As mentioned in the WordPress.com ‘n WordPress.org ‘n Web Hosting ‘n DreamHost – How to Disable Gutenberg and Keep the Classic Editor in WordPress post I had read that another WordPress blogger still had the Classic Editor, as a Classic Editor plugin on his WordPress.com paid plan.
Have been blogging for +-20 years (17 years at WordPress.com), but am still a novice at many ‘Thangs related to blogs ‘n blogging. Didn’t have a clue on what Hosting my blog actually meant, and barely have a clue now on what all is involved. I just enjoyed blogging and its two-finger typing ‘n WordPress.com handled all the rest…mostly! 😉
Then WordPress.com forced the Gutenberg Block Editor on me, which is akin to forcing a 100 year old man who has rode a mule in Mississippi all his life to start driving a bus in New York City!?! Forced to drive that bus during peak traffic hours!
I honestly tried to get use to the Gutenberg Block Editor, even set up a ‘Test Blog’ site to use it, but riding a mule alongside the Chickasawhay river banks was much easier. BTW, Chickasawhay river runs into the infamous Pascagoula River. Another fact, Water Moccasin (Cottonmouth) snakes *LOVE* the rivers in Mississippi.
Upgrading from the WordPress.com Free Plan
Tried to install the Classic Editor plugin on my blog – it said I needed to upgrade from the Free Plan:
WOW! That Business plan is $300 a year!? I was also trying to move fulltime to the LibreOffice Writer word processor – at the same time I was trying to get use to the Gutenberg Block Editor. Maybe if I dropped the move to Writer ‘n moved back to Microsoft Office Word, I could get use to the Gutenberg Block Editor!? I could get MS Office 2016 for $33.46 and just stick with the WordPress.com Free plan – see: WordPress.com – ‘Microsoft Word vs LibreOffice Writer’ Part 2: LibreOffice suks! post.
In the meanwhile, I could start searching for a Web Hosting service that also offered the Classic Editor plugin. I blog for fun, and the use of the Gutenberg editor had made blogging a chore.
It didn’t take long before I was overwhelmed by all the info ‘n choices that the search was revealing.
OVERWHELMED!
Being overwhelmed is not the time to panic and/or become hysterical and/or to start wearing a dust mask because progressive politicians (and their MSM puppets) tell you to.
If you’re not on the Front Line, during a war, when yore enemy is attacking you in full force, then Take-a-Break! Step-Back a tad! Re-evaluate yore situation!
It had become obvious that Web Hosting was also about selling a product to potential customers. Were these Web Hosting sites actually cheaper than the WordPress.com $300 Business Plan?
As I started looking closer at other plans, positive reviews were showing up for the WordPress.com Business plan, e.g. The WordPress.com Business Plan is way more powerful than you think – AND – WordPress.com Business Plan Review – What You Get And Is It Worth It? (2021).
What were the renewal costs going to be for these other plans? Could they automatically migrate my WordPress.com blog (no – only manually)? Were backups ‘n restoring included in their prices? Was security included in their prices? How was the support at these sites?
Speaking of support…these Hosting sites are selling Hosting space ‘n not necessarily support for novices. There are a lot of different types of Web Hosting, e.g. 1) Virtual Private Server (VPS), 2) Cloud hosting, 3) Shared, 4) Managed, 5) Dedicated, and etc.
My brief search for a Hosting site mainly dealt with DreamHost, which is one of three Hosting sites most Recommended by WordPress.org. A novice like me could easily spend a year searching thru Hosting sites ‘n still end up with a wrong plan…its literally overwhelming to a novice. DreamHost seemed to mainly focus on just TWO Types of Web Hosting – Shared & Managed (#’s 3 ‘n 4 above). Then those break down into other choices; however, I am going to keep this as simple as a novice like me can, i.e. choices of plans & types of Hosting can soon cross over into an area of Infinity.
At one point, I checked on a price for good security, with backups, and some Managed aspects – that was at about $140 a year; however, they also offered other options that I didn’t fully understand, and the price would’ve been at least $200 a year.
