I talk quite a bit about how important it is to self host your blog and I sincerely believe that self hosted is the way to go. Today, I wanted to share three things that have changed since I began self hosting my blog a bit over a year ago. Definitely the most important thing that has changed is that I’ve learned a little bit (emphasis on little) about coding and html and I understand at a very basic level how my blog works.
- A more user friendly blog. Since I went self hosted, I discovered the world of plugins. Plugins are basically things you can add to your blog to do cool things like allow people to share their latest post when they comment (CommentLuv), keep spam away (Akismet), and so much more! I’ve shared some plugins that I think everyone should use (including the ONE I think every blogger should use without a doubt) and on wordpress at least, you can only take advantage of plugins if you are self hosted.
- A stronger sense of purpose. I’m not sure exactly why this is, but since I began self hosting my blog, I’ve had a great sense of purpose with the blog and more focus. I think it’s because when I switched to self hosted, I did the transition myself (details here) and just felt a greater sense of ownership over my blog. I feel like that I have a clearer direction for my blog and more focused goals. I also am really taking advantage of using my editorial calendar (I use coschedule – read more about it here) and it’s made an immense difference in my blogging!
- An opportunity to make a little money. I’ve talked about this in some other posts (and now do income reports each month), but self hosting does open you up to displaying ads and accepting other sponsored opportunities. I’m very thoughtful with my strategy in terms of what I will commit to in order to make a bit of money with the blog. I’ve found that I really enjoy sharing products that I love and the ability to become an affiliate for a few of those products has been a fun way to create a little extra income. I never set out to make money blogging but since I began spending a decent amount of money on the blog, I started to seek ways to recoup some of my expenses and self hosting has allowed me to do that.
I am so grateful that I decided to self host and if I had to do it all again, I would’ve started self hosting from day one. Owning your blog and your content is such a benefit and I really do encourage bloggers to seriously consider self hosting.
Are you self hosted? Why or why not?
I’ve thought about self hosting…I’m still figuring this all out, so I’m staying put for now!
Wendy@Taking the Long Way Home recently posted…Sole food
It’s definitely the way to go in my opinion 🙂
I do self host as well but never had wordpress so don’t have any comparison. I am still learning so much everyday!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner recently posted…Ragnar Cape Cod-Moms Do It All Night Long
You don’t use WordPress?? What do you use?
I’m really hoping to be able to make the switch to self hosted this summer. I’ve just had ZERO time since the start of the year to focus on the transition.
Kathryn @ Dancing to Running recently posted…Life Isn’t About Waiting for the Storm to Pass
it sounds like the summer will be the perfect time for you to do it! of course, i’m happy to answer any questions once you get going 🙂
Courtney, I can’t imagine any other way since I started out self-hosted; I just thought this was how everyone did it – ha! I think there’s definitely a greater sense of freedom, since we can decide what we want to display and how we want it to look without many constraints; I’ve even learned some code along the way! Keep spreading the word; it makes blogging so much easier, I think!
Tara @ Running ‘N’ Reading recently posted…Training Recap
it really does make it easier and learning the tiny bit of coding that i have learned along the way is an awesome benefit!
I love all options and plugins (and freedom) that come with self-hosting. Thanks for helping me out 🙂 Looking forward to helping Julie!
Jennifer recently posted…St. Michaelâs Half Training 5/4-5/10 â Week 7
i’m excited about moving julie over as well. i get really excited when my friends move to self hosted — as you know!
I went self-hosted all because of you! I haven’t really noticed much difference except for the plug-ins but I’m sure it will come with time!
yes, i’m sure too! one difference is you can do sponsored posts now. it’s against the wordpress.com user agreement to do sponsored posts 🙂
I started self-hosting last fall, and I LOVE the wordpress.org interface. It makes it so easy to tweak little things and make it a good experience for the reader, but still have the look and feel you want. Thanks for the plugin tips – I’m installing some today!
Hilary @ Embrace the Neon recently posted…So Much New…
you expressed my thoughts exactly!
I’ve been self hosted from the get-go, but only because that’s the way Bill set it up when I said I wanted to start a blog. He used GoDaddy to buy his domain name, etc. for his photography website, so he offered to do the early-on leg work in setting up my blog. I couldn’t believe how easy WordPress makes it, and we crack up when occasionally I give him a tip on how to write code for some simple thing. It’s particularly funny because he’s got the MS in a related field.
I love all of the plugins – they make life so easy. I just added a recipe card plugin for my healthy recipe posts. I’m not sure I would have thought of looking for it, had you and Coco not been talking about plugins recently! 🙂
Debbie @ Deb Runs recently posted…Time For A Tempo Run
yes! i’m obsessed with plugins and love how easy they make SO many things. there’s a plugin for everything, lol. 🙂
Once I decided to self host is also made a big difference for me. It truly felt like my little corner of the internet and I wanted to make it the best that I could.
Fiona @ Get Fit Fiona recently posted…School, Work, a Trip to Vancouver, and U2
Yes!! That’s exactly how I felt!
i’m with you on this! so much has changed, for the better being self hosted. The sense of purpose is definitely one of them. Great post my friend!
Mar @ Mar on the Run recently posted…Life, Currently…
Thanks! It’s funny how one change can really give that sense of purpose but it really did for me 🙂
I love having a self hosted blog. I agree, it’s the way to go!
Amy @ Running on Faith and Coffee recently posted…Thinking Out Loud Thursday #11