What you need to build a WordPress Site

You need a web host and a domain.
What is a web host?
A web host is a computer hooked up to the internet. It has the folder structure you’re familiar with. You may be sharing it with other customers, which is called shared hosting. It’s adequate most of the time and usually costs $10/month. Nowadays, they’re usually virtual machines in the cloud. You can get your own virtual server for a little more per month if you need security, performance, and you are professional.
You could set up your own. Why? It’s better to sign up for a web hosting plan on GoDaddy or Bluehost. There are also WordPress-specific companies like WP Engine or Jetpack.
What is a domain?
A domain is a name you lease. The name must be available, so good luck trying to call yourself Apple.com or Google.com. Try for something more realistic like YouWouldNeverGuessThisName.com. You pay an annual fee to a registrar to create that domain and give it a home. GoDaddy and Bluehost are domain registrars as well. This is fascinating technology for me, not so much for you. You need someone to worry about this for you.
There are many domains now. You know .com, .net, .org, maybe .edu for colleges. There is also .tv, .io. .TV used to be leased by the Pacific Island of Tuvalu, who sold it to a French guy who now offers it to TV shows. The .io is popular with modern tech firms because “io” looks like the techie term “Input/Output”. It actually stands for Indian Ocean. More new popular domains are .news, .social, .biz, and .ai. You can use any of these, but prices vary. My simili.io domain costs me $70+/year, while a .com could be as cheap as $12/year.
What is a subdomain?
Usually, a domain starts with “www.” Occasionally, you’ll see something like “user.mywebsite.com”. This is a subdomain.
You have to pay to lease a domain, but you can create as many subdomains as you want for free. A subdomain behaves like a domain. So you can get one overall domain and host 1, 2, 10, 100 different websites with it. But you better renew your domain when it’s time because if you don’t and somebody else gets it before you can revive it, you’re kinda screwed.