In short, there are two types of blogs – free blogging (non-hosted) services and self-hosted blogs. WordPress is no different than others. I’ll explain you the difference in a second, but first have a look at this chart:
| SELF-HOSTED BLOG | FREE BLOGGING SERVICES | |
|---|---|---|
| Your blog address (URL, WWW.) | Your blog address will look professional and neat. You’ll be able to set up your own domain name like: www.YourNewBlog.com | Your blog address will look like: tumblr.com/yourblog or yourblog.blogspot.com. Hard to remember and not really something you’d trust as a visitor, right? |
| Who controls your blog content? | The only one who controls and moderates your blog is you. No-one will be able to remove/edit your content, you decide what you publish. | Your blog content is controlled and owned by the free blogging service provider. If they think it’s against their TOS (which can happen), they can take down your blog without any warnings. All your hard work and time put on the blog can disappear within seconds. |
| How about monetization? | You decide which ads to place, which products/services to sell. You can even set up an email subscription. | Not really. On a free blogging platform, you’ll have some limitations. For example; “Selling ad space or running Adsense are prohibited on free blogging services.” |
| Customisation? | You’ll have access to over 1,500 free themes/layouts and over 2,000 free plugins. You won’t run out of features. | Limited. Fewer plugins and themes to choose from (around 100). If you want more themes and plugins – you’ll need to pay as it’s only for Premium users. |
| Sample blogs? |
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| What about the cost? | Domain name: $10 / year Web Host: $2 – $4 / month | Free, but if you reach 25,000 monthly visitors, you’ll need to start paying. |
| How about bandwidth and storage? | Depends on your web hosting company, but it’s usually unlimited. | 3GB for free (no videos, though). |
Still confused? Let me help you to decide.
So should I create a free blog or self-hosted blog? I know that this is one of the hardest decisions for people who want to create a blog. I’ve heard this question so many times, so I’ll do my best to keep things simple:- Free blogging services: If you have no plans to blog more than a few months about something random, hands-down go with free blogging services. It doesn’t cost you a dime, you can signup within 5 minutes and start writing blog posts right away.
- Self-hosted WordPress blog (recommended): If you have plans to dedicate more time and effort into your blog and make it successful at some point, start with a self-hosted blog from day one. All the successful bloggers I personally know are using self-hosted blogs on their own domain names. You’ll have no limits, it’s a MUCH better option.
However, choosing one or another is totally up to you.
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