Why you should self-host, and how to get started

If you’ve ever wondered, “Should I be self-hosted?” or “Do I need to have my own domain name to be taken seriously?” my quick answer is, “Yes.”

Now obviously there are successful bloggers out there who spent years hosted through sites like WordPress.com or Blogger before switching to their own domains. There are exceptions to every rule. But that doesn’t mean the average blogger can’t gain better traction by buying a domain name and switching to self-hosting.

Here’s why:

You have less than 10 seconds to catch someone’s attention and gain credibility online. This is your first impression, and you must get it right.

Internet users are extremely skeptical – when they land on a page, they want to be instantly reassured that the content they’re receiving is high-quality, informative, and provided by a credible source. If you fail to communicate this immediately, a reader is less likely to stick around.

There are lots of ways to gain credibility with your audience, but one of the easiest ways is to make it clear that you take your blog seriously. When I look through search results, I’m more likely to click on the domain, “bestblueberrypies.com” than “wordpress.bestblueberrypies.com.” Fair or unfair, having your own domain instantly lends you a measure of credibility.

Beyond the credibility a domain name provides, the most crucial reason you should self-host is content ownership. When you host your site through Blogger, WordPress.com, or any other shared blog platform, you have zero control over the rules, guidelines or changes the platform makes. If Blogger shuts down tomorrow, there’s no guarantee you could recover your content.

You might think this is unlikely, and you might be right, but it’s certainly possible. Whenever you trust a service owned by someone else to manage your content, you’re playing a dangerous game of chicken.

Here are three examples:

1. Facebook Algorithm Changes Hurt Page Owners

Millions of businesses use Facebook Pages for free or low-cost marketing. But Facebook can change its algorithms at any time to increase or decrease the reach of Page posts. For instance, algorithm changes that took place in late 2013 hit small business owners hard, with many Pages experiencing a tank in total reach, and a decrease in traffic to their websites. Companies relying primarily on Facebook to convert traffic and sales suddenly had to scramble to make up the difference.

2. Mega Upload Shutdown Resulted in Lost Files

In 2012, the FBI shut down the popular file-sharing website, Mega Upload. Unfortunately, when the company’s websites were shut down due to illegal activity, even users who were using the site legally lost access to their files. Without backups, they lost all content without recourse to recover it.

3. WordPress.com Ad Changes Tanked Revenues

Several years ago, bloggers using WordPress.com’s free hosting service were suddenly informed they could no longer sell products or post banner ads to their blogs. Bloggers who used ads and sales as a source of income lost revenue, and those who missed the notice regarding ads were threatened with losing their site and content.

In all three cases, the content owners were negatively affected by choices implemented by the companies hosting their content because said companies were solely responsible for the domain and everything that lived therein – including users’ content.

When you buy your own domain, you may still have to purchase hosting through a third-party organization, such as Bluehost or WP Engine, but you own your domain and any content you choose to post on it. You can choose how, when, and where to post advertising, you can decide whether to keep your voice PG, or veer toward “adult,” and you can decide how much to rely on social media for additional marketing.

Luckily, purchasing your own domain is easy.

To purchase a domain, simply go to a domain brokerage, such as GoDaddy, and search for the domain you want. With any luck, it’ll be available and you can make a purchase. GoDaddy frequently runs specials – for instance, right now you can purchase a one-year domain for $3 (when you purchase two years upfront), or in some cases, you can purchase the .com, .net, and .org versions of the same domain for $17.

If you plan to sign up for hosting through a specific company, such as Bluehost, check their site before you purchase your domain. Some hosting companies offer free domain names as part of their hosting. That said, think carefully before taking advantage of the offer. By purchasing your domain as part of your hosting, you’re “putting all your eggs in one basket,” which could make it harder to change hosting companies down the line if you’re unhappy with the company’s service.

Before purchasing your domain

• If the domain you want is available: Check the social media channels you want to use to make sure you can snag the name socially. This makes it easier for your fans to find you across all channels.
• If the domain you want isn’t available: Don’t immediately panic! If the domain shows up as unavailable, but it doesn’t appear to be in use, you might still be able to purchase it. In my podcast with Iriel Franklin of Get Fit or Get Fat, she talks about how she was able to score her domain even though it wasn’t immediately available.

GoDaddy makes it easy to search for and purchase domains, but they do a lot of up-selling. I’d suggest buying your domains through GoDaddy, but ignoring all the additional options they offer before checkout – most of them are unnecessary, particularly if you plan to host through a different company.

Finally, make sure you search for online coupons before you buy! We recently paid $2.17 for a one-year purchase of the BlogWellSummit.com domain, and it’s not unusual to find deals for $1.99 purchases.

After you buy your domain, you must purchase hosting

Where many people get confused is after the domain name purchase. To actually get your website set up, you have to purchase hosting to gain access to a server where you can store your files. It’s like paying for a virtual storage unit.

Most bloggers do just fine with shared hosting, the least expensive and most common option (like Bluehost’s $4-per month version). Shared hosting involves multiple websites all sharing space on a single server that’s managed and maintained by the hosting company. The potential problem with a shared setup is that if one of your posts unexpectedly goes viral, the shared server could get pummeled, and to prevent all the sites from going down, your site could crash.

Some hosting companies know this is a risk, so they put policies in place to protect your site – it’s just important that you ask the question before signing up for hosting to make sure you’re protected. And, if you do happen to go viral, call your hosting company ASAP to see about upgrading your hosting plan. For instance, Bluehost has the WordPress hosting option that starts at $12.49 for the first month and $25 per month after that, and guarantees up to 100-million visits per month.

This is why it’s so important to choose an accessible and reliable hosting company – the last thing you want is for your site to go down and for you to be unable to make changes or get help. Even if it means paying a little more for the service, it’s worth it.

Set up your hosting and get started

I’m not going to go into the hosting setup in depth, as I have several tutorials planned that will walk you through the process. The steps depend on whether you’ve already purchased your domain, and whether you’re transferring a blog hosted through Blogger, WordPress.com or another site to your new domain. The good news is, if you have a high-quality hosting service, they’ll provide you with the tools and resources you need to get started, and their customer service will be ready to help answer questions.

Have you been thinking about switching to self-hosting? What questions or concerns are holding you back?

Note: High Impact Blogging is an affiliate of several companies mentioned in this post.