Best Blogging Platform/Site Hosting Platform for Video Content/Written Content?

[Deleted88861]

Hi everyone, I have been experimenting in the last few years with blogging and have had my own website via Wix in the past.

(Quick side note: I don't know how to code, not a clue. I am 25, maybe I should start learning? Lol)

The main question:
I am aware that alongside choosing a platform to host my site on, I also need to pay for a domain, too. Possibly GoDaddy for this?
Looking for recommendations on what you think is the best site/platform for hosting video content, probably from YouTube in the meantime but in the longer term will primarily be for uploading original video content so that will also be a huge factor in my decision making when choosing what platform to go with.

My primary focal points for choosing the ideal platform are -
SEO optimisation (Wix was good good for this)
Overall price
Compatibility (mainly to make sure the site platform will work well with GoDaddy as my domain host IF I choose GoDaddy) (Wix was tricky when setting this up, I found Wordpress to be easier on that front)
Site loading speed (had issues with Wix in the past with this, it wasn't an issue from my end)
Good options for uploading large videos in the long term up to 30GB (however not of concern at the moment)
CUSTOMER SERVICE! A big one in case anything goes tits up...
Option of high-quality templates (Not too bothered about this as will be customising anyway)

If you could please let me know of your own experience and what you use/would recommend for uploading & sharing video content and written content that would be great. Eventually, the site will act as an enticer and lead readers to the main service at a later date which will not be provided via the website, but for now the website is very important to get right and if mistakes are made the host platform needs to have that flexibility in order to customise.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post, I really appreciate the help. I am active daily on this forum after being away for a while, if you would like to get in touch via direct messaging on here, feel free.

All the best

 

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[Oso]

I hate WordPress. With every fiber of my being. That said, I'll forever recommend it, especially to someone with no/limited dev knowledge.

I recently purchased hosting: 80/mo. for unlimited websites, databases, and premium plug-ins. With added premium plug-ins, your options are unlimited.

Wix is great, too, however I've had similar issues as what you've described, so I won't go much more into it. Overall, WP wins for me (seriously, you have no idea how much this statement breaks my heart).

Finally, I'm HYPED knowing you're taking video into consideration. Video is the future. Having said that, your best bet is continuing to link (not embed) to/from YouTube, for the time being. There are quite a few options here, but until you break a certain threshold for video content, there isn't a valid reason to pay for other options (quickly becomes an expense that can otherwise be avoided). YouTube will carry video content for most every day needs.

I believe I hit most points. If I've missed/overlooked something, I'm watching the thread, so feel free to hmu here or via pm.

P.S. MOST hosting companies offer either a free domain (that isn't considered "premium") and/or a free domain transfer upon purchasing a plan.

 

[Deleted88861]

I hate WordPress. With every fiber of my being. That said, I'll forever recommend it, especially to someone with no/limited dev knowledge.

I recently purchased hosting: 80/mo. for unlimited websites, databases, and premium plug-ins. With added premium plug-ins, your options are unlimited.

Wix is great, too, however I've had similar issues as what you've described, so I won't go much more into it. Overall, WP wins for me (seriously, you have no idea how much this statement breaks my heart).

Finally, I'm HYPED knowing you're taking video into consideration. Video is the future. Having said that, your best bet is continuing to link (not embed) to/from YouTube, for the time being. There are quite a few options here, but until you break a certain threshold for video content, there isn't a valid reason to pay for other options (quickly becomes an expense that can otherwise be avoided). YouTube will carry video content for most every day needs.

I believe I hit most points. If I've missed/overlooked something, I'm watching the thread, so feel free to hmu here or via pm.

P.S. MOST hosting companies offer either a free domain (that isn't considered "premium") and/or a free domain transfer upon purchasing a plan.

Excellent, cheers for that. I found the part you mentioned about it breaking your heart very comical, lol.

So far then WordPress is winning the race, I always thought it was considered one of the more tricky platforms for someone with limited/no dev knowledge so that was also helpful to know.

Cheers

 

[Andy Black]

What’s the goal of the site? You mention SEO so I presume you want people to find the site from Google? What do you want people to do when they get to the site?

I second using YouTube to host your video. It’s the second largest search engine after all

 

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[Oso]

Excellent, cheers for that. I found the part you mentioned about it breaking your heart very comical, lol.

So far then WordPress is winning the race, I always thought it was considered one of the more tricky platforms for someone with limited/no dev knowledge so that was also helpful to know.

Cheers

Lol. I truly cannot stand WordPress, but will forever give credit where credit is due.

