How to Deactivate Your WordPress Blog on a Shared Hosting Plan
I think we can all agree that running a blog now days is pretty easy. Just set up a blog with WordPress and you’re good to go. However, sharing hosting plans can make things a bit more complicated. This article will go over some of the basics of deleting a WordPress blog while still having your website up and running.
1. Understand The Limitations Of A Shared Hosting Plan
If you’re new to the world of blogging then I would suggest going with a shared hosting plan. These are hosting plans where your website and the other websites you’re sharing resources with, are all hosted on the same server. This can be extremely convenient as you don’t have to worry about setting up separate servers for your website and for your blog. You also don’t have to worry about payment as your bills will be split between the different websites you’re running. This is generally the preferred route for new bloggers as it’s a lot less expensive than renting a VPS or dedicated server.
However, there are a few downsides to shared hosting that you should be aware of. First, you’re limited by the resources available on the server. This means you might have to wait a while for your site to load, especially if there are a lot of other sites on the server waiting for their turn to load. Second, you’re sharing the resources of a server with a lot of other people, so if one of those people decides to knock off some web-based craftiness, your site could be at risk of getting infected with malware.
2. Back Up Your Blog Before You Delete It
In case something goes wrong and you end up losing all of your blog’s content, it’s good practice to make a backup before you delete it. This way, you’ll still have your original content to restore from. There are a couple of ways you can do this. First, you can use a free WordPress plugin called WP-Archive. This will automatically create an archive containing all of your blog’s posts. The next time you log in to your WP dashboard, you’ll find a link to the archived version of your blog. You can also use a service like BackWPup to create automatic daily backups. If you don’t want to use a plugin or service to back up your content then you can manually back up your blog posts and other important content before you delete it. This will ensure you have a way to restore everything you need, in case something happens.
3. Only Delete The Blog If Necessary
One of the biggest issues that can arise from running a WordPress blog on a shared hosting plan, is the issue of over-population. If a lot of your blog’s content is becoming outdated or it’s just not relevant to your target audience then it might be a good idea to delete it. However, you should only do this if you’re absolutely certain that nothing can be salvaged from it. If there is any chance at all that you can recover some of your content from the trash bin, then you should absolutely not be deleting it. Keeping unwanted blogs online is a great way to drive traffic to them, which in turn can increase the likelihood of them generating revenue. There are a few WordPress plugins that can help you track the content that is most frequently viewed and used by your audience. This will help you determine which content to keep and which to discard. As much as possible, you should try and avoid deleting any blogs that are generating revenue, as you’ll most likely run into issues with WordPress’ terms of service once you surpass a certain amount of blog posts.
4. Identify The Keywords And Maintain A Relevant Blog
Every blogger’s dream is to find the perfect balance between content quality and quantity. Creating loads of high-quality content is incredibly beneficial, as it will make your site stand out among the millions of other sites out there. However, producing a lot of content can quickly turn into a chore, especially if you’re not finding the right audience for it. This is why you should try to find the perfect blend of content and when to delete the content that isn’t serving you well. There are a few things you can do to make sure your content is relevant to your target audience. First, conduct keyword research. Look for terms and phrases that are getting a ton of searches each month and see if there is any content out there that is closely related to these terms. If you find that there is a lot of content out there that is closely related to your chosen keywords, then it might be a good idea to either write your own content that is specific to your chosen keywords or use the keywords in the titles of your blog posts and other content that you create.
The next step is to make sure that your content is relevant to your chosen keywords by analyzing the content that is currently available online. Look for blogs that are similar to your own and see how they are using the keywords that you’ve identified. You can also use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to find the most popular keywords and see how others are using them. Reviewing the content that is currently available online and identifying the keywords that are most frequently used brings you one step closer to having relevant content to share with your audience.
5. Minimize The Number Of Blogs You Have Online
Just because your blog is backed up doesn’t mean that you should immediately go ahead and create a new one. If you’re finding that your blog is getting a lot of attention and is doing exceptionally well, then it could be a good idea to take some time and evaluate the other blogs out there that you’ve created. Looking at the various metrics that WordPress tracks, you can get an idea of the level of success that your blog is currently enjoying, as well as the amount of interest that it is generating.
If you’ve got several highly successful blogs that you’ve created, then it can be a bit overwhelming to decide which one to keep and which to delete. The solution is to focus on bringing the best possible content to your audience and only posting occasional pieces that you feel is of high quality. By limiting the amount of content that you have online, you’ll have a better idea of when to post the next piece. You can also use plugins that help you schedule content, so you don’t have to worry about posting when you feel like it or when some content happens to be viable at the moment that you decide to publish it.
6. Monitor Your Blog’s Performance
If you’ve been running a blog for a while then you’re probably not one to worry about, however, if you’re still testing the waters then it’s a good idea to start paying more attention to how well your blog is performing. There are several different metrics that you can use to evaluate the performance of your blog, however, the three that I find to be the most important are your average monthly visits, the amount of unique visitors that come to your site each month, and the amount of revenue that your blog is generating.
The first thing to do when you start paying more attention to your blog’s performance is to set a goal for yourself. Know what you’re aiming for; for example, you might want to shoot for 500 unique monthly visitors or you might want to reach the point where you’re making $2,000 a month from your blog’s earnings. Setting goals for yourself will give you something to work towards and determine how much you’ve improved in the meantime. You can also use the set goals that you’ve established to plan out the next piece that you’ll write for your blog. Monitor your blog’s performance over time and determine if you’re on the right track or if you need to make some adjustments.