How to Host Your Blog | A Small Business Perspective
Photo by Kamil Pietrzak on Unsplash
In our previous installment, we reviewed an effective process for writing blog posts and getting the job done.
Now that you've done the hard work and written the blog, you'll need somewhere to host and post it.
Most online how-tos dispense the same generic technocentric advice. Advice that may not be the best for small business owners. So, being a business owner myself, I decided to offer something a little more practical.
Business case your blog hosting strategy.
If you are a small business owner and would like to create an inbound marketing strategy with a new blog, but unsure of how to host it, read on.
Disclaimer: As we progress, please keep in mind the following suggestions and considerations are based on a business case style of analysis and not solely on the best technology.
It's also the same scenario I was in several months ago, so this is an ideal time to share my research and practical experience.
Before we get started, let's dispel two myths:
Free!: Free blogging options with shared online space are off the table for several reasons. Most importantly, you'll need your own domain name for your blog.
Get it Done Fast!: During the research phase, I saw headlines making claims such as, "start your blog in under an hour!" While it makes for a catchy headline, it's not based on reality. It takes more than a couple of hours to configure hosting, set up your blog, and get things looking decent.
The good news is launching your blogging website is not nearly the technical challenge it was 10 years ago. To achieve a respectable final product, be prepared to invest about 15-20 hours as a minimum.
Following our business case format, I applied the following three constraints:
The blog is another marketing tool for your small business, not a passion project.
Costing is a factor, so outsourcing is not an option.
The business comes first, not the technology.
Based on these constraints, online options such as a content management system (CMS) or a website building tool are the best choices. While it's wise to review the options for yourself, my experience and research suggest Wordpress is the best CMS, and Wix or Squarespace are the best site builders.
The bigger question is, should you go with a CMS or a site builder?
Let's start down the decision-making path with one of the most fundamental elements of a business case. Cost.
Wordpress is the least expensive option and also the most popular choice, with Wordpress sites dominating over 30% of the Internet.
Wordpress is a freely available open-source CMS. It offers the most customization options and flexibility at the lowest price point (free). You only pay for your domain name and hosting. The lower price of a CMS comes at the cost of increased complexity because you are responsible for every aspect of building, hosting, and maintaining your site.
Wordpress is the most economical solution. But keep in mind the adage, time is money.
Wordpress has a longer learning curve than the drag and drop website builders like Squarespace and Wix. To help decide what route makes the most sense, consider the following:
Expertise- If you are comfortable with technology and have the time to invest in serious research, Wordpress will be your best choice. Based on Wordpress's popularity, a lot of people make this choice.
Time- If you aren't blessed with free time, or prefer to focus on other aspects of the blog such as content and marketing, Squarespace or Wix will be better options.
Financial- I consider the financials a wash. The cost differences are not significant enough to modify a business case. If anything, you may want to add an extra hour to the business case for monthly maintenance if you choose Wordpress.
Tip: If technology is not your strength, or you simply don't have as much time, the cost of a site builder is easily justifiable.
At this point, I'm going to make the following claim. In my opinion, the vast majority of small business owners would be better off working with a site builder. Let me explain why.
When developing business cases, the Pareto Principle is invaluable. With a standard business website, 80% of your returns will come from 20% of your effort. You don't need to build the ultimate website or strive for perfection in every detail.
As long as your website is neat and tidy, visually appealing, and grammatically correct, it will effectively satisfy your clientele. They are visiting to find information, not to be wowed by the most technologically advanced website available.
In fact, visitors immediately detect poor quality and it and has a substantial impact on your brand. Sadly, high quality often goes unnoticed.
Most visitors are entirely focused on what they came to find and leave immediately after. Very rarely will they stay on a site, click around, and evaluate its technical merit.
For best results, keep your website simple, clean, and easily navigable. Let your content do the talking.
Now that we have considered time and money, there are three other important factors to build into your business case: mobile, SEO, and security.
Mobile is becoming increasingly important, with 6 out of 10 internet users now predominantly mobile. In my case, about 70% of our visitors are using mobile devices, so a functional mobile view is critical.
