Now Reading ...Do you know about Free-hosted blog and self-hosted blog? If you are an amateur blogger, I think you should know well what it is. But, If you are a beginner, you should spend a little time of yours to read this post carefully! 
I’m going to share you this important things that you should have taken before begin your blogging journey.
This is the part, that most of the people ignore and become regret when they realize the fact that lies within it.
Let’s first begin with the simple definition for each of them.
Free-Hosted Blog
Do you know blogger.com? Or, do you know wordpress.com? How about Livejournal.com?
They are the biggest free-hosted blog providers! The have hosted million of blog out there in the blogosphere for free.
FREE is their top marketing tool to draw lots of attention from the web.
Self-Hosted Blog
Mysites Advisor is a self-Hosted Blog. Although I host this blog on a subdomain, the mysites-advisor.com domain name is mine. You will get this kind of blog with some price to pay. But it’s worth it. Why? Let’s look at the Duel below…
Free Blog VS Paid Blog
Let make some real points without wasting time:
Free Blog Advantages:
- Free of charges
Paid Blog Advantages:
- Credibility
- Branding
- Fame
- So much more
Free Blog Disadvantages:
- Hosted on other’s domain
- No Credibility
- No Branding
Paid Blog Disadvantages:
- You must pay
Some of my thoughts:
Hosting your blog at a free blog host provider is a good choice for beginner. But only that. Free blog platform like wordpress.com is a place for us to try their blog CMS engine before we actually host it on our own domain. Not for serious blogger who want to get the most of blogging!
Although Free Blog Host Provider will host our desired name like “Kenxublog.wordpress.com”, the blog features in the admin panel is less expandable!
Beside getting limitation to your blog, “Credibility” and “Branding” is Zero in this type of blog.
Although some people actually become FAMOUS using the free hosted blog like Paula Did, she is just that type of people that could actually become famous writing in any kind of platform!
For a mere human like us, we need to follow some rules that the experts have taught us to do. Like buy a domain, rent a hosting space, and host your own blog engine!
But! This doesn’t guarantee you to be famous and successful. It will only giving you a “credibility” score in your reader’s eyes or to prove that you are serious on what you have done to your blog.
To make a sarcastic illustration, Host you blog on a paid and free provider is just like the filthy rich guy who live in the bungalow and the beggar who live under the bridge.
Both of them have their name. One is filthy rich guy and the other is bridge beggar. They have their own unique name to introduce for. But the only differences is where they live.
One is in the bungalow and the other is under the bridge. From this simple illustration, I wonder which one you will choose now?
Yup, you’re right! from this post, you will know that I’m pushing you to choose the paid blog than the free one. The reason is simple.
100% Worth it!
Kuanhoong, Kumiko, Nirmal and Shankar Ganesh are some the live example of blogger who decide to switch to their self-hosted blog. You should ask them why they take this action while the old free hosted blog is still running well!
Hope this post useful. But if you want to read more on this topic, the following link will please you:
- Want to create a Free Website?
- Pro and Cons of Use-Hosted Blogging Software
- Choosing Blogging Platform
- Blogger vs Wordpress
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Leave a comment
(July 2, 2007, 2:01 pm)
Self hosted blogs are the best. Thanks for the mention, btw.
Reply to Shankar Ganesh(July 2, 2007, 2:47 pm)
Yup. No other best choice…
Reply to Ken Xu(July 3, 2007, 3:35 am)
Yup, you have more control of your site with self hosted blog.
Reply to kuanhoongThanks for the mention too
(July 3, 2007, 11:36 am)
But still, many people don’t want to take this little risk to own their domain name.
Reply to Ken XuThey have not aware of the pagerank and alexa rank… which are not able to move to their own domain if the build it at a free hosted blog!
(July 3, 2007, 3:43 am)
Aren’t you kind?
Thanks for the mention and link love and kind comments.
God bless you,
Reply to Watch Free EpisodesPaula
(July 3, 2007, 11:51 am)
Nope. You are rock, Paula!
Reply to Ken Xu(July 3, 2007, 10:50 am)
I am really glad I switched … mush better than blogger
Reply to pearl(July 3, 2007, 11:59 am)
Of course!
Blogger is just your place to find friends, meet lover, having fun, making online diary, and building small community to socialize yourself.
Reply to Ken XuBut if you want to do a serious things, it’s not a wise choice to begin which it.
(July 3, 2007, 2:20 pm)
Great post for beginners. Self hosted blog give you an identity and one needs to shift to self hosting if you are really serious with blogging.
Reply to NirmalBTW thanks for the mention.
(July 3, 2007, 2:24 pm)
Thanks, Nirmal!
Reply to Ken Xu(July 4, 2007, 4:32 am)
Great post!! Although, self-hosting your blog will cost you money, I still believe that you get a better return on your investment. And yes, self-hosting allows you to create brand for your blog!!
Reply to My Financial Mistakes(July 4, 2007, 5:27 am)
Thanks for commenting!
Reply to Ken Xu(December 31, 2007, 4:45 am)
The great thing about free-hosted blogs on blogger are the amount of SEO authority they hold as compared to your site which has to work it’s way up from nothing.
Reply to Areeb Bajwa(August 20, 2008, 6:54 pm)
While self hosted blogs may be good, free hosted are also very good. Look at examples like Labnol, laurell.wordpress.com (I forgot the correct word), postsecret, etc. all are highly reputed blogs and their self hosted counterparts don’t even come near them.
I have also got a free hosted blog and it is far better than many self hosted blogs. So, Your comment on bridge blogger doesn’t quite explain the situation I guess. :-). You may well buy hatred from some professional free hosted blogs this way. All the best with your blog.
Reply to Lenin Nair