I love blogging. And I don’t care what platform your blog lives on, if you are a blogger, I like you. You are a special person. That is why, if you are currently hosted on a free platform, I feel the need to defend you and your decision to blog where you choose to blog.
If your current platform does not work for you anymore, that is different.
And if that is the case, I want you to make an informed decision about where and why you should move to self-hosting. But please do not purchase a self-hosting package based on fear articles that hold very little truth or understanding of your own personal circumstances.
You may want to read this: 7 Scary Truths About Going Self-Hosted You Need To Know
Everyday I see in Facebook groups, some innocent blogger ask a legitimate blogging question only to be pounced on by about a gazillion affiliate bloggers sharing their affiliate links and posts. I find it really distasteful.
But the thing that really bothers me is that they spread lies in order to get you to buy what they are selling. The only evidence they offer up is not from experience but from other similar articles they have read from other bloggers.
They all perpetuate the lies and the fear.
Most of the time when I confront these link dropping bloggers, they admit that they do not have any direct experience or evidence to support their blanket statements. And it doesn’t matter to them because it works.
Be aware, their posts, and their information are just a marketing script.
You need to understand that these kinds of bloggers blog about blogging. It is their business model to try to teach you how to have a successful blog and make money online.
And they make THEIR money online, by selling their courses, ebooks and affiliate products to you.
Whether going self-hosted is in your best interest or not is not important to them at all.
Yes, I recommend hosting packages to bloggers too. But I also blog extensively about how to blog, and make money, on the FREE WordPress dot com platform.
And I can do that because I have blogs on the free and self-hosted platforms. Each blog works for me for different reasons on each platform. And yes, I make a great income on BOTH platforms.
Falsehoods Affiliate Bloggers Use To Get You To Stop Using Free Blogging Platforms
1. You don’t own your content.
Holy crap. Yes, you do.
Do with it what you will. Transfer it. Delete it. Duplicate it. It’s yours.
If you don’t believe me, go on the WordPress dot com forum and ask like this person did.
So the next time you see someone post about you not owning your content on a WordPress dot com blog, please ask that person to quote the Terms of Service article that stipulates that WordPress owns your content. They won’t be able to do it because it is simply not true.
2. You have no control.
I can only assume this statement means that you can’t edit the CSS or upload any theme you want or use a multitude of plug-ins. That is very true.
But I want you to know that more choices does not necessarily mean you will create a better looking or a more successful blog.
With a self-hosted blog, you may also have to hire a tech to get all the different elements of your blog to work together properly. The upgrades you add can clash and disable your blog.
I consider myself pretty techy and even I have had to reach out occasionally with problems I couldn’t solve on my own. Not to mention how frustrating it is and how much time I have wasted, trying to figure out why something is not working.
If you are not computer savvy and don’t have the money to pay someone to maintain your blog, less choice may be the better option for you.
Oh and btw, those themes and plug-ins the affiliate bloggers are recommending cost money too. Ca-ching.
But here I am going to offer up one big plus for less control. Safety.
With more options, more CSS editing, more themes and more plug-ins comes more chances for your blog to be hacked. And believe me, I have friends that have been extorted for money to gain access back to their blogs.
I won’t say it couldn’t happen on WordPress dot com but it is extremely unlikely if you have a strong password and double authentication.
And here is one more downside to more options: time waster. On my self-hosted site, sometimes I get distracted by everything I can do and spend days fiddling with applications instead of focusing on content.
Don’t think you can be a success on WordPress dot com? Check out this New York Times best selling author that calls WordPress dot com home.
3. Your blog can be shut down without notice.
True. I agree that in the TOS, WordPress has the right to shut down your blog if you violate any of their terms.
But with 37 million blogs on WordPress dot com, I have personally never heard of one. And I know a lot of bloggers. I like those odds.
But guess what? A hosting company could shut down your blog too. Betcha didn’t know that, did you?
Hosting companies have terms of service too. Funny how that isn’t always shared.
So if you have a porn site or you spread hate and propaganda or you have allowed your blog to be infected by malware due to poor maintenance, be aware that you too may violate the terms of your hosting package and not be able to log in one day.
