You have seen all these amazing blogs and you want one too!
But you cannot decide where you should start; should it be WordPress, Blogger, Wix, Tumblr, and the list just keeps going…
What is the best blogging platform?
Table of Contents
Best Blogging Platform: Free vs Self-Hosted WordPress
What most bloggers will tell you:
Self-Hosted WordPress is the ONLY way to go.
Why is Self-Hosted WordPress the Best Blogging Platform?
- Your Domain
- Easy to Monetize
- Endless Plugin Options
- Flexibility
- Amazing Amount of Themes (both paid & free)
- Community Support Forums
- Continually Updated
- Fully Customizable
- Great SEO
- Reliable
One of my personal favorite reasons is: I own my site and all information on it!
When you use a free service (like Blogger) you need to keep in mind that someone else owns your site.
In Blogger, for instance, it is owned by Google, and they have the option to shut down your blog when they want to or even discontinue the service!
With Self-Hosted WordPress blog you own your site, domain and can choose when to stop if you ever wish to.
Problems with free blog platforms?
- Very Limited Customization
- Hard to Monetize
- Long URLs (example: myblogname.blogspot.com)
- They control your ad space and they receive income from it
- Pay to Upgrade (example: choose your domain or remove ads)
- Less Professional
- Hard to Migrate to Self-Hosted
- No plugins or Very Few Plugins
- Theme Errors
- Little Support
What does it mean to be self-hosted?
Basically, you are in total control of your blog. You get to choose the best domain name to represent your blog.
Then, you choose a professional hosting provider.
The next step is to install WordPress software (some hosting companies will do this for you).
Then, pick a theme to install (how your blog lays out).
Your next option is to choose some plugins.
Then, start blogging!
Who might choose a free platform?
If you are choosing to blog for fun or just as a hobby, a free platform may be the best for you.
I am not opposed to going this route because my very first blog was on Blogger.
Do I regret it?
No! It gave me perspective, and it was a great way to see if I would want to continue blogging.
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