I honestly believe that if you were to research any of the top bloggers you will find that they all have one thing in common. They all host their own blogs. Some of you are probably thinking that these guys are able to host their own blogs because they make enough money from their blogging. I say to you that one of the reasons they do so well from their blogs is because they host it themselves.
I’ve been in business for nearly thirty years and I understand the necessity to invest money in any business venture. The beauty of starting your own website or blog is that the cost of web hosting is minimal. There are hosts that offer great deals, some under $4 a month! Most people spend more on coffee every week, and I can assure that apart from giving you a caffeine fix the only thing coffee will help you with is taking money from your wallet.
There are many other reasons for self hosting your sites, especially if your considering a business site.
- Professionalism! If you want people to take your seriously then you have to show them you are serious, and you won’t be doing that form one of the many free sites that are out there.
- Control! You have complete control over your site, on how it looks and on what you are able to post on it.
- Security! There are many people out there who have lost blogs, myself included, that that have poured countless hours into them only to have the site close down causing them to lose everything.
- Marketing! Because it’s your very own site, one that is actually costing you money to maintain, you are much more likely promote it. You will put more effort into marketing it, through whatever means available because you want it to succeed.
- SEO! It’s a lot easier to use Search Engine Optimization techniques on your own site because you can access the files you need to change to apply some of these techniques.
Honestly, I have never looked back once I decided to host my own blogs, and instead of costing me money it’s actually increased my revenue stream.
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Yes i too feel the same. Many people host their own blogs, as you know that blogging has loads of money involved in it, it takes time.The rest reasons are very true and to be professionals is great thing.
Actually, blogging can take place with very little money involved, and if you use free themes the only expense can be your hosting.
I would love to host my own site on my own server, but the bandwidth is SA is not that good. There are also power cust and all, not very dependable if you ask me. Maybe in other countries it’s better, but not in South Africa.
Would be nice to have it one day, but for now it’s ok with me.
.-= George Serradinho´s last blog ..A few Cool Changes =-.
Your own server would be great but not necessary. Also bandwidth in SA shouldn’t make any difference if you host a site in the States for example.
I wish I can do that, but the problem also is that you will be responsible for the server and all it’s upgrades need hard work some times! and another thing that could makes me not do it which the internet connection in my country is so bad and expensive!
.-= Hesham @Making Money Ideas´s last blog ..24 pages e-book on How To Do Email Marketing To Make Money Online – Zebida Fridays =-.
Yeah, that is always a problem. You can’t afford to have your site down for any length of time and bandwidth could be a problem if you have a busy blog. I’m not sure that I want all the extra headaches. It’s a lot easier having someone else looking after things.
Even if you can’t host your own, on a mini server or something like that, you still have lots of professional options like bluehost or hostgator.
Hosting your own site has a huge amount of advantages. I run a few free WordPress blogs for my company, and it’s frustrating when I want to add a plugin, code, meta details, or even a sitemap. There’s simply more freedom when you host a site yourself that you can’t experience on a free site.
~ Kristi
Right on Kristi. Why not suggest to your bosses that they get with the times and host their own. Certainly it would add a sense of professionalism to the company.
Building up a load of incoming links on a free blog platform seems a bit of a waste to me. Don’t see why people do it. Like you say, you can get a blog for about $50 pa. Even a low traffic blog should be able to earn that back on bits ‘n bobs.
.-= David@SEM Labs´s last blog ..Multi-threaded Stack Class for PHP =-.
That’s exactly right David. I think the reason people don’t bother is because they don’t understand how easy and cost effective it is.
Once I started hosting my own sites, I never went back either. It’s just so much easier than using a free webhost, and looks so much more professional. Thanks for sharing.
No worries Max, if I can’t share my thoughts and ideas I reckon I would have stopped blogging ages ago.
Undoubtedly, nothing worse then working on a site and mid-way through your host stops responding and the FTP goes out. Extremely frustrating.
We recently put up our own linux hosting server in our office . Nothing beats having an extremely quick local server to host and develop on.
