I did it! This weekend I decided to switch over A Veteran Runnah to a WordPress.org self-hosted blog.
Why?
I was very happy at WordPress.com, it did most everything that I wanted and I didn’t have to worry about the back-end management issues. However, the confusion and uncertainty over what constitutes a “Sponsored” post, due to WordPress.com’s recent change to their Terms of Service (TOS), was the tipping point.
To be perfectly blunt, I don’t want to take any chances that by reviewing a product that was provided as a free sample to review, that WordPress.com might suspend my blog. Maybe I am over-reacting, but this change in their TOS, based on the interpretation that I was being told, would limit certain opportunities that I might have in the future and that just wasn’t acceptable to me.
I had been thinking about doing this next year, but with the confusion about that issue, was the tipping point. So I contacted Ryan from WP SiteCare and set up for him to do the transfer this weekend. Based on what I have learned I decided to go with HostGator as the web host
The transfer is now complete, Ryan did a great job on the transfer and from what I have seen everything is up and running correctly. I like the new theme and hope that you will as well, now I have to go ahead do a few tweaks to get this theme set up the way that I actually want it.
However, I just ddn’t like the way my old header looks with this theme, so bear with me while I experiment with different ones over the next week.
I am pretty excited about this change and know that I have a lot of stuff to learn over the next month or so (no I can’t do it overnight), the ability to have my blog more reflect who I am versus a stock theme. So please be patient with me, as I learn some of the intricacies of managing a self-hosted blog.
The other thing I am not going to overload my sidebar or header with all kinds of distracting ads, a tasteful ad or two for products that I actually use and like, might eventually find their way here as affiliate links, but nothing overboard.
So the next adventure in my blogging adventure begins 
.
What words of advice for a newbie self-hosted blog owner. Are there any Plugins that I HAVE to have?
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Amber @ ExSoyCise
October 29, 2012 at 1:43 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Congrats on moving your blog over! You will love it! I moved mind over this year and it has been great. I can’t wait to see what kind of heading you decide to use!
hshawjr
October 29, 2012 at 6:32 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Thanks. I believe that I will too, once I get used to the differences.
Gracie
October 29, 2012 at 8:47 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
I don’t have any advice, but give you credit for stepping out and moving your blog- the learning curve part can be frustrating but I see you already have things fairly figured out. I enjoy reading about your running successes, trials and tribulations, all very motivating!
hshawjr
October 29, 2012 at 8:55 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
Gracie – thank you so much, like anything, when you do something new it is scary a few months down the road, it will be just fine
. Thank you for the huge compliment.
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October 28, 2012 at 10:19 pm (UTC -4) Link to this comment
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October 2012 - AVR Reviewed - A Veteran Runnah | A Veteran Runnah
November 1, 2012 at 8:50 am (UTC -4) Link to this comment
[...] Runnah is now a self-hosted blog!!! Yes I finally took the step and you can read about it here: A Veteran Runnah is Now Self-Hosted. I am excited about the change and the opportunities that I can now pursue without worrying about [...]