Work Home Money

Hosted vs Stand Alone Blogging Platforms

Now after you have found out the answers to the questions that come to your mind about your choice of blogging platform (we talked about it in the last post), you can proceed further and think about another important question -

Will you go with a Hosted Platform or a Stand Alone Platform?

Hosted Blog Platforms

Many new bloggers start with this type of blogs. People start blogging with it because they are simple, easy to set up and most of the times do not cost anything. Some of such hosted blogging platforms are - Blogger.com (probably most popular), WordPress.com, MSN Spaces and TypePad (TypePad also runs a type of standalone option).

They are called “hosted” blog platforms because they ‘host’ your blog on their own domain. All of them offer an easy set up process through which you can easily setup a blog. You get a web address (URL) for your blog which will be a combination of blog platform’s own URL and the name of your blog.

Let’s take an example. Suppose the blog name is workhomemoney with a web address www.workhomemoney.wordpress.com. Here the web address has two elements- the blog’s name and the wordpress.com extension.

 

 

 

 

Advantages and Disadvantages of Hosted Blog Platforms

Advantages:

Cheap or Free to run - Most of them are free. Only TypePad charges a fee.

Relatively easy to set up - You don’t have to worry about anything. They have a simple set up process which they guide you through. It takes less than a minute to set up. You just need to fill a few fields.

Simple to Run - Hosted blogs are easy to run. They have user friendly and GUI interfaces to do any changes, addition, modifications in your hosted blog. You just write and click on publish to get your blog published.

Updated Automatically - In case of hosted blog platforms, you do not need to update them whenever a new version comes out. Update is done automatically.

Indexed in Search Engines Quickly - This is a big advantage. Hosted blog platforms have domains which are already indexed and have good Page Ranks. So your blog is got picked up by search engines pretty fast and easily.

Disadvantages:

Less Configurable - You do not have much freedom in configuring your own blog when you opt for a hosed blog platform. You have very limited option to customize it to give your blog a distinct persona. Blog platforms vary in their limitations- Blogger.com does not offer categories in it, WordPress.com has quite limited design options and TypePad options vary based on your level.

Default Design Limitations - The default design limitation is another con here. In case of hosted blogs, people use default templates over and over again and so it makes most of the blogs look the same. You can modify the template but for that you need to know CSS and HTML.

Less Control - You do not have control over your own blog when you use a hosted blog platform. You cannot ad design elements, you cannot add advertisements to earn money, you cannot add many widgets and plug-ins etc. You are at the mercy of hosting platform. 

Generic URL - You do not have control over your url also and get a generic url for your blog which may not be attractive and technically sound SEO wise. Having your own url looks more professional.

Upgrading to Standalone can be Tricky - Upgrading from hosted to stand alone blog platform can be tricky. It is not impossible but you may lose your readers or search engine ranking in the process. Again the process may be too technical for you.

Who can use Hosted Blog Platforms?

If you are not very serious, don’t care about having your own domain or blog for fun, then go for these hosted blog platforms. You do not have to spend anything. Even though they have several problems but there are people who have become popular using hosted blogs.

Stand Alone Blog Platforms

In this type of blog platform, it is hosted on your own domain/URL. http://www.workhomemoney.com is hosted at workhomemoney.com and is powered by WordPress.org. Other stand alone blog platforms are MovableType, PMachine, Greymatter, B2Evolution, TextPattern and Expression Engine.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Stand Alone Blog Platforms

Advantages:

Full Control of Design - You have full control on the design of your blog. You can change and modify the existing design. You need to have technical expertise to do it. If you do not have technical knowledge, then either use a default template or pay someone to do it for you.

Adaptability - Most of the hosted blog platforms have their own developer community where people develop new “plugins” for the platform and everyone can use it for free. In workhomemoney, we use different plugins in wordpress to generate different elements of this blog and we do it with a click with the help of the various plugins.

Free Platforms - These blog platforms are free to use. You just need to pay for the domain name and the hosting. Most of them are open source and only a few need licenses and payment.

URL - You can have whatever url you want provided you get the domain name registered for yourself.

Disadvantages:

Complicated Set Up - You need to know little bit about technology here. You need to get the domain registered, buy the hosting, set up the domain in the hosting, create the databases, download the blog platform to your computer and then upload the same to your domain in the hosting. However, you can follow the various tutorials available online. There are some web hosting service providers who will automatically install your blogging software in to your domain. I use Bluehost and it offers one click installation for wordpress.

Cost - You need to pay two things- a yearly domain fee and a yearly hosting fee which may be around $100-$120. There are different plans and you may need to move to a more professional and expensive plan later as your blog grows.

Updates - You need to do it yourself. As the new version comes out, you can update it or stay with the existing version. Some hosting providers, like bloehost, offer one click update of the blog platform software.

Hosting Issues - Sometimes your hosting service provider or blog platform can create problems. This is true with any type of blog hosting. It is therefore advisable to use a reputed hosting service provider.

Who would use Stand Alone Blog Platforms?

Stand alone blog platforms are good for professional bloggers. They look professional and can help professional run their online blogging business with it. Majority of the popular blogs are stand alone blogs.

Remote Hosting Options

Some blog platforms will allow you to use remote hosting for a combination of hosted and stand alone blogs. TypePad and Blogger.com offer such services. When you use this service, you can run your blog on your own domain and hosting but still use their system to publish your blog. This is useful for a new blogger who does not have the necessary expertise for setting up a stand alone blog. You can set up a blog without too much trouble and can run your blog on your own domain.

A few more valuable reading:

Macworld - The best Blogging Tools for the Mac - features a useful comparative table
Are you using the right blogging tool - Includes a glossary and reviews of a few popular blogging tools
Blog software Comparison Chart - Provides a companion chart
Blog software Smackdown: The big 3 Reviewed - review of Movable Type, WordPress.org and Textpattern
Blogger.com vs WordPress.com - a review of the two hosted options
Blogger.com Review - review of blogger.com

Post Footer automatically generated by Add Post Footer Plugin for wordpress.