I'm not really new in the world of blogging, but I feel that my current, personal blog (hosted on blogspot) is not satisfying (very low traffic, no clear focus, etc.). I would like to start something from scratch (possibly related to techno-news or a gallery). I'm still a beginner in web design stuff (I had some experiences with Dreamweaver, though). Is it better to use websites that host blogs (WordPress.com, Blogger, Blogsome, etc.) or self-hosted ones?
There are two reasons to pay for hosting. 1)It keeps you more in control. If you have 200 posts on some one else's site they can change the rules and you are out of luck. e.g.You have a fly fishing blog. The owner of the site joins killnoanimals.org and decides that all fishing is amoral and that your site should be deleted. Have fun starting over. 2)Many hosted blogs will not let you monetize by linking to your commercial site or to an affiliate site. Pay for your own hosting and you make the rules. If this helps you I need positive feedback.
blogger is good for newbies and self-hosted blog like wp is superb with unlimited controls. i am also using wp self-hosted blog and i love it
just try with blogger or wordpress.com blogs initially and you can switch to domain and self hosting later which is better imo
You definately need self hosted blog and also great learning before starting your blog.Like seo, marketing, content writing and most important what is your passion to write your blog.First think on this and get self hosted blog.Even I sell domain name and hosting service and if you want you can contact with me via gtalk with it free blog service will be provided means I will help you to get your first full fledged blog online.
Since you have just started with blogging, I think it would be easier for you (for the meantime) to have it set up with blogger or WP. And if you feel that you are there’s already a need to maximize your capacity as a blogger, and then it’s time that you opt for a self-hosted blog. Things will be successful if done slowly but surely.
If you are thinking of starting to blog seriously I would suggest you to have a own webhost (hosting is cheap these days). If not then just try a free blog if you dont like it after all, it didnt cost you any money.. When you start on a free blog and you go later further on a own host you loose you content. As far as I know free blogs dont support 301 redirects and just copying the blogs doesnt mater because your old blog ranks higher..
Blogger is great but at the very least, YOU MUST HAVE YOUR OWN DOMAIN. Anybody who tells you otherwise is crazy. Yes, some popular blogs use blogspot, but you must own your domain in case you want to switch blogging platforms later. A hosted Wordpress blog is best - the financial benefits coming from better SEO will more than outweigh the cost of the plan. Google likes Wordpress blogs even more than Blogger blogs.
I have both hosted and self-hosted. I like them both and I use them for different things. But I think it is important to have your own hosting. I like using my blogger blogs for trying out an idea or for backlinks to my self hosted blogs. Overall it is whatever makes you happy.
Ultimately you can use either. Hosted is easier if just starting. Ensure that you have your own domain name. Ensure that you download / export regular backups of your content. That way, even if the hosted version vanished, you can easily point your domain somewhere else, upload your content and not lose anything. I suspect you'll do fine on a hosted version while you feel your way into this. Once you find you are hitting limits or walls on the customisation or things you wish to implement then it's time to go get yourself your own hosting. Most hosting providers that supply cpanel also include something called Fantastico... this gives you easy installation of many scripts including a few blogging platforms such as wordpress. If you are a bit non technical when it comes to databases these can certainly help. I would also recommend trying to do it yourself though and ask questions on forums and of people who are running blogs so that you gain the knowledge that you need. There are also plenty of videos on youtube that talk you through the process. Finally, there are also people that will install wordpress etc for you on your hosting for a few $. Hosting with godaddy, site5 etc is all fine and will see you until you start pushing really really high traffic. Then you'd look at dedicated hosting etc but that's quite a way down the road. My main bit of advice would be... don't go blogging for the money.... go blogging for the passion. If you write about something you know, or are perhaps learning, but the content is of value to the readers then it will become easier to monetise in the future. If you don't manage to make money from it, you can always take your great value content and turn it into a book, guide, e-book, email marketing course, product for clickbank etc... so just because your content and knowledge doesn't make any money in one area doesn't mean it can't be re-purposed and used somewhere else Finally, collect details. Put together a nice free download / PDF etc that users can get in return for entering their name and email. I assure you that down the road you will be super happy you collected an opt-in email list together from the start. Services that can aid this include aweber. I hope that helps and good luck on your blogging journey!
You don't need to be a web designer to have a self hosted blog. You can just apply a theme from among the thousands that are freely available..and ad plugins for extra functionality. Self hosted wordpress blog is the way to go
hi, if we want to have the things in our control (i.e.., content, monetizing and a lot more), its better to for self hosted blogs.
I would suggest you going for self hosted blog. Here are some tips that will help you why self hosted blogs are better than free blogger blogs.
For me, definitely self hosted. You have more control and if you decide to monetize it, then you'll be the one to get all the earnings and not another website.
Ok, now I have created my 2nd blog (the 1st was quite messed up -_-), and again in Blogger (my friend indirectly suggested it, mostly because of the ease of customization. Also, currently I don't have the money to rent a host) I think this topic can be locked now. Thanks for the replies!
selfhosted one is the best.You can contact me on gtak we sell domain names and hosting service at a cheaper rate,
Hi adudutz, Low traffic has nothing to do with your blogging platform. Remember it's the content and quality text that attracts and drive traffic. Just pay a little attention to the designs and themes and more on quality writing. You said your blogspot blog is not satisfying and the reason is very low traffic? dude again low traffic doesn't mean that your blog design sucks or whatever - It's the quality content!! If you would to start from scratch and have some money in pocket then I'd recommend to buy a hosting space and domain name and start it with a self hosted blog like wordpress... if and only if you wanna take it seriously! If you think you can't handle it all by yourself, then keep it with blogspot, install a nice looking theme and pay more attention to good writing. Offcourse you have to be active on social networking sites so that you can promote and share your article to the public. If you have planned it all to take is professionally, like your niche. How to start. What to follow and how to write etc etc. Then go for self hosted wordpress blog without giving it a 2nd thought. Why self hosted? well there are hundreds of reasons to justify this. One of the most important is the self and complete control over your website and it's server. You can customize each and every bit of it as you want. You can brand it from scratch and and do lot of interesting things with the help of plugins if you go for wordpress. I too started with blogspot and after one n half year I realized the importance of self hosted blog as my traffic and popularity increased with time. I shifted to wordpress and extremely satisfied with it now. Talking of reasons.. well I wrote my experience in my blog post after I shifted to Wordpress. http://www.tipsotricks.com/2010/08/11-reasons-why-a-self-hosted-wordpress-blog-is-better-than-a-blogger-blog.html Give it a read, hope you'll get your answers from there.