“Hosting” is a web service offered by a company which owns the servers. They rent out the space for the websites and blogs to host in their server. It is also referred to as a place where you can store your website and the data related to your sites. The web hosting has become a popular business. If you choose the best hosting sites, you will get access to all the tools and technologies over the internet.
There are two types of Hosting services: Free-hosting platform and Self-hosted platform. If you are starting a blog for the first time, you have to take a critical decision which suits you the best. In this article, we are bringing you the difference between the two in detail, so you can understand. This information will surely help you with your decision.
Free- Hosted Platform:
You would have come across various Free-hosting sites such as Wix, blogger, Squarespace etc. Free-hosting sites are free to sign-up for an account and with the purchased domain you can host your blog with them. A hosted platform is a one-stop solution to build your website. They have internal software plug-ins that will help you to build your site on your own. The maintenance is low while using a hosted platform because your sites get automatically updated while software is updating. The data of your site get stored on the hosting platform only.
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Why should you use free blog?
- There is no initial cost to build the website
- Even without design or coding knowledge, it is easy to build and maintain the blog.
Read Also: HOW TO EXTEND BLOG TRAFFIC? 3 EASY & BASIC WAY
Why shouldn’t you choose free blog?
- The hosting platform name is tagged to your domain name and act as a subdomain. Example: www.galaxyusers.wixiste.com, www.staetupagenc.blogger.com
- You will have restrictions on free hosted blogs when it comes to functionality and customization. In order to make it inexpensive for you to use they restrict on website’s capabilities.
- Free-hosted blogs may sound unprofessional and appear less authentic.
- The storage is comparatively less. The video time and bandwidth are limited.
- The advertising is going to be harder on your blogs making it difficult for the revenue.
Self-Hosted platform:
Self-hosted websites are built by the developer and coder. A team of experts works to build a website using the software. Either you can buy your own server or approach a company to host your sites as a third party facilitator. Involving a third-party host also lets you enjoy all the freedom when it comes to functionality. The platforms like Bluehost, HostGator are some of the common hosting platforms and many companies depend on them for their performance. These companies share their digital storage space for the other blogs to run the website.
Why should you choose Self-hosted blog?
- You are the owner of your blog. You have complete authority and control over the site. If you are a professional blogger then hosting on a different platform is not advisable. For instance, if the hosting site is shut down, then your site is automatically in risk.
- The customization is made easier. You can incorporate the ideas that can hold your target groups
- There is no data sharing. The files are your admin portal and you can use or modify them when needed.
- You can invite various advertisers for your site and make the good profit.
- Why shouldn’t you use a Self-hosted blog?
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- You cannot build the website on your own. You have to hire a team and buy the server which will include the initial cost
- For new bloggers, it is difficult if you don’t have knowledge as a developer.
Why shouldn’t you use self-hosted blog?
- Cost is the only deterrent towards this choice.
Free-hosting blog Vs. Self-hosted blog
Plug-ins:
Plug-ins is extended functionality of the blog. You can get them installed in your blog for effective traffic on your site. But many of the free-hosted platforms do not allow you to install them. For instance, word press blog does not allow you to download all their plug-ins. They are limiting the access to very few software only.
You can download any plug-in software in your self-hosted sites. There are thousands of plug-ins available that can best suit your business. Also, these plug-ins let you share the content virally and make it more relevant on the internet.
Themes:
The design of your blog should be visually appealing to the audience. There are millions of template themes available online but only very few are accessible on free-hosted sites. You cannot change the theme when required. There can also be the chance that someone else is also using the same theme as yours.
Themes are the best part of any blog. There are various options for you to choose the theme that you like. You can also design your own theme and upload them to the site. You can make it more appealing and just like the way you want it to be.
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Search-Engine Optimization:
Search Engine Optimization: If the blog is going to be your serious business then you have to be experts in SEO to show the better results in the top searches. Free-hosted sites do not use any SEO pattern on their built-in website.
In self-hosted sites, there are more options available for you to optimize your site enhancing your rank in the popular browsers. Also, there is every possibility that you can experiment and use the keyword that best suitable for your business.
Costing:
Many companies or new bloggers choose their hosting service depending upon the costing structure only. There is multi-level costing plan available on these hosting websites. Before you want to decide you can also try and experiment with these sites to get the idea. For example, some companies have a basic plan, business plan, premium plan etc. and depending upon the requirement you can choose any of them. But mostly the cost range starts from $5 dollars and goes up to $20 dollars.
These investments can also be returned once your blog reaches the high amount of traffic. You can also open your business with affiliate marketing and monetize the blog. You have to be wise in setting a proper roadmap for running a successful blog.
If you are a new blogger and thinking of becoming a professional blogger then it is essential for you to know the platforms mentioned above. It is much easier if you start with the basic plan and explore the options that are available for you and your audience. Whichever hosting plan you choose, ensure that you do a regular check on the backend of the website for smooth functioning. If you are just starting the blog for fun and like a hobby then you don’t have to invest money but never compromise the quality of the blog.