Are you thinking of becoming one of the hundreds of millions of bloggers online today? If you’re new to the blogging game, you might not know where to start. You’ve probably heard that WordPress is the leading blogging platform, so you’re leaning toward using it. But that’s not the only decision you’ll have to make. You next need to decide whether you want to host your blog on WordPress.com or self-host it on your own domain.
Below, I’m going to detail exactly why you should NOT host your blog on WordPress.com.
• You can’t control the blog’s design—When hosting your blog on WordPress.com, you have very little control over the blog’s design. You can typically change perhaps the look of the header and maybe choose from a select few basic themes, but that’s about it. On the other hand, if you self-host your WordPress blog, you have access to thousands of WordPress themes online. Or, you can even design and upload your own blog theme. This keeps your blog looking fresh and professional.
• The back links don’t help your main domain—One of the top benefits of blogging regularly is that you can earn a surplus of high quality back links from other bloggers who link to your posts. Back links help you earn trust with Google, increasing your website’s search engine rankings. However, if your blog is hosted on WordPress.com and not attached to your main domain, these links will not benefit your main website.
• The search engine rankings don’t help your main domain—It’s a well-known fact that Google loves blogs. Blogs provide the search engine with fresh, up to date content, allowing Google’s search results to be as relevant as possible. Of course, a high ranking WordPress.com blog will be of little use to your main company website.
• It looks unprofessional—If you’re blogging for anything more than a passing hobby, self-hosting is the only way you will look professional and gain respect from your readers. Whether you like it or not, a generic WordPress.com blog just screams “unprofessional.” The truth is people do judge a book (or your blog) by its cover. A self-hosted blog with its own domain and a great design elicit respect.
• You can’t monitor your blog stats—Self-hosting your blog gives you unfettered access to all of the stats about your blog that you can handle. From which keywords attract visitors to how long readers stay on your blog, the stats you get when self-hosting simply can’t be had if you place your blog on WordPress.com
• Monetizing your blog isn’t allowed—If you’re serious about blogging, you’ve probably thought about how to generate income from your efforts. From paid advertising to affiliate marketing, the opportunities for monetizing your blog are limitless. That is, if you self-host your blog. When you host a blog on WordPress.com, monetization isn’t allowed. No paid ads. No AdSense. No money in your pockets. Doesn’t sound too good, does it?
The list of reasons to self-host your WordPress blog could go on forever, but I hope by now you’ve seen the light. What are your thoughts on the subject?