Getting Started With A Website
Choosing a platform
There’s an overwhelming number of options when setting up your website. From simple site builders to full CMS platforms and dedicated eCommerce systems, each type has different strengths depending on what your business needs.
Some of the main approaches include:
- Website builders (e.g. Wix, Squarespace) – very easy to use, but limited in flexibility.
- Design-focused CMS platforms (e.g. Webflow, Framer) – great for visual control and animations, but less flexible in terms of integrations and add-on functionality.
- Content management systems (CMS) (e.g. WordPress, Drupal) – highly flexible, with a huge plugin ecosystem for extending functionality.
- eCommerce platforms (e.g. Shopify, Magento) – built specifically for selling products and handling transactions.
In most cases, we recommend WordPress because:
- it’s the most widely used CMS, which means plugins and capabilities are almost unlimited
- unlike builders or design-heavy platforms, it doesn’t restrict what you can customise or integrate
- it allows you to scale your site’s functionality over time without changing platforms
A quick note on eCommerce
While many platforms offer “store” features, true eCommerce typically comes down to two reliable choices:
- Shopify – a hosted, dedicated eCommerce platform
- WordPress + WooCommerce – a flexible, self-hosted eCommerce solution
Other platforms (including Webflow and Framer) are excellent for marketing and design-driven websites but are not recommended for full-scale eCommerce, where integrations, inventory management, and extensibility are critical.
Choosing a WordPress builder
Since 2018, WordPress overhauled its Classic page builder capability, which was very limited being a blog building platform on its own. They called it Gutenberg, transforming design capabilities from a tedious, clunky or messy process into a clean, next generation, easy-to-use drag-and-drop experience. Due to WordPress’ limited design capabilities, all sites require a WordPress Builder provider to be selected which provides: a theme, and a page builder.
The problem in industry at the moment is, because there were large companies that had created these complex design builders during the classic times, that they still exist! Elementor being the most common culprit, which established businesses today are still using, which is very well known in the web dev and hosting world to be resource intensive and to cause many issues.
Cue the new type of WordPress builder providers that have been slowly emerging, which are built purely from the Gutenberg based technology, which provide a much cleaner, beautiful and speedier experience. Since the start of 2025, Shepherd® has partnered with a very new provider which has changed the game, making both responsiveness and animations automatically built-in. Prior, both device responsiveness and animations were separate investments that required additional development time. Since other web builders like WIX and SquareSpace now do the same, this is now the standard for WordPress websites to keep up – think amazing interactive experiences you get like on an Apple landing page when they release a new product. This is now very achievable and affordable – something you naturally expect from technology advancement.
Recommended WordPress Builder: NectarBlocks
NectarBlocks is the easiest way to build a WordPress site without learning code or dealing with complex builders. It works just like Squarespace or Wix — drag, drop, swap content — but inside WordPress, where you fully own your site.
You get ready-made templates, clean layouts, and sections you can add in seconds. The best part?
It already includes built-in animations and mobile responsiveness, so your pages look polished without needing extra setup or design time.
Recommended Plugin-Suite: WPMU Dev Membership
WordPress relies on a set of core plugins to handle security, performance, backups, image optimisation, forms, and many of the essential features a modern website needs. Most beginners don’t realise this — your theme builds the look, but plugins run the engine.
The industry-standard suite for this is WPMU Dev Pro, normally $15 USD/month at retail.
Because IDEON is an official WPMU Dev partner, all of our hosting plans include:
- Full WPMU Dev Pro membership (all premium plugins) – free
- Discounted annual hosting (50% off)
- Wholesale-priced domain hosting
- A free .com domain with any annual plan
This means you get everything WordPress needs to run fast, secure, and professionally — without paying for each plugin individually. All hosting options below on this page come bundled with these upgrades automatically.
Recommended WordPress Hosting: WPMU Dev
Choosing the right hosting is one of the most important steps in launching a WordPress website. Good hosting affects your speed, security, uptime, SEO performance, and how smoothly your site runs overall.
As an IDEON partner, we use WPMU Dev High-Frequency Hosting, one of the fastest and most reliable WordPress hosting solutions available globally — and we can offer it at a significant discount compared to retail.
