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From Fili: Maximizing Blogging Brand : Self-hosting & your own domain
Although this post is totally different from my usual blog topics, I think it’s an important one to cover and I hope that be reading this, I am encouraging other bloggers to host their own domain. For simplicity, I’ve written three parts to this post, so please stay tuned for more.
I started blogging in 2007 on a wordpress.com account and for about a year, I was pretty content with how things were going. I had built a substantial readership, but I was already starting to figure out that I was really limited with a wordpress.com account. For one, I couldn’t generate any kind of revenue with my wordpress.com site. For another, I’d already made a name for myself with my site, but my account was set up under a nickname. I wanted people to be able to come directly to My Several Worlds instead of having to remember my nickname attached to a wordpress.com account. Lastly, and most importantly, I wanted control over my site, and the only way I could have that was by moving to my own domain, where I could have access to an unlimited number of options involving site design, layout and plugins to add functionality, style and originality to my site. I knew I had to make a switch.
The problem was that I wasn’t sure if I wanted to spend money on my own domain when I didn’t know anything about installing or maintaining a website. I chatted with several blogger friends who all encouraged me to move to a self-hosted domain. In the end, I took their advice and made the leap after I received an email from my friend, Fili, who offered to help if I had any problems. Fili also directed me to a reputable hosting service, AN Hosting. Midphase took over their hosting services last year, and I’ve never had a problem with them. In fact, all four of my web sites are hosted with Midphase – on WordPress.org’s free open-source software – and their services are excellent.
In less than 36 hours, Fili had helped me set up my new web site and imported all my posts and comments from my old URL. A few days after that, I was able to redirect all of my readers from my old URL to my new URL by using WordPress’ domain mapping feature. Within a year, my old posts under wordpress.com had been redirected to My Several Worlds and I was also able to maintain my page ranking with Google.
I admit, I’ve had some pretty gnarly days. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and there were times when I was just about ready to pull my hair out – there are still times when I want to pull my hair out – but the freedom of having your own site is just too good to pass up.
I’ve broken down the advantages and disadvantages of both wordpress.com and self-hosting. Ultimately, your decision should be based on your blogging goals. If you’re only interested in writing and you don’t care about control or understanding the ins and outs of blogging, then wordpress.com is your best option.
However, if you’re looking for an unlimited number of possibilities in terms of themes, layouts, and plugins, or you’re someone who is thinking about building some revenue, and you like to know how things tick, you should consider hosting your own domain. Whatever your choice, there is an option out there for you. Please feel free to write me if you have any more questions or concerns. I’ll do what I can to help.
Advantages of WordPress.com
- Free account.
- Access to pre-installed themes, widgets and stats counters.
- No site maintenance.
- Technical knowledge isn’t required.
Disadvantages of WordPress.com
- Users cannot edit CSS unless they have a paid upgrade.
- Limited number of themes to choose from.
- No access to plugins, which can limit the functionality of your blog.
- You have a wordpress.com sub domain, (ie. www.carrie.wordpress.com)
- You are dependent on wordpress.com to host your site and keep it active.
Advantages of hosting your own domain
- Knowledge: There is a huge learning curve involved when you manage your own site. Expand your site by adding photo galleries, forums, or a storefront.
- There are an infinite number of possibilities in terms of themes, layout, plugins, etc
- Search engine optimization (SEO) can be enhanced with a variety of plugins.
- A personalized domain name.
- Leverage social media and social networking/bookmarking sites like Su.pr
- Generate ad-revenue though affiliate marketing and Google Adsense.
- Have total control over what your site does and how it looks.
- Learn how to edit CSS and PHP files.
- There is a huge amount of support out there which will answer any questions you might have. WordPress Codex is a great place to get started, but my personal favorite is www.wpbeginner.com because they break everything down for you step by step.
Disadvantages of hosting your own domain
- Hosting and domain registration costs. Hosting approx. $7/month and a domain is up to 10$/year.
- You are responsible for backing up your web site, keeping it secure, modifying your web site, and upgrading to new wordpress versions.
- You might need an understanding of PHP and databases in order to get started. I didn’t at first, but I learned along the way.
- You won’t have the wordpress team ensuring that your site has valid back-end code.
- You might have to deal with space limits and bad support.
- You might take a hit in terms of Google ranking & SEO when migrating from a wordpress.com to your own hosted domain. If you’re worried about this, stay tuned for Part 2, which deals with redirected your old wordpress URL to your new hosted domain.
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Great post, Carrie. I would encourage everyone to get their own domain. There is so much more you can do.
.-= Steve´s last blog ..Random tidbits from China: September 2009 =-.
Thanks Steve. Yep, it really does open up your world.