In my experience, people tend to encourage the use of other options simply because where WordPress struggles can be big, and if you fail it properly set it up, items such as SEO can and more than likely will suffer. WordPress can be difficult to optimize if you're unfamiliar with the WordPress territory. That said, spending ~20min on a guide would suffice.

In regards to SEO, WordPress without plug-ins is good (again, if properly setup), however with plug-ins, it becomes a breeze, as with optimization. For SEO (free option), All In One SEO and Yoast SEO are the best (I personally prefer Yoast SEO). If you go the hosting route, and have access to premium plug-ins, then I'd recommend Squirrly SEO (what I personally use).

Everything said, you'll quickly find that every WordPress/Wix styled service will suffer from the same issues, usually in regards to optimization and SEO. I'm sure you're aware of this already, but it's primarily due to the sheer amount of bloat that comes with using website builders. But with proper setup, most of these issues are non-issues, especially if you remain vigilant.

 

[Deleted88861]

What’s the goal of the site? You mention SEO so I presume you want people to find the site from Google? What do you want people to do when they get to the site?

I second using YouTube to host your video. It’s the second largest search engine after all

Hi Andy. I will give a brief overview in terms of goals and the overall idea for you for some context below:

I will be providing a service primarily using video content via an app on android and apple devices to a specific audience within the creative industry, primarily the music industry for the first year or two. This service will have segments available to members across not only the app, but some content available via the website (hence I would like to know a little bit about video capacity sizes on websites for hosting etc...)

The website itself for now and most likely the next 6-12 months give or take will be some form of a content and blogging hub that features timestamped YouTube videos accompanied by original written material elaborating on these videos that will hopefully engage the audience and build a community of users, possibly having a little forum section afterwards for users to discuss (also considering a FB group page but not too keen on this) then once things begin to take hold and the service(s)/content is ready for release on the app, I am hoping to have built up enough of a user base to then start directing them over to the app and secure memberships either monthly or as one-off fees (still undecided on this).

I am still being assisted on the steps that need to be taken to actually develop the main service and the app itself, but for now the website is something that can be looked into and can be up and running shortly once I get stuck in just to have some kind of presence (with purpose behind it of course).

In amongst the things I have mentioned above, I would like to say that its still very very early stages, I am currently looking into whether this idea is even sustainable and now that I have a very solid demographic - if there would be demand for this kind of service. I am confident there will be, however, don't want to base this on my own personal presumptions too much even though I do have a lot of consumer experience exactly in the field I am looking to go into. I am becoming a part of different communities across my demographics and keeping a close eye on what users are often discussing around this and what they might be interested in.

So, right now it is very much market research, however, the more I do, the more I do think the idea is worth following up and hence my post about websites as a starting point to get the ball rolling and lead to the bigger picture.

I hope this clears it up a bit, this is the first time I am explaining this publicly on the forum so hoping I have done ok with explaining.

Cheers

 

[Deleted88861]

Lol. I truly cannot stand WordPress, but will forever give credit where credit is due.

In my experience, people tend to encourage the use of other options simply because where WordPress struggles can be big, and if you fail it properly set it up, items such as SEO can and more than likely will suffer. WordPress can be difficult to optimize if you're unfamiliar with the WordPress territory. That said, spending ~20min on a guide would suffice.

In regards to SEO, WordPress without plug-ins is good (again, if properly setup), however with plug-ins, it becomes a breeze, as with optimization. For SEO (free option), All In One SEO and Yoast SEO are the best (I personally prefer Yoast SEO). If you go the hosting route, and have access to premium plug-ins, then I'd recommend Squirrly SEO (what I personally use).

Everything said, you'll quickly find that every WordPress/Wix styled service will suffer from the same issues, usually in regards to optimization and SEO. I'm sure you're aware of this already, but it's primarily due to the sheer amount of bloat that comes with using website builders. But with proper setup, most of these issues are non-issues, especially if you remain vigilant.

Thats great help, thank you. In regards to SEO services, I actually didn't know that you can get external SEO plugins to add-on. So that is very useful to know, I have just looked up the above ones that you mentioned and do like the description of them.

"But with proper setup, most of these issues are non-issues, especially if you remain vigilant."
Thats exactly the thing like you said - I want to ensure this will be properly setup from the get-go to avoid if possible, any careless or stupid mistakes at the beginning. This will be a long-term project if I do go ahead with it so it is very important to get the somewhat simple things right. Are there any specific videos that you would recommend from WordPress, possibly from their YouTube or something that you think would help me out? If so that would be greatly appreciated. I have dabbled with WordPress in the past but treat me as if I am a complete noob.

Thanks again.

