So I’ve decided to transfer my website to something called “self hosting”. The process seems like it would be copacetic, moving my site within the same parent company, from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. It comes highly recommended from several bloggers I follow. It allows more liberty for things like plugins and widgets, behind the scenes applications for fun little items like printable recipe cards and links to social media sites. It also opens the door for exciting prospects like advertising- if the opportunity were ever to present itself. But what it really means is making almost everything you know obsolete. It equates to actually paying a third party a monthly fee to host your site. It means losing every one of the cherished “likes” I’ve earned up until this new starting point. It consists of not seeing my reader’s comments. (Temporarily I hope and BTW if I haven’t responded to you, it’s because I never received it.) It translates to my WordPress phone app no longer complying. My pictures are uploading weird. Coincidence? I think not! It translates as headache.

Since I really know nothing about computer matters, and don’t have the time (or frankly interest) to learn, I paid to have WordPress do the actual transfer for me. After all, this is what I enjoy to do- my outlet. I don’t buy designer shoes, or expensive jewelry- so I justified the cost. I’m a cook, a mom, a photographer, an aspiring writer, not a computer programmer. It wasn’t like a life changing amount, but not free. I’d consider it to be about the price of an American Girl Doll and shipping. It’s supposed to come with 2 weeks of (ahem) tech support. Lining up time to work with the help of people who know what their doing is difficult… especially since when I was available, they were not. “…Across the country employee meetings.” (Perhaps useful information to be told before I made the decision?) And when I have been able to get a reply to an email, it comes in the form of trouble shooting ideas I can try. Nice. How about this: I am a technical idiot, that’s why I paid for the service! Could you please resolve the issue?

It’s going to be worth it in the end. (Right?)