Why shouldn't I start on blogspot.com or wordpress.com?

A new blog, just like any other site, will require a lot of work and some investment. The investment can be kept to a minimum, or can go to hundreds/thousands of dollars if you invest in custom themes, coding and maybe editors to help write the content.

For many people who are just 'trying out' blogging even the idea of spending few bucks on a domain name and a proper hosting seems daunting, so they look to free blog providers such as wordpress.com and blogspot.com

Why not Blogspot.com?

Blogspot is Google's service for some years and many people use it since it's easy to set up, especially if you already have a Google account. The problem with it is that, even if pretty easy to use, it's the 'home' of MANY content thieves and spammers. Most blogspot.com blogs are low quality blogs, so many potential visitors will be put off by this.

The comment system is pretty 'weird' too, so you'll need to make some settings to have people comment.

The platform is still used since it's well promoted and free, not to mention that Google are very lenient with the ads you're placing there.

Why not Wordpress.com?

Wordpress.com is another free blog provider that's being used by some bloggers. It's not 'loved' because the don't allow you to modify your theme or put ads. So, if you're interesting in monetizing the blog out of the bat, you won't be able to. Still, because people can only blog there, I have found the percentage of good blogs to be overwhelming. Wordpress.com hosts people who just want to share something.

The advantage for it is that it allows you to see Wordpress in action, the platform most of us use on our hosting. Wordpress is one of the widest used scripts right now, with MILLIONS of downloads and active sites. It can run blogs, brochure sites, shopping carts, photo galleries etc. It's that versatile.

The disadvantage for you is that you have little control over how your blog looks and you can't place advertisements on the blog.

The self-hosted solution

With $9-11/year for a domain name and $2-3/month for hosting, you can get your own blog up. Such as www.dojoblog.net for instance. As you can see, it runs on Wordpress, but the domain name is MINE, so is the hosting.

The advantage is that this is EASY to brand and easy for you to remember. You'd recall dojoblog.net easier than dojoblog.blogspot.com or dojoblog.wordpress.com. It looks professional and serious (even if we ignore the unique design I have created for it).

Even if you're not a specialist in blogging, setting up your own blog is THAT EASY. Here are the steps:

1. you buy a domain name *recommended registrar: namecheap.com
2. you buy hosting *recommended hosting provider: hostgator.com
3. you install wordpress (if you have hosting on cpanel - many hosts provide this - you just click 'install wordpress' and it's done)
4. you enter your new installation and do your job

There are thousands of FREE wordpress themes you can use, until you're getting your blog into a better position and you'll be willing to pay for a custom design.

Running your own 'show' means you have FULL freedom to write, to advertise products and services, to do anything and everything. And your visitors will easily find your blog and remember it as easy as they found it.

Free is good, but not if you're interested in doing something with your blog. VERY FEW of the blogs on blogspot.com or wordpress.com are successful. If you take a look at the biggest bloggers in your niche, you'll see they all have a proper domain name and blog.

Even if you're just testing the 'waters', I would recommend doing it right. You can get a .info domain for 3 bucks and $12/year hosting even, so, with approx. $15 you can run a 'test' blog for an entire year. If it's OK and you like it, you'll keep on doing it. If not, just close it. You would have lost little money and would have done this as it should be done.

Not to mention that, if you need support with your blog, we're here