Bottom line: If you have just a regular blog on WordPress dot com, don’t worry about it.
But speaking of being shut down without notice…
My self hosted site has gone down many times. Once for weeks and I had to scramble to find another host and get my blogs transferred. That story is far more familiar in the blogging world. Ask any blogger and they will tell you about hosting issues. I have switched 3 times and I hope this one is a keeper. But I thought that of the other ones until they failed me too.
Protect yourself
If you are worried about your blog being shut down without notice, make sure you are backing it up. And you should be doing that whether you have a self-hosted or free blog.
Yes, WordPress dot com does back up your blog remotely for you but if you save your posts and images to your hard drive, and you did get shut down all of a sudden, you could literally have a new blog up with that saved information in minutes.
To back up to your hard drive: Go to your dashboard, click Tools, Export, All content. Download Export File. Be sure to write down where the file gets saved. Add this process to your daily, weekly or monthly routine depending on how often you post.
4. You don’t look professional.
Just because a blog is self-hosted, does not mean it looks more professional.
I’ve seen some really pretty sites on both platforms as well as some really bad ones. If you take your time and do your research you can create a very professional looking blog on WordPress dot com.
There are tons of free and premium themes to choose from to help you get the exact look you want.
5. You can’t make money.
Yes, you can.
You can share affiliate links, do sponsored posts, sell your services, ask for donations, use WordAds and/or direct readers to your storefronts or courses on other platforms like Etsy, Shopify and Teachable. As long as you follow WordPress’ Terms of Service.
For more info: How to make money on WordPress dot com.
So have I made you more confused than ever? lol
The bottom line is that you can have a very successful, money making blog on the WordPress dot com platform.
But…
- If you are wanting to upgrade to the highest plans on the free platform, it is cheaper to go self hosted.
- If you have very high pageviews and would like to earn money through ad placements, go self hosted.
- If you are tech savvy and want to be able to manipulate your theme and add more options, go self hosted.
Make the decision based on your own needs, comfort zone and future goals.
Don’t be scared into a decision you may regret.
I don’t want you to quit. I like you. You’re a blogger.
40 comments
I do agree with you on everything here. I started on Blogger and loved the experience. My main issue with using WordPress.com is simply that my ad network does not accept bloggers on that platform. I also make a good bit of money with sponsored posts through ad agencies that do not accept bloggers using WP.com. So for me, it’s a no go and I’m happy being self hosted… until something goes wrong! Haha!
But seriously, Blogger or WP.com is an excellent place for bloggers to start and possibly even stay for the long haul if it fits for them.
Good for you! I love hearing about successful bloggers. There is no one right answer. Everyone needs to assess their needs and wants and make an informed decision. Thank you for visiting!
Thank you for confirming what I already thought. Also, yea, your blog looks amazing.
Ah thanks!
GREAT post, Elena! What an eye-opener! You wouldn’t happen to have an article on how to make a WordPress dot com website both functional AND pretty, do you? Yours looks amazing and I’m struggling to make mine look good. Thanks!
It’s all about finding the right theme. You really have to look through all of them, including the paid ones and choose the one that looks ready to go for you. Upgrading to a premium plan also allows you color and font customization. Then, add images that reflect your brand and you’re done!
Thank you for the tips! 🙂
Hi!
I found you through Danny. I just became a partner with him. Have you been a partner very long? I hope to step up my blogging and this partnership w him. I think I can learn a thing or two from you! You are very savvy!
Nice to meet you and looking forward to your advice blogs 🙂
Cara
Hi! I’ve just been with him for a few days. Nice to meet you too!
For someone who was considering leaving the safety of dot-com in 2018 this blog has totally reassured me that this is the place to be. My only reservation is running out of media space, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it unless you have any advice on that?
Wow you must have a lot of images! You could upgrade your plan or resize your images. I would chat with WordPress too and see if they have a solution. They are super helpful.
Thank you for this article about using WordPress dot com instead of self-hosting. I’d like to track activity. The only way I know of is using Google Analytics (GA) and self-hosting. Is there a way to use GA with free WP and/or collect similar metrics? For example I’d like to know if someone came from reading a tweet vs Medium.
