to create websites and manage them. Having some technical knowledge will be helpful if using a CMS to build your gaming site.

One of the best CMS examples is WordPress. It comes with thousands of templates and website performance optimization plugins to choose from. It’s no wonder that it powers more than 40% of all websites.

If you’re a beginner, opting for a website builder may be a better idea. Website builders use a drag and drop interface to help users customize their site easily. Some of the most popular include Squarespace and Wix. Purchasing a website builder subscription may also take care of web hosting – these platforms usually come pre-packed with a hosting plan.

5. Customize Your Gaming Website

Once you’ve decided on the platform, it’s time to work on your new gaming site. Most webmasters start customizing their sites by taking care of the site title, tagline, and its about page. If you chose WordPress, choosing a theme can also be a starting point.

Next up, you need to install optimization and security plugins. The former help with improving the site speed. Some of the best WordPress optimization plugins include W3 Total Cache and LiteSpeed Cache. Security plugins meanwhile help protect websites from cyber attacks. Sucuri Security and iThemes Security Pro are a couple of the best WordPress security plugins to try.

Lastly, YoastSEO is a great WordPress search engine optimization (SEO) plugin. If you’re building a gaming blog, take advantage of YoastSEO to increase the chances of your posts ranking on search engine results pages.

6. Set Up Your Gaming Server

This section is for those who want to set up a gaming server. Here’s an easy guide on how to do that:

1. Get VPS or a dedicated hosting. Both hosting types help ensure a more stable performance necessary for gaming servers. You can also opt for a specified hosting plan for the game you want to host. Several hosting providers offer Terraria, CS:GO, and Minecraft hosting plans.
2. Install the game’s dependencies. Once you’ve got your server ready, you’ll need to install the programs that the game requires. For example, the latest version of Java and a server.jar file are mandatory to host a dedicated Minecraft server.
3. Configure the server. When it comes to configuration, each game has its own steps and requirements. For this, you can either check the game’s wiki and do it yourself or contact your web hosting provider’s customer support for help.
4. Run tests. This is to ensure that your gaming server is ready to go.
5. Invite some friends. If the test goes well, you can start adding new players to the multiplayer gaming session – start with your friends and family.

Conclusion

Building a gaming website and setting up a gaming server may sound overwhelming. However, the process is actually a lot more simple than you might think. This article has covered the six easy steps to make a gaming website. Here’s a short recap:

1. Plan your gaming website. It can be a blog, a news site, or a streaming service. This is an important step, as the website type you choose will influence its building process.
2. Choose a domain name. As it tells users what to expect from a website, site owners need to consider their niche when deciding on a domain name.
3. Purchase web hosting. While shared hosting can cater to gaming blogs and news sites well, VPS or dedicated hosting is better for streaming or game server sites.
4. Pick a CMS or a site builder. Decide on the platform for the management of your site’s content, performance, and appearance. If you’re a beginner, a site builder can be the perfect solution. If you want less limitations, go for a CMS.
5. Customize your gaming website. Once you’ve chosen a platform, personalize your site. Add a site title, create an About Me page, pick a theme, and install optimization plugins.
6. Set up your gaming server. Some tasks you may have to take care of include installing your chosen game’s dependencies, configuring the server, and running tests.

We hope all of the above information helps you build your dream gaming website. If you get stuck at some point, remember that there are lots of communities to reach out to. On top of that, your chosen web host’s customer support will also be more than happy to help you out. Good luck!
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