What’s included with our hosting
Every hosting plan comes with all the benefits of WPMU Dev’s enterprise-grade platform:
- High-frequency CPUs for fast processing
- Global servers + 119-point CDN for site speed anywhere in the world
- One-click staging for safe testing and development
- Free SSL certificates
- Free automatic backups (daily included, hourly optional)
- Self-healing technology to prevent downtime
- WooCommerce-ready environment
- FastCGI and object caching for performance
- Detailed site analytics
- Developer tools (Git, Composer, NPM, WP-CLI, phpMyAdmin)
- Free Pro Email (annual plans)
- Free .com domain (annual plans)
Why we use WPMU Dev
WPMU Dev is built specifically for WordPress, with optimised servers, integrated security, and seamless compatibility with all WPMU Dev Pro plugins. Their hosting is:
- Extremely fast (dedicated CPU per site)
- Secure by default (built-in WAF + Defender Pro)
- Reliable (99.9% uptime guarantee)
- Easy to manage through a single dashboard
- Perfect for all site sizes, from simple business pages to eCommerce
IDEON Member Benefits
Because IDEON is a certified partner, you get:
- Free WPMU Dev Pro membership (normally $15 USD/month)
- Discounted annual hosting
- A free .com domain with any yearly plan
- Wholesale-priced domain hosting
- All hosting managed for you
Choose your hosting plan
Starter
$21
/month
1 vCPU · 1GB RAM · 25GB SSD
Perfect for new or small websites with light traffic.
Popular
Standard
$52
/month
2 vCPU · 2GB RAM · 65GB SSD
Great for growing businesses and content-heavy sites.
Pro
$102
/month
4 vCPU · 8GB RAM · 160GB SSD
Built for high-traffic or resource-intensive sites.
Platinum
$204
/month
6 vCPU · 16GB RAM · 320GB SSD
Enterprise-grade power for demanding, high-volume sites.
Starter
$36
/month
1 vCPU · 1GB RAM · 25GB SSD
Perfect for new or small websites with light traffic.
Popular
Standard
$102
/month
2 vCPU · 2GB RAM · 65GB SSD
Great for growing businesses and content-heavy sites.
Pro
$202
/month
4 vCPU · 8GB RAM · 160GB SSD
Built for high-traffic or resource-intensive sites.
Platinum
$404
/month
6 vCPU · 16GB RAM · 320GB SSD
Enterprise-grade power for demanding, high-volume sites.
Self-managed: you handle updates & stability yourself. Subscriptions are managed on Stripe. Prices exclude GST (AU).
Domain Hosting Options
Your domain (e.g. yourbusiness.com) is the address people use to reach your website. Choosing the right registrar matters for reliability, pricing transparency, and ease of management.
WPMU Dev Domains (Preferred Option)
If your domain extension is available through WPMU Dev, we recommend registering it there for the simplest setup and integration with hosting.
WPMU Dev provides:
- Flat pricing — no surprise renewal increases
- Free WHOIS privacy included on all domains
- Full DNS management in a clean, easy dashboard
- Free SSL & wildcard SSL certificates for secure connections
This is the ideal option for most businesses, especially if you are hosting your website with us through WPMU Dev. Everything stays centralised in one place — hosting, DNS, and plugin management.
VentraIP (Alternative Registrar)
If a domain extension is not available through WPMU Dev, we recommend using VentraIP — an Australian-owned, reputable registrar with transparent pricing and an easy-to-use DNS panel.
VentraIP is suitable for:
- .com.au, .net.au, and other Australian domain extensions
- Domains not offered by WPMU Dev
- Businesses wanting local AU-based domain management
VentraIP can be used globally; however, for US and UK businesses, WPMU Dev or other international registrars typically offer wider domain extension coverage and more neutral geographic alignment. VentraIP still works fine technically — DNS works anywhere in the world — but customers may prefer a registrar headquartered closer to their region.
Which One Should You Use?
- If WPMU Dev offers your domain extension: → Register it there for the fastest, simplest setup.
- If WPMU Dev does not offer your extension: → Use VentraIP (especially for Australian businesses and .com.au domains).
Once your domain is registered, you can manage all DNS records inside either platform and connect your domain to your WordPress hosting.
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