by thorns
3 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
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Just looking at starting a wordpress blog at the moment. Not looking to monetize it just yet, will in the future, but would like to build up a following first of all.

What is the best way to do this? Should I go for a free wordpress blog that they host, or jump straight into buying a domain name and paying for hosting etc? If I go down the free blog for a start, is it possible to in the future transfer any info on the blog over to a new site?

Also, with a free one where the name has wordpress in the URL, is it much harder to get these to rank high in search engines?
#question #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author Brad789
    Thorns - Brad here.

    My experience and research is that wordpress is the way to start up your web presence.

    But, using the wordpress or blogspot hosts has some limitation. While it is free the downside is much more costly.

    Setting up with wordpress or blogspot makes you liable to be suspended without notice. A number of posts on the web talk about people investing months in posts. One day they sign on to the web and find that their blog is suspended.

    I had some program problems early on and couldn't get to over 90 posts for a short period. That was a terrible feeling. So I strongly suggest that you invest the $4 to $9 bucks to buy a host you can control.

    In addition to the risk of being suspended - your question about ratings is right on. The materials I have read make it clear that using wordpress or blogspot hosting limits your ranking.

    If you have your own host account and put your keywords in your URL - your ranking will be better.

    I would also suggest you explore the long list of free wordpress themes. I settled on one theme and used it for a period. Once I decided I liked its functionality, I was able to upgrade and was able to go to work right away.

    Plug ins are also important. Be sure to use all-in-one-SEO plug in. You should also consider easy-privacy-policy. Also Google XML Sitemaps.

    You might also want to check out Pat Flynn's blog as well, smartpassiveincome.com. He has some excellent information and guides. Another to consider is Yaro Starak. Yaro is taking a break but he does have a fantastic ebook that will give you everything you need to get started.

    I am a huge fan and affiliate of Chris Farrell as well. His training materials can not be equaled. His training also includes free unlimited hosting you might want to consider later as you develop your overall plan for your internet enterprise.

    Hope this is useful - best of luck.

    Cheers ! Brad
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  • Profile picture of the author Jason Z
    Hey Thorns, I second what Brad says. You want to get your own hosting and install Wordpress yourself. You have so much control and flexibility to scale the site as you want and add features. Starting with a free site that is hosted at wordpress would be a waste of your time.
    Signature
    Co-Founder of the Local Profit Model Training Program for Offline Consultants

    Jason Zimmerman is an offline marketing and consulting professional. He has been developing web sites and digital marketing plans for local businesses since 2000.
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    • Profile picture of the author thorns
      Thanks Brad and Jason, it confirms my initial thoughts.
      Will start looking into setting up a proper site then and go from there.

      Will check out some of those links as well Brad, need all the help I can get!
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