What are the benefits of having your own site for your comic?

[60Six]

A broad question but one I've been meaning to ask. What exactly are the benefits of having your own site in addition to posting on sites like Tapastic and Webtoons? Like, is it a matter of getting more ad revenue or are there more benefits than that?
And second, how do people even FIND a comic on it's own site? I've gotten a decent amount of people who have found my comic thanks to Tapastic and once upon a time, Deviant Art, but I have NO clue how they would have ever found my comic if I had primarily been posting on it's own site. In addition to that, what makes a reader use a personal site over sites like Tapastic where it's also posted?

[katverwho]

With your own site, you can customize the look in order to suit your comic, and you can install analytics that are more precise than what Tapastic has. Depending on the layout of your comic Tapastic can also be sort of terrible - mine is horizontal (because I was thinking of it's future print run and how to make it stand out), and Tapastic has that whole sidebar taking up valuable space for me, and has restrictive dimensions. But!! Most comics are vertical, so this is only going to be a problem for a few people.
As for getting an audience, most of the comics I find and know are actually outside Tapastic. This might be specifically because I spend most of my time on twitter, and cartoonists there are more skeptical of places like Tapastic - I know a few people who have left here, and other sites, because of disagreements over various rules (typically when it comes to linking to external sites, especially for people running their comic on a main site, or who want more money going to patreon, I think).
There are probably many other reasons! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else has to say about this.

[Kayke]

I feel like there are so many benefits (but I also started out just on my own site, so I might be biased).
1. Place to put extra stuff: concept art, fan art, character pages
2. Back up in case something ever happens with the hosting sites and they either go down or I don't agree with their policies anymore or something
3. Some of my readers don't like sites like Tapastic and Webtoons and prefer reading in their RSS feeds
4. Easier to direct people to - "CreepComic.com" rolls off the tongue a little better than "Tapastic.com/series/creep"
5. More professional to show to potential clients
6. Like Kat said, it's nice to customize the look of the site

I don't think earning more revenue is a good reason to start your own site though, as you're probably going to be functioning at a loss for a while since webhosting can be kind of expensive.

As for advertising: Twitter and Tumblr are good sites to promo on. And advertising with Project Wonderful has worked nicely for me too and it pretty cheap as far as advertising goes!

[shazzbaa]

What exactly are the benefits of having your own site in addition to posting on sites like Tapastic and Webtoons?

I can't imagine moving my comic solely to Tapastic!

My website is pretty simple, but it's where my comic is meant to be seen, honestly. Tapastic makes it awkward to post extra content and organise side information and engage outside of the comic pages, while on my website it's easy -- I have a whole gallery of silly extra comics, old vote incentives posted along with my comic, an FAQ, a cast page with extra info on my characters (and silly things like birthdays and theme songs). My website feels like I invited people in to meet me so I can tell them a story; Tapastic feels like I shipped my artwork off to some gallery where it's going to hang on a white wall -- I feel very separated from my work. I'm glad to be featured there, and I can mill around and engage the people there in that gallery, but it's not my space, and it doesn't feel like my space.

Also agreeing hugely with Kayke on the benefits of having your own snazzy URL!

And second, how do people even FIND a comic on its own site?

Social media, word of mouth, collectives like ComicRocket and TopWebComics -- the same sorts of ways webcomics were found before Tapastic was a thing! Back in the day it was places like Deviantart or putting a link to my comic in all of my forum signatures (I used to be on a D&D forum where I posted sketches of my adventures, and a lot of people who enjoyed those checked out my work) -- and now it's more places like twitter and tumblr. It's the same as here; you participate in a community and engage with people!

In addition to that, what makes a reader use a personal site over sites like Tapastic where it's also posted?

People don't have to make a Tapastic account to comment on my website or subscribe to my RSS!

In general, there are a lot of people who don't like Tapastic -- whether they find the system confusing or don't like the layout or find the lag awkward or just don't want to make an account. For those people, the personal website is a lot more accessible!

[Jrej]

In regards of the website hosting fees.

I choose a free hosting site for my comic (Jimdo).
It allows me to keep all revenues from the ads whitout spending anything. (a fews cents per month )
Yes the address doesn't look that great but nowadays nobdy learns it by heart, they would add it to the favourites.

I have much lower audience on my site. Friends, family and a couple of people everyday.
I've been asking myself if I should keep it but in the end it's a good back up to have.
I post all the fan art I receive in there.

If it opens my content to another audience, why not?
It's not that much work!

[demthorshie]

For me there are a lot of benefits to owning a website for your own comic!

1. You can add different categories and concept art in their own pages. I also have character bios up on the website.

2. In case the site you're currently hosting your comic on goes down, you'll have your home page to upload the latest pages to. I remember one time, one of my comic's hosted sites went down for 6 months!

3. Easier to find, especially for people who want to find your comic for the first time.

[60Six]

Thank you all for the input!
I actually learned some stuff on some stuff on this thread and it's definitely gonna be something I have to look into. I think I'm gonna hold off until I revive my Tumblr and Twitter however, so my own site actually stands a snowball's chance in hell. :'D This definitely helped me decide that it's something I need to start looking into, though.

[Zanreo]

For me, I don't really have my "own site" as in own host (don't wanna pay for one myself just yet haha), but I use Comicfury which works pretty much the same in terms of layout freedom. And customizing my layout and having extra pages (why can't we even have extra pages here? Would be nice to add something like a cast page) is something kind of important for me - gives the site some extra personality. Plus in terms of content it's also pretty free, most stuff is allowed as long as it's tagged properly. I'd say CF is your best bet for site freedom if you don't wanna pay for your own host.

[El_Psy_Congroo]

I know a lot of people use Tapastic as a mirror for their comic and many people have their own website. I was just wondering how people here use it.

Do you build a fanbase on a mirror site and ask people to come to your own site? Do you earn more revenue from your own site? What are the ups and downs of maintaining it? What additional content, if any, do you host on it? What extra features do you like that you don't always get on hosting sites?

[Silerna]

I just use Tapastic as an host for my comic only. Simply because it's easier for people to find and to read/update it. But wished I had more translate options here. I see alot people using Facebook to promote their art and such. I prefer my own host here that's easy to update and customize, and also to put all my work on it.

[Shanny8]

Good question. I'm trying to get my own site eventually built...as long as I get the numbers(readership), it doesnt matter which site does it- my own or Tapastic.