Hey divas....I'm a newbie. I've been working really close with the person that is creating my website, and I did my research and find that there is all this craze about WordPress. So I ordered the WordPress for dummies book, and it really seems like the good way to go. My question is self-hosting vs. WordPress hosting. Anyone ever tried both, and have feedback as to which is better?? I'm trying to build this really cohesive website, and want to self-host, but my web guy said there might be all this extra $ and time involved.

Any advice on which route I should take...i appreciate all the feedback.

Thanks, Amaya

If your coder/designer is good at what he's doing then it really shouldn't take him that long at all to customize the blog and add it directly to your website.
Hosting WP does require that you have an available database on your server, which could cost extra depending on what your hosting company offers you in the package.

Personally, I think it always makes more sense to host the blog directly on the site - it's better for SEO, makes more sense in terms of keeping your visitors directly on your site and honestly isn't that difficult to install (Can be done is less than 20 minutes). Customizing it to match your website shouldn't take very long either.

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Thanks Tess. He was also saying that his concern was having the database, and it being in PHP code vs. not being in ASP.Net code...he's gonna do the work, but he's new to the bloggin aspect for creating it on a site.

Any recommendations on good but economical hosts, and FTP clients?

thanks in bundles,
Amaya

Ah, I see - yes if he's not familiar with PHP it might be a bit of a challenge...but the WP site has really good troubleshooting tips if he gets stuck.

We use CuteFTP for our access client, but there is also Fetch (free and runs on Mac) and Cyberduck (OpenSource) if you don't want to invest in something.

As far as hosting goes, we have a few servers of our own so I'm not the best one to ask about outside hosting (we do offer hosting to members of the forums though, click here for info and all of our hosting accounts do come with a MySQL database )

I hope that helps! Try checking the General Website Development section for other posts about who uses what hosting companies - that might get you some more answers as well.

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Self-hosting is definitely the way to go. Free hosting won't allow you to place advertising on your site if you plan to do that at some stage.

Many web hosts have Fantastico and cpanel available and so Wordpress only takes a couple of minutes to install and you're up and running. After that it's a case of finding a template you like and that you can play with to make it your own - there are thousands available out there - and free too! I love Wordpress and am totally addicted!

For the record - I know very little of php but can work with html and can place coding around the php on the templates with very few problems. I had a designer do the header for my VA blog - as that was beyond me but I've done everything else with my blog and my other blogs too.

Yes, Kathie is definitely right in that you don't necessarily need PHP if you're going to use a template...and there are loads of free ones out there!

(And we are on cPanel)

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Thank you Kathie and Tess....I discussed your answers with my designer, and it puts him...and I both at ease. Your wisdom is priceless. Tess I will mention the hosting you provide to him, and tell him to check it out.

Wow, I can't say thanks enough!
Amaya.

You're most welcome Amaya. Be warned - it can become addictive! I have my own webserver these days and it's oh so easy to just purchase a domain because I saw a template I loved and have a brand new blog up in less than an hour. I did that with a gardening blog template I saw last year and then set up a blog about my home town Melbourne only a few weeks ago because of something I read on a bloggers forum.

I'll keep that in mind. I've read that its addictive

Hi Amaya

I also use Wordpress and host the sites myself. Very easy to set up and use! I think it's the best way to go.

Lisa