CassieThis post contains some affiliate links. All opinions are my own and are completely honest and candid.
Ah, the world of blog hosting.
When I started the whole blogging thing back in 2015, I really just wanted to share my writing with anyone that might possibly want to take the time to read it– and I was prepared for that to be no one.
So when I started getting thousands of unique visitors checking in to Cassie, Compiled. every month, I was a little overwhelmed that my passion project had become something strangers were taking in and, hopefully, being inspired, challenged, and entertained by.
And one change… okay, maybe two or three, but one MAJOR change, made all the difference in my ability to share this blog with more people, and that was the decision to invest in self-hosting by SiteGround.
I have had nothing short of an incredible experience working with SiteGround. Having owned cassiescookery.com for over a year before I finally decided to invest in hosting, I can attest to the utmost importance of the site speed, widgets, ownership, and more that come with self-hosting.
Here, the top reasons I recommend self-hosting your blog right away if you want to give your content the chance to be recognized by the audience you are after.
You are much more likely to be optimized for search with a self-hosted website. Here is how a writer with ZERO tech knowledge like me was best able to grasp this: the “web spiders” that crawl the Internet looking for the best content for each and every Google search will be much more likely to deem credible those who actually own the content on their site. That’s right: if you’re just using a WordPress domain– even if you’ve paid to get rid of the free “.wordpress.com” domain– WordPress holds the right to delete your site at any time, because they actually own the content. Think of hosting as like investing in a physical space for your business that you actually own.
The possibilities to monetize are now endless. While WordPress has the right to post any ads wherever they want to on your WordPress site, you can place ads of whatever kind wherever you would like on your site hosted with SiteGround. And you become much more of a professional entity in your niche, and thus much more likely to be contacted by brands within your industry– those dream companies you’ve been wanting to work with. Once you’ve navigated this new self-hosting territory, don’t be afraid to try some cold pitching, too. Still a bit of a newbie, I got my first opportunity working with a dream brand by emailing them with a genuine heart and passion for their product.
You can grow your community by reaching your readers the way they expect to be reached. Keeping up with consumer trends means understanding the importance of communication with readers the way they best receive it. This means including an email list, responding to comments, and cultivating your community. The amazing community at Cassie, Compiled. is just getting started, but rapidly growing thanks to the technology-smarts of SiteGround. They provide the beginner-friendly widgets and tutorials for implementing all of these important aspects of communication with your clients.
If you’re looking to get started with self-hosting, I could not speak more highly of SiteGround. With budget-friendly plans and options for various types of websites, plus access to 24/7 online customer service (which I have used multiple times and have had incredible experience with), you cannot go wrong. To get started, head here.
Any questions? Experiences with self-hosting? Hesitations? Let me know in the comments below! <3
