Although many bloggers these days use paid hosting, there still are a fair number that use free hosting, usually with either blogger.com or wordpress.com. I used to run a few blogs on blogger.com, and couldn’t be happier that I switched to paid hosting (I’m currently using HostGator).
I suggest buying hosting with one of the many popular hosts available these days, HostGator being my personal favorite. Once you buy hosting, you can simply install WordPress.com within a few minutes. Many people still prefer blogger.com, because of the fact that Google seems to favor sites running on blogger.com in the search engine (because blogger.com is Google owned). Having used both though, I’d highly recommend WordPress. WordPress is much more customizable in my opinion. It took me a while to make the switch over to my own domain/hosting, and I really wish I had done it sooner.
Why Not Blogger.com?
I did not use Blogger.com during the time this happened, but I’ve heard from many users that they set up a very strict spam bot. Apparently, there are many stories about it on the blogger.com forums, and other forums as well. People with perfectly legitamite blogs were having their blog deleted, and many, many people had to wait for their blogs to be fully reviewed. I’m not sure if this whole ordeal is still going on, but I wouldn’t take the risk. With a horror story like this, there has to be more to come in the future.
As for some problems I had when using blogger.com, well, those are endless. A few would include publishing errors and very slow loading times. These two factors are very important for me (as they are for other bloggers) which is a big reason why I left.
Why Not WordPress.com?
WordPress is a bit better than Blogger, but I still wouldn’t use their free blogs. I’ve seen quite a few of my friends have their blogs/accounts suspended because they were linking to some other websites. They told me that WordPress does this to just about anyone who appears to be promoting another website.
Come to think of it, I don’t see why in the heck they would do that. Don’t they understand the purpose of blogs? Looks like they have their own definition of what a “blog” is and should be used for.
In my opinion, a “real blog” is one that is fully controlled by the writer, and should not require the writer to follow another persons rules based on their definition of a blog. Of course there are some basic rules that should be followed, but as long as you stay within those boundaries, you should be able to do what you want with your blog.
My point here, if you haven’t exactly unscrambled it by now, is that when blogging on a free host such as Blogger or WordPress, everything is being controlled by others. On the other hand, hosting your blog on your own puts everything in your hands – no one to tell you what to do.
If you are currently not hosting your blog on your own, take it from someone who used to host their blog for free – switch over to paid hosting and have full control of your blog. It is a decision you will not regret. I made the change over 7 months ago, and I haven’t had a single regret since. My blogging experience has only changed for the better.
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All I can say is wow. Wrote with so much heart into it. You are completely right, if a person is using a free host their holding themselves back.
Thanks Deneil. I’m glad you liked this post. Yeah, I remember when DP members used to tell me that. I was a dumby though, and didn’t listen right away. I wish I had. Free host = failure. Well, not all the time, but 99.9% of the time.
Great post! There are still many blogging with free hosting.
Yeah, I agree. I see many, many bloggers everyday, and they are usually using blogger.com, not wordpress.com. I guess it could be okay to start, but it is not something you should make permanent.
Free hosting should only be used in the beginning. Once that person learns a little bit about what works and what doesnt work in blogging, it is time to switch to paid hosting.
Exactly what I did as well Jason. Start with free hosting, then gradually work your way up to paid hosting.
I think it is OK to stick with a free blogging platform in the beginning to get your feet wet. If you are going to swtich to a wordpress on your own domain then wordpress.com is the best because then you can learn the backend of wordpress. Once you get a good following then switch to paid hosting service and create your own blog. Thanks Greg Ellison
Yeah, I should have mentioned that. No problem to start with a free blogging platform/hosting to get a feel of things. I just meant that it is not something you should took with permanently.
Great post,
i am still using blogger.com and now i am planing to go for wordpress self host,
Mohan,
Good choice! I started off on blogger.com as well, and later move to Wordpress. Good luck to you. Let me know when the new blog is up and I’ll have a look! Your current blog looks great BTW.
