Blogs have really become quite a compelling and powerful tool on the Internet these days. People have outgrown writing how they feel in diaries and most of them have opted to post their writings on blog sites instead; as they rightfully figure that it is where more people can read it and even leave a reply or comment.
A blog’s purpose can either be entertainment or business. Personal users who want to create their online identity or establish online presence and visibility need blog hosting services. Some of these folks opt for free blog hosting; while others look for self hosted blog platforms.
Which blog platform do I choose?
This is a common enough question, along with many typically related queries about how different a hosted blog is from the free ones and which platform is the best option. Is there really a difference between a free blog and paid blog hosting? Which is usually followed by another, more vital question: Which one is the right and better option?
Unfortunately, there isn’t really a universal better or right option. Each platform has its own pros and cons that you have to consider for the success of either the immediate or long-term blogging.
That’s precisely why choosing between a hosted blog and a free one can be quite a challenge. This article aims to shed some light on what benefits you can get from either blogging platform.
The Free Blog
One of the perks of having a free blog is that it does not cost you anything. These blogs are totally free and that’s the primary reason why they are much more popular compared to hosted blogs. Everybody and anybody can use them; just sign up, create your account and you’re good to go. Check out these advantages you can enjoy when you use a free blog platform.
- They offer simple templates; so setting up your own blog or webpage is definitely a piece of cake. You don’t really need to be a geek; if you have basic working knowledge of technology you can easily set the whole thing up all by yourself. From the default template, you can simply customize your own page by choosing other available selections of templates, colors, and layouts. For people who don’t have much know-how about layouts, free blogs are a sure hit.
- It’s simple and easy to run, once you get through the equally effortless task of setting up your blog. Sure, you have to learn some of the basic processes but it is relatively easy with the user-friendly features that lets you just fill in a few fields; and when you hit “Publish”… Voila! Your write-up is posted.
- Here’s one great advantage of free blog host that you would undoubtedly get excited about. Free blog platforms are placed on domains that already have good page rankings; thus, you get indexed in search engines quite quickly. You couldn’t expect this on stand alone or paid blog hosts – not that quick, anyway! Free blogs are among the speediest ways to get into search engines.
You get automatic updates. When the blog platform do updates it automatically does the same thing for your blog, since you are practically a “sub-domain”. You are saved the hassle of having to upload software into a server; plus you are assured that the update process is quite flawless.
Now before you jump on the wagon, you have to consider that free blog hosting also has its limitations and drawbacks. Take a look at these restrictions to better assess if a free blog host can really meet your needs and requirements.
- You have very limited customization capabilities with free blogs. You are restricted to the available customizable templates that it offers – you can’t go beyond those. The number of choices does vary from one platform to another – some may offer better options; still, it can really be a source of frustration.
- For people who are looking for uniqueness, it can be disappointing to discover that your design may end up having the same looks or appearance as those of the others. Again this is due to the limitations on default design templates. In free blogs everyone gets to use similar templates one way or another. It may be worth mentioning here that if you do want to come up with your own distinct design, you have to first learn CSS and HTML to be able to edit your templates.
- Sharing a generic URL with others makes you look less of a professional. Well, it’s not really that big a deal; but some people think that having your own URL lends a sense of professionalism to your blog, especially if you’re using it for business or in a professional way.
- And the greatest disadvantage of all is you don’t really, truly own the blog.
The Hosted Blog
[tweet_box design=”box_09″]The biggest benefit of having a self-hosted blog – is that it's like having your own piece of land![/tweet_box]
And here are some benefits of having a hosted blog:
- Having a hosted blog can help you create an official-looking environment for your blog site. Hosted blogs offer clients their own domain. Meaning, you are building your own name in the industry by making your blog distinct from the others.
- If you use a hosted blog you are given control over your own layout and the freedom to edit your webpage. For starters, existing templates are available, but you still have the option to choose your own design concepts and layout and customize it to reflect your own personality. Creativity and diversity meets here.
- While getting into search engines quickly is truly viable with free blogs; the crucial thing with hosted blogs is you gain more control of your visitors and the website traffic in the long haul, given that you own the domain, thus have complete control over your blog site.
