Everyone has started a website in some manner. Some started on a free host and others invested right away in their own hosting. However, what is best for you? This article will go over hosted blogs versus free hosted blogs and cover the pros, cons, and in between.
What is a free hosted blog?
A free hosted blog is one that you sign up with a service like WordPress.com or even Google Blogger and they automatically put together an account you can start blogging with right away. Of course, they are free, but you have to agree to their terms of service. Some of their basic services are limiting, and even some of their paid services if you wish to upgrade can be as well. Free hosting is great for beginning bloggers trying to test the waters and see if they would like to become a serious blogger.
Please note that in a previous post I did do a side by side comparison of both WordPress and Blogger as free hosted services.
What is self-hosted blogging?
Having a self-hosted blog is where you have bought your own web hosting, your own domain, and installed your blog service of choice, like WordPress (WordPress.org), Joomla, Drupal, or any other type of content management service or program available.
You have more control over what you can put on your website in regards to design and content. This is normally a good idea to invest in for bloggers who have decided to become more serious about blogging and want to have more control over what they syndicate or even to monetize their site.
The Pros of Free hosting a blog
Blogging on a free host can be great because it allows bloggers to not have to shell out money. For startups, this is great as it can be a testing ground to see how the blog itself progresses. Of course, another is that most free blog hosts do to some extent have some great features that are just enough for newbie bloggers to be satisfied in using. For example, both WordPress and Blogger have some tools to add more functionality.
The Pros of Self-hosting a blog
Self hosting a blog gives the blogger a lot more control over what can be put on their site. There are more choices functionality to add, like more plugins and more theme choices. Aside from being able to download and install more pre-made themes, the blog owner can install their own theme or one they paid for that was made by a web designer.
Having a domain gives the blogger a little more search engine optimization oomph in comparison to free hosting. The domain itself adds more authority to the blogs that are mapped on free hosts to a sub domain. Most of the content management services are open source and actively worked on, so the scripts are always updating… and normally are free. Most of these CMS also come SEO ready out of the box, or if they do not, they have modules or plugins that can be installed to help.
The Cons of Free hosting a blog
The downside of free hosting a blog is that bloggers have to be actively aware of the site’s terms of services. Normally bloggers have failed to abide with these and have had their service terminated. Some of the most common violations have been: affiliate links, accepting and posting paid to blog opportunities, and even inappropriate content not acceptable according to the host’s terms of service.
Free hosting, as much as the price seems right for a lot of people, it can be very limiting- both as a user and for the reader. For example, Blogger has a strange comment system that many bloggers like to limit their comment system to only accept logged in Google Blogger users. In WordPress, some scripts are not allowed to be pasted into the widgets.
Not to forget, another con is that some forms of advertising are not allowed on some free hosts. Once an account has been flagged to be suspended, a lot of times it is difficult to retrieve old information. It is gone. For some bloggers, this can be alarming.
The Cons of Self-hosting a blog
Normally the cons of self-hosting a blog is usually cost, but that should not be bad if the right web host is chosen. The other is learning to install, and also use a content management service. For those bloggers not so savvy in HTML, it might be a bit overwhelming as it is needed from time to time. However, most CMS do have a visual editor and with some exploration and playing with the backend, especially in WordPress, becoming familiar with blogging comes with time.
While these are some of the pros and cons, I would love to hear your take on free hosted blogs versus self-hosted blogs. Are you self hosted or on a free host? In your opinion, what are some of the pros and cons?
I’m probably like most bloggers, I started off with free hosting and then moved as I became aware of the possibilities of having a self-hosted blog, advertising for one.
Being able to have the freedom to earn from your blog is a must, after all it pays for the hosting, my advice to anyone serious about blogging is: Get a self hosted blog, it’s easy and the best way to go 😉
I remember a blog who ranked #1 for a very competitive keyword but is using Blogspot. His blog got deleted by Google due to duplicate contents accused.
If I was the owner of that blog, I will move to WP and get my own hosting. He didn’t get his blog back and decided to quit blogging instead.
Hi,
I would like to say, this is a very very good post with necessary information.
I like it very much. Please, write more for everyone.
I wonder if it makes a difference in terms of search engine ranking. Does a blog hosted at a popular blogging site give you an edge?
Free blog hpsts won;t get you anywhere. It’s a lot harder to keep up tahn your regular wordpress, self-hosted blog
Greetings: First time visiting your site and I must say I love it!! This is a great post–certainly helpful for those who are considering creating a website of their own. Many people don’t know that there are 2 different ways to have a site hosted, let alone the pros and cons–I certainly didn’t know when I initially thought about starting a site! Plus, you make the information easy to understand, too! Thanks so much for sharing!
The information provided in this article regarding blogs is very useful. To know the difference between free hosted blog and self-hosted blogging is important to decide the host we can select for our blog. Thanks for sharing this kind of information.
Hi Nile,
I would have to say that self hosting a blog is almost imperative these days. I seem to put more credibility into a blog that is self hosted over one that is free. They just seem to hold more weight to me.
Thanks again,
John
I have both. My main site is self host using Drupal, I have 2 others using WordPress and then I have a blogspot blog as well. They all serve their various purposes. The blogspot blog does seem to get some of the authority of the main url as well.
Overall I think having Self-hosting a blog potential of making money out ways the cost, even with restrictions from google. I agree using the right web host would marginalize the costs
I do not recommend anyone to have a blog hosted on free platform,.I had a blog on blogger and it just got deleted without any reason and specification by Blogger and all my post got deleted. From that day I never recommend anyone to have free blogger.
I am thinking to Run a Tech blog from Blogspot platform. You have given a great write up here. Apart from customization and certain things i feel like blogspot blogs do have more ways to attract more traffic at the same time excellent SEO capabilities. What say ?
Robin
I belive that Free hosting is indeed no way to a successful blogging.. But for a little beginning stage its fine for going to that platform too.
i think self hosting blogs are better,because you have full entrance to the code and can chenge it the way you want!
Free hosts are a good introduction to blogging, but as you stated, it’s a good way to lose all your posts and not something I’d advise anyone who wants to be serious about blogging. One never knows when they’ll violate the TOS. I’m sure I’ve even done that without knowing.
These days price of a domain & hosting account is almost cheaper than our daily expenses, then why should anyone have to use blogger or wordpress own hosted services? To be honest you get more control if you host it yourself 🙂
I find that self-hosted blogs are quite strict nowadays and quickly delete those that for some reason they don’t like. I still use them though due to budget constraints in getting a self-hosted blog. I simply try not to get overboard.
By the way i already believed in self-hosted blog. But didn’t know the pros and cons. And now that defect is over here. Thanks for your useful information.
Though I agree that self hosting provides better facility, but still free hosting can work great. Because content always remain the king. No matter what our URL or host is…if content is good…Google will surely boost our page rank. Google has been tweaking their search algorithm day in and day out. So SEO thing has a limited scope. Content has always been ruling. So I would say…first use free service to create content. Later shift to paid hosting (if needed) by transferring the content.
I am using a free host blog.
But I believe, when you want to get down serious, get a self-hosted blog.
It speaks more ! -Positively of course .
I hope you never stop! This is one of the best blogs Ive ever read. Youve got some mad skill here, man. I just hope that you dont lose your style because youre definitely one of the coolest bloggers out there. Please keep it up because the internet needs someone like you spreading the word.
If you are blogging for fun, then I think free web hosting is the best option. But if you are blogging seriously and want to make money from it in future then you need to invest some bucks during setting up your blog.