Everyone should have their own website, with their own domain name
Base your online presence on a space you own and control.
This is more true than ever in this political and civic situation.
Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/TikTok/Whatever are siloes.
They don’t really interact with each other, when that can be useful.
They’re owned and controlled by a Big Corp.
They can shut you down at any time.
You are the product, not the customer.
You don’t have any privacy, and they’re constantly mining your personal information for their profit. Hell, they sell it to other companies all the time.
You can still use them if you wish, and you can publish on them from your own website.
You can’t be shut down, or it’s harder to shut down than a lot of platforms.
It’s a basic component of personal branding, if that’s what you’re looking for.
Arguments in favor of my solution
This is the only way to ensure
Privacy
Control
You can keep it running in difficult times
You own it, not Big Corp.
You can move it elsewhere at any time.
I can provide full-fledged WordPress hosting:
The software is open source and costs nothing.
$20/year domain registration.
$4 to $6/month hosting, on a secure, well-performing server.
I take care of updates and other essential maintenance tasks.
Domain email included, such as moc.niamodruoyobfsctd-6b99a6@emanruoy.
Total between $70 and $120/year.
Cheaping out is never a good option. Spend a little more, get a lot more.
WordPress is by far the most used content management system.
I have twenty years’ experience setting up and running WordPress websites. I work with a set of tools I’m very familiar with, and I keep on top of new developments.
My host of choice, Nearly Free Speech Hosting, has a refreshingly strong “don’t fuck with me” attitude toward their customers’ privacy and freedom of speech, backed up by twenty years’ experience fighting off Big Corp lawyers and other pests. They’re also “pay as you go”, which for small sites is the most affordable option.
My domain registrar of choice, Hover, are also refreshingly straightforward, easy to work with and reliable. What can I say, they’re Canadians.
Conditions
You’ll set up your own accounts and payment methods for the domain registration and hosting. You’ll be responsible for paying these bills on time, to keep the domain registered and the site online.
I’ll be the sole administrator on the site. You’ll have editor privileges.
As administrator, I’ll have complete charge of the back end, the engine that runs the website.
As editor, you’ll be able to create, change and delete blog posts, pages and media files, such as photographs or art.
I’ll guide you in how to do these things, and other website tasks you may need or want to do.
I’ll keep the site running and secure and performing well.
Any new features or major changes are with my approval, as I’m the one who has to keep them running.
Design choices will be extensive, but I’ll advise keeping it simple.
If the site evolves into something more than a blog and a couple dozen pages, I won’t be able to continue running it at no cost. I’ll either ask for some money or will hand it over to someone else.
If you want to pay me for my time, that would be fine, but at this point it’s optional.
I’ll provide a continuity plan so the site can keep running if I’m not around. This will be documentation and shared passwords enabling a technically able person to take over the management of the site.