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The benefits of hosted blogs understandably sound alluring, particularly if you’re planning to use your blog site to promote your business and earn substantial revenues there. However, it still has its weak points, despite the exclusivity it affords.
- If you are not techie or have no idea how to customize your own page, setting up may present a huge problem.
- Downloading databases and platforms are a little tricky. An expert or somebody with adequate knowledge can do these things for you but that can cost you some considerable bucks. It is probably a lot better for you to explore these aspects.
- Maintaining a hosted blog can really drain your pocket. It can be pricey. Some charge annual fees plus a separate cost for hosting fee; while others can easily tack monthly charges.
This is rather a condensed form of outlining the differences as well the benefits and drawbacks of both platforms. All the same, I do hope it has helped dispel some of the confusion and can help you arrive at a well-informed decision when you finally make a choice. Just remember, whatever your choice is, the purpose of putting up your blog is still the final determining factor. Along the lines of this purpose, bear in mind that your target audience should be your primary concern.
Recommended Reading:
- 16 Tips to Speed Up Your WordPress Blog – Infographic
- WordPress.com and WordPress.org
- Blogging 101: The Basic Blogging Tips That Will Take Your Blog to the Next Level
A good summary Garen, thank you so much. It’s actually astonishing how far some of the free platforms have come; most allow you to register your own domain; some even allow plugins and customization, but you made the most important point. It’s always a tradeoff, and it’s up to us to make sure we make a well-informed decision.
One prime example is Blogger, in which only had a couple of themes years ago. However, since then they have added a bunch of new themes, plugins, widgets, ect. Free blogging platforms are certainly changing a lot.
True Garen! Blogger.com, blog.com and Tumblr.com have been growing rapidly and currently there are millions of blogs on the web.
But over 50% of them are spam pages. Free blogging platform thus have lost reputation.
Some pretty good pointers here, but I wouldn’t be so afraid of a standalone blog based on hosting prices. You can get good hosting for less than a cup of coffee a day. Much less sometimes. Platforms like WordPress have made it really easy and a lot of hosting companies have integrated WordPress so well, all you have to do is press a button to install it. There are tons of excellent free WordPress themes and a premium theme is usually a minimal cost. My vote is for standalone blog if I had to vote by price alone.
One pointer to keep in mind if you are going to pay for a hosting service is a one step installation. For instance, Hostgator, GoDaddy, Lunarpages, InMotion, Fatcow, etc. all make it very easy to install your own blog on your domain.
Very well said Garen. You are probably one of the few that I found that actually highlights the pros and cons of free hosting. Most will jump in directly with recommending self hosted blogs sometimes only in the effort to maybe justify their own decision. I have used both actually. Started my blog through blogger and worked my way to make some changes to make it look more unique. I even had people saying that they thought that I was on WP. I did use the custom domain feature that blogger provided though and this is one thing that many people can still opt for prior to going to a self hosted blog. Ultimately, you are right about the free hosting platform’s ability to grow and at this point, it is wise to think about moving to a more controlled environment. The other drawback that I found about free hosting is that it can be taken away from you, something that does not happen if you pay for your own hosting.
Thanks for your kind words :). Free platforms are great for newbies, and people that just want to learn. Nobody says you have to pay money to learn. In fact, the best things in life are free :).
I really enjoyed your review, you gave detailed information about both. Almost six years ago, I started blogging. Initially, I went with Typepad’s paid service, but after a few months I decided to take advantage of the free WordPress installation that was available with the hosting service (Lunar Pages) that I was using.
About a year ago, I decided to check out the free service too, and made a free WordPress site, although it was nice, I couldn’t get used to the limitations. I moved that site, along with a much newer site, Celebrated Life, to my hosting provider.
Good post, Garen
A really nice write up on the pros and cons of both sides of the often debated subject. I’ve been self-hosted from day one, simply because of my long-term business goals. But you are absolutely correct about people who just want to learn or test drive the craft to see if it’s something they want to continue.
The fact remains, blogging is not for everyone and the free services allow people to try things out without spending money.
As is often the case, people fall in love with blogging and end up being quite successful.
I used to have a free account at wordpress.com and set up my blog there.. found out they support adsense only if you purchase a different host server. I gave up my blogspot account since I’m not satisfied with the features and I often hear wordpress is the right choice for CMS… editing my layout is so much easier than when I did at blogspot. It was so hard looking over the long list of code just to insert one line of coding to blogspot.
