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Everyone has started a website in some manner. Some started on a free host and others invested right away in their own hosting. However, what is best for you? This article will go over hosted blogs versus free hosted blogs and cover the pros, cons, and in between.

What is a free hosted blog?

A free hosted blog is one that you sign up with a service like WordPress.com or even Google Blogger and they automatically put together an account you can start blogging with right away. Of course, they are free, but you have to agree to their terms of service. Some of their basic services are limiting, and even some of their paid services if you wish to upgrade can be as well. Free hosting is great for beginning bloggers trying to test the waters and see if they would like to become a serious blogger.

Please note that in a previous post I did do a side by side comparison of both WordPresss and Blogger as free hosted services.

What is self-hosted blogging?

Having a self-hosted blog is where you have bought your own web hosting, your own domain, and installed your blog service of choice, like WordPress (WordPress.org), Joomla, Drupal, or any other type of content management service or program available.

You have more control over what you can put on your website in regards to design and content. This is normally a good idea to invest in for bloggers who have decided to become more serious about blogging and want to have more control over what they syndicate or even to monetize their site.

The Pros of Free hosting a blog

Blogging on a free host can be great because it allows bloggers to not have to shell out money. For startups, this is great as it can be a testing ground to see how the blog itself progresses. Of course, another is that most free blog hosts do to some extent have some great features that are just enough for newbie bloggers to be satisfied in using. For example, both WordPress and Blogger have some tools to add more functionality.

The Pros of Self-hosting a blog

Self hosting a blog gives the blogger a lot more control over what can be put on their site. There are more choices functionality to add, like more plugins and more theme choices. Aside from being able to download and install more pre-made themes, the blog owner can install their own theme or one they paid for that was made by a web designer.

Having a domain gives the blogger a little more search engine optimization oomph in comparison to free hosting. The domain itself adds more authority to the blogs that are mapped on free hosts to a sub domain. Most of the content management services are open source and actively worked on, so the scripts are always updating… and normally are free. Most of these CMS also come SEO ready out of the box, or if they do not, they have modules or plugins that can be installed to help.

The Cons of Free hosting a blog

The downside of free hosting a blog is that bloggers have to be actively aware of the site’s terms of services. Normally bloggers have failed to abide with these and have had their service terminated. Some of the most common violations have been: affiliate links, accepting and posting paid to blog opportunities, and even inappropriate content not acceptable according to the host’s terms of service.

Free hosting, as much as the price seems right for a lot of people, it can be very limiting- both as a user and for the reader. For example, Blogger has a strange comment system that many bloggers like to limit their comment system to only accept logged in Google Blogger users. In WordPress, some scripts are not allowed to be pasted into the widgets.

Not to forget, another con is that some forms of advertising are not allowed on some free hosts. Once an account has been flagged to be suspended, a lot of times it is difficult to retrieve old information. It is gone. For some bloggers, this can be alarming.

The Cons of Self-hosting a blog

Normally the cons of self-hosting a blog is usually cost, but that should not be bad if the right web host is chosen. The other is learning to install, and also use a content management service. For those bloggers not so savvy in HTML, it might be a bit overwhelming as it is needed from time to time. However, most CMS do have a visual editor and with some exploration and playing with the backend, especially in WordPress, becoming familiar with blogging comes with time.

While these are some of the pros and cons, I would love to hear your take on free hosted blogs versus self-hosted blogs. Are you self hosted or on a free host? In your opinion, what are some of the pros and cons?