I’ve been thinking about offering an affordable web hosting service for book bloggers, specifically those who are looking to move from Blogger to WordPress. This would be a massive commitment and responsibility, so I wanted to find out if there was interest in this before thinking about it further.
My goal would be to create a web hosting service that is:
- Affordable.
- Insanely easy to set up.. In fact, there’s NO set up beyond creating an account.
- Maintenance-free.
- Specifically targeted at book bloggers.
- Available WordPress support.
My (potential) web hosting services
Price
I haven’t decided on a price yet, but I’m thinking around $3 or $4 per month for the cheapest package (with discounts if you pay yearly).
I would consider offering another package that includes WordPress help and support, and/or another package that includes the UBB plugin and all Creative Whim themes (except those designed by people other than myself, because that would get extremely confusing).
The benefits: why choose this service over BlueHost or another company?
The main benefit is that when you purchase an account on BlueHost, you’re sharing a server with like 500+ other people (some with 1000+). This can lead to slow servers, frequent downtimes, people hogging resources, etc.
With my service, I would purchase a brand new dedicated server, that you would share with only a few other people (depending on how many are interested). But it would certainly be less than 500.
Also, you would be paying for a service that is specifically catered to book bloggers. Your WordPress installation would come already set up with the plugins and configurations for book bloggers.
What I’d offer exactly
- I would probably run my service from one big WordPress multi-site installation. That means all you have to do is submit your payment and create your WordPress blog, just like you would do on the free WordPress.com. It’s so easy! You don’t even have to install WordPress!
- The downside is that users would not be able to upload custom themes and plugins themselves. But I would pre-install a wide selection of free themes and plugins, and also allow people to contact me with specific plugins/themes they want installed, and I would do that for them.
- The up side is that as soon as you create your site, it already comes pre-installed with plugins I deem necessary for book bloggers. This includes WordPress SEO, Comment Reply Notification, CommentLuv, etc.
- All WordPress updates are taken care of for you. You don’t have to do anything!
An affordable and hassle-free WordPress experience right out of the box
Some people are terrified of moving to WordPress. They don’t know how to install WordPress or buy web hosting or deal with domain names or install plugins. All of that would be done for you! I would even have a no-domain option if you don’t want to have to pay for your domain name. So instead of having your own name, you would have a subdomain (i.e. http://yourblogname.nosegraze.com — but not on Nose Graze).
Are you interested?
In order for this to be feasible, there would have to be a certain amount of people interested. I would be buying a dedicated server so I’d at least need enough people to cover the costs for that.
Would I be able to transfer to this hosting service with help? 🙂 Because I would be interested in this! 🙂
Yep. 🙂 If I make this happen I would probably write DIY tutorials on how to switch, or provide a service where I’d do it for you for an extra fee.
Awesome! 😀 Then I’m definitely interested!
I like how this post comes up when I’m seriously starting to think of moving myself over to WordPress (but haven’t made any commitments yet). I am definitely interested, it’s a great idea.
OMG I love this. I would have so went for this a couple years ago, but not now. I want to customize a lot of my website when I move on from blogger.
Such a fantastic, fantastic idea, Ashley!!
It’s always hard to find a great deal, and I’m not a person to trust other parties that easily for this sort of thing. But I know I can trust you, and if this works out, I’ll definitely be making the switch to WordPress with you!! 🙂
Hope it all works out, Ashley!! 😀
I am definitely interested!!! This is a fantastic idea! 😀
I would be interested if you could help me switch hosting places because I am already being hosted by RFE, but I am only paying by the month.
I would love for this to happen! I’ve been making excuses for not hosting at WP 😉
Put me on the list for this!! I would absolutely be interested.
What a fantastic idea Ashley 🙂 I think a ton of people will be interested in this, especially since it sounds so simple! Unfortunatly, I won’t be able to sign up because I have a huge prepaid hosting package.
I have been thinking about moving for a whole, but as you said I’m scared! Can I also buy a custom design from you and you can help me move? Is that doable?
If I go through with this, then I will write a step-by-step guide on how to move your blog. Alternatively I could do it for you, but at an extra fee. 🙂
This sounds like such a great idea! I’m still on wordpress.com so would I need to switch to .org? I’m definitely interested in this! I love your blog and I’d trust that this would be a great option.
Yes you would have to switch to .org—that’s what my service would be. 🙂
I’m definitely interested then! 🙂
I recently moved from Blogger to self-hosted WordPress and I am enjoying playing with my theme files and creating custom small widgets since I know PHP, so that’s the only things why I would say no to your offer, but I think it sounds great for bloggers who don’t want to bother with any coding. 🙂
This is such a great idea! I’d definitely splurge on this! Besides I kind of think I trust you more than the wordpress people themselves, lol.
I would most definitely be interested!
YES so cool! I’ve been contemplating making the move from the free-hosted. Here are a few ?’s I have:
Would I be able to move my already created WP account easily?
If I like my layout now, would I be able to keep it?
Would I lose the followers I already have?
What about advertising? Would it be restricted like free WP or open like WP hosted?
Would I be able to use embedded items (like Rafflecopter) not available on the free WP now?
I responded to your questions via email, but I’ll reply again here in case anyone else wants the answers. 🙂
Awesome, thanks for the quick reply 🙂 Sorry there were so many, it’s just something I’ve been thinking of a lot lately.
And yes, I was referring to the WP email subscribers.