It is incredibly frustrating to spend countless hours building a website that looks beautiful on a PC, and then 7 out of 10 visitors experience a jumbled mess on their phones.
Mobile compatibility is one of the primary reasons I chose Squarespace.
Squarespace is unique in that they guarantee their website templates are mobile-friendly. A website will never look as fancy on mobile due to limited screen real estate, but that doesn't mean it has to look crappy.
Mobile is a larger challenge for Wordpress sites because you are responsible for development, selecting the right plugins, and troubleshooting the final product. You don't have access to Squarespace's built-in templates and expertise.
Wordpress has the flexibility and potential to produce even better results, but it takes time and expertise to get there. In the end, both products can produce great-looking mobile sites, just be certain to build-in additional configuration time for Wordpress.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most important things you can do to drive additional traffic to your blog. After all, the primary goal is to attract as many readers as possible.
Wordpress is the most potent choice for SEO and has plugins custom configurable to produce top quality results. The downside is it's another learning curve you must be willing to undertake.
For it to function, the plugin must be installed and configured correctly. There is a wealth of information available to guide you through the process, so be sure to include it in your business case. Careers are made specializing in SEO; it's that important!
Squarespace and Wix do not have the same degree of SEO flexibility and power. They are built for ease of implementation and provide built-in tools for SEO. The Pareto Principle applies nicely here again, by the way.
I prefer the peace-of-mind and certainty that comes from Squarespace's forms-based, fill-in-the-blanks SEO process. I understand it may not be 100% optimized with every SEO option available, but take comfort knowing the crucial bases are covered, and it's working.
Whichever methodology you choose, be sure to take some time to understand and configure SEO optimization.
The last item in the business case is security. In a previous lifetime, I used to be in the IT field and can tell you firsthand there are few things worse than dealing with security challenges. A virus, denial of service, or other security-related issues threatening to corrupt, take down, or expose client data is truly a nightmare. I don't even like thinking about it.
Wix and Squarespace are large, reputable companies that specialize in web hosting. They have teams of experts that take care of security for their customers. They need to do this to keep their product running. As a small business owner, I find this very reassuring.
With Wordpress and site hosting, you manage the security. I understand it's not rocket science, and Wordpress has excellent plugins to assist. Over 30% of the sites on the Internet have made this choice, so it's very doable. But consider when evaluating for a small business, it introduces another risk to include in your business case.
Now that you've gotten this far, its time to finalize your business case and choose between Wordpress and a site builder. You can then begin building your blogging website with confidence that you've made the best choice.
There is a wealth of information available online to support you. Excellent blogs and videos are only a click away and will guide you through each step of the process.
After you get your blog posted and SEO configured, the next step is attracting readers. This is a topic for another blog post and one that I'm still actively working on. As a start, I would suggest these two ideas:
Post on social media.
Syndicate to Medium.
Review the social media platforms that your target audience frequents the most. Generally, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are good places to start and then add others as required.
The other idea I recently started experimenting with is Medium syndication. I publish to my site first, distribute via social media, and then use the Medium import feature to upload to Medium. This process mitigates the potential SEO downside.
I know some suggest waiting longer, but with the use of the import feature and the canonical tags that Medium automatically sets, the risk is minimal. For my situation, I believe the risk is well worth the reward.
The way I look at it is my blog does not have an established readership, and so Iām after as many readers as possible. It might be different if I already had 100,000 weekly visitors.
I hope this business case style analysis has been beneficial and would love to hear your input and viewpoints on the subject.
How much value do you think having an online presence and a blog brings to a small business?
Do you think it's worth the 15-20 hours of upfront work, the hosting cost, and the 3 or 4 hours every two weeks to produce a bi-weekly blog?
In terms of Wordpress versus a site builder, based on my business case, the site builder wins. This becomes even more pronounced if you apply a moderate degree of risk aversion to the business case.
There is no question, site builders have come a long way in the past five years, and debating the right choice makes for a lively discussion.
Thanks for reading, and if you think this post could benefit someone, please share and don't hesitate to contact me with comments or questions.
Especially if you have good ideas for our next post on getting more readership for a blog! š