Why WordPress?
Are you using self-hosted WordPress for blogging?
If you’re not, it can feel a little lonely. Seems like everyone is using WordPress – nearly 20% of all websites on the internet are powered by WordPress, and it’s all you hear about in blogging circles.
Why are so many bloggers obsessed with WordPress? You’re probably wondering… What makes it so great? Do you have to use it? Aren’t there any alternatives you could use instead?
Well, it’s true that WordPress isn’t the only blogging software out there. Plenty of alternatives exist, and many are easy to use and don’t require you to buy your own hosting.
But if you’re serious about blogging, self-hosted WordPress is the best choice for your blog.
Here’s why.
1. Sense of Authority with Self Hosted WordPress.
Free blogging platforms have one obvious thing going for them: they’re free!
But there are just too many downsides for us to recommend them. The #1 reason you should not be blogging on a free platform is that it looks unprofessional.
Your visitors can tell you’re using a free platform. Whether it’s because of the generic-looking themes, tell-tale widgets in your sidebar, or credit links in the footer, it’s quite obvious when you’re blogging on a free platform.
And it gives a very unprofessional first impression.
Unfortunately, many of your visitors won’t take you seriously when they see that you’re not willing to invest in your blog.
WordPress gives a more professional impression to your visitors than an obviously free blogging platform. When they visit your site at www.yourname.com instead of yourname.myfreewebsite.com, it looks so much more professional and trustworthy.
2. Support!
Compared to other blogging platforms or software, WordPress is supported by an enormous online community. No matter what you want to do with WordPress, or what obstacles you encounter, it’s easy to find help.
3. Full control
3. Full controlAnother crucial feature of self-hosted WordPress is its incredible flexibility. You have the control to do whatever you want with your website, unlike with free blogging platforms that severely limit what you can do.
With self-hosted WordPress you can:
- Choose from thousands and thousands of themes, including official themes from WordPress.org, or premium third-party themes, or even create your own custom theme.
- Modify your site’s code, so you can change whatever you want, including customizing the text of your footer credits, switching fonts or colors, or even changing the whole layout of your site.
Install plugins. Plugins are one of WordPress’s most important features. They make it easy to change or add whatever functionality you want, making WordPress infinitely flexible and allowing you to create a one-of-a-kind website. - Monetize your blog. Often free blogging platforms don’t allow you to implement third party advertising or monetize in other ways. If you want to monetize your blog by selling direct ads or sponsored posts, or create a premium membership site, you’re probably going to be limited by a blogging platform’s terms of service or technical restrictions.
- Control your own site and content. Many free blogging platforms include a clause in their terms of service that state that they can immediately delete your entire site without warning if you violate their terms of service. They may even have ownership of your content.
Ok, I like it. How much does it cost?
WordPress, being an open source blogging script, is completely free for it’s users. WordPress.org blogging software itself is 100% free to download and use from their official website, but you’ll need to buy your own domain and hosting in order to use it.
A domain name will usually cost around $10-15 per year.
Website Hosting costs can vary widely depending on the type of hosting you buy.
If you are planning to opt for a Bare Metal dedicated Server for your blog, we have the right solution for you!
I would argue that if you’re serious about blogging, all the benefits listed above are more than worth that price. And if you’re monetizing your blog, you can easily cover the costs of running your site within the first year.
We hope to see your using WordPress and blogging your way to sucess!
