I own a domain name and have been kicking around the idea of hosting my blog there. What are the advantages of doing this? I like the fact that WordPress has a tag surfer and can drive traffic to my blog via tags. I assume I would lose that benefit if I hosted on my domain.
I am also wondering if there are any free/low cost web hosting services out there that offer customizable templates.
Any insight/feedback into this issue?
Thanks friends. Appreciate your assistance!
D 🙂
CalliopesPen 
September 25, 2009 at 10:09 am
There are many low cost web hosts with customizable templates. Check with your ISP, you might already have free web space and not even know it. I guess my main question is what are you planning to do with the website?
September 25, 2009 at 12:19 pm
I’m not sure J. For now, just a blog. Eventually, maybe an online journal. Since I already own the domain, I guess it’s just a matter of being able to take advantage of tags and such, and also being able to use more design options.
September 25, 2009 at 11:22 am
I’m interested in this same thing, Danielle. I have other domains hosted at GoDaddy, and they have a WordPress app, so I could just export my blog files to that, but I’ve heard you lose the ability to use GoDaddy email that way.
I’ve thought of setting up my domain there and just linking to my WordPress blog from my website, which seems like it would be a great solution, but I don’t know that for sure. One advantage of using the WordPress app at GoDaddy is that you can use any theme you want instead of being limited to the ones offered by WordPress.
Anyway, I’ll shut up now and hope someone more knowledgable than I will give us both good advice.
September 25, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Linda, I definitely like the choice of more themes. I have another domain name registered with GoDaddy but never did anything with it. Overall, how do you like Go Daddy? Does your website have to have their logo on it somewhere? That’s one thing I don’t like. I don’t want to advertise for them because I’m not very impressed with their ad campaigns (a whole different subject:)
September 25, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I have two sites hosted there, neither with advertising.
September 25, 2009 at 6:57 pm
They don’t say powered by Website Tonight or GoDaddy at the bottom? Do you have to pay extra, Linda?
September 25, 2009 at 7:31 pm
No, there’s no indication that the sites are hosted at GoDaddy. I pay for a year’s hosting, just the economy package because I don’t sell anything, plus the domain renewal fee, of course. I think it’s about $70 combined.
FatCow has special right now with free domain registration and $66 dollars for a year’s hosting, BUT that includes the busness tools, like a shopping cart. I don’t know though if they put a logo or advertising on their hosted sites. Maybe DarcKnyt knows.
September 25, 2009 at 7:45 pm
Nope, you won’t get any of that with a paid hosting site I know of. Those things are pretty much just with free sites or with specific site layouts where the creators want attribution credits.
I think.
September 25, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Okay, here’s the thing:
If you move your blog off of the WordPress domain you are going to lose the advantages it gives you — i.e., tag suffer, comment tracking, etc. are all integral to the WordPress domain.
When you redirect your blog to a domain the domain is off the WordPress domain. So, in simpler terms, if you redirect CalliopesPen.com to its own domain so it’s not calliopespen.wordpress.com anymore, it’s not a sub-domain of WordPress and the tools WordPress has in place for all its hosted blogs — Askimet spam catcher, tag surfer, blog surfer, etc. — all stay behind on WordPress.com.
But maybe that’s okay, because you can use Search Engine Optimization (or SEO) as a tool to generate traffic and have yourself listed with the Google oracle. Search engines like metadata and things like buzzwords (and you know all about those, D!), so you read a few web sites on SEO and how to optimize your site, and then traffic will flow to your blog/site via search engines.
But the generation of traffic to a blog still comes with the basics: Be interesting (no problem for you), be consistent (at least 3-4 times a week), comment on other blogs, reply to your comments, offer something to the audience, be an authority, etc., etc., ad nauseam. It’s a tough thing.
Also, notifying your blogular crowd of the move lets them update their links. You can maybe toss yourself into blog listers, StumbleUpon, etc. Join a blog ring or two. Lots and lots of stuff you can do without WordPress’s help.