Another great thing about WordPress is how easy it is to switch out templates without having to go through the trouble of redoing your whole site. I am a designer and know first hand that the bill can get quite high very quickly 🙂
Thanks Garen,
Just started a new blog about the health concerns surrounding aspartame and sodium fluoride on the free blogger platform – but thinking of moving over to self-hosting at some stage for the reasons outlined above & by Ditesco.
Best wishes
Will
Sounds good, let me know if you need any help setting up the blog. Can do it for you. 🙂
Nice Comparison Garen.I guess that if anyone want to make blogging as a career then he/she should go for self-hosted blogs.For me WordPress is excellent,it have lots of plugins, attractive themes to make your blog perfect and make you productive too.
Great points, I am not a big fan of free blogs, however I do have several. I use Posterous and Tumblr as was to market my blog and add things to those blogs I normally would not add to my main one. I get a lot of traffic this way and I have a way to blog things I may not go with my niche but I still want to write about them.
As for my clients, I never recommend them for businesses, but for personal, that are not sure they want to stick with blogging or just want a place to play around I recommend starting there and then if they like it spend the time and money going with a hosted account on WordPress and if you choose the right host they will move and configure your new blog free of charge…
I started my first blog on Blogger.com and after seeing many advertising company’s and opps on various blog paying platforms specifically mention “no myspace, blogger of free hosted blogs qualified” I realized that a self hosted wordpress was the way to go to allow for monetization flexibility.
True that is an interesting point. You will have advertisements which are beyond your control on free blogging platforms.
Free blog is like living in a rented apartment, doesn’t matter how much change you make in that apartment but by the end it will not be yours. Where as self hosted blogs are more like apartment which is yours and what ever changes or investment you make it will be yours.
Moral of the story: get a self hosted WordPress blog 🙂
I hear you!
When i started blogging, I signed up for a free one at i.ph. I thought the short domain is better. I also had blogspot blogs. Since you can make a lot of them, I made each for every niche I personally know of. Gmail at that time was just by invitation only. When most of the ad pool networks exclude subdomains, I started buying my own from the earnings I made from blogging. I find Godaddy good (despite what others are saying and since I never had any bad experience with it) and I almost always get a free hosting at Aushost. Sometimes at 000webhost because of a bigger space allotted but I love Aushost because of the personal customer service they give, even for a free one.
Hey C5, these are some resources I’ve never heard mention of before. Thanks for sharing them. I’ve always heard bad things about free hosting so I’m glad it works out well for you.
Great review, I started off with blogger because it was the easiest to work with but I also bought a domain name.
Ryan, have you read my post about replacing the default commenting system on Blogger with Intense Debate and CommentLuv? Take a look and let me know what you think. Thanks.
Thank you for this very clear and balanced article. It’s a breath of fresh air to hear that you dont have to have one popular, free hosted theme to do well.
I’ve found there are many advantages to have a “free” blog at WordPress.com, first and foremost in my case is the ease from the technological advantage, then there’s the traffic flow, the community, excellent software and wonderful technical support. I had to get the CSS update to get the blog look I wanted and chose to have my own domain name but together that’s only pennies a day. I’m not planning to monetize my blog in the near future, so this suits me very well. There are limits but it works well. And some bloggers at WordPress.com have large followings so it’s possible.
Sandra, I’m glad to see that you are so pleased with WordPress.com. Ms. Ileane Speaks is still my baby even though I’ve haven’t added new posts since I moved here to my own domain. Check out WordPress.com is Still The Bomb! when you get a chance. I think you’ll enjoy it. Thank you!
I currently use Blogger, and the template options have really picked up recently with the new ‘Blogger in draft’ design features. I am thinking about moving to my own domain (some of the ones I want are available) but I’m really worried about losing all of my followers and, frankly, the SEO I’ve built up over the years. It’s a difficult choice!
Hey Peter,
Have you considered putting a link on the Blogger hosting one, directing to a newly hosted blog. I am not sure if you could do it, but you might be able to upload a htacces file to redirect to the new one. I am kind of rusty on my blogger stuff though :).
