While social media might have tons of cons, one thing we can all agree on is that it gave a platform for many content creators, which can be good or bad, but that’s for another topic.

Bloggers in Egypt now don’t even own a blog, with many even unaware of what a blog is, and Instagram just replaced actual blogs. And Vlogging became the norm. 

With that said, it’s time to admit that social media platforms don’t care about Egyptian content creators unless they have millions of followers and only produce child-friendly content. Even then, not all of them are liked by social media platforms.

The algorithm made it near impossible for anyone to grow organically. The main problem now, however, isn’t the algorithm…

The problem is that we’re getting censored on Social Media, and that should make things scary for content creators, bloggers, and regular influencers.

The Palestine supporters censorship and the so-called “glitch.”

Palestinians living in the Sheikh Jarrah were live posting and streaming the events happening during the early days of the clashes on their social media, including posts on the violence and evictions. 

Users, however, found their posts, photos, and videos removed or their accounts blocked.

Shortly after, supporters of the Palestinian cause found their accounts either banned or getting almost no impressions.

We are noticing the drop in numbers, especially with stories views, ourselves at El-Shai since we started posting about Palestine.

Instagram and Twitter blamed technical errors for deleting posts mentioning the possible eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem.

“We are so sorry this happened. Especially to those in Colombia, East Jerusalem, and Indigenous communities who felt this was an intentional suppression of their voices and their stories – that was not our intent whatsoever,” Instagram said.

*cough*BULLSHIT*cough*

Social Media consultant Hana Zuhairr from @disruptcairo made great content about censorship and how you can overcome them, so you might want to check @disruptcairo if your algorithm is affected during this month.

Now, politics or not, this made us know that our accounts can get shut at any time, with no backups whatsoever! 

Our accounts can get deleted or even banned for life, and platforms will blame it on a glitch. 

This is why all Egyptian content creators and bloggers NEED to have websites besides their social media accounts!

When you have your own website, you’re in control of your own narrative, and you always have your own backup. 

This isn’t the only reason you should get a website, though. The benefits are endless, and we’ll take you to step by step on why you should consider having one.

First off, content on social media has an expiration date. On websites, they don’t!

Social media content is hard to look for after its publishing date. With websites, your content will be easy to find afterward through search engines. 

How many times have you googled something and got your information from a page that’s dated back to 2017 or even earlier?

We can go on and on about SEOs (Search Engine Optimization) and their benefits, but this needs its own article.

So we’ll leave you with this top-notch article by Search Engine Journal: 12 Reasons Why Your Business Absolutely Needs SEO

Through Websites and SEOs, you’re opening doors for new audiences, especially international audiences. 

With Social Media, you’re limited with a way to get audiences. But what if you make content about a topic that’s of interest to people in other countries? 

They won’t even know you exist or care to know through social media knowing you’re from another country. 

With websites, your first click through social media, you don’t know or care who is behind it as long as it has the information you need. 

Websites will take your brand to the next level when it comes to professionalism.

If you want to make money off your content, having a website will make you look like a real pro in front of your clients. 

Whether you’re creating content under your personal name, or a brand name, a website will elevate you.

A website will give you more space to tell people who you are

Your Instagram bio or even Facebook is very limited in telling your story.

Clients and followers alike want to know more about who you are and what you offer. 

The “About Us” section of any website is super important, and as a content creator, you need to utilize it.

You don’t need to hire a web developer, nor do you need to be experienced to build your website.

I’m the best example of this; I built El-Shai.com myself with almost zero experience.

I had experience with using WordPress with previous jobs but not building it. Just adding articles, and that’s it. 

If you don’t know what WordPress is, it’s the world’s most popular, and in my opinion, easiest website builder.

It took me a month of reading about developing the website through various articles from Google, YouTube videos, and many trials and errors. 

And keep in mind, El-Shai has multiple users, and anyone can register on the website, which made me take a lot more time to ensure security is as good as it gets.

If I was launching a regular blog/website, I think it would’ve taken me a week, tops.

You don’t have to pay to have a website.

Many hosting services do offer free hosting, like wordpress.com, for example. 

While this is not a flexible option, it works! 

You won’t have a domain name (.com), however. But it’s still a website.

Domains aren’t as expensive as they once were

In fact, websites are pretty cheap. Prices can go from as low as $0.99 a month!

With that said, we do recommend getting a hosting service and domain name from the same service. 

This option is still not expensive at all! If you google cheap hosting services, you’ll find plenty of options. 

We recommend, however, putting a little extra money into the hosting service if you want to take it seriously. 

If you don’t want to get into the hassle of having your own website, you should consider contributing to existing online platforms. 

Many local and international platforms accept contributions. 

We do, and we know several others in the region do, accept contributions. You have Identity Magazine accepting contributions as well.

The articles will be published under your name, and you can have the option to link back to your social media as well.

With all of that said, you will still need social media to promote your website.

Just make sure you have your backup, get the advantage of other services, and don’t leave all your eggs in one basket!