Good overview. One you might consider adding is future expansion. A WordPress (or Blogger for that matter) hosted site should easily cope with large amounts of traffic. A self-hosted domain may require moving hosts if traffic gets too much. I’ve jumped between a couple of smaller hosts but ended up having to move to Media Temple (US$20 per month starting prices) in order to handle the traffic. Admittedly, for someone just starting out with a personal blog, that’s not going to be an issue.
.-= Craig Ferguson (@cfimages)´s last blog ..Five For Friday – Calendar Links =-.
Hi Craig,
Good point, and I’m really glad to head that your traffic has increased. You’re making phenomenal things happen over at Craig Ferguson Images.
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if you are going to have a respectable website, self hosting is the only way to go!
.-= Nomadic Matt´s last blog ..Getting Sick in Madrid =-.
Hey,
You’ve definitely given me a lot to think about. Is it that much of a hassle to move things over after you get started, or is it better to learn about CSS and all that other behind the scenes website stuff before moving over. I might be interested in self hosting, although I’m a suuuper beginner in the blogging world, never mind hosting. Moving can be done but a huge headache?
Jenna,
You’re an entrepreneur. Move it over, put some ads up, add your own store to the backend and sell your own stuff! WP.com won’t help you in any way if you want people to buy from you. Besides, your site is so new, it would be no trouble at all. I don’t mind helping you with it. Send me your digits and we’ll talk.
[...] follows up with “Wordpress.com vs. Self-Hosting on WordPress.org” […] I am encouraging other bloggers to host their own domain. […] I started blogging in [...]
thanks for this info . with trpidation i will start working thru this process soon.. i have been reccomanded ‘bluehost.com’ — as a cheap and reliable site …??????????true
.-= Heather Hapeta´s last blog ..Mad About Tulips =-.
Hi Heather,
I’ve heard good things about Blue Host. I use Midphase for all of my websites and haven’t had any problems with them.
Heather,
Good luck, and please don’t hesitate to write if you need any help or if you have questions.
Hello Carrie,
So glad I found this post from you. I have learned a lot from WordPress but noticed it is very limited. Anyway, we’ve been thinking a lot of buying a domain anyway and this post just sent me over (in a good way, that is!). I’m sure I’ll have lots of questions, but really looking forward to the challenge.
But I’ll wait for part 2 to understand more. Will go ahead and purchase the domain name though.
Thanks again for the Google Wave invite. Finally got it and now trying to figure it out in between everything else!
Aye (Pronounced “A”)
By the way, my husband is from Taiwan and still has family there. We love returning there to visit family. Hopefully even more after we relocate to Thailand in 2010!
.-= GotPassport´s last blog ..Our Beloved New Orleans Series Part 2 =-.
Hi Aye,
I’m glad you stopped by. I meet such amazing folks on Twitter! Feel free to send me an email if you have any questions. I’m happy to help. We’ll have to hook up on Gwave and have a chat. I still haven’t quite figured it out yet. Next time you’re in Taiwan, let me know. There are quite a few Twitter folks here and it would be good to have a meet-up.
Thanks for the great info, I have decided to open my own photography studio in my Home town(after years of Moving around) and need to publish a good webpage
Hi Michelle,
This is great news. You’ll have to let me know when you’ve got your webpage set up.
Hello Carrie, Thanks for the great post! I actually have a self hosted blog only because I thought I would have more creative options. But the learning curve has been a bear at times. I found your post because I am trying to help out a friend and I was trying to figure out which was best for him. After reading your blog I think self hosting will be the way for him to go as well. You said you wrote this in three parts. I searched for more posts on the subject and didn’t find any more posts on the subject. Did I miss anything?
By the way beautiful photographs!!!
.-= Aaron´s last blog ..Getting lost in the music =-.
Hi Aaron,
I know what you mean. I’ve had a few hairy moments as well over the past few years. The learning curve, though, has more than paid off. I’m inpressed with how much I’ve learned in the past three years. Self-hosting is definitely the way to go. Regarding the other articles, I haven’t got around to posting them yet. They had to go on the backburner as I’ve had more pressing engagements. I’ll try to put them up soon. Take care and thanks for stopping by!
hi carrie,
nice to read your post..until now, i just have an account in another host for blogging.
but after read this, i’d like build my own domain on wordpress.org ^_^
thanks carrie..
.-= febyfattah´s last blog ..Peluncuran “New Wartawarga” =-.
Hi Carrie,
Great post. Thanks.
I was wondering if you had any thoughts on wp.com’s ability to publish under a “private” domain now.
As tempting as it is to go the self-host route, my goal is to be posting video and worry about the snags that entails. Can you offer any advice?
Best,
Jason