Garen,thanks. You’ve highlighted the inherent problem with hosted blogs. I have no access to the underlying code in Blogger – I can’t therefore update the htaccess file. I’ve also noted the restrictions that some advertisers place on hosted blogs (ridiculous in my view if the site they are advertising on is of a high quality, but I can appreciate that a blanket ban cuts out most of the link spammers they might encounter) but that doesn’t affect me as I am currently negotiating direct deals with advertisers.
well i have used free hosting couple of time for my self and for some Non Profit Organisations but they all were non commercial in nature.
there are number of cons for free hosting as you explain in article. here are some more pros and cons for free and paid hosting http://www.tocreateasite.com/free_hosting.html
jas
Free Web hosting is a great option if you want to establish an online presence and don’t have the money to invest in paid hosting. I would recommend free web hosting for beginners or those who have a personal site or non commercial in nature.
Exactly. I think people get caught up in blogging for money they forget that scores of bloggers out there do it for fun! Thanks.
thanks you are right.
If you’re going to take the risk with free hosting, use a service that let’s you export your content so you can port it elsewhere. Otherwise, you can potentially lose all of your content if you are taken down. My .02.
Hi Emory. I exported WordPress.com posts without a hitch when I started this blog. It was the exact same process I used to export posts from BuddyPress. Easy peasy.
Thanks for you input.
Good comparison and based on this post I think I am going to go with my own blog with my own hosting. Does anyone know of anything about blog templates for me to accomplish this task?
In my opinion, if had a firm blogging plan, a blogger should choose the hosted blog. In contrary, if it is only for trial, the free blog is the answer.
Thanks for a nice and simple article. In looking through the comments and the article it might be useful to mention that ‘free’ blog services can be upgraded to something that is in-between the customization ability of private hosting…more templates to choose from, features, file storage limits, ability to upload large files via FTP etc.
~paul
Excellent point Paul 🙂
Hi Garen,
You have written about both the free and the paid platforms in a very balanced way.
I was using a free Blogger blog for a year or two, but then the last two cons that you have mentioned forced me to have a self-hosted blog. Further, I was seeing those WordPress users having so many advantages over Blogger users. So finally, I started a new blog.
Hello Garen,
Great post and informative information on Hosted Blogs vs. Free Ones. To me the most important factor is start blogging whether it is on a hosted site or free site. If you plan to start branding yourself do it today do not wait till you have the money to buy a domain and hosting.
I started out on wordpress.com then a few months latter I switched over to wordpress.org. One of the biggest advantages to a hosted site is you own it, so if something happens all your hard work is not lost. You do have to make a point to back up your site even if it is hosted. I really enjoyed starting with wordpress.com but one of my partners told me to get the hosted site for the reason I mentioned above. A hosted site also gives you the flexibility of purchasing a advanced theme vs the themes that wordpress.org offers.
Another key factor in choosing between a Hosted Blogs vs. Free Ones is the money/cost factor. Not everyone can purchase a domain and pay the hosting fees which are relatively low, which is really relative to each person.
If you plan to do business on the internet and generate a passive or active income you have to have a blog, To me hosted is the way to go but free is fine until you can move over to hosted. Just Get Started!
Yeah, I started in affiliate marketing on WordPress. I had articles on weight loss and everything. With affiliate links. Made some money; WordPress shut it down for affiliate links. All my work was gone in an instant :(.
The reason I bought my domain instead of just using wordpress.com is their inability to accept blogs that will be used for monetization. I have nothing against that and it is their right (so I guess Blogger won over this point). My point is, read the TOS FIRST before you sign up for anything.
Cecile that’s a great point. The first blog I started is on WordPress.com but it wasn’t until about 2 weeks after I signed up when I realized that I couldn’t have ads on the blog. There is so much to learn when you’re new the TOS is not something you get around to reading right away.
Oh man, Ileane I am with you all the way. There are so many TOS that sites put in to protect themselves. Not harping on WordPress by any means; they are great service that has helped so many people. But, I also run a site at Report Online Scams and a lot of the stories I get are from people that get conned out of money, only with fine print stating there TOS.
Hey Garen, that’s a nice site you got there. Thanks for sharing it. I’m going to take a look.