Hope this helps, and if any of it’s misinformation, I hope someone comes along to set things right.
Now, for low-cost/free: You want low-cost, not free, because “free” generally means you’re stuck using THEIR domain unless they offer free domain re-direct, which you’ll have to check with the provider to find out. But I use Webs.com; problem is, it’s free, so it’s got ads on it and I don’t get to control them. If you want advertising on your page it’s generally to generate an income for YOU. So there’s that.
Do a Google search on “free web hosting” and you’ll find several of them.
For low cost, I’ve been recommending FatCow hosting. Cost is reasonable, service is outstanding, and I believe WordPress is pre-loaded, so you don’t have to install it. All you have to do is pick a theme you like, download and install the theme, tweak to your liking, and boom! You’re a web master.
The advantage of this is, you can do MORE than blog with your site. Sure, a blog is fine, but you can also have a standard web page with information about your consultancy business, and a shopping cart and gallery to sell your wares, and a forum. All on the one domain.
*Whew!* That’s a ton of information. I hope I’ve not worn out my welcome on this, but if anything’s unclear or wrong, feel free to drop me an email and lemme know.
Good luck with your new site! Can’t wait to see it!
September 25, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Darc, this is great information! Thank you so much! I’m going to do some investigating tonight. I might just take you up on your offer to answer questions:)
September 25, 2009 at 4:14 pm
Well … hold off on the thanks until you get the rest of this.
Along with the freedom to have your site be unbound by WordPress’s rules/restrictions/limitations come all the headaches of being Master of Your Own Domain, if you will. (Or won’t, even.)
Examples of headachery are:
Back-ups: ESSENTIAL! You MUST back your site up OFTEN and REGULARLY. Not doing so is GUARANTEED to break your heart and maybe your wallet and have your site down for a LONG, LONG time while you try and recover. I don’t mean it MIGHT, I mean it WILL, absolutely. Back-ups every few days are probably best if you have the computer space and resources (like, say, TIME, for instance), but on regular and pretty frequent intervals is mandatory. Talk to the provider you choose about this most important aspect.
Attacks: Yeah, now that you’re on your own, those spam messages and icky things which got filtered away by WordPress? That’s your job now. I doubt any provider will help with this, but the WordPress installation may have something available. And I believe the add-ons (like Askimet, for instance) are free for WordPress installs. You’ll have to research around and figure out what you need … and if there’s any cost associated.
Learning code: Yep, you’re going to need to learn to do some CSS coding (if not AJAX/PHP/JavaScript/etc.) to make your site look/act the way you want. You can alternately pay for someone like Timmy Pimpleface down the street or at your local community college (the web design program’s a good place to start) to help you, but you’ll have to get it done somehow. I don’t think any theme comes out of the box ready to use, and for the tweaking, you’ll need some skills. Not too many, maybe, but a few.
Database administration: Guess what? You’re going to be a DBA, whether you want to be or not. WordPress is a database wherein all your posts, links, comments, add-ins, extensions, etc. are stored. You have to back them up. The good news is, WordPress makes it’s own database and sets up the tables for you. The bad news is, you need to know what and where they are on the host’s server so you can access ’em. Most hosts will offer some help with database stuff — Host Monster is supposed to be outstanding with Customer Service and so is FatCow — but they’ll only do so much. The rest? Yeah, it’s gonna be you. And if something bad happens to your database — I’m almost sure it will — you’re going to have to know how to fix it, or at least how to determine how to fix it.
FTP access: Some hosts don’t offer HTTP access, and you’ll have to access your stuff for up/downloading through FTP (that’s File Transfer Protocol, if you’re wondering). That’s all well and good, but you’ll have to get familiar with an FTP client and figure out how to connect to the right spot on the host server and what the passwords are (not to be confused with the password for your database) and what files and sub-folders need creation and what’s in each one and … you get the idea.
