The first choice you need to make when building a website for your side hustle (or soon-to-be side hustle) is whether you want to use a completely free website, a free site hosted on a paid domain, or a hosted site on a paid domain. There are pros and cons to each choice, and while you can change your mind in the future, the transition isn’t always easy, so you want to research your options first. Changing your domain name (from free to paid or in reverse) will also break any links you have to pages already on the internet (think Pinterest, social media, etc.).
FREE SITES
Selecting a free website option is a great place to start. We’re going to focus on WordPress.com because I think it’s one of the more comprehensive, customizable (and totally free) options. The web address for a totally free site will look like SallysDirectSales.wordpress.com.
PROS
- Free (obviously)
- Easy to setup, with minimal options to choose from
- Preloaded with free themes so you can start building your site immediately
CONS
- The web address isn’t terribly unique and will likely standout to readers as free (which might cause you to lose some legitimacy)
- There are WordPress.com advertisements on your site that you can’t remove
- Not a lot of customization options
- Minimal “bells and whistles” features that draw in potential customers / readers
CUSTOM DOMAIN REDIRECTED TO FREE SITE
This is one of the options for using a custom domain. In this option, you buy a domain for an annual fee ($3-25+) and then re-route it to your free site. So, when someone types in SallysDirectSales.com, they’ll be redirected to SallysDirectSales.wordpress.com. They’ll still see the wordpress.com web address when they land on your site.
PROS
- Costs less than other options
- Provides an easy-to-remember web address you can share with customers
- Enhances the professionalism of your site
CONS
- Still redirects to a site that’s free
- Links to specific subpages will be wordpress.com, not your domain
- Still includes ads from WordPress on the site
FREE SITE MAPPED TO A CUSTOM DOMAIN
An easy way to enhance your free site is to map the web address over to a domain you purchase. Every page will now appear with your custom domain name, instead of the WordPress.com address. You’ll pay three fees for this: One monthly fee ($4) for domain support which also removes the ads on your site, one annual fee ($13) to map your free WordPress.com site over to the domain you purchase, and a second annual fee ($3-25+) for the domain itself.
PROS
- Looks like a paid site to many readers
- Appears professional and demonstrates an investment in your business
- No ads! Yay!
CONS
- More expensive than the other two options
- Limited customization options
- Limited storage (6GB)
HOSTED SITE ON A PAID DOMAIN
This is the most expensive, and most feature rich option – and the costs can really add up. You’ll pay an annual fee for your domain ($3-25+), plus a monthly fee for hosting ($10-50+). There are some free theme options, but most people going this route also buy a theme ($30-120+) and other paid plugins to build out their site.
PROS
- Maximum customization options
- Increased speed
- Plug-ins available to enhance functionality
- Can upload more content (based on hosting contract)
CONS
- Fees can really add up
- More complex to setup and manage
- You’re in 100% control, which means if you break it, you have to fix it (or pay someone else to)
Most bloggers or small business owners will choose one of the free options with a paid domain to start, then transition to a paid, hosted site if they find they’re generating a lot of traffic. Using a mapped domain to start makes the transition easier and ensures the links you’ve created aren’t broken.
But, ultimately it’s up you and what’s best for your business. So which will you choose?