Best way to build a website for my own writing?
August 11, 2022 5:16 PM Subscribe
What's the best platform + hosting solution for posting short-form work (essays, poems, songs)? I've used Wordpress for corporate stuff before but thought there may be a better solution for my own personal things.
- Looking for combined cost of $5-10 per month (can pay for a year up front if it's a good deal). If I could spend $80 upfront for a year, I would be very happy with that!
- Would like my own domain--should be miltthetank.com, not miltthetank.coolwebsite.net.
- Would like to be able to install plugins if I so choose, but don't have any in mind right now.
- I'm OK with HTML and CSS.
- Would prefer to set it all up on one site, rather than (for example) setting up Wordpress and then buying a domain elsewhere and connecting everything myself. But not a dealbreaker if that's actually really simple or way more cost-effective.
- Looking for combined cost of $5-10 per month (can pay for a year up front if it's a good deal). If I could spend $80 upfront for a year, I would be very happy with that!
- Would like my own domain--should be miltthetank.com, not miltthetank.coolwebsite.net.
- Would like to be able to install plugins if I so choose, but don't have any in mind right now.
- I'm OK with HTML and CSS.
- Would prefer to set it all up on one site, rather than (for example) setting up Wordpress and then buying a domain elsewhere and connecting everything myself. But not a dealbreaker if that's actually really simple or way more cost-effective.
Looking at the WordPress pricing, you don't get access to plugins until the $25/mo subscription.
posted by Ickster at 1:30 AM on August 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Ickster at 1:30 AM on August 12, 2022 [1 favorite]
True if you're a true DIY-er. But that's where the access to premium themes (their whole deal is bespoke plugins selection iirc) come in for the $8 premium account. And jetpack comes in bundled, which is your analytics and site management plugin.
At that level, it'll be similar service to Squarespace (also a decent choice!).
posted by cendawanita at 2:43 AM on August 12, 2022
At that level, it'll be similar service to Squarespace (also a decent choice!).
posted by cendawanita at 2:43 AM on August 12, 2022
Best answer: Domain name registrars often have WordPress hosting for domains you buy with them. E.g., Namecheap sells a basic plan for just under $5/month.
posted by panic at 2:53 AM on August 12, 2022
posted by panic at 2:53 AM on August 12, 2022
On preview I'm just expanding on panic's comment:
Actually to expand on your WP options, or just the current blogging landscape, you won't need to handcode (or via graphic editor) html these days (it's actually harder to do in terms of client side imo, everything is configured on databases and content management systems). Based on your needs the consumer solutions are readily available.
What you can look for is "WordPress hosting" services. Dreamhost, HostGator, you name it. It comes with domain name AND wp-enabled (bonus with ftp access for your traditional website management stuff) services. It's usually a Softaculous client that's full-service (the difference in host pricing comes on their technical support like automated backups, whitelisting support, bandwidth etc) so a cheap and reputable host can be good enough already.
posted by cendawanita at 3:11 AM on August 12, 2022
Actually to expand on your WP options, or just the current blogging landscape, you won't need to handcode (or via graphic editor) html these days (it's actually harder to do in terms of client side imo, everything is configured on databases and content management systems). Based on your needs the consumer solutions are readily available.
What you can look for is "WordPress hosting" services. Dreamhost, HostGator, you name it. It comes with domain name AND wp-enabled (bonus with ftp access for your traditional website management stuff) services. It's usually a Softaculous client that's full-service (the difference in host pricing comes on their technical support like automated backups, whitelisting support, bandwidth etc) so a cheap and reputable host can be good enough already.
posted by cendawanita at 3:11 AM on August 12, 2022
Best answer: Wordpress would be great for this. I recommend self-hosting. You can buy webspace and an URL for just a few dollars a month. Many hosting services (I recommend Dreamhost from personal experience) offer a Wordpress install service for free, and you can click and have your own site with your own web address literally in minutes.
