Should You Host Your Blog on Its Own Domain and Hosting?

Blogging is gaining a huge popularity on the internet and I guess there will be many questions on the mind of a blogger when it comes to choosing the type of hosting they need for their blogs. Will a free blog hosting platform do the job or should they host their blog under their own domain name?

This question is very common among bloggers because they can't really get a definite answer to it. This is because there are many levels as a blogger. Some may be new while others might be experts. However, statistics have shown that successful blogs are blogs that is hosted on its own domain and not a free hosting service like Blogspot or WordPress.

To decide on which to choose, a blogger must know what he is looking for. Firstly, there is the cost of his blog's operation. A blog with its own domain will require a fee for the purchase and renewal fee each following year. On the other hand, a blog can be started with zero cost with free hosting providers.

The next question is the flexibility of the hosting. A free hosted blog will have limitations with this because you will have no control over the blogs outlook, .htaccess and functionality wise also. With your own domain, you have better flexibility.

Hosting your blog on your own will require you to do more maintenance too. So if you do not have the spare time to maintain the database configuration, software installations and so on, don't go for your own domain with your blog.

On the other hand, hosting your blog on your own will give you the power to brand yourself. Most noticeably is the domain name where your domains do not have to carry the name of the free hosting provider. When people see your domain, it brings a great first impression and hosting our blog on your own domain definitely gives a more professional feeling.

So, should you use a free hosted blog or host in on your own domain? The answer really lies within the grasp of the user. A newbie or a student with no budget will be better off with a free hosting blog because they won't have to worry about the cost and concentrate on blogging itself. On the other hand, if you are looking to blog seriously for your online business, it is better to get your own domain. There are very cheap deals out there today that cost less tan $10 per month. So, it is a little investment that will be worthwhile if you put effort into your blog.