You know ryan, if I ever make enough from blogging I would seriously consider buying my very own server. That would give me complete control.
I am a strong believer of having your own domain and never use free hosting solutions. If you are trying to build anything of value you can only sell it if you own it. If it is hosted on a free solution it is not really yours. You just have a login :)
.-= Mikael @ Retire Early´s last blog ..To Become Rich You Must Stop Making Excuses =-.
That is so true Mikael, and a good reason to own something for yourself.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..Flowers Make For Great Photos =-.
I agree with you. I know how painful it is if the site is on subdomain. i had a site on blogspot.com and there was no freedom at all.
Its always good to have our own site and it doesn’t cost much.
.-= Nihar´s last blog ..June 2009 Blog Traffic & Income statistics =-.
That’s it precisely, the price is minimal and the control it gives extensive.
I stated to host my blog on godaddy after having free hosted one on wordpress, but I can say that I am more comfortable now as I can control my blogs in a better way.
there is one thing that I would love to do regarding the slow hosting from godaddy which is moving to another faster host even if I will have to pay more than the $7 monthly as I host more than one blog. Do you think that “host gator” is the best for me?
Also I know that some people would like to host their own blogs but in a different way, host it by them self completely, like getting a server and a good internet connection and host no matter how many blogs! Do any one think that this is a good way to host your blogs?
Thanks a lot Sire
.-= Hesham @Making Money Ideas´s last blog ..24 pages e-book on How To Do Email Marketing To Make Money Online – Zebida Fridays =-.
I would love to have my own server Hesham, but I am not sure of the cost. That is something I will have to look into.
As for trying another host. I’m not sure that I could recommend anything that I haven’t tried although I have heard that host gator is pretty good. Did you happen to notice the ‘Pop Quiz’ in my Header?
Yes, it’s talking about BlueHost is the best! Anyways if I use it I will tell you how it is! Thanks a lot Sire!
.-= Hesham @Making Money Ideas´s last blog ..24 pages e-book on How To Do Email Marketing To Make Money Online – Zebida Fridays =-.
Yeah, they reckon that WordPress decided it was the best. I’m not sure why, but I’m giving it a go the next time I’m ready to get a new domain. I’ve had a quick look awhile back and I’m sure they offered a free domain with their package.
Great article, I started hosting my first blog over a year and half ago that I still have til this very day. Now I have around 6 blogs and other websites. I think hosting my own blog was the best thing I have ever did. Soon I will be able to own my own server. :) I am on VPS hosting now so I am almost there. :)
Who knew starting with $7 a month was all I needed to make me really focus on building a business. :)
.-= Deneil Merritt´s last blog ..Blog Comment System =-.
I’m still on a share account and so far no problems at all. But then I’m not getting the traffic that you are.
Shared hosting is a good solution for me to slef-host my blog since dedicated hosting is somehow expensive since I am not running a business blog. However, I am looking forward to stepping into the dedicated hosting in the future for full control, but this means a lot of $$$/month and the economic situation isn’t that good for all of us.
.-= Hicham@Hicham Maged´s last blog ..To Tweet or not to Tweet? =-.
That’s the only reason I haven’t moved to dedicated hosting. From the beginning I promised myself Blogging was not going to cost me anything more than the shared hosting, because I knew I could earn more that the small cost involved. I haven’t got to the stage where I can afford dedicated hosting and until I can afford it I see no reason to move.
I made the switch to hosting my own servers about 8 years ago and I love it, I couldn’t even imagine shared hosting at this point.
.-= Extreme John@Extreme John Blogs and Business´s last blog ..4th of July Weekend Specials from Insane Limos =-.
So tell me John, what’s involved in the switch? You know costs, relative difficulties and such. Did you do a post on it at all.
I have to admit, when I first saw your headline, I thought you were talking about “hosting”, as in purchasing your own server and going that route. I know some bloggers who do that because of just how much traffic they get, but I don’t know if all that many of them do that. I see now that you were talking about something else.
Then again, what’s your thought on purchasing your own server? I’ve been thinking about it, especially as the prices have come down.
