Self-hosted blog

[Christine]

I am seriously thinking of moving up to a self-hosted blog. I want to stick with Wordpress but I am not, by any means, a CSS or HTML guru. I have learned a little and will continue to learn more. Would it be impossible or more of a nightmare to work within a self hosted blog without extensive knowledge?

[Karoline]

I'm sure there's pre made templates out there for wordpress. I'm not sure though.

[Christine]

I have seen some templates around that say they are pretty much ready to go out of the box (so to say). Thanks!

[Anysia]

there are thousands of free wordpress templates. You can also get someone to make you one if you want. Knowing HTML and css are not big concerns with self- hosting wp. Installing wordpress and getting it configured can be a bit of a hassle, but many of us have done it. There are lots of people around to help if you're willing to learn. If you get really frustrated, I do installs for a fee. :)

[Christine]

I have been looking around at the templates and many say they are pretty much set up and ready to go. Plus wordpress has some great tutorials and tons of sites online to check out. I will keep debating with myself for a while. Don't want to jump in and then wonder why the heck I did that? Thanks!

[Anysia]

I host with a pay-as-you-go provider so no paying for 2 or 3 years in advance. It's a mostly manual install but not too hard (though a bit harder than many of these pay-for-2-years-in-advance hosts). There is an excellent user forum as long as you are willing to learn to do things yourself. Even if you decide not to host with them permanently, it's a cheap little sandbox to play in: NearlyFreeSpeech.net (no affiliate program--genuine recommendation).

As for templates, they are pretty much drag'n'drop installs (put the theme files in the theme folder). Then just pick from menu as you do on WordPress.com.

[Christine]

Wow, I have not heard of this one. I am going to check this out!

[David Gutowski]

Plus, fellow bloggers with similar experience are usually more than happy to help (myself included). We have been through the learning phase, and can usually help with any hurdles you may encounter.

[Christine]

I must say this is really great to know and do not be surprised if I take you up on it. I am now surfing through themes trying to find one that seems straight forward to work with and at the same time, appealing. Just going through all of the themes could take me forever! I do like the look of your site. Definitely looking at 3 columns, simple so the content stands out.

[Debbie]

I recently upgraded from a free wordpress blog to a self-hosted. I needed help with the initial transfer of my old blog to my new one, making sure all the links were correct, etc but so far no other major problems. I mostly make just minor tweaks here and there. Like David mentioned so far people have been really great about helping me with any problems.

[Christine]

This is good to know. Love your blog by the way. Great content and such a pretty theme!

[Debbie]

Thanks! :) It was a template theme. I'm so bad at design.

[Pop Culture Nerd]

I've been thinking about upgrading to self-hosted, too, but am a little wary since WP.com makes everything so easy.

This question is for those who have made the switch: What are the major pros and cons of upgrading? Anybody regret it and wish you'd stayed with WP.com?

Thanks.