Advantages and disadvantages of free and self hosted blog

Advantages and disadvantages of free hosted blogs

Most blogs are hosted for free by the blogging platform provider like this blog which is a sub-domain of blogspot.com. Blogs using the wordpress.com platform are also free hosted blogs and are also sub-domains. There are many advantages of such free hosted blogs including the fact that hosting is free and one do not need to pay to register a domain name. The blogger also do not have to tangle with the difficulties of dealing with the server which host the blog. Most things are much easier to do.

The disadvantages of free hosted blogs are that they are sub-domain of the free host and long less easy to remember URL of

http://testing-blogger-beta.blogspot.com

and also it is not the property of the blogger but is property of Blogger the blog host. A further disadvantage of such free hosted blog and the sub-domain is a matter of status. Sub-domain blogs are looked down upon just like business which do not have a proper business premise but operates from the home.

The worst disadvantage of free hosted blogs are because it is not the property of the blogger but is the property of the host, free hosted blog runs the risks of being deleted by the host because of TOS (Terms of Service) violation or being identified as spam blog. Numerous bloggers have complained recently that their blogs have been marked as spam blog or as having violated the TOS and either found their blog locked or in the worst case scenario completely deleted.

Advantages and disadvantages of self hosted blogs

Self-hosted blogs are blogs which have their own domain like http://blogger-book.com which is the property of the blogger himself and which command higher respect like a business operating in a real business premise not a home office. Self hosted blogs are property of the blogger himself and thus do not have to worry about deletion by the blogging platform.

The only disadvantage for self hosted blog is that you will have to find your own host to host the blog and also to pay for it. If you intend to host the blog yourself, it will pay to first read web hosting tutorials. If reducing cost is your worry, you can always look for cheap web hosting. You will of course have to do some research and pick a good domain name.