.-= Mitch´s last blog ..Michael Jackson – The Follow Up =-.
I had a quick look at it and there is a bit involved, especially maintenance, something we don’t see as our hosts take care of it all. I don’t think I will take that route just yet, at least not until things pick up enough to make it viable.
“They all host their own blogs.”
Do you mean on their own dedicated server, or they host their own blog as in not having WordPress (for instance) host it?
.-= Colleen@Kennewick Wa Homes´s last blog ..Good News, Tri Cities Wa Low New Home Building Permits =-.
Shit, sorry Colleen, it seems my heading may have confused a few people, but anyway I didn’t mean having their own dedicated server, I meant as in having their own domain and not a Blogger or WordPress site.
.-= Sire´s last blog ..SA Museum Offering Free Entry And Heaps To See =-.
[...] Why The Professionals Host Their Own Sites (wassupblog.com) [...]
I agree that it is work it to invest in professional hosting for your blog. I think if your not willing to make that small investment in your business you will most likely not succeed.
.-= Jonalyn´s last blog ..Romantic Graphic =-.
That’s true Jonalyn, and if your not willing to invest in your own site, why would you expect others to invest in you.
Hey find a lawyer, why are you shouting?
.-= Mikael @ Retire Early´s last blog ..To Become Rich You Must Learn How to Sell =-.
Yeah it was a bit loud wasn’t it Mikael? Guests were complaining so I had the bouncers throw him out.

[...] Why The Professionals Host Their Own Sites (wassupblog.com) [...]
You hit it bang on. I tried running a free blog before, and I saw very little success. Now that I’m hosting on my own, I feel like I’m doing a lot better (actually, I am doing a lot better).
.-= The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop´s last blog ..What Keeps You Blogging? =-.
Do you find that ever since you started hosting your own you started to put more effort into it?
Yes, completely. When I was using blogger, I didn’t even put any effort into the content. Simply got some articles from Google and put them on my site.
Now that I host my site, I update it with unique, quality content. Big difference.
.-= The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop´s last blog ..What Keeps You Blogging? =-.
Mate, you are a prime example of what I have been saying all along. Sure there are some good ‘blogger’ blogs, but they can be so much better and they would hold way more credibility if they hosted their own, that’s for sure.
Thanks Sire. I completely agree – I see so many blogger.com blogs with such great content — so much potential. They just need to take that ONE step and host themselves, and they’ll be on road to success.
.-= The Gooroo @ Finance Advisory Stop´s last blog ..What Keeps You Blogging? =-.
Hosting your own site means almost total freedom for now, but with efforts put into better control of the net that might change. But this will have impact only on blogs which have semi-legal and illegal content so most of us shouldn’t worry :).
Do you know something I don’t Andrew? What exactly will have an impact only on blogs?
I have to admit that I am curious as well. “Controlling” the Internet will definitely be a difficult task if it is possible at all (I doubt it).
.-= Mikael @ Retire Early´s last blog ..Copy The Rich – Even Their Vocabulary =-.
I fully agree with You thesis. Putting blog on Your own site means that You are reliable and can do it on Your own. The SEO stuff also counts here, agree, but this shows other people Your attitude to work You are making here. It’s a business, a passion, and many more things than just a child play.
.-= pozycjonowanie poznań´s last blog ..Odsiwiacz =-.
Yes, that’s it exactly, it shows people that you are serious about what you are doing, and when people know this to be a fact, they will then start to take you, and the things that you say or represent seriously.
[...] the advantages of hosting your own blog, as I’ve already touched on several points with my Why The Professionals Host Their Own Sites. There was however one very important point that I [...]
Well said! I got directed here from your latest post and couldn’t agree more. Self-hosting is one of those things that you need to TRY IT personally to realize the differences. I’ve heard many suggesting WP.org but I was all too lazy and worry until when I finally did it, the only regret I had is not doing it sooner.
Very good advises given here. Stumbled it — for your good work, while encouraging others to just do it!
.-= Ching Ya´s last blog ..16 Social Bookmarking Plugins to Promote Your Posts =-.