Blogging 201: Self-Hosting- Should you?

If you take a look through out the blogosphere, you will find that a lot of the blogs are self-hosted. They either have a .com, .net, and I've even seen a few .org blogs. But most blog use .com or .net. Being self-hosted has it's advantages and dis-advantages.

PROS

• You get more opportunities since SEO works differently. Many brands want their name noticed, not on.blogspot.com or .wordpress.com blogs. Say 2 bloggers are working on the same campaign but one is self-hosted while the other one isn't. 8 times out of 10, the self-hosted blogger's post will show up in search results while the non-hosted blogger's post will be buried under pages of search results.
• You can change anything about your blog that you want without worry about conforming to Wordpress's or Blogspot's TOS.
• More storage.
• You can advertise. Wordpress.com does NOT allow advertising and can take them down at any time.
• You look more professional and approachable.
• You can provide your readers will a more enjoyable experience with plug-ins. It might even make it more user-friendly.
• Easy to remember URL. 

CONS

• It can be pricy. I had a self-hosting blog for at least a year back in 2009, and it cost me $200 for the whole year. Of course, prices have come down considerably but buy only the package you want!
• Some hosting services may have server problems, which means that if your blog is down for any amount of time, you are losing traffic and views.
• You are at risk of your blog being hacked or malware being planted.
• If you are not using a hosting service but hosting it yourself, you have to be ready at any moment to fix a problem.

As you can see, Edge of Insanity is not self-hosted because I'm waiting for the financial situation to settle down here on the homefront. If you are considering becoming self-hosted, I would recommend contacting HostGator or GoDaddy for packages. 

WHAT TO DO

1.  Export your blog XML. 
2. Gather any resources you may need- domain name, credit card, and at least an hour.
3. Set up a hosting account at the hosting service of your choice.
4. Install Wordpress. Upload and install your blog XML.
5. Customize it and make it your own!

If you are scared to make the move due to all the codes and templates, you can hire a designer to help you. But those can be more expensive than the actual hosting. 

It is up to you whether or not you want to become a self-hosting Wordpress blog. I'm contemplating it myself!

Next on our Blogging 201 series: Building your blog as a brand!

Are you self-hosting? Would you consider it?