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A free Wordpress blog can really cost you

by Sue Rostvold on 2009/07/03

“I’m just going to get a free blog from Wordpress.com. I mean, why pay for something when you can get it for free?” I’ve heard this more than once, and it makes me crazy. I’m sure that sometimes people think I’m trying to get them to hire me when I explain why a free Wordpress blog doesn’t always make sense. I’m not. I just like to share information, especially when I think it can keep them from major headaches later on. (I know. I ‘ve had this headache.)

When someone says they have a free blog at Wordpress.com, what they mean is, they have free web hosting. Wordpress.com is hosting the site for them at no charge. They are supplying both the application, (Wordpress is built into the site), and the web server. Web hosting is a service that companies provide to help you keep track of and store all the files for your website. Everything on the internet needs to have a home on some computer somewhere. When you hear people talk about their web server, they are talking about the physical computer or computers that their web host uses to store all the files that make up their website.

When you sign up with a web hosting company, like Bluehost.com, then you have access to all the files that make up your blog. The guts of your website, you know, the html, css, php, and all those other crazy coded files that don’t make much sense until you need them.

TERMS

1. Sorry, We’re Closed – WHAT IF they decided they aren’t going to host blogs anymore? This happened recently with Yahoo.com/Geocities. They told everyone that had a free hosted blog that they needed to move it, lose it, or buy your own domain and pay for hosting through them. Many people lost all their links and had to start from square one again.

2. Ooops – You could be DELETED. You are subject to their Terms Of Service. When you get something for free, you have little power or recourse. “We may terminate your access to all or any part of the website at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, effective immediately.”

3. Advertising – One way that they can offer free web hosting, is by having advertising. Wordpress.com displays ads on your blog to certain types of visitors. You may never see the ads, they code it so you won’t. But, you never know just what your visitors are seeing; a POP UP AD, a banner ad or a text-link ad.

FEATURES/SUPPORT

4. Lack of Flexibility - You cannot use valuable plugins that help your blog become truly SEO friendly. Also, you have NO ACCESS to custom title tags or Google sitemaps. These features can make all the difference when it comes to getting found through natural searches online.

5. No Customized Themes – You can add a few custom headers to blogs at wordpress.com but you cannot use a completely customized Wordpress theme. And most importantly, YOU CAN’T USE THESIS, the most powerful theme available today.

6. No Phone Support - You have zero phone support so if you have a problem you’re STUCK WRITING EMAILS and figuring out forums to find answers. With web hosting you have 24/7 customer service and tech support. They help you every step of the way.

7. Space Limitations – They are very generous with their storage space, but if you need more, you will have to pay. If this happens you’ll be PAYING FOR EXTRAS, but still have a limited website. Note: Bluehost.com provides unlimited space.

DOMAIN NAME

8. Unprofessional - It’s obvious to others when you don’t have a “real” blog. Your visitors might get the impression that YOU AREN’T SERIOUS enough to invest in your own domain name.

9. Your Domain Name - will always have “.wordpress” in it. “Hey, check out my site at www.tryingtobeprofessional.wordpress.com” . In addition, it’s much HARDER TO REMEMBER a longer name.

10. Google Me Not – When you add a blog to an existing website and your blog link forwards to www.yourwebsite.wordpress.com you aren’t helping your website rankings at all. The whole point of the blog is to help google find your website by keeping your content fresh and relevant. YOU ARE HELPING GOOGLE FIND WORDPRESS, not your website. Note: The correct way would be to install wordpress onto a separate directory or subdomain on your existing website. When you’re done it should look like this: www.yourwebsite.com/blog or like this: www.blog.yourwebsite.com.

CONTROL

11. A Limited Future – You may have VERY LIMITED needs when you first begin with Wordpress and think this free version is perfect. As you learn more you’ll begin to see new possibilities and customizations that were incomprehensible to you when you began may become features that you find you can’t live without! The only way to get these features? Paid hosting.

12. No Control – Your content is in someone else’s hands. You have limited access to your files. The bottom line is, you are NOT IN CONTROL of your own website!

13. Upgrade Sub-Par - Yes, you can have more control by upgrading your free account, but then IT ISN’T FREE anymore. By the time you pay to remove adds, add a domain and the extra space you are still subject to their terms. Why not just host your own website and have complete control of your content?

Final thoughts.

So basically what I’m saying is that it’s not a good idea to have a free website as your main home online. Whether you’re an individual or a business, get your own domain and pay for your own hosting.

If you already have a free Wordpress site, and it is your only blog/website, I suggest one of two things. 1) Buy a domain, install wordpress and start fresh. You can always direct people to your new blog from your old blog, or 2) Export all your content from your free site into a paid site, then you’ll have everything in one place. The sooner you do this the better in my opinion.

