This blog is part of my own website. I registered the domain name www.kyliesgenes.com for two years which means that I now own that name for the two years and no one else can use it in that time. As long as I continue the registration I can continue to use the domain name.
The other thing I did was to find somewhere to put that domain name, someone to ‘host’ it for me. I chose the hosting company DreamHost. I have two parts to my website, my blog and my family tree.
Please note – I do receive a payment from DreamHost if someone clicks my link to DreamHost and signs up for a hosting package with them however this isn’t a paid advertisement for DreamHost. They have not asked me to write this. I chose to write about the benefits of having your own website and it is up to you to choose who you wish to have host your website 🙂
The benefits that I see of having your own website are:
- you get to choose your own URL eg. www.aussiefamilyhistory.com
- you choose your web host and how much you can afford to pay for the hosting (hosting can be paid monthly or yearly)
- you maintain the ownership of your content
- you can set up your website how you want it to look
- it is more professional to have your own URL rather than eg. www.geocities.com/myfamilytree
- you’re not providing content for someone else and building their business
- better security and privacy for your data
- no banner ads unless you want them
- being ‘your own boss’ – you don’t have to follow someone else’s rules (except for your own Government’s laws regarding website content and your web hosting company’s rules)
- you can release your data/content under a Creative Commons license if you choose
- visitors don’t need an account with another entity to view your website eg. a Facebook account, an Ancestry account
- search engines can properly index your website content
I would like to hear from you what things are stopping you from having your own website. Or simply why you choose not to have your own website. Please leave me a comment below.
My next blog post will be, “Benefits Of Having Your Blog On Your Own Website”.