Web-hosting (self-hosting) is a must if you want to make money from your blog. It was one of my biggest mistakes I chose not to follow as a newbie blogger.
Using a self-hosted service with a blogging platform such as WordPress or Blogspot can make it easier for readers to find your blogging name and rank higher in search engines like Google.
When you are self-hosted you own the rights to your content and your domain name. If you choose to use a free platform for your blog like blogger and WordPress, you don't have much control over your blog. As a matter of fact, some blogging platforms may even state they own the rights to your content and you cannot sell on their platform. In other words, you are severely limited to earning money on your blog.
If making money is your blogging goal, you must be willing to at the very least be self-hosted with your blog.
Here's How:
In part two of my Blogging For Life Series, I wrote about how to choose a blogging name and purchasing a domain name for around $15. Purchasing a domain name allows your followers to easily find your blog.
But you also need to spend around $8 per month to host your site. Is it necessary? If you want to make money from blogging hassle-free, absolutely!
When I started my Fight Within Her blog, I used Bluehost for hosting. If you choose to use their hosting service, you will notice that your domain name is free through them. Yes, that can be a cheaper way to go when you are a newbie blogger on a budget, but it can be a hassle if you ever decide to part ways from Bluehost.
There are other hosting options aside from Bluehost, so please don't think you're limited!
Bluehost is easy to set up and use in my own experience. They are a great web-hosting service if you are not tech-savvy and still learning. Their customer service is also tremendous in my opinion and they are reasonably priced for those of us on a budget, but you must pay a year in advance to reap the savings.
If money isn't a real problem, there are other web hosting companies like WPEngine that have plans starting at around $30 per month.
If you're a tech wizard and don't really care if you have customer service support, GoDaddy has the option of monthly billing at around $8 per month. They do offer discount specials that are the cheapest of the web hosting companies, but you'll have to opt for paying a year in advance.
After choosing a host, your next step will be to set up a blogging platform such as WordPress or Blogger. Most bloggers prefer WordPress because they are not as limited as Blogger.
If you choose to use WordPress as your blogging platform, you need to activate it on your host. If you have chosen Bluehost as I did, it's easy to activate WordPress on Bluehost's dashboard.
Your next step? It's time to create your blog in part four of my Blogging For Life Series.
Meanwhile, if you have not already done so, be sure to join my Facebook Group:
Once you join, you'll have permanent access to the series, discover freebies to help your blog, connect with other members who are new to blogging, and more.
Success begins with you.
Good to read more. I am not a Facebook fan, user so won't follow you over there. I wonder how easy the websites mentioned are for mobile phone users only and what exactly the earning part is.
@heartbeat1515