Introduction
Originally I had planned on using this article as a means of concluding the discussion launched with the New Year concerning our new focus at CCB Buzz, monetization, and migration. The plan was to conclude the series in a single article focusing on server migration. However, once I started writing, the material grew quite extensive, and really too much for a single article. One of my precepts for writing this blog is to keep things in small manageable chunks, something that you could read first thing in the morning, maybe while you are waiting in line, or in-between meetings – all without sacrificing quality of the material and provide you the readers, with genuine value.

Another option was to reduce the size of the material and cut out info, however I did want to do this as I believe it is all of value and worth passing on to our readers. Ultimately I decided to make a comprise and divide the article into a three part series which will allow me to provide you with the material in manageable chunks without sacrificing quality or eliminating information from the valuable experience that we had from the server migration. As with most things in a new business, flexibility is key and I decided to be flexible and deviate from the plan and I request flexibility from our readers in accepting this change in plan.

Therefore I plan on concluding the discussion started in the New Year with the article titled “Happy New Year!”, and continued with the other articles titled “To Monetize Or Not To Monetize?”, “Monetize With Donations”, and “Monetize With Affiliate Marketing”. This article will launch a discussion based on our decision to migrate from a free wordpress.com server to wordpress.org (on our private server), the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing this path, and our lessons learned. Let’s kick this off by first clarifying what we mean when we say wordpress.com and wordpress.org.

WordPress.com Vs. WordPress.org
So you may be asking, as I was in the beginning, what is all this talk about WordPress servers, private servers (using wordpress.org), and migration? The WordPress server is located at wordpress.com and it is the configuration that allows you to setup your blog on their website. Basically you just create a free account, select a template, write your content, and you are off and running. Conversely a private server configuration is where you purchase your own hosting and domain and download the WordPress software from wordpress.org, the wordpress.org software allows you to continue using the WordPress user interface that you may have become accustomed to, all while maintaining your own private, custom configuration. There are advantages and disadvantages to each which we will explore in this article. Migration refers to the act of physically moving the content from the wordpress.com sever and relocating it to your private server (using wordpress.org).

Why Migrate?
There are many benefits to migrating to your own server, but they all revolve around the central theme of control. For us here at CCB we found there were five key advantages based on our experience:

1. Design
2. No censorship
3. Monetization
4. Consolidation
5. Ownership

First and foremost you control the design of the blog. With wordpress.com hosting we were fairly limited to the design based on pre-existing templates. This is fine for most, but being a design firm, we at Cape Cod Branding wanted the ability to showcase our design talent along with the written word, and a private server (using wordpress.org) allowed for this. With a private server hosted blog (wordpress.org), design is only limited by your ability and your design software, so in essence it is nearly unlimited.

A second advantage of using a private server (wordpress.org) is that your blog cannot be removed or shut off due to content. With wordpress.com, if the moderators at wordpress.com deem your material inappropriate (or spam) it can be removed from their server, with a private server, you maintain complete control and determine when and if the blog is removed. Of course you have to keep your domain registered and server bill paid, but other than that you maintain complete freedom of expression and creative license. We have not had an issue of being shut down at wordpress.com, nor had we anticipated it, but it was always a bit unsettling to know that an outside party could pull the plug due to inappropriate content – given that as I had mentioned in my “Monetize With Affiliate Programs” article, “inappropriate” is a very subjective trait.

A third advantage of migrating to a private server (wordpress.org) is that in order to monetize your blog it must be on your own hosting. In “To Monetize Or Not To Monetize” I had shared our dilemma as to whether we should monetize, and outlined the advantages and disadvantages of doing so. Once we realized that we wanted to monetize and researched into how to accomplish this, we determined that this was another benefit of migrating. A standard wordpress.com server configuration does not allow for monetization; so if you know you are going to monetize, migrate to a private server (wordpress.org).

A fourth advantage is that it allowed for consolidation of CCB Buzz to our Cape Cod Branding website. Our original blog URL at wordpress.com was assigned to us, however now we have our blog located on the Cape Cod Branding website, at www.capecodbranding.com/blog.  This strengthens our companies since all our traffic is driven to one central location. The exponential growth we see at CCB Buzz is now banded together with Cape Cod Branding. It has streamlined our efforts and will help to grow business. In the future, we plan to integrate the blog more fully into our Cape Cod Branding site, and the two will be one, strong website.

A final and perhaps the most significant advantage is that when your blog is hosted on a private server (wordpress.org), you are building brand equity for yourself or your company instead of wordpress.com. Compare this to renting versus owning a home. Although renting a home makes sense in certain circumstances, generally you are enriching the landowner at your expense. On the other hand when you own your home you are generally building equity, if you are planning on maintaining the residence over a long period of time. The same may be said for a server configuration – if you use blogging as a relatively short term hobby, then a wordpress.com account may make the most sense. However, if you are planning on building brand equity through a solid web presence over a long time, it is beneficial to migrate to a private server and build your brand equity, thereby enriching yourself or your company, over another.

To Be Continued…
Despite it’s advantages, server migration is not all fun and games. Like anything of value there are challenges and subsequent pain involved. The next article will focus on these challenges and the key to overcome said challenges.

There are many advantages to migrating from a wordpress.com server to a private server!

-John R. Sedivy of Cape Cod Branding