Very good post Gooroo! I agree with the comments about giving the free ones a try to get started to make sure you actually like blogging. Why waste any money on something you are not going to like? But as soon as they want to get serious… they should switch ASAP!
Exactly Doug! Never good to waste money, if you’re not sure it’ll be long term. Although, once you decide that blogging is going to be long term, one should switch over, just as you said.
People who have started early blogging had been into choosing free hosting because of the, yes, the word ‘Free’ attached to it. But, once they got to know the advantages of blogging with their own domain names, the concern changed a lot.
I shud be included in the list as I had been blogging earlier on Wordpress.com then after 6 months of being there, shifted to own a domain and work on Wordpress.org.
I agree Suneel. I also started on free hosting, as I wanted to get a feel of blogging. Once I did, I switched over to Hostgator, and can definitely see the advantages of self hosting.
Good to see you made the change as well. I also like your domain name. Catchy!
I use Blogger and often think about switching. However, I’ve heard recently that there are some serious security problems with Wordpress and blogs getting hacked and stolen.
Have you heard anything about that?
First of all, thank you for dropping by
As for your question, I haven’t heard anything along those lines. I know tons of people who use Wordpress, and none of them have had such problems. Wordpress is a very safe platform.
This is the email my husband received from someone he knows through his business. Is it bs? Normally, that’s what I would think, but my husband says he does know the guy who sent it.
“Awhile back on a forum, I encountered a thread about someone getting hacked and it happened to me too, with 3 of my Wordpress blogs. (One of my colleagues in the forum told me about it, otherwise I might never have found out.)
In the wake of that, several things happened. One of the things I learned is that if you have a Wordpress blog, you’re essentially hanging out a sign that says, “Please hack me.”
As I later found out, Wordpress is full of holes through which a hacker can attack.
One thing that you can implement right away is to get Secure FTP and only log into your hosting account that way.
The problem with normal FTP is that a hacker can “guess”
your passwords and break into your site. SFTP is a much better solution. You can download a free program here:
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=CCBQq&m=1h7XdqBElo8Dk5&b=0ksaJg001xAWouxXN.HdDw
In my search for a solution, I found several posts about securing Wordpress blogs but many of them contained info that was way over my head. Then I came upon a book by Craig Desorcy called: “Blog Lock Down.”
http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=CCBQq&m=1h7XdqBElo8Dk5&b=EhkSHiioYInWryB6_M1qdQ
This was a great find. Not only did Craig write the book, he was very open when I called him about my issues. The book (written in simple language) is actually written for people who have just built a blog and want to secure it, rather than those who have been hacked, as I was. Still, if you have a Wordpress blog, I highly recommend it.”
Is this bs? I’d really appreciate your input.
To put it short, I’d say it is BS. To be honest, Wordpress is very secure. If someone can hack Wordpress, then they have the ability to hack a lot of things, which they would probably benefit more from. Like I said, in the time I’ve been blogging, I’ve never heard of a Wordpress blog being hacked. No need to worry
Thanks so much for letting me know. It looked like bs but since my husband knew the guy, I wasn’t sure.
Yeah, no worries. Like I said, I’ve never heard of such a thing happening. Wordpress is very secure
It’s ironic you write about this. When bloggers come and join my blog forum asking for website reviews of blog marketing suggestions I always say get yourself a domain name and a self hosted blog. It’s the first step to take when considering a professional blogging career or even past time.
I never used a hosted blog and never will I swear by self hosting.
I will refer bloggers to this article in the future!
Brian,
I’m with you all the way! Sure, blogging on free hosting is okay for the first while (to get a hang of things), but if you’re thinking of pursuing blogging seriously, free hosting won’t cut it.
Self hosting all the way!
By the way I socially engaged this! Submitted it to like 6 social networks for you!
Have you tried our wordpress plugin?
http://www.blogengage.com/profile_promo.php
Check it sometime and see if it can fit into your blog
I don’t mean to be ignorant but I’m still not sure what’s wrong with free hosting if you do a little humor blog like I do. Are you talking about blogs that are trying to turn a profit?
P.S. I have my own domain name but still use the Blogger template. I’m not sure what rules they have that should persuade me to switch. I’m not tech-savvy and I try to keep my page streamlined so loading times won’t be too much of a problem.
I’m a babe in the woods with this stuff so please be gentle.
Thank you Brian. I will check out your Wordpress plugin
As to kathcom, you hit it bang on. For those who are trying to profit from their blog, free hosting is not the way to go. On the other hand, if you’re doing a little humor blog, just a blog for fun, free hosting is absolutely fine.
Blogger is not bad, but Wordpress (in my eyes, and many others) has much more features. There are also a lot more themes available. All in all, I think anyone thinking of taking up blogging full time should use Wordpress. Just my two cents.
The thing is, I have my own domain name but I bought it through Blogger. They were using goDaddy and I find their interface incredibly difficult to deal with. However, I wanted to purchase as many domains (.net,info,com org) as possible and Blogger was so limited that I used them to make new pages (archives, blogroll) connected to the main blog.
Now I fear I’m in so deep I can’t get out. I’ve had no luck trying to transfer domain names from goDaddy. Is it as simple as exporting my blog? I’ve been looking at HostGator and it looks great. (Thank you for the info on it.) I’m just afraid I’m too tangled up with Blogger and goDaddy. I don’t want to give up my domain names.
Kath,
If I understand correctly, you want to use Hostgator. You can still have the domains on GoDaddy, but host with Hostgator. If you decide to do that, and need further help, I’d be glad to go into detail (just email me). You will not have to give up your domain names either, so don’t worry — you’re not in deep at all.
Now, do you also want to move your blogs over from Blogger.com to the Wordpress format?
I wasn’t thinking of switching to Wordpress. I know the templates are better but isn’t it still “free” hosting? It looks like HostGator has templates also.
Thanks for letting me know that if and when I move, I won’t have to give everything up. And thank you for your offer to help. You don’t know what you’d be getting yourself into…but I may take you up on it. Either way, thank you for answering my questions. You and your site both rock!
I don’t see anything wrong with it but I would never recommend it. Your developing and building a site that will eventually have a value. Increase that value and buy a domain name.
I’m confused are you hosting your domain name with a third party?
Blogger templates are cool and great marketing tools
Yes, I bought the domain name through Blogger. At the time, it had a deal with goDaddy. Its interface is confusing. I tried to move it to Network Solutions where I still keep a really old domain name that I like, but was unable to.
Brian, what do you mean by “blogger templates are cool and great marketing tools”? I mean, do you not prefer Wordpress themes instead? I’ve personally never liked the whole Blogger look
Blogger templates give you cool options like creating a link, adding to your favorites… perhaps these are options associated with blogger and not the templates?
Oh, gotcha! Yeah, they aren’t bad, but I’ve personally always preferred Wordpress themes (well, ever since I began using Wordpress).
I guess bloggers who just start blogging are just afraid of the cost and creating the blog itself.
Wordpress and Blogger is popular because in 5 mins you can have a working blog. But yes, after a while getting your own domain and host is a must.
First of all, thanks for dropping by Michael — glad to have you here.
I agree with you. I felt the same when I first began blogging, but overcame the “fear” eventually. They are both popular, but if I were to say which is more popular, I’d probably guess Wordpress.
Thank you Kathcom (Kathy is your name I’m assuming). Glad I was somewhat helpful. And yes, Wordpress is still “free hosting” unless you self host.
Do you know why people were being booted off of Wordpress? What kind of sites were they linking too? I’ve seen a lot of websites link to commercial stuff without ever being banned.
Great article! I’m hosted for free on Wordpress now and trying to decide between hostgator and godaddy. Why do you prefer hostgator?
Couldn’t agree more. It’s all about autonomy and control.
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