Free Blog or Self Hosted Blog : Which One is better?

Of course a self hosted blog is way better than a free blog. You have full control over your blog with a self hosted blog. But to create a blog with your own domain name and web hosting you must know certain technical things, such as:

• How to set up a domain name on your hosting account?
• How to design a website?
• How to upload website content on your hosting account using FTP?
• How to change nameservers? (In case hosting and domain companies are different.)

With a free blog site you don’t have to deal with these issues.

I think if you are a newbie in internet marketing then it is better to start with a free blog rather than purchasing a domain name and web hosting to create a self hosted blog. Once you acquire some experience in online marketing then you can start with your own domain name and web hosting.

Two major free blogging platforms are Blogger and Wordpress.

Pros and cons of free blog and self hosted blog.

Free Blog

Pros

• Don’t need to spend a single buck to create a blog
• Don’t need to have technical knowledge to set up a blog
• Creating a free blog is fast and easy

Cons

• You have a blog name like YourBlogName.FreeBlogSiteName.com
• Limited functionality and access
• You are dependent on the free blog site service. It’s a risky situation.

Self Hosted Blog

Pros

• Having a blog like yourblogname.com increases your reputation as a blogger.
• You have full control over your blog.
• You are the owner of your blog so you can do whatever you want.

Cons

• You will have to spend a few bucks to create a self hosted blog(for domain name and hosting)
• Must have technical knowledge to design a blog
• Need to know technical details on how to set up a domain name with web hosting

Designing a blog is not a big issue even if you are not a technical person. You can use wordpress to create your self hosted blog. It is very simple to install wordpress on your domain name.