What is happening with this site?

[dansmith65]

Jerry, $70/year for a .com is pricey! They can usually be had in the $10-$20 rage, like from DreamHost or Google Domains, for example.

I should also point out that hosting on your domain name gives you complete control, but an Amazon S3 or Backblaze B2 link will likely be valid forever, so a custom domain name is optional. Both of these options would likely end up being free for low-volume usage.

[Jerry]

Jerry, $70/year for a .com is pricey!

I should mention that the $70.00 includes the optional private registration ($15.00) and optional redirect (Also $15.00) and, since I use a WordPress template, I have an Akismet plug-in service (anti-spam) that is included in the base price of just under $40.00 per year.

There may be cheaper registrars out there but I have had good luck with Network Solutions over the years including 1 year free hosting at one point as part of a promotion for existing registrations.

My domain is hosted on a service called iPage, also not the cheapest but they offer a good set of web site tools and management options that I like.

Hosting your own site is not for everyone, but it is one of my hobbies and well worth it to me to pay the annual fees to make it happen. As a side benefit I can post photos in threads and not have to rely on a 3rd party hosting service and, over the years, I've created rally pages and photo archives of past rallies that I have attended. To me this is fun stuff!