@Kretchmer: In fact everyone can purchase a domain name nowadays and everyone can pay shared hosting for just a few quids a month. So comparing free blogs and self-hosted blogs based on price is not a good argument. And with tumblr, you do own what you publish on their site at all times.
Perhaps the best advantage of free blogs is that you do not have to worry about the technical aspects, updates, implementation, backup, etc. And the disadvantage would be that you are restricted in what you can do.
over the last few days.. i have been looking for some nice information on the main difference between a self hosted and free blog and this is simply the most comprehensive of all my findings on this topic. great work man!
Richard,
Thanks a lot. I wanted to stay clear of the bashing of free blogging which does have a purpose :). Can also use them to build link juice to your hosted blog 🙂
I started out on Blogger but moved to a self-hosted WordPress blog about 14 months later. I still enjoy editing and playing with Blogger templates, but I wanted more control over my blog, so I switched.
Everyone has different goals when it comes to blogging. For some, Blogger, or another free alternative, can suit their needs fine. They may just want to post without having to worry about all the “techie” stuff. Others, like myself, want complete control over every aspect of their blog, and so choose a self-hosted blog.
The one great thing about blogging is that there is something for everyone.
I know i am so late to read this post.
but thank you for this excellent information.
I hope to get a lot of good information like this here
Always Always Always go for self hosted blogs. Using a free option like blogger is not as glamourous as you might think. It would be hard to rank high in google with . blogger at the end of your domains
Hi Chris. Some people don’t realize that you can use blogger with our own domain name too. Once you acquired a domain you simply go to your blogger dashboard and add the custom domain on the “publishing” tab. Thanks for your comment.
I do have to disagree with the part about not getting ranked in Google with the words blogger after it. It would actually be easier to get ranked because it is already on an authority site.
At least that is my take on it.
Hey Garen,
Great summary. I will sometimes recommend free hosting for people who aren’t sure they want to blog (trying it out). There is no point in wasting a domain name and the cost of hosting for a year if only to stop one month into it. Since blogging is a long term thing, people should test out their commitment to blogging as well as their ability to get out and network and promote, before going through all of the self-hosted process.
Cheers,
Tia
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Good summary. I agree that it all comes down to flexibility. Once a person wants to take control of their blog and really start customizing, hosted is the way to go. for something simple, it’s hard to beat free so there is certainly a place for the free services.
This was a great article – succinct and to the point – I also enjoyed the relevant comments – thank you 🙂
Also most free blogs (or all) don’t allow for adsense and some other ways of monetization. With a hosted blog you can do whatever you like, so if you monetize your blog then at least you can earn (a part of) your costs back.
Mostly a free blog is for less serious and/or less professional bloggers. But if you become more popular you will probably still switch to host your own blog.
Though this one is quite old article, I happened to be here while searching for similar topic for my friend to refer. Blogspot Vs WordPress is the main debate happening among various groups almost all the time!
I am sure my friend will get better idea after reading this one along with couple of other I will be sending him.
Thanks 🙂
Great article and great points!
In my opinion, when you have absolutely no idea about what you are going to blog about then free services could be wise choice.
On the other hand, if you well structured plan about your blog (for example business blog or blog for helping other people) then it’s wise to use the paid hosting.
Paid hosting is cheaper, safer and in most cases you have unlimited bandwidth.
Amazing article!
You really shared some really good ideas. Free services are a really good choice when you don’t know what to write about.
But when you want to create a blog for your business, I believe its best to use paid hosting. This way you are more in control of your blog and it looks more professional.
Plus paid hosting costs less, is safer to use and you can have unlimited bandwidth.
Nice article! I always go for paid hosting services. Had some bad experience with some of the free options out there but maybe I was just unlucky…
Free things will never pay for long term. Online business is not easy and we should invest some money on domain, web hosting, theme to make our website’s presence good on internet.
Good comparison . paid hosted blog always better than free one. As well as some features are only applicable for premium holder
I think that is sage advice. Getting your bearings and finding which direction you’re going with your blog can take awhile. In the meanwhile, using Blogger allows you to focus more on content and building your audience. After awhile, you may want to customize more than Blogger allows and decide to make the switch.
You’re just so dang smart and helpful!