How I Thought I’d Build a Business on WordPress.com… and Deleted It 24 Hours Later
A journey through niche confusion, unexpected costs, and why Substack ended up being the better fit.
About a month ago, I decided to give WordPress.com a shot and build a website. The plan was to create a platform where I could sell a product and make some money. But as I dove in, things didn’t quite go as planned.
Right from the start, I ran into a big hurdle: I had no clear idea of what my site should focus on. I hadn’t done much research, so I found myself unsure about what to write or which products to promote. Without a specific direction, the whole thing started to feel aimless, like I was just building a site for the sake of it.
Then there was the time commitment. Keeping up with the website was way more demanding than I expected, and I quickly realized I wasn’t all that passionate about it. The amount of effort required didn’t seem worth it, especially since I didn’t feel excited enough to keep pushing forward.
And let’s talk about the costs. Hosting on WordPress.com turned out to be pricier than I thought. Even the basic plan was $10 a month, and it came with a bunch of restrictions. Upgrading to access better features and plugins would only add to the expense, which felt hard to justify, especially considering my budget in Kenya.
I considered making money through ads, but that idea quickly lost its shine when I realized just how tough it would be to attract enough traffic to make any real money. Competing with countless other websites and optimizing everything for search engines just didn’t appeal to me. I want to write for people, not just to climb up Google’s rankings.
To be fair, WordPress.com does offer a lot of flexibility, and if you know what you’re doing, you can customize almost anything. But that freedom also comes with a learning curve, and as someone still figuring things out, it felt a bit overwhelming.
In the end, I realized it wasn’t worth the hassle. I wasn’t ready to pour more time, money, and energy into a project I wasn’t fully invested in. So, I decided to switch to Substack. It’s way simpler, more straightforward, and lets me focus on what I actually enjoy—writing. I can connect with readers directly, without worrying about plugins, themes, or hosting costs. Who knows, maybe I’ll even explore turning it into a paid subscription if I can build a loyal following.
For now, Substack feels like the right place for me. While WordPress.com seemed like a good idea at first, it only took a day for me to realize it wasn’t the right fit. I’m sticking with Substack, hoping to grow a community and maybe, just maybe, reach those 1,000 true fans.