I received an email from my blog host recently that reminded me that I have just passed my one-year self-hosted blog anniversary.
Going self-hosted as a blogger was not an easy decision and it has come with its own set of challenges and advantages. In preparation, I spent days reading why to go self-hosted posts so that I would know as much as I could before taking the leap with my blog.
Many of the posts I read covered why to go self-hosted, the process of buying a domain name, signing up for a hosting plan, and sometimes the basics of theme setup and general WordPress software installation. And, while these posts warned that going self-hosted is difficult but rewarding, the actual experience of taking my blog self-hosted was nothing like what I expected it to be.
What is Blog Self-Hosting?
Self-hosting is when you pay a web host to host your blog online. Think of it as paying an internet rental fee. Instead of being subject to the policies and restrictions that can come with creating a free blog, self-hosting means you store your blog on a web server provided by your hosting company. Popular hosting companies include BlueHost, SiteGround, and Lyrical Host, and hosting plans are usually affordable.
The blog owner (you) has complete control of their website, but you are responsible for setting up your blog on your host’s server and making sure your site is secure and running smoothly. If you are on a free site likeWordpress.com, WordPress does all the blog maintenance work behind the scenes for you, and you never have to worry about it.
If self-hosting means more work for the blogger, why would anyone go self-hosted?
Why to go Self-Hosted as a Blogger
I started my blog as a free WordPress blog because it began as a place for me to express myself and share my writing. After three years of blogging, I began to glimpse where I wanted to take my blog. I wanted to start sharing my blogging and writing tips and writing gift guides and writer’s lifestyle posts in addition to writing poetry, prose, and fiction. I also wanted to try my hand at monetizing my writing blog with useful sponsored content.
Here are five reasons why you should consider going self-hosted with your blog.
1. You Will Own Your Blog
When your blog is self-hosted, you own everything on your website, and you have complete control over your content. WordPress cannot, for example, remove your posts or site for violating an obscure policy.
While owning their blogs is important to many bloggers, however, I do not think you need to self-host your blog if you are blogging for personal reasons or have no interest in taking advantage of the benefits going self-hosted offers. Going self-hosted is an investment that should be fully justified, and I know many amazing bloggers who operate to incredible extent on free WordPress sites.
2. You Control What Your Blog Looks Like
When I was on my free blog, there were so many beautiful themes I could not bring myself to pay for. With a self-hosted site, I have access to an amazing library of themes and even have the ability to upload themes purchased externally.
I can also play with the fonts and colors on my site, change the overall layout, and create custom menus.
The only catch is you have to learn how to do these customizations yourself or hire a WordPress developer to do it for you. Plugins and code can interact unexpectedly and cause your site to crash or load slowly. This has happened to me several times and it is a headache figuring out which plugin or internal issue is causing the problem.
3. You Can Use Plugins
Remember those troublesome plugins I mentioned? Well, they come with benefits that make them worthwhile! Plugins let you change the way your site looks and operates without having to try coding these changes into your website yourself. Plugins can also improve the loading time of your site, embed popups and forms, and help you make sure your posts are SEO-optimized and readable.
4. You Can Monetize Your Blog
If you get creative, you can make money from your self-hosted blog, no matter what niche you write in. It is hard to land brand sponsorships or write posts in exchange for gifted items as brands are reluctant to work with bloggers who are not self-hosted.
When you are self-hosted, you can add affiliate links, sell your own products, and work with brands based off your website content and engagement. Additionally, you could also try your hand at placing ads on your site.
5. You Have More Control Over SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it is a practice that helps people find your site through search engines. Self-hosted blogs give you access to SEO tools that help you optimize your posts more efficiently. Google also puts greater trust in blogs that are self-hosted and have a custom domain name (ninchronicles.com instead of ninchronicles.wordpress.com) so self-hosted blogs usually rank higher, meaning more people find you.
How to Go Self-Hosted with your Blog
Now that we have covered the reasons why to go self-hosted with your blog, let us take a look at how to go self-hosted.
The first step to going self-hosted with your blog is finding a good hosting provider. I have heard good things about SiteGround and Lyrical Host, and even recently discovered Tim’s Solutions web-hosting, which comes with its own set of maintenance perks. I currently use Bluehost*, as I purchased a two-year plan last year.
After you have decided on a host, pick a plan and take advantage of any offers. I recommend starting with your host’s beginner plan.
Once you have registered with your host, it is time to move your existing free site onto your new website server. This is the biggest part of going self-hosted and one of the most difficult. I did not attempt it myself, as it is incredibly techy and involved using tools I had no experience with.
When to Hire a WordPress Developer
Instead of potentially losing three years of content in a poor website transfer, I took advantage of an offer from a WordPress developer, and she transferred my free blog to its new server for me. A WordPress developer also helped iron out all the kinks that plagued my site in the first few weeks, such as resolving plugin conflicts, removing messy code, and fixing formatting issues.
If you are interested in going self-hosted or are already dealing with self-hosted blog complications you cannot get a fix on yourself, I recommend hiring a WordPress developer to give you a hand. The behind the scenes of a self-hosted blog can get incredibly messy after one wrong move and nothing is worth potentially losing years of blogging progress.
Introducing Tim’s Solutions: The Only WordPress Website Developer You’ll Ever Need
Tim is a professional WordPress developer with over 12 years of experience. He can help you take your new or existing self-hosted website to the next level, as he specializes in developing and helping maintain secure, efficient WordPress sites that are easy to manage.
Tim can
- Build you an easy-to-use website that fits your budget and your needs
- Make sure your site is responsive and adaptive to both desktop and mobile screens
- Seamlessly integrate Ecommerce to get your business off the ground
- Work closely with you to give you the best possible results
- Provide website support in the event of crashes or bugs
- Host your website on his reliable, efficient servers
Tim also provides flexible WordPress maintenance that fits your schedule. He can
- Fix problematic bugs
- Update plugins without creating new plugin conflicts
- Keep your WordPress software and plugins up to date
- Create a child theme for your site
- Securely backup your precious content
- Provide emergency support that comes with a money-back guarantee
Going self-hosted with your blog is not a move that is right for every blogger but, if you know why you want to go self-hosted and are excited about the potential, it is well worth it to take the leap alongside a professional WordPress developer who can make your jump a little easier.
What are your thoughts on going self-hosted? Have you ever hired a WordPress developer before? Tell me below!
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