The highest plan of dot com does have the ability to track using GA but you can also use the Jetpack plug in, which comes included, to monitor stats.
Thank you. I didn’t know about Jetpack.
Thank you for this article!!! I set up my first blog after reading countless articles that I should go self-hosted otherwise I won’t be taken seriously. I found the whole self-hosted experience very technically challenging and time-consuming. A hobby turned into a very time-consuming task. Last year my blog got hacked and spammed with hundreds of thousands of spam links. My host provider only wanted to charge me more for security without any guarantee it helps to protect my work. In the end, I folded the blog and set one up on free WordPress. I wish I could have done it straight away as a taster. I enjoy the simplicity of free WordPress and it takes that pressure away of having to blog, maintain the site and also monetise it. Here I am taking step by step. I miss PinIt button and Yoast but those are the little things.
What an awful experience! I’m so glad you found a place that feels more welcoming and comfortable. I’m glad you are back to blogging and wish you great success.
Thanks for sharing your experience. May I ask which host provider you were using when it was hacked?
hmmm, a lot to think about here. I definitely have to do some research on which platform is better than me. Thanks for the article!
Thank you so much for visiting my blog! It is a lot to think about. Send me a PM through Facebook messenger if you want help talking it through.
Reblogged this on dustbury.com in reserve and commented:
No one has attempted to scare me off WordPress.com; it’s not my primary site, but it has its uses, and I would not consider giving it up no matter what goofy stories I am told.
I wish I would have seen this post before I bought my hosting plan! Oh well, maybe I’ll go back free when my plan ends. But this is excellent information, something I have never read about before! I love blogging and bloggers but I’m getting frustrated by all of the bloggers who blog about blogging and spout that as their way of making thousands of dollars a month. Totally disheartening to many of the bloggers in who never plan to blog about blogging (especially newbies like me!) but I try to keep it in perspective 🙂
You can always go back. I did. But honestly, you have to turn all that noise off. Especially anything that makes you doubt what you are doing or where you are going with your blog. Good luck!
Excellent advice. I’m still in my first few months of blogging but some of the issues you spoke of are beginning to get to me a bit, so it’s great to get a balanced view
Welcome to blogging! I hope you are enjoying it. Don’t listen to the noise and keep true to why you started.
I’ve fallen for nearly every one of these scare tactics. Thank you, Elena, for doing such a great job of explaining the facts.
You are very welcome. I hope it helps you make an informed decision.
You’ve given me a lot to think about, Elena, as you usually do. I’m committed to Bluehost until October. If you sell products – in my case a book and a doll – is it still workable on a wordpress hosted blog? I have been toying with converting for the community that it offers and the reblog option.
Do you sell the book and doll on the blog or through Amazon?
I sell the book on Amazon. But I also sell the book and the doll on my blog. I don’t have enough dolls to sell them on Amazon as they are custom made.
You can embed a PayPal button on a WordPress dot com blog. Is that how you sell it now?
I used woocommerce as a plug in to set up my shop.
The highest plan does include woo commerce but it would be more than likely, more expensive than you pay now. If you only have the one product, I would just use a PayPal button. https://en.support.wordpress.com/paypal/
Great advice. I’ll look into it. Not sure if I can get out of my Bluehost commitment or not. Also do you just set up a separate page with products and add the button? And name it ‘Shop.’
You could share the button in posts or create a page.
Yay! Right back at ya!
Thank you so much for this timely post. I’ve toyed with the idea of going self-hosted for the past year, but never pulled the trigger for fear of sinking in all the techie stuff (not my strong suit). Plus, I’m so over all the blogs out there telling me I need to be self-hosted and use their link to get started. I think I’ll focus on Pinterest and re-posting some older posts and continue to enjoy blogging and photography. Thanks again!
Sounds like a good plan for you. It’s so easy to get dragged in to all the advice posts. I’m glad you are re-focusing on what it important.
This is true. I actually know we are in some groups together that’s how I found you. Blogger groups are crazy with noise
I have to pull away sometimes or I drive myself crazy!
Me too