If you’re a new blogger out there, you’ve probably seen posts like these a TON. Everyone is telling you to self-host your blog or to set up your blog the “right” way.
In this post, I wanted to discuss the pros and cons of self hosting and offer alternatives if you’re still hesitant! I’ll also share my personal story as an example so you can decide whether or not you want to follow in my footsteps!
Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post includes affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you.
What is self-hosting?
Self-hosting is essentially paying a hosting platform such as Bluehost, Siteground, etc. to give you complete access and control over all of your site settings including files, servers where those files are stored, and the ability to change them as you see fit. Self-hosting allows you to own 100% of your content and website/blog material.
Where can I self-host?
As mentioned above, you can self-host at any of these places below:
- Bluehost
- Siteground
- Hostgator
- GoDaddy
- Dreamhost
- A2 Hosting
I highly recommend you do your research before choosing a hosting platform. I can’t give you any opinions/reviews on any of the above hosting platforms aside from Bluehost as I have not tried the others.
I use Bluehost as my hosting platform and I have not had a single problem with it. It loads fast, is organized in a way that I understand, and I enjoy their weekly newsletters on how to maintain and better my site. They also work really well with WordPress.org. (WordPress.com is the free version of WordPress that does not require you to self-host while WordPress.org is the paid for version aka the self-hosted version).
I’ve found that Bluehost and WordPress are extremely compatible and that is what helped me make my decision.
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Pros
During my research when choosing to move to self-hosting, I kept coming across the analogy that self-hosting is like owning a home and traditional hosting is like renting.
With a self-hosted site, this is what you get:
- own 100% of your content
- Can change your site code whenever you wish
- Have access to your site files
- Access to your site server
- More control
Before I moved my blog to WordPress, I used Blogger. It was great for starting out but I had been warned that I did not “own” all of my content. Should something go wrong (maybe google would abandon blogger as a platform) I would lose all of my content. Now, do I think that will actually happen? Honestly, no.
I think blogger was a fantastic beginner blogging network and I enjoyed that it was FREE.
But what I meant by owning 100% of your content is that you can change, mold, manipulate, insert, and delete anything you want from your site’s code. I’ll admit, I haven’t messed with mine much, but it is something I’ve used for sponsorship programs, special plugins on WordPress, and monetization (ads) on my blog.
Having unlimited access to your site also allows you to fully adjust the theme you use, create your own site theme, handle e-commerce more efficiently, save additional backups, and control site speed. Honestly, the list of possibilities is endless and having full creative control is super beneficial!
Cons
You have to pay for it.
As far as I’m concerned, the only downside to self-hosting has been the fees. Sure, it’s only about $3 a month to self-host—$36 a year. But there are also upfront fees. I believe I had to pay $60-$65 to set up Bluehost for my site.
However, given that the expense is the only downside, I hardly consider it much of an issue. I got more than what I made for and I am happy for it.
Alternatives
Here’s the part that I was excited to talk about! Alternatives to self-hosting!
You can totally have a website without self-hosting it. I did so for a year. Now, there were pros and cons for that too.
Pros:
- I didn’t have to pay any money.
- Blogger was super simple to use
- I could still get a paid for domain (eliminated the @blogspot.com on the end of my web url)
- And I wasn’t concerned about total website control
Cons:
- I had to bust my butt to learn html because I couldn’t manipulate my sites code very well
- I couldn’t access my sites files or servers
- I didn’t have full creative freedom
I loved Blogger, really. But once I realized that I wanted to monetize and grow my site, I knew I had to move. The great thing about Blogger is that it is compatible with WordPress and Bluehost, so moving it was fairly easy. (Read why I moved my blog to WordPress).
If you’re looking for a free site and aren’t concerned about self hosting yet, WordPress.com, Wix, and (I think) squarespace all offer free versions and you can upgrade to paid site/self hosting later on with only a few clicks.
Final thoughts
If you’re going into the blogging game for the long run with your heart set on monetization or opening your own store, then self-hosting is probably the best thing you can do for yourself. I would go so far as to suggest you self-host from the very start.
If you have any hesitations or are broke as heck (I’ve been there), then at least start on a platform you know you’ll stick with. I highly recommend WordPress. It has allowed me so much creative opportunity and is super easy to navigate! You can start with a wordpress.com site and can upgrade later.
What I don’t want you to do is follow in my footsteps and switch blogging platforms a year into your blog. It was fairly easy, sure. But it also held me back in a number of ways (I had to relearn an entire platform, for example).
Overall, I would say that self hosting is a better option, especially if you’re serious about blogging.
If you like this post, check out some similar posts of mine below:
Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts on self-hosting.
You can also email me with questions or concerns you may have at info.amelia.wilson@gmail.com
Also, check out my poetry book, The Lights are on but Nobody’s Home, available now on amazon for $6.99!
Disclaimer: All of the views and opinions in this post are solely my own and are not sponsored. This post includes affiliate links, meaning I earn a commission through links at no cost to you.
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