That said, blogging communities are great and should not be ignored. Having a free blog within a blogging community however, is very different than having a website all your own. Of all the free blogging communities around, I like Tumblr the best. Here is a list of some of the most popular blogging communities.

Wordpress is a blog application found at Wordpress.org
Wordpress is free to use. It’s called open source.
Wordpress is awesome. Smart people use it.
Wordpress.com is a place to be part of a blogging community.
A free Wordpress blog doesn’t make sense as your only blog.
A free Wordpress blog is a great way to learn the ropes.

You can have a Wordpress blog/website one of two ways.

Free web hosting at www.wordpress.com.
Paid web hosting through the company of your choice. Then you install the free Wordpress application. The annual fee for quality hosting is usually around $100. (I like, use, and highly recommend www.Bluehost.com)

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I need a website! Where do I start?

by Sue Rostvold on 2009/06/30

Need a website? Well it’s never been easier! One option is to hire someone to set up a site for you, have them spend a couple hours teaching you the basics, and then you are well on your way. Below are some beginning steps to ensure a great start.

My trifecta: Bluehost, Wordpress, and Thesis

A Quality Web Host

I have used Bluehost for my web hosting for the past 3 years and have been very happy with them. I’m not surprised when I check out various web hosting reviews and find Bluehost frequently in the top five. Their hosting plans come with valuable extras and their customer service is awesome. I highly recommend Bluehost. Good News: They are available 24/7, eager to help, in the U.S. and easy to understand. Cost: $107.40 annually ($8.95 a month)

A Great Domain Name

When picking a domain for your site, the key is to pick a name that is easy remember and not confusing. to spell. You can buy your domain at a variety of sites. GoDaddy.com is probably the cheapest and most popular. (I’m not a big fan though) You’ll pay between $8-$12 for one year and as long as you renew annually, you own that domain. Good News: When you sign up for annual hosting with Bluehost, you get one domain for free! Cost: $0

Install Wordpress

Even if you don’t think you want a blog, it’s smart to have your website in blog format. Regardless of the purpose of your website (business, e-commerce, nonprofit, personal) Wordpress is a great foundation. Good News: Bluehost offers Wordpress installations as part of their hosting service. Cost: $0

Install Thesis

You may not understand what a Wordpress theme is, but trust me when I say that Thesis rules! Sure you can obtain a free no name brand template from just about any web hosting site available today, but it won’t come close to giving you the design and SEO capabilities that Thesis does. Good News: This is a one time cost and well worth the price. Cost: $87

Third Party Apps

Now it’s time to install some important third party applications that make your Wordpress/Thesis combination work even better. Sociable, Akismet, Google Feedburner, and Google Analytics are just some of the staples. Good News: Most third party apps for Wordpress are free! Cost: $0

For example: Akismet (Automatic Kismet) blocks spam comments and spam links that show up on your website.

Next steps

Now comes the really important stuff. Deciding on content for your website and incorporating social media into your overall marketing strategy.

Social Media Therapist’s additional recommendations:

Accept the fact that you’ll never know it all, and if you hire someone to help you, they won’t know it all either. It’s impossible, so just have fun learning!
Understand that your website will always be a work in progress. Static websites don’t make sense. The goal is to be frequently adding fresh and relevant content.
Don’t just hire someone to do the work for you, hire someone who will teach you as much as you would like to learn. You never know when a little explanation might make something finally click for you.

WEBSITE SETUP PACKAGE: I am currently offering a pre-set package to set up Wordpress/Thesis websites. In addition to the BlueHost and Thesis theme cost of $194.40, you’ll pay another $350 for my time and expertise. This cost will cover the set up, including third party applications, and two consulting sessions. Please email me for package details. Cost: $544.40

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KGSR Radio, New Kid in Town, and Twitter

by Sue Rostvold on 2009/06/04

This morning I turned on the radio in my car to hear one of my favorite Eagles’ songs, New Kid In Town. I had a very nostalgic little drive to my neighborhood grocery store. This song came out in 1978, the same year I graduated from high school.

On my way back from the store what I didn’t expect to hear was “Tweet to Win!”. K-Geezer (a.k.a. 107.1 KGSR Radio Austin) engaging their listeners on twitter? I guess I don’t listen to the radio enough to realize it’s becoming the norm. I decided to do a search, and sure enough, I found a site that lists radio stations on twitter.

New Media and radio seem like a natural fit in many ways. When you think about traditional advertising, (Radio-Television-Newspaper), it’s clear who has had the edge all along. In fact, radio perhaps was the very first form of social media marketing using technology. They have been engaging with their listeners since the very beginning. I’m not saying they did it well, but they were getting feedback and engaging none the less, even way back in the early days of radio.

So it’s come to this. Tweet-to-win. Instead of caller #7, it’s Direct Message #7 on twitter who gets the JD Souther at Threadgills tickets!