Return to WordPress.com
By this time I knew I was going to need support if I moved to another Web Hosting site for my blog, and since this was a WordPress.com blog then most/all Hosting sites’ ‘Automated WordPress Migration‘ app would *NOT* work. That means you have to “manually” try to move the blog, i.e. lots more work ‘n possibly missing stuff. I tried it manually ‘n most everything transferred (I think!?!), but the Front Page was a total mess that I was unable to fix.
At that point, I was going to have to pay for extra help (which they wouldn’t guarantee would work), and still wasn’t sure about what I might be missing (e.g. security ‘n future costs).
I’ve had 17 years of Free Blogging with WordPress.com, and that includes having two free blogs the past two+ years. I certainly can’t complain…WordPress.com has been both good ‘n fair too me.
Well, since I already had time ‘n effort put into this Web Hosting search, plus the fact that I absolutely *LOVE* two-finger blogging, I decided to go with the WordPress.com $300 Business Plan for one year. $25 a month for something I really enjoy spending time on – *IF* I have my choices of editors ‘n word processors.
WordPress.com easily ‘n automatically upgraded my free blog to the Business Plan. I’ve already started ‘tinkering’ a lot, and have already had to restore the site! 😉 Hey, when humble me tinkers – I seriously ‘Tinker’!
I now have a full year to research what is involved in moving my blog to another Web Hosting site, plus if I find a cheaper ‘n reliable Web Host then their ‘Automated WordPress Migration‘ app will work since I have upgraded to the Business Plan that allows plugins (very important in automated migrating!). A year also gives me plenty of time to build up my knowledge base, and the more-you-know about managing your own blog can also mean lower costs!
From my searching to this point, I believe that I can find a great plan at another Web Hosting site for maybe $100-150 a year less than this Business Plan (especially if I gain more knowledge on such a move!).
Some Facts on WordPress.com ‘n WordPress
1) WordPress.com – is a platform for self-publishing that is popular for blogging and other works.
2) WordPress (WP, WordPress.org) – is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) written in PHP[4] and paired with a MySQL or MariaDB database.
3) Did you know WordPress was open source software?
4) WordPress.com Plans – Free (3 GB storage), Personal (6 GB storage) @ $48 year, Premium (13 GB storage) @ $96 year, Business (200 GB storage) @ $300, and eCommerce (200 GB storage) @ $540 year.
- Business also includes plugins (e.g. Classic Editor), backups & restore, remove WordPress.com Branding, and 200 GB storage.
5) 50 Astonishing WordPress Statistics & Facts (2021 Edition):
- Did you know that ‘39% of hacked WordPress sites run an outdated version of the software’? When was the last time you updated the software running yore blog? 😉
6) Do you know who Christine Tremoule is?
2. The WordPress Name
Matt Mullenweg asked his friend, Christine Tremoule, to help him find the perfect name for the soon-to-be popular CMS. After discussing some ideas, Mullenweg explained that he wanted the name to reflect the revolutionary nature of the printing press, which made books accessible and affordable for people. Like the printing press, Mullenweg saw the power behind his blogging software, which allowed anyone to create and publish a blog. This led Tremoule to come up with the now famous name, WordPress.
7) Popular sites using WordPress:
- Zoom.us
- Microsoft.com
- Linux Newbie – since 1996 ( 😉 )
- WordPress.com
- Tradingview.com
- Etsy.com
- Udemy.com
- Zillow.com
- Salesforce.com
- Freepik.com
- Intuit.com
8) How Much of The Internet is WordPress
Conclusion
This post is going to be the Foundation Post for the new Web Hosting Info ‘n Ideas page. Have already started updating that page, and will add to it as I learn more about Web Hosting and such sites as this year of experimenting ‘n research continues.
LINUX IS LIKE A BOX OF CHOCOLATES – you never know what you’re gonna get!
Linux Newbie - since 1996 