Self-Hosted Blogs
What Is A Self-Hosted Blog?
A self-hosted blog is a blog you install at your chosen web hosting service. A self-hosted blog is often referred to as a paid blog. A self-hosted blog will usually have its own unique domain name (URL – Uniform Resource Locator) associated with it. For example, this blog happens to be hosted and installed at my preferred web host and has the domain name of www.wpblogsandwebsites.com. It is (of course!) a WordPress based blog. I pay for my web hosting, and I have registered my domain name of www.wpblogsandwebsites.com. This is a standalone blog. I Own My Own Blog.
The opposite of a self-hosted blog is a blog that is hosted at an online service such as blogger.com or wordpress.com. These are free blog hosting services, as you do not pay a hosting fee to have a blog at them. There are plusses and minuses to both self-hosted and hosted blogs. I’ll discuss free hosted blogs in another post. I’ll focus mostly on WordPress self-hosted blogs here.
There can be some confusion about WordPress blog hosting. There are two WordPress Web sites where you can start your blogging adventure.
- There is http://www.wordpress.org – This is where you can download WordPress that you will install on a web host’s server. This is for those who want to self-host a blog. You have complete control of your blog and its future. This is your choice if you want to Own Your Own Blog.
- There is http://www.wordpress.com – This is the free hosted version of WordPress. Here you can setup your blog by following online instructions and the blog is created automatically for you. Not as flexible and not as much control as a self-hosted blog.
The great advantage to a self-hosted blog is that you gain total control over your blog. This means you have the freedom to make your blog look and operate the way you want and no one can limit what you do with your blog. Probably most important, you can blog about anything you want, it’s all yours.
With a self-hosted blog you can choose how your blog looks, what theme it uses … the colors, layout, typography, and graphics. You also have total control over the technical parts of your blog. With WordPress you can choose and add from a myriad of plugins (think of plugins as special gizmos that do certain blog jobs for you) to enhance the functionality of your blog. You can tweak and adapt your blog the way you desire.
Having your own domain name (a URL) is important if you want to make a professional impression with your blogging efforts. People simply take a Web site with its own Top Level Domain (TLD, www.wpblogsandwebsites.com is an example of a TLD) name more seriously than a Web site with a URL like; http://wpblogsandwebsites.blogspot.com/. That URL points you toward a hosted for free blogger.com blog I set up as a demonstration. You can see how “blogspot.com” gets added to the URL for this free hosted blog, this means it is not a TLD.
Please note that I do not mean to say that all free hosted blogs are not professional and are substandard. I mean to explain that sometimes they are perceived that way, starting with their domain names. I have had, and do have, too many free hosted blogs myself to say they are all unprofessional and substandard. Many of them are top-notch because their creators have put a lot of effort into them. I simply think that a self-hosted WordPress blog with its own domain name looks more professional.
I know for certain that I have total control over my self-hosted www.wpblogsandwebsites.com blog, and that I don’t have total control with the hosted free http://wpblogsandwebsites.blogspot.com/ blog where I am subject to the limitations that blogger.com imposes.
Although you will have to pay for web hosting, and to register and keep a domain name (these fees are affordable as there is much competition in these markets), with a self-hosted blog, if you choose WordPress as your blogging platform, then you won’t have to pay a single cent for WordPress itself. WordPress is Open Source and is free, there are no licensing fees involved. That’s a pretty good deal!
All this sounds great about self-hosting, but what aren’t you telling me?
– Because you have total control over your blog, you must manage it. You are the one who looks out for its health. So, some technical skills and knowledge can’t hurt. WordPress is already pretty easy to manage and with the addition of a few plugins, it’s even easier. With each version and update of WordPress it keeps getting easier and easier to manage a WordPress blog. A lot of what you need to do to keep your blog running smoothly and updated is accomplished by making a few clicks within your WordPress blog’s administration interface.
- You will pay for your web hosting when you self-host your WordPress blog. When you register your own domain name for your blog, you will pay a fee to a domain registrar (GoDaddy is an example of a domain registrar). Your web hosting and domain name registration fees are ongoing. You will pay for your web hosting by a monthly or yearly plan, and your domain name registration will usually have a yearly fee with the option to pay for multiple years. As I have mentioned, these fees are affordable. They are worth their cost if you want your blog to be a professional effort.
- You will have to manage your web hosting. This sounds intimidating and there will be some things you need to learn, but good web hosts have made it as easy as possible for you to setup and choose your web hosting options. A good host will have an online interface that makes it easy to manage your hosting and will have online help and tutorials available to answer your questions. Often, a web host will have a “Live Chat” option you can use to ask questions of a real person by chatting with them through a messaging interface. Often too, phone support is available. Web hosts can’t afford to have their services be like learning rocket science for their clients. Just like WordPress, web hosts are always working to make life easy for users.
Own Your Own Blog!
In my opinion, owning your own blog by using WordPress as your blogging platform, having it self-hosted, and having your own registered domain name is the most professional and serious way to go about having a blog or Web site. You will control your blog and another party (like a freely hosted blog company) will not impose limitations or constraints on your blog.
A fact of the free host blog services is that they all have their Terms Of Service (TOS) agreements. If a free blog host thinks your blog violates their TOS, then it can shutdown your blog. Overnight, your blog that you put so much time and effort into can disappear. It happens. You might get what you pay for with a free blog.
A Google search of “blogger tos shutdown” can reveal some interesting situations other bloggers have encountered with TOS shutdowns by Blogger.com. Here is a link you might find interesting: Who’s responsible for shutting down a number of anti-Obama Blogspot accounts? This deals with some political blogs that have been shutdown by Blogger.com (An aside: Blogger.com is part of Google, and Google supports Obama and liberal views. Blogger blogs with opposing political views have been shut down. Take this for whatever it’s worth, the point is Blogger’s TOS gives them the power to make blogs disappear, and some do.) You have to realize that a free blog host can pull the plug on your blog. A word to the wise is sufficient …
If you are going to spend serious time and effort creating a blog, if you are going to blog to earn money, or sell products and services, then self-hosting is the way to go.
Be free and have control. Own Your Own Blog!
- Self-host your blog
- Register a domain name
- Use WordPress as your blogging platform
Suggested Posts to Learn More...
- Why Choose WordPress?
- Free Hosted Blogs
- Free Hosted Blogs Can Be Shutdown
- Blogger Template Designer Introduced By Blogger
- WordPress Graphics, Logos, and Colors
Be Busy Blogging ... Own Your Own Blog ... WordPress Works Wonderfully
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