What happened to my website?
I started my own blog in November of 2021—and now it’s all gone.
I started my own blog last year. And, just after a few months—it’s all gone.
Yes, disappeared from the internet!
Okay, I’ll admit I’m being a bit dramatic. But there is a point to this, so let me start from the beginning.
How it all started
Wow! They have their own website—that’s so cool. I want one, too!
Yes, I was always intrigued by the idea of creating and owning a website. One that was entirely mine—where I could do whatever I want, share whatever my heart desired.
And, as someone who writes online, it makes sense to have your own blog/website. You own 100% of your content. You won’t need to worry about suddenly losing your work, for whatever reason, since you have control over the entire thing. If you decide to monetize your content/website, you earn 100% of income.
Sounds appealing, yeah?
Plus, I’ve always enjoyed digital formatting and design. When I was in fifth grade, I created my own website with Weebly (yes, very professional—I know). Designing the layout of the entire website was honestly the most satisfying part of it!
Fast forward to 2021, when I wanted to take my writing more seriously. I was mainly focusing on poetry and thought that it’d be cool to have my own website to publish my work—like a digital archive. I could also create an online shop, launch community projects, start a newsletter to go along with it all… I loved (and still do love) the idea of cultivating my own community and being able to make a difference with it. And, at the time, I thought having my own website was the best way to do that.
So, I did some research and decided to use the Ghost CMS to create my website. I won’t go into much detail here, but I honestly really enjoyed it. It’s very easy to learn and use. The blogging tools are very similar to Medium, and the whole layout is minimalistic yet still practical. I bought a template, but I was able to edit the code in order to customize it and create something that was unique to me. All in all, I had a blast! I loved the entire process of creating and setting up the website.
This was all during the start of November. After I launched the website, I began publishing my writing. I did this for a few months, and I felt like one of those professional bloggers that I’d admire. I felt good.
So, this is what happened…
The question now is: What happened to my website?
Well…
I took it down.
Like, I deleted my website from the internet. Completely.
I know I seemed to be having a great time with it—and I did.
But, as you might have guessed, I barely had any visitors to my website.
Most of those famous bloggers online already had an audience, or they’ve been blogging since before the internet became as saturated as it is today. It’s difficult to drive traffic to your own blog if you do not already have an existing audience.
And I already knew all of this before I started my own website. But I guess the idea of creating something that I can call my own was more alluring to me.
I tried to build an audience through Instagram and Pinterest, and while that worked a bit, it just wasn’t enough. I would also post on Medium every once in a while, but I wasn’t posting enough to reach many people. (And I didn’t have enough time to post consistently on both Medium and my blog.)
If I’m not just some 18-year-old, soon-to-be college student who barely makes enough money a week to buy my own food—then yeah, I’d still keep my website. I thought my website looked really nice, and I still really enjoyed running it and publishing my writing there. Perhaps if I kept it up for longer and continued sharing content on Instagram and Medium, I could have gotten some more eyeballs on my writing.
But there are costs to running and hosting your own website. And when you’re not making any money from it and don’t have other means to support it, then the costs can accumulate over time.
So, I decided it was best to shut down my website and save some money.
Now, my website is nowhere to be found. And I’m okay with that.
I’m glad I tried it out. I learnt a lot about building a website and how to drive traffic online. Perhaps if I have a larger audience someday, then I can launch it again. (I did save all the files from the website, so I can always set it up again if I want to.)
Should you start your own blog?
The main reason I wanted to share this was because I’m sure there are other writers here who have considered or are wondering if they should start their own blog. And honestly, the answer will depend on your own situation.
If you already have an audience and have the financial resources to maintain a website, then yeah—you can definitely give it a shot!
Though if you’re someone like me, who’s still quite new to the scene and/or doesn’t have the money to run a website, then maybe it’s not the best thing to do (yet). A platform like Medium, where there is a built-in audience and you’ll get more exposure, might be better for people who are just starting out. But hey, who says you can’t try creating your own blog like I did and learn a few things from it?
Anyway, I hope you’ll find (or have already found) something that works best for you.
For now, I think I’ll just stick to Medium—I’m having a great time here, too.
Hello there! I’m A.X. — a soon-to-be theatre student in college who writes poetry and other stuff. Last month, I set a goal of reading at least one play per week, and I’m sharing my thoughts on each in theatre stuff. There’s so much we can discover & explore through theatre, so I welcome you to follow and join me as I share my insights on the life lessons we can learn from dramatic literature (and more)! If you’re interested, here’s something to get you started:
