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Budgeting Works!
To gain financial freedom you must take control of your money, plan for the future and Stop Borrowing Money!
Two families striving to gain financial freedom share their experiences.
Blog Author Mona Weathers (monawea)
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Manda C. is our new contributing author. Welcome Manda!
Want to Start a Blog? – Blog Hosting Options – Free and Paid
There are many reasons one starts to blog. Some are looking to create an online journaling of their life. Others are looking to offer information that is useful to people for free. Some are looking to create an income using income avenues such as Adsense, affiliate marketing and paid blogging. Blogs allow people with limited or no knowledge of web building to create a site that is there own. Blogs are essentially web site that takes only minutes to create and publish.
I have had years of experience with traditional web site building however I am not a pro by any means but I do know a thing or two about building web sites. After I was introduced to blogging I decided that creating a blog is a much quicker and affective way to get your voice heard on the net. I think more and more people are realizing the benefits of blogging and are switching directions.
The number one reason blogs are generating such an interest in readers is that they are interactive. People like to be around other people even in cyberspace. People like feeling connected and voicing their opinions. A blog doesn’t have to be fancy or pack with bells and whistles to attract readers. A blogs main purpose should be good content and interaction with readers which does not require it to “look pretty”. Plus each blog post is indexed separetly in search engines. So the likelyhood of your blog being viewed from a search is much greater than with a traditonal web site.
There are many professional blogs that have very simple template but excellent content. That being said I do think a blog should look as professional as possible if the direction of your blog is to offer professional and nonprofessional advice or when trying to make your blog appealing to readers and advertisers. I have a few tips on blog design tips that would be worth reading.
So what are your the options? Let’s start with the free blog hosting companies.
Probably the most popular free blogging host is Blogger.com. Blogger offers a 123 type setup and it truly easy to use. If you are just getting involved with blogging it may be a good idea to setup a Blogger account to get familiar with it. If your purpose for blogging is only to use as an online journal I highly recommend using Blogger. For people considering starting a blog for professional purposes or seeking an income I do not recommend Blogger.
Though many have successful active blogs with Blogger it can be limiting. There are just some things that you can’t do with Blogger. So instead of setting up a blog that later you will grow out of, create a blog that you can grow into.
Wordpress.com is also another free blogging host. The wordpress blog software is probably the best availble and is deffinetly the most used. Wordpress.com is a hosting company that offers hosting for free provided you do not include advertisements on your blog. Personally I don’t recommend using Wordpress.com for anyone. The reason I say this is because they don’t allow advertising. And unless you are a strongly against blog advertising in any form you should not start a blog that limits you in this way. Even if earning money blogging is not your goal to start you may decide you want to earn money from your blog at some point so never limit yourself.
There are many other free blog hosts but the ones mentioned here are the most popular. If you find a different free blog host that interests you be sure your read the Terms and if they give you a limited amount of disk space.
You can get a Wordpress blog by hosting in on your own web host. Wordpress.org software is free and easy to install if your web host offers Fantasico. This blog powered by Wordpress and is hosted by HostGator . With Hostgator you can install multiple Wordpress blogs for no additional fee. HostGator
offers hosting of unlimited domains, unlimited email accounts, a ton of memory and much more for only $9.95 a month (on a month to month basis, no contract needed). I posted about Hostgator and why I think it’s the best web host here.
Creating a blog using Wordpress software is probably the best choice but it does require some set up and modification knowledge. Especially if you want your blog to look unique. Another great thing about the Wordpress blog software is that there are thousands of free blog templates and plugins to choose from. The Wordpress software may be a challenge for some but if learned it will allow for the most flexibility.
Blog hosts you pay for.
If you are not up for the challenge of learning how to setup and modify Wordpress then another option would be to pay for hosting. This is a good option for those that are serious about blogging but would rather not deal with the hassles of installing software and paying for a webhost. Movable Type and Live Journal are some of the more popular paid hosting companies.
According to MovableType ‘more businesses choose Movable Type than any other platform, from independent professionals to the Fortune 500.’
Here is there price list.
SquareSpace is another blog host company that provides a professional content management program. Hosting starts from $7-$17 a month.
‘With your Squarespace subscription, everything is included. Squarespace replaces the need for forum software, blog software, a web host, databases, statistics software, and a host of other development and content management programs you’d need to integrate to get a similar website. You pick a plan appropriate for your needs, and Squarespace handles the rest.’
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So, I have given you some blog hosting options for both free and paid hostings. There are of course many other (Blogates and Blogstream to name a few others) free and paid blog hosting companies. I suggest you look into the ones I have listed first and then if you can find what you are looking for do a search. This list is a good starting point.
More on blog hosting.
March 12, 2007 | Filed Under Blogging Tips10 Responses to “Want to Start a Blog? – Blog Hosting Options – Free and Paid”
Leave a Reply
Nice post.
Self hosted Wordpress is the best!
I agree!
Hi, find your article very interesting and informative, the privacy issues that can result from capturing personal data and marketing to people based on their web habits. We are having our own Web hosting company.Want to know anything about our company and services offered
visit us at: http://www.urlstate.com
Hi Ya’ll!
Just thought I’d post a few words of encouragement again.
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.” Jim Rohn
Konrad
Another tool that you should not miss is using an affiliate link cloaker, these will help fight against affiliate link hijacking and loss of affiliate revenue.
You can use a free service like http://www.urlfreeze.com to do that for you, hope that helps.
Chris
Hey Mona,
I definitely think hosting your own blog gives it a touch more professionalism too.
It’s great that there are sites like blogger for people who just want to blog, without any hassles or expense, but depending on your needs (and any potential market) I think self-hosting is the way to go.
All the best,
Richard
@ Chris, Thanks for the link I will check into it.
@ Richard, I agree with you completely. I think people serious about blogging will eventually realize the need for for self hosting.
Thank you , really its a rich blog ..
hope you visit my blog .. and learn me more from your experience
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This one makes sence “One’s first step in wisdom is to kuesstion everything – and one’s last is to come to terms with everything.”