Which blogging platform is for you?

So you’ve finally decided to start a web blog and decided what to blog about, the question is where will you host it?

Hosted vs standalone (self-hosted)

Hosted blogs are those that run under blogger.com, livejournal.com, wordpress.com, multiply.com, etc.

Pros

• It’s FREE!
• You don’t have to worry about updating the blog application since the administrators/moderators do it for you
• Some of these hosted blogs have a social networking feature which will alert or inform the other users once you’ve updated your blog

Cons

• These hosted blogs can not be fully customized.
• You and about 50 more others will have the same theme/template as you, unless you have a bit of CSS, HTML or PHP knowledge.
• You get a http://yourname.thehostedblog.com url.
• Some services also places ad in your website.

Standalone

Standalone blogs are those that are hosted under your own web server, and the application is usually installed by you. Most web hosting control panel has an automated web applications installer like Fantastico for cPanel, etc. which can be used to easily install and upgrade a web application.

Pros

• A http://www.yourname.com domain gives a more professional/personal feel.
• Since the application is in your web server, it’s easier to customize it; you can choose which plugins and themes to use.
• It has SEO advantages.
• You can create backups as much as you like.

Cons

• If you don’t have much knowledge and isn’t willing to learn a few html, css, php, database, etc. then this isn’t the one for you.

If you’re on a tight budget, then a hosted blog is the one for you. Although you can shell out about $10/year for a domain and point it to your hosted blog (yes, some hosted blogs allows it).

If you’re planning to blog in the long run, then get a domain and web hosting service.

Whatever blog application you choose, make sure you choose the right one that will fit your budget and won’t give you headaches in the future.