So, there’s the downside. There’s a good mix of both. An alternative to this is a fully-hosted domain, with a site builder and such already included, guaranteed uptime, and all that jazz. These, however, are NOT low-cost. They can be upwards of $30-50/month, matter of fact. But remember, THEY are responsible for anything/everything but content. And sometimes, you get what you pay for. Take Squarespace, for instance. Pretty expensive if you ask me, but they make sure you’re up. Their site’s on the same servers yours is; they distribute the sites over an array of servers not a single one; they offer NO free site option, so there isn’t a billion free sites taking up your server resources; and they provide you with everything you need, including templates and a builder, to set up your site. You can have your own site uploaded or use theirs, whichever. I can’t afford them, but there’s also 1and1, and a few others like them. Something else to think about.
Overwhelmed yet? It’s a big decision, for sure. One that I’ll have to make eventually, but for now, I’m leaving the headaches and drawbacks to someone else and letting the limitations be danged. If someone’s smarter than me (and you are), you won’t have to be intimidated by this stuff.
Still want to thank me? Hehehe.
September 25, 2009 at 6:38 pm
I want to make sure I’m understanding this. If I have my own domain, hosted at FatCow, with WordPress installed, first I would need to switch my blog to WordPress.org? Then I could export my blog files and import them to the WordPress app on my domain?
September 25, 2009 at 7:50 pm
Well, let’s see — you’d have to export your WordPress.COM blog to a file, which you could then upload to wherever your WordPress.ORG site is hosted.
Here’s a good article on it.
Here’s another one.
But I’m sorta guessing here because I’ve never done it. I think another route you can take is redirecting your existing blog to your own domain by paying a small something to WordPress.com.
HTH. Heh.
September 25, 2009 at 6:55 pm
You sound like a technologist to me, Mr. Knyt 😀
September 25, 2009 at 7:50 pm
You’re WAY too nice to me, Danielle. I sound like someone with too much time on my hands and access to Google. 😉
But you’re a doll to say so.
September 27, 2009 at 8:06 pm
Awesome info Darc. Thanks so much–very helpful. But I still might end up emailing you:)
September 25, 2009 at 6:21 pm
Wow, DarcKnyt, thanks for all this. I’m still trying to digest it.
September 25, 2009 at 7:51 pm
I’m happy to help, Linda!
September 25, 2009 at 3:57 pm
I’d second Linda’s mention to just have your domain name be a placeholder, to redirect to the WordPress site… as far as I know, WP doesn’t charge you extra for bandwidth and expanded subpages and whatnot. You could pay a bit extra to them for customizable CSS (which is the idea I’ve been kicking around), probably less than if you got a full low-cost domain. You might not have the same kind of total freedom that you’d get with everything hosted on a .com, but you’d still have all the benefits in one place; WP’s features can all be duplicated, but it’s way convenient to have them all through one platform.
September 25, 2009 at 6:54 pm
That’s definitely something to consider. I tried doing this a while ago and couldn’t get it to work. I’m sure it was me messing it up somehow. Hmmm.
September 25, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Hi Danielle,
I have my own domain name and It’s hosted at
http://www.freebeehosting.com/.
I tried many free hosting services because I didn’t know if it was worth paying for what was really a hobby blog for me at the time. Many free services insert ads in your web pages, but freebee doesn’t.
I haven’t had one second of downtime, but that’s just me.
I used the inbuilt installer to load wordpress because it was simple to do. There are other options to use other blog builders and also the option to use website builders instead of having the blog format.
You can build your own website in something like Dreamweaver and load it to the servers.
The advantage for me using wordpress.org instead of wordpress.com is the fact that you can change themes to a greater extent and the plugins and widgets are extensive.
Also, you can use your wordpress account and still use their statcounter and other stuff.
I like having my own domain name and the freedom it gives. When I need more flexibility I will get paid hosting but for now I have no criticism of my hosting service at all. Oh, I had loads of criticisms of the others lol. 🙂
Have a great day Danielle.
Hope I haven’t made it more confusing for you than it already was.