You could also look at Medium, though I think its paywall structure has undermined it as a platform for open, public sharing. But if you want to write, post and not think too much then it's a great looking platform for that and has a thriving community for pretty much any topic you can think about.
posted by 0bvious at 4:23 AM on August 12, 2022
You could also look at Medium, though I think its paywall structure has undermined it as a platform for open, public sharing. But if you want to write, post and not think too much then it's a great looking platform for that and has a thriving community for pretty much any topic you can think about.
posted by 0bvious at 4:23 AM on August 12, 2022
I use Wordpress for my own blog that I use in almost exactly the same way. I only pay for the domain, which works out to about $75 a year (charged only one per year); I know jack-shit about programming, so I went with one of their free layout themes (and there are a shit-ton of those), played with that a bit, and got a friend to take my picture for the header and called it good. Note that I am working with the wordpress.com as opposed to wordpress.org, which might be more spendy.
The only issue I had was that I got a little up my own butt about trying to pick the right layout and I played with the free theme options for a long time - agonizing over the color, the design, the layout - before finally realizing that "hang on, my WRITING is supposed to be the focus with this, not the font choice." And that's what snapped me out of it. It's REALLY easy to kind of get caught up in that when you're playing with the themes, so just be ready for that. It may help to browse other people's blogs that are similar to what you're doing and see if they have a particular wordpress theme if you like it; look at what they're doing and let that guide your choices. Seeing other people go simple is what finally snapped me out of the whole "I need 87 widgets" trap.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:27 AM on August 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
The only issue I had was that I got a little up my own butt about trying to pick the right layout and I played with the free theme options for a long time - agonizing over the color, the design, the layout - before finally realizing that "hang on, my WRITING is supposed to be the focus with this, not the font choice." And that's what snapped me out of it. It's REALLY easy to kind of get caught up in that when you're playing with the themes, so just be ready for that. It may help to browse other people's blogs that are similar to what you're doing and see if they have a particular wordpress theme if you like it; look at what they're doing and let that guide your choices. Seeing other people go simple is what finally snapped me out of the whole "I need 87 widgets" trap.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 4:27 AM on August 12, 2022 [2 favorites]
I also use wordpress.com for my personal blog. A long time ago, I self hosted a wp blog using DreamHost. I wanted the challenge and the learning experience. I did get hacked once, but they didn't do any lasting damage. I don't have the desire to do that now so I pay wordpress to do it. At $8/mo (I pay up front for a year) and I think $14 for a domain, I find it fine. There are more expensive plans that let you do more. They tried some different pricing plans and they didn't go over well, so they're back to the ones they have now. My only wish is being about to pay a couple bucks a month to upgrade the amount of storage.
posted by kathrynm at 9:23 AM on August 12, 2022
posted by kathrynm at 9:23 AM on August 12, 2022
Best answer: For a non-Wordpress option, I just heard about Blot on a podcast. I didn’t see a pricing page, but I think they said it was $5/month. It uses text files (hosted on Git, Dropbox, etc) as both content and configuration info. Seems like a pretty cool option for getting your writing out in a no-fuss manner.
posted by bluloo at 8:27 PM on August 12, 2022
posted by bluloo at 8:27 PM on August 12, 2022
Response by poster: Thanks everyone! I just bought a domain and will be looking into one of the Wordpress hosting options mentioned above (though Blot actually seems neat as well).
posted by miltthetank at 9:32 AM on August 13, 2022
posted by miltthetank at 9:32 AM on August 13, 2022
I use Blot and love it, after years of bouncing between various other hosted and non-hosted options. Also I know that the developer behind it is considering adding templates suited to authors. He’s very responsive on email too.
posted by Happy Dave at 7:55 AM on August 18, 2022
posted by Happy Dave at 7:55 AM on August 18, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cendawanita at 9:00 PM on August 11, 2022 [2 favorites]