Why I Broke Up With WordPress
I already have a #WordPress blog (I won't link it cause it won't be around for long). I pay $84 CDN/year (these were as of when I signed up) for the Starter plan. Another $36 for ad-free. You're already indulging me in reading the whack ramblings I put on here, I'm not gonna make you scroll past ads for bro supplements and penis pills. And then, I pay another $26 for domain registration/mapping.
WordPress has many features, but I use very few of them. I don't care about monetization, and neither am I expecting a million views a week, so I don't need an Azure cluster and a load-balancing content delivery network.
And... I pay all that and I still can't customize the stylesheet which really cheeses me off – unless I upgrade to a business tier that permits plugins (which I'd need to enable ActivityPub connection). Seriously, all I wanted to do is change the font used by my WordPress Theme for codeblocks to be an actual monospaced font. Nope, couldn't do it. That's horseshit.
So what DO you want?
I want to write stuff. I want it to be out there. I want to have drafts that kick around until Im ready to publish them. I want to customize my CSS stylesheet. I want basic formatting, nothing too special. Host images with it, not just reference by it. Integration with the #Fediverse, but only so my content shows up there. Maybe someone (mostly just me) can follow it, and I can boost or reference it. I'm not looking for comments on my blog (yet.)
Most importantly, get my stuff in my own hands. Host it myself. Not have to be held captive by anyone else.
Stuff I don't need, want, or care about
- monetization – I have a day job, I write for fun
- ads – heck with those things.
- membership, loyalty or patreon gatekeeping – dunno bout you, but if the first thing I get when I follow an enticing link to your content is a Substack popup to subscribe to your mailing list or join some entry-level tier of support, I'll rethink whether I really want to read your stuff, even if there's a link underneath to skip it (in teeny tiny print)
Sooo.... I did a bit of research, had a spare computer kicking around, and decided to host my own WriteFreely instance. You're looking at it.
Here's what you should know before YOU make the jump to WriteFreely – either a hosted account (Write.As or any of the open instances) – its not WordPress; know what you're getting into beforehand.
And..
Here's how you setup your own WriteFreely instance if you want to self-host.
If self-hosting isn't your thing, I might be talked into a trial setup for you... here... msg me at @tezoatlipoca @mas.to after you read the About page.