Well, it worked. They got me. I came home and started following @KGSR. I plan on trying to win some tickets with DM’s too. Way to start twittering KGSR! I’d love to see you incorporate some non-profit fund raisers into your twitter strategy as well. You have the twitter power now, use it for good!

FYI: In 1978 the Eagles received two Grammy awards: Best Vocal Arrangement for “New Kid In Town” and Record of the Year for Hotel California. Ahhh… the memories.

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Email Nirvana? Use OtherInbox!

by Sue Rostvold on 2009/03/12

Got too many emails? Who doesn’t these days. Ahem, that would be me. I’ve been using OtherInbox for about six months and honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without it. I pride myself on being organized, almost to the OCD level, and OtherInbox has helped me save time and anguish by pre-organizing my emails, as well as drastically reducing my spam.

Joshua Baer, founder and CEO, explains OtherInbox with one simple sentence.

“It’s the e-mail account to send all that stuff that you want to get but you don’t want interrupting you during your day in your primary box.”

Last fall Joshua Baer and co-founder Mike Subelsky presented Otherinbox at TechCrunch50. After watching the presentation online, I was sold. Then I got an invite from Joshua to use the beta version. Yay! I’ve been in a state of email bliss ever since. Insert Buddhist chant here: Name Ho Renge Kyo. [click to continue…]

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A great day for all women! Woo Hoo!

by Sue Rostvold on 2009/03/11

michelle-obama-official-portrait Michelle Obama makes me happy! I can’t tell you how much I enjoy hearing and seeing her in the news. She’s strong, smart, self-assured, and refreshingly real. That pretty much says it all.

March is Women’s History Month and today was a exceptional day. Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton presented the 2009 awards for the International Women of Courage.

women-of-courage

Each of these amazing women has a courageous and inspiring story, but Hadizatou Mani’s (pictured far right above) I found especially powerful.

iwoc_niger_137_1 In 1996, when she was 12, she was sold for $500. “I was negotiated over like a goat,” said Mani. Her mother was a slave, so she was a slave, it was a simple as that. Can you imagine? This was just a little over ten years ago! Niger just criminalized slavery in 2003, but as we all know sometimes the law lags behind when it comes to law enforcement.

Ms. Mani was determined to somehow break the cycle so that her daughter would not have to experience the same world she did. She knew she needed to be strong, smart, and self-assured in order to succeed. [click to continue…]

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Ferrets, cigarettes, and lasting friendships

by Sue Rostvold on 2009/03/08

If it wasn’t for ferrets and cigarettes, who knows if I would have even met one of my best friends, Cheryl Finfrock. In the late 80’s we were introduced to each other by mutual friends. They knew that we were both looking for a roommate and finding it increasingly challenging because of our individual vices. I had a nasty cigarette habit, (haven’t smoked for 14 years thank you very much) and Cheryl had ferrets, (can’t remember exactly when she quit those).

We decided to be housemates and became close friends. I didn’t mind if a ferret poked it’s head out between the cushions of the couch occasionally, and she didn’t have a problem with my smoky bedroom. Cheryl was the first person to impress upon me that psychotherapy is fun! She is a true therapy enthusiast. She is all about self-reflection and questioning her own motives. Cheryl loves to analyze her own thoughts and feelings, as well as those around her if they are game. I think her paintings are merely an extension of that process.

Today my cool friend is an accomplished painter with a very impressive body of work. Last night was Cheryl’s art opening at Wally Workman Gallery, one of Austin’s most prestigious galleries. It was a real Austin scene. Here’s a little video snippet from the event. [click to continue…]

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Austin’s 2009 Kick Ass Award Winners

by Sue Rostvold on 2009/01/19

How about this for a surprise birthday party idea? On your birthday, ask all your friends over and then give out awards to the ones you think really “kicked ass” in the last year! So it’s the guests that get surprised, not the birthday boy or girl. Well, that’s exactly what my friend Spike Gillespie started doing about a decade ago and now it’s an Austin tradition called the “Kick Ass Awards“.

This year’s ceremony, January 9, 2009, was graciously hosted by the Austinist and BookPeople. I don’t know where I’ve been, but this was the first time I had attended a Kick Ass event. The highlights for me were:

My friend Marla Camp winning an award for the great work she’s done promoting the local food community. (This smart cookie started Edible Austin.)
Jodi Egerton presenting an award while breastfeeding her son Oscar! (Not surprisingly, the award was going to GB Khalsa, her midwife, who wasn’t there because she was busy delivering a baby.)
The groovy band Horses with Horns. (Their lead singer is 7 years old!)
The most unusual Happy Birthday rendition I’ve ever seen, played on a theremin by Robert Mace. (Video below.)

I wanted to write a short post including a list of all the winners complete with hyperlinks to where you could find out more about them. After I got the names of the recipients however, I realized this wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought. Many of these incredibly cool, creative and inspirational people have no online profiles or websites, that I could find anyway. [click to continue…]

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