I don’t talk much about blogging on the blog. Many bloggers do blog about blogging, but it’s not really my forte. However, the blog has grown exponentially this year for me- I’ve doubled my traffic and readership. Considering I’m a history and culture blogger, a very niche area, I’m pretty thrilled. And in the last 3-4 months, I’ve received a lot of questions about blogging. So, I’ll be answering questions on my Instagram stories today. And here, I’m going to share part of the success behind my blog, Lyrical Host. A lot of questions that I get are about being self-hosted and running your own site, and I couldn’t do it without Lyrical!
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What is a Self-Hosted Blog?
I am not a technical blogger, so I’m not going to get too into the weeds with this explanation. However, it is one of the most popular questions I get. Being self-hosted as a blogger means that I own my domain (AnHistorianAboutTown.com) and I have total control over the site. It is set up on a WordPress framework, but the site is entirely mine. (This is WordPres [dot] org.) If you have a hosted website, most commonly through WordPress [dot] com, Blogger, or Wix, you may own your domain but you don’t have control over the site. You may need a high tier plan to use any plug-ins, and you may be limited in the changes you can make to your blog’s theme and appearance. You also may be limited in how you can monetise- many hosted plans do not allow ads.
What Do You Need to Know to Run a Self-Hosted Blog?
Next to nothing, reader! I will admit, I’m not particularly tech savvy. In terms of troubleshooting my computer at work, sure. But in terms of coding and figuring out the back end of a website? That’s not really one of my stronger skills. However, Lyrical goes above and beyond on this side of things. According to Lyrical,
Our mission is to make WordPress blogging and website ownership easy, affordable, and hassle-free. We take as much off your plate as possible so you can spend more time doing the things you love. We migrate websites and email for free, even from Blogger and WordPress.com.
We speak your language – we specialize in hosting for bloggers, so we’re in a position to advise on tools, plugins, structuring blogs, and even things like content marketing, SEO, and media kits.
They understand that not everyone has the time to muddle around on the back end of a website to try and figure out which plug-in update has suddenly rendered your site unusable. Or that you might not have the experience to know what is a red-flag in a theme or a plug-in. Their free resource library has countless guides on setting up your site, modifying it, and optimising it, without assuming copious background knowledge.
Migrating Your Site/Service Tickets
One of the biggest selling points for me was their site migration. The team at Lyrical migrated my WordPress (dot) com site to my new self-hosted site in an afternoon, and all I had to do was select a theme, and answer a few questions. Joe handled everything, and in less than three hours, I was self-hosted. And it is included in your plan- there is no extra fee for site migration. In the world of hosting, you will find that everything has an extra cost attached. However, not with Lyrical. (More on that later.)
If you ever have a question about anything, or need help doing pretty much anything, all you need to do is put in a service ticket. I’ve put in service tickets when my site isn’t loading properly or displaying new posts. And I’ve put them in to ask if there is a plug-in that does this thing or that thing, and if so, which is recommended. I’ve definitely asked “how do I change my font in my posts”. And every single one of them has been answered, typically in a few hours. Knowing that they’ve got the technical side of things handled is more than a weight off of my shoulders, and I don’t think I can emphasise just how important this is.
Lyrical Host Pricing
You will notice that Lyrical Host does not offer absurdly cheap pricing, like many large hosting companies out there. There are several good reasons for this, though. The most important reason for me is that they don’t have price hikes. You won’t pay $1/month or whatever low price for a year, only to shoot up to $20/month the following year. Their plans are set, and you know what you will be paying. They also offer you the option to pay monthly or annually, and if you need to switch options part-way throughout the year, you can do that, too.
Every month they send out free resources to us, including free stock photos and different guides. (All of the photos in this post are Lyrical stock photos!) They often poll in the Facebook group to see what sorts of things people are interested in, so they are very relevant and on-topic.
The other important reason for pricing to me is the good that Lyrical Host does. Part of your hosting fees goes to support different charitable causes and non-profits. Lyrical sponsors students at a girl’s school in Mozambique, and I love seeing the updates that the girls send. They also plant a tree every year on your hosting anniversary, which is one of my favourite emails to receive. These might sound like they are besides the point of blogging, but I think that many of us are quite conscientious in what we do and how we do it. There are ways that we can make a difference, and if we can, we should.
And I have to share that I’ve won three free months of hosting (simply by posting in the Slack channel!), as well as several free hours with a Virtual Assistant. Not only was that time invaluable to me, they were also able to support VAs by hiring them.
Why I Love Lyrical
As I’ve explained above, I love Lyrical Host for several reasons. Realistic and thoughtful pricing without future hikes is crucial for me. And the incomparable support on everything and anything technical is also a must-have. (I can’t stress how many times I would have broken my site had it not been for Lyrical.) But the community is what makes it special. There is a Facebook group for anyone using Lyrical Host, and a Slack channel as well. No matter what my question is, people are always there to help, AND give an ethical answer. When I’ve asked about setting up a sponsored post, Jenni has made sure to tell me everything that needs to be done legally and how I can fairly and honestly make things transparent for my readers. If I’m curious about different freebies that I might offer, people have been more than willing to show me theirs and let me know what worked for them. It’s not just a numbers business, there are people behind Lyrical who care. Nothing is by accident with Lyrical, and when you are building a blog you care about, that is important.
Want to Sign Up With Lyrical Host?
Feel free to send me any and all questions you have about Lyrical Host. I am more than happy to chat about my own hosting experience, and if you have technical questions, I can certainly direct you to the right person to answer. You can also find them on Facebook at Lyrical Host– you can also message them there directly with any questions!
If you would like 10% off your first hosting plan with Lyrical, you can use my code HISTORIAN10, or click this link here. It does not cost you anything extra, and I will receive a commission from your purchase.
Want to know about Lyrical’s WordPress hosting? Visit them here: https://wwww.lyricalhost.com/wordpress-hosting/.
If you have been looking at moving to self-hosted blogging, or setting up your blog from scratch, you absolutely need to look at Lyrical Host. An Historian About Town wouldn’t be anywhere close to where it is now without Lyrical!
Cheers,
The Historian
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