Choosing a Blogging Platform
When choosing to start earning money from blogging, you need to be aware of the options that are available to you to create your blog. They each have advantages and disadvantages so choose carefully before going ahead because it may have implications in the future.
Free Hosted Blogging Platform
The first option is the easiest option, it’s a free hosted blogging platform solution which is great if you are starting out with no budget or would find it difficult to make a payment online (maybe your country is on a blacklist). There are a plethora of options available to you, but if you do decide to go this route there is probably just one viable option which is with Blogger.com
You may have heard of the WordPress hosted option but they do not allow you to use their platform for commercial purposes and if you’re looking to monetize your blogs, you would definitely be blogging for commercial purposes. Just for reference, if you do create a WordPress blog and promote other sites or put affiliate ads on there, they will shut it down sooner or later. Although hosted WordPress is a good platform, it’s suited only for personal blogs with no ads.
By contrast, the Blogger platform positively encourages you to monetize your blog because they give you the opportunity to insert your Google AdSense codes (which is why it’s no surprise that Google owns Blogger). However, you have to be aware that if you choose Blogger as your platform you will have a sub-domain which doesn’t look as professional as having your own dot com. You can register your own domain and cloak the redirect, but from an SEO point of view this isn’t very good.
If you are starting out with zero budget then Blogger will have to be the way forward. It’s very easy to use and allows for some customization although you will need to learn some HTML if you want to edit the layout to include some advertising banners.
The Pros of having a Free Hosted Blogging Platform
- Free Hosted Blogs are great in that there are no costs to start up and operational costs
- All platforms usually have a easy to use user interface and it takes very little time from sign-up to publishing your first post
The Cons of having a Free Hosted Blogging Platform
- You usually have limited control and functionality
- You may be restricted with site layout options
- You will generally have less control of your HTML or CSS
- There will most likely be advertising that you may not want displayed on your site as well as links to other sites or content
- Free blog sites like WordPress.com do not allow advertising on your blog
Self Hosted Blogging Platform
The final option is to go with a self-hosted blogging platform which means registering a domain and getting some hosting, but this isn’t half as scary as it sounds and we’ll go in to much more detail about this in another article.
For the self-hosted blogging platform option you will probably want to install WordPress which can be done easily using an auto-installer like Fantistico (included in most cPanel web hosts). When you install WordPress on your own hosting account you can use it for commercial purposes and customize it as much as you want, which makes it the preferred option for all wannabe bloggers out there!
The Pros of having a Self Hosted Blogging Platform
- You have full control and functionality of your site
- You have control over all of your HTML and CSS
- You have an almost unlimited array of themes and plugins that you can implement on your site
- You will reap the revenue from any advertising that you display on your site
The Cons of having a Self Hosted Blogging Platform
- Cost of purchasing a domain name – this is usually around $10 or less for a one year period for a good Top Level Domain name
There are many Pro’s and Con’s for both the Free and Self Hosted blogging platforms. The biggest decision you must make is whether you are looking to get serious about your blogging. In the long-run a self hosted blogging platform will be much more advantageous.
Cemil Ozcelik
www.OnlineBusinessBlackbook.com © 2009 - 2010
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with you – in the long run a self hosted blog is probably better. I have tried both and it seems to me that the amount of work/effort required to build either a free or self hosted blog is the same. The only difference is the cost of the domain and hosting costs. Like you say, you can buy a domain name for around $10 and hosting can be as little as $10 a month – and numerous blogs/websites can be added to the same hosting account. You do of course have to learn how to put domain, host company (e.g. Hostgator) and blog provider (e.g. Wordpress) together. Maybe you can blog about this too. Thanks for a good post. Jan
great post,
blogging is best,
self hosting blogging is too best
Great post Cemil – I’m busy setting up a self-hosted blog having just purchased a domain name for around USD8 and my monthly hosting will be roughly the same. To me this is a small price to pay for what could potentially become a nice little earner in the long run.
Think of it as a long-term investment Colin. It can sometimes be time consuming setting up a self hosted blog. It can also be frustrating when your trying to tweak your theme or plugin – but once you get it, it feels great.
I definitely agree with you Cemil – self hosted blogging platforms give the feeling of being completely in control, which is really refereshing after trying to deal with limited set of blog themes/plugins or restrictions on advertising etc.
Free hosted bloging platforms are great to start out on, to see if blogging suits your style, but I certainly haven’t looked back.
Hi Cemil,
I started with a free blog in wordpress and quickly realized that a self-hosted one was the way to go so migrated over. The benefits of a self-hosted blog far outweigh the costs IMHO. Thanks for sharing!
Eileen.
I too like the self hosted blogging platforms, you have more flexibility and control and its alot easier when it comes time to monetize your blog. Great post……….
Belinda
Hi Cemil. If you’re looking to expand or even potentially expand, self hosting is always the way to go. Anything else is too restrictive. Plus you risk having your content erased at any time due to changes in terms and conditions. Imagine that! No thanks.