 

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[Andy Black]

Hi Andy. I will give a brief overview in terms of goals and the overall idea for you for some context below:

I will be providing a service primarily using video content via an app on android and apple devices to a specific audience within the creative industry, primarily the music industry for the first year or two. This service will have segments available to members across not only the app, but some content available via the website (hence I would like to know a little bit about video capacity sizes on websites for hosting etc...)

The website itself for now and most likely the next 6-12 months give or take will be some form of a content and blogging hub that features timestamped YouTube videos accompanied by original written material elaborating on these videos that will hopefully engage the audience and build a community of users, possibly having a little forum section afterwards for users to discuss (also considering a FB group page but not too keen on this) then once things begin to take hold and the service(s)/content is ready for release on the app, I am hoping to have built up enough of a user base to then start directing them over to the app and secure memberships either monthly or as one-off fees (still undecided on this).

I am still being assisted on the steps that need to be taken to actually develop the main service and the app itself, but for now the website is something that can be looked into and can be up and running shortly once I get stuck in just to have some kind of presence (with purpose behind it of course).

In amongst the things I have mentioned above, I would like to say that its still very very early stages, I am currently looking into whether this idea is even sustainable and now that I have a very solid demographic - if there would be demand for this kind of service. I am confident there will be, however, don't want to base this on my own personal presumptions too much even though I do have a lot of consumer experience exactly in the field I am looking to go into. I am becoming a part of different communities across my demographics and keeping a close eye on what users are often discussing around this and what they might be interested in.

So, right now it is very much market research, however, the more I do, the more I do think the idea is worth following up and hence my post about websites as a starting point to get the ball rolling and lead to the bigger picture.

I hope this clears it up a bit, this is the first time I am explaining this publicly on the forum so hoping I have done ok with explaining.

Cheers

Check out “Just Start Already” and “Who Have You helped?” in my signature.

 

[Deleted88861]

Check out “Just Start Already” and “Who Have You helped?” in my signature.

Haha. Very clever, I liked it. Enjoyed both audio recordings from these topics, cheers Andy.

 

[Oso]

Thats great help, thank you. In regards to SEO services, I actually didn't know that you can get external SEO plugins to add-on. So that is very useful to know, I have just looked up the above ones that you mentioned and do like the description of them.

"But with proper setup, most of these issues are non-issues, especially if you remain vigilant."
Thats exactly the thing like you said - I want to ensure this will be properly setup from the get-go to avoid if possible, any careless or stupid mistakes at the beginning. This will be a long-term project if I do go ahead with it so it is very important to get the somewhat simple things right. Are there any specific videos that you would recommend from WordPress, possibly from their YouTube or something that you think would help me out? If so that would be greatly appreciated. I have dabbled with WordPress in the past but treat me as if I am a complete noob.

Thanks again.

Truth be told, any type of "WordPress Guide for beginners" article or video would work. From there, I'd recommend looking into specific plug-ins, based on your goals. This is the primary area WordPress annoys me with. Plug-ins are amazing, but if you overload your website with them, well, good luck optimizing. However, the wrong plug-ins generally leads to missing some type of quality of life/automation opportunity somewhere.

The few plug-ins I'd recommend looking into:

* Elementor: it's big, bulky, and gross: but damn, it makes website building a joke, and the free version adds an insane amount of value. Easily one of my favorite plug-ins despite its issues.

* MonsterInsights: google analytics fun. Free and straightforward to setup. Last I used it, they included a small dashboard that would display your Google Analytics information as soon as you logged into WP.

* Autoptimize: helps optimize content via condensing JS, HTML, and CSS. If I remember correctly, this plug-in can also assist with optimizing content such as images and videos.

* All-In-One-SEO/Yoast SEO/Squirrly: same information as above.

I'll take a peak at some of my WordPress notes for other plug-ins. Admittedly, so long as your content is structure correctly (again, something such as Yoast can help you do this for free), and you conduct basic optimization, you'll definitely launch with a good backing.

From there, continue optimizing and build out your plug-ins. It seems you're aiming to have/be more of an information source for your initial launch, so in theory, you shouldn't have to worry about your website being bogged down with plug-ins. From there, simply build out/research plug-ins as you continue to grow and implement that app aspect.

 

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[ZackerySprague]

WordPress is easy to learn, you could always create your own website instead of using their hosted platform. You could always go the through of buying hosting (from any good web hosting provider, can easily do a google search and find which one you think is best) and download WordPress & finding a good theme that works for you.

There's Webflow as well, but that's more geared towards graphical designers and you would probably need a friend to help design the site.

Andy's idea is good to, starting YouTube channel is a good platform as well to host on, even though you are hitchhiking. You can always drive traffic from your videos to your website.

Hope this helps!