Cheaper way to use free blogging site and link to custom domain? ANSWER: NameCheap

[Soliloquy]

I started a blog using Wix. I'm not in love with Wix or anything, it's just what I started with because it required no fuss on my part. It's freemium and I'm happy with the free services.

Getting a custom domain is cheap. Dollars per year.

Connecting my free Wix blog to my cheap custom domain would cost $14/month. I'm not going to monetize my blog, it's just a personal blog. But I would like it to show up in search engines for other parents going through similar circumstances. A Wix blog won't show up in search engines without a custom domain, so I'm back to $14/month, which isn't happening.

What am I missing?

I don't have a ton of time to putz around with a less user-friendly blogging site. But, in a few weeks I will have more free time. So switching to wordpress.org is a possibility, even though I initially chose Wix for being plug 'n play.

[RiverRock]

I have been stalling on setting up a business website for years. I've started some initial research, but the domain link cost has also been an issue for me...and some of my research has mentioned having more than one domain name link to the website (in my case it would be a personal name and a business name). I do know that a lot of people find my business through Facebook and Google because I have a facebook page and I pinned my business address on Google Maps.

It might just add to your confusion, but on Eventbrite there are many free website building workshops/webinars that you can sign up for. Often they are linked to specific website builders (sponsored??), but if you are considering a change from Wix, learning about other sites, such as Wordpress or Squarespace, might be helpful for you.

[Soliloquy]

I bought a different domain, a few months ago, for a business I hope to have up and running within the next several months. The domain was very inexpensive and I wanted to get it before someone else did. I play around with that site once in awhile but I haven't done search engine optimization yet because my business isn't open yet. I also got a Facebook and IG account with the business name. Haven't promoted them at all, again because I'm not open yet. I just wanted to stake my claim to the name.

I got the domain and the free website builder through NameCheap. It's extremely basic, which is all I need right now. I will need a website that will very simply describe what I will offer, give contact info, and maybe have a simple blog.

I don't know why I didn't think to do my personal blog through NameCheap. I'll look into that.

[Soliloquy]

I'm going to go through NameCheap. I was able to get the domain I want for $8/year (and that's not an introductory price, it will stay that price from year to year). Website builder was $14/year. I got an SSL for $4/year. And I found a coupon for 20% off my order so that brought everything to $24/year. I am okay with $2/month.

So, in my opinon, if you want your blog to be found through a search engine, it's much cheaper to go with a service like NameCheap rather than a free blogging site and then pay to link a custom domain. For less than the cost of 2 months at a "free" site I'm getting a full year.

I'm going to duplicate all my blog posts at my free Wix site, though, in case I ever decide to stop paying for the domain.

[Soliloquy]

I just have to say, NameCheap is fantastic. I have had to use their live chat support at least five times in 4 days. I always get prompt & intelligent responses that help me solve my newbie problems. Even though I later realized they have tutorial videos that walk you through the problems I was having, they were very polite and fixed everything for me.

---------- Post added at 01:51 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:49 PM ----------

I realized the $14/year is for shared hosting that includes website builder. So, even if you're not going to use their website builder, unless you have another option for hosting, you need a shared hosting plan. But that $14/year is for up to 3 domains. I already had a second domain that I hadn't done anything with so now I'll be able to get started.