Paul
September 25, 2009 at 6:56 pm
YES–I remember you mentioning this before. I checked it out and was totally confused at first and abandoned ship. Maybe I was looking at the wrong type of service. I’ll check it out again tonight. Thanks Paul!
September 25, 2009 at 4:48 pm
Hello Calli,
I’ve been kicking around the idea of creating a personal website myself. I don’t think I’ll be moving my blog to it though. Like you, I like the idea of the tags feature. I’ve decided that I want to use a privately owned domain a Home page for all the other pages that I have, using it as a jumping point to my WordPress, my DeviantArt, and to my Twitter. Kinda like a node where everything me on the internet connects to.
September 25, 2009 at 6:56 pm
IS–that’s a really good idea. A great idea, actually.
September 25, 2009 at 7:54 pm
You’re welcome, Danielle.
It is very confusing at first, with a lot of pulling out of hair, lol, but the more you learn the easier it gets. Well, that’s the theory anyway. 🙂
It’s said that patience is a virtue. Well, I don’t have any and I somehow managed to get my blog up and hosted with FreeBee.
Whatever you decide, I hope it goes without a hitch but be prepared for Gremlins, unless you get a pro to do it.
Best Wishes
Paul
September 27, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I tried freebee and couldn’t even get the registration compeleted. SIGH. So in the end, I just paid 10 buckaroos to WordPress to use my domain name as my blog domain. Ah well. I some other domains to take care of, so I’m still experimenting:)
September 27, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Well at least it all worked out in the end 🙂 All’s well that ends well. Glad you got it sorted.
September 26, 2009 at 11:24 pm
Wow some great discussion and information here guys ! Lots of food for thought ! Thankyou
September 28, 2009 at 11:22 am
i use blue host.
it costs me 7$/month.
on wordpress.com you can not run ads
on selfhosted domain you can.
September 28, 2009 at 11:25 am
i just read the comment thread..if wordpress.com is hosting with the 10 bugs thingi..you can not run ads on it…but if you shift to wordpress.org ..you can..
October 1, 2009 at 1:04 pm
My eyes are glazing. You, all of you speak this foreign language of zero comprehension on my part. Who is this Darknyt and how can I get him to come to my house? He sounds like every bloggers “Knight” and tech knowledgable.
October 1, 2009 at 2:55 pm
Sorry, Tricia, I’m more impressive on screen than in reality. This is all stuff I’ve found out just by checking out what’s available for web hosting. Back in the late ’90s, I was a hair’s breadth away from starting my own web hosting company. Today I’m so out of touch I have to use the great oracle Google to find information like everyone else.
But I appreciate the compliment. Ya made me blush! 🙂
October 7, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Fabulous information, thank you!
October 7, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Copied all of Darc’s Info. Thanks Darc and then sent an email to WP asking for details. Here is my question and their response. Hope it helps.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What is involved in transferring http://sarafryd.wordpress.com/ to http://sarafryd.wordpress.org/
Hi,
If you want to use advertising, then you do need to switch to WordPress.org. Here is some information about that:
http://en.support.wordpress.com/moving-a-blog/#moving-to-wordpress-org
You need a web hosting account in order to setup a WordPress.org blog. Hosting prices vary. We have posted hosting recommendations at http://get.wp.com/hosting/ if you are interested.
If you decide not to advertise and to stay at WordPress.com, then you can setup a custom domain name for your blog using the domains page.
http://sarafryd.wordpress.com/wp-admin/paid-upgrades.php?page=domains
http://en.support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/map-existing-domain/
—
Sheri
Automattic | WordPress.com
October 7, 2009 at 9:13 pm
This is great–thanks so much Sara!
October 7, 2009 at 9:52 pm
If you are interested and are blogging on WP, they have the best ever support group on the planet. I have never waited more than a couple of hours for a response. Virtually every response comes with a solution URL. I could never have done what I was able to do without their help.
Send them a note and give them your URL and if they can they will get you an answer.
support@wordpress.com