In the previous article, Blogging 101: The Introduction, I have explained what blogging is and what it can feature. This time we will be talking about the most basic and important terms one should know if he is really interested in setting up a successful blog.
Although blogging using a free platform service is easier and convenient, not to mention the obvious, its totally costless, setting up a self-hosted blog is much, much advisable and practicable if you are indeed serious in putting up your own site. Oooppsss, that’s a term: a blogging platform is a computer program or software which allows the blogger to write or update posts or articles to the blog. This platform is also the program we use to design the blog — the layout, the font, the color scheme, the theme, etc. The most popular blog platforms for self-hosted bloggers are blogger or blogspot and wordpress.
For starters, let’s discuss the definition of the terms you definitely need to know to finally get your own self-hosted or paid blog.
Although blogging using a free platform service is easier and convenient, not to mention the obvious, its totally costless, setting up a self-hosted blog is much, much advisable and practicable if you are indeed serious in putting up your own site. Oooppsss, that’s a term: a blogging platform is a computer program or software which allows the blogger to write or update posts or articles to the blog. This platform is also the program we use to design the blog — the layout, the font, the color scheme, the theme, etc. The most popular blog platforms for self-hosted bloggers are blogger or blogspot and wordpress.
For starters, let’s discuss the definition of the terms you definitely need to know to finally get your own self-hosted or paid blog.
I What is a self-hosted blog? I
A self-hosted blog is a blog that is totally under your control and with the domain name you personally picked. This blog – www.marikenya.com, is a self-hosted blog. I have chosen my domain name marikenya because it represents who I am, a proud Marikenya. These are other examples of self-hosted blogs:
- http://breathtechnology.com
- www.newsonblog.com
I What is a free-hosted blog? I
For amateur bloggers and those who simply wanted to express themselves online, you may just get a free-hosted blog. The most popular in offering free blog platform services are blogger or blogspot, multiply, wordpress, and typepad. These are examples of free hosted blogs:
- http://random-motivations.blogspot.com
- http://lehm08.multiply.com
- http://cutefindsbymarikenya.wordpress.com
Getting a free blog when you are starting is simply a wise idea. I started with free blog services and up to this day, my free-hosted blogs are still up and running although not updated regularly. Blogging should be fun so don’t get toxic and try to learn everything in a day. Start with a free blog and get the hang of it, don’t be afraid to experiment and ask fellow bloggers (even if you don’t know them personally).
What are the disadvantages of being hosted under a free-platform service? A lot actually. These are the most critical:
- Your blog is totally under the control of this platform service. If they decide to ban or suspend your blog, they may definitely do so. If this happens, your ranking will be affected as well as the interest of readers and potential subscribers.
- Most free platform services disallow advertising which of course, is a good source of income for bloggers. There are free platform services that allows advertising though like blogger or blogspot but the hitch is, many advertisers does not accept free-hosted blogs.
- The admin panel or dashboard of the blog is limited. You cannot experiment with the look of your blog, you cannot fully edit its layout and style it with your own CSS. At times, the blog comes with advertising from the platform service company that you won’t be able to delete. They make money from your efforts and your site’s popularity.
Now, why you should make the switch? Before we discuss the merits, see first the disadvantages of having your own paid site:
- It is paid. You will have to shell out some money to buy your own domain and pay for web hosting.
- You need to know a lot of stuff that concerns blogging and your blog. You gotta research, read and learn. This is the part where you nosebleed because of the numerous things you need to familiarize yourselves with. Don’t worry, I nosebleeded a lot when I started and up until these days because there are still a lot of things I do not know yet.
Enough about the negatives. Let’s discuss the glory of having your own self-hosted blog.
- It’s yours, your very own. You hold the reign, you decide what to put on it and how it would look like.
- You’re opportunity for monetizing your blog is endless. You may use it for cost-per-click or pay-per impression advertising, for paid posting, for in-links or in-text advertising, etc.
- People say “hey, you have a website!” A site, not just a blog or a page. It is a website that can make you proud, that can make you popular, or can make you rich!
- You don’t worry about suspension or getting banned except by the web hosting services but that’s another story.
In my next article on Blogging 101, we will be discussing some more terms like web hosting and domains. See you then.
What are the disadvantages of being hosted under a free-platform service? A lot actually. These are the most critical:
- Your blog is totally under the control of this platform service. If they decide to ban or suspend your blog, they may definitely do so. If this happens, your ranking will be affected as well as the interest of readers and potential subscribers.
- Most free platform services disallow advertising which of course, is a good source of income for bloggers. There are free platform services that allows advertising though like blogger or blogspot but the hitch is, many advertisers does not accept free-hosted blogs.
- The admin panel or dashboard of the blog is limited. You cannot experiment with the look of your blog, you cannot fully edit its layout and style it with your own CSS. At times, the blog comes with advertising from the platform service company that you won’t be able to delete. They make money from your efforts and your site’s popularity.
Now, why you should make the switch? Before we discuss the merits, see first the disadvantages of having your own paid site:
- It is paid. You will have to shell out some money to buy your own domain and pay for web hosting.
- You need to know a lot of stuff that concerns blogging and your blog. You gotta research, read and learn. This is the part where you nosebleed because of the numerous things you need to familiarize yourselves with. Don’t worry, I nosebleeded a lot when I started and up until these days because there are still a lot of things I do not know yet.
Enough about the negatives. Let’s discuss the glory of having your own self-hosted blog.
- It’s yours, your very own. You hold the reign, you decide what to put on it and how it would look like.
- You’re opportunity for monetizing your blog is endless. You may use it for cost-per-click or pay-per impression advertising, for paid posting, for in-links or in-text advertising, etc.
- People say “hey, you have a website!” A site, not just a blog or a page. It is a website that can make you proud, that can make you popular, or can make you rich!
- You don’t worry about suspension or getting banned except by the web hosting services but that’s another story.
In my next article on Blogging 101, we will be discussing some more terms like web hosting and domains. See you then.
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#1 by JC - August 8th, 2008 at 08:09
First!!!
Nice work here mhel…
Hope we can push others to blogging (and possibly earning) instead of just sitting around surfing the net.
Do not worry I am always behind you – you go girl!
#2 by dennis - August 9th, 2008 at 09:45
hooray!!!
denniss last blog post..fhm philippines’ 100 sexiest women
#3 by mhel - August 13th, 2008 at 09:05
thanks jc and dencio! sked na!
mhels last blog post..Marikenians Code of Conduct
#4 by SAKgireeger - February 16th, 2009 at 05:26
Your site does not correctly work in safari browser