Instead of regular websites, blogging is very popular and off-course WordPress is the best blogging platform. You can have WordPress blog in two ways.
1. Blog on WordPress.com (normally somename.wordpress.com )
2. Self Hosted Blog (You have hired a hosting and 99% chance that you have paid for it )
Many people have difficulty before starting a blog i.e. which type to choose, both have its own advantages and disadvantages. I don’t recommend any particular and advocate to choose, what best suits your needs.
Hosting on WordPress.com
Advantage
1. Basic blogging is free, no need to pay.
2. Very easy to start and post for non-techies, five minute job for starting a new blog.
3. No tension of backup or other technical stuff.
4. Almost 100% uptime (because many server are hosting ), so no tension of Hosting quality.
5. Unlimited Bandwidth.
4. No worry of upgrade, the guys at WordPress.com do this for you for free.
6. Comparatively easy to get good search engine ranking.
7. You can write about adult material too, which most of host don’t allow.
Disadvantage
1. Can’t place your Ads, so you can’t earn from it, though very popular your blog may be.
2. Themes are limited ( around 70 ) to pick, you are bound to pick a theme from the offered themes.
3. Mapping your domain is paid service 10$/yr
4. you own css is a paid service. 15$/yr
5. If your blog grows more then 3 GB you need to buy some space. 5GB for 20$/yr.
6. Occasionally Ads are also shown on your blog, Don’t Want to show Ads on your blog $30/yr
7. can’t use many widgets because most uses JavaScript.
8. Things are not in your control, final authority is WordPress.com (e.g. if your blog is banned for any reason, you can’t do almost nothing, except to protest)
9. you can host limited types of files only.
10. can’t change PERMALINK type (e.g. for one of my post http://motikhavdi.com/2008/12/21/using-stylesheet-how-to/ I can’t keep it http://motikhavdi.com/using-stylesheet-how-to/ or something different )
11. Later if you change your blog, you can’t automatically redirect to your new location.
Self Hosted WordPress Blog.
Advantage
1. 100% freedom from limitations, you can do almost everything you want.
2. 100% customization.
3. Variety of plug-in with which you can do many wonderful things automatically.
4. If you are not techie, can select a hosting which have Fantastico AutoInstaller, using which you can install WordPress blog in few clicks.
Disadvantage
1. No free lunch, you need to pay to hosting company for hosting your blog (free hosts are also there but you will have to compromise there with some limitations ).
2. You yourself have to make a system for regular backups.
3. Opt for this if you can regularly pay fee to your domain registrar (if not using free domains ) and pay to Hosting company (if not selected a free host ) otherwise one fine day you will be missing you your blog on the Web.
4. You have to upgrade manually if you want to have latest WordPress software.
5. If your host is not strong, your site may do down if you have very high traffic.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Hey AWESOME blog, added to my top 5 favorites
what are the other scripts like wordpress ?
After reading this page, http://en.wordpress.com/products/ ,
I am still not 100% clear
There is a section that says “go ad free” in the premium features section — which indicates that even after going premium and hosting your blog on another server/domain (say, dreamhost) — wordpress still has the right to display their OWN ads on your blog? I’m so confused.
@www.fitmomcanada.com
Wordpress can’t show ads on your blog which you host on other server (say dreamhost etc )
This is for those blog which are hosted on Wordpress.com (usually somename.wordpress.com), because from time to time, Wordpress.Com display text ads on your blog to logged-out users who aren’t regular visitors. However, if you’d prefer your readers didn’t see ads, you can remove them altogether for $30/year.
Tip: always refer to Wordpress.org for self-hosted blog and Wordpress.com for blogs hosted on wordpress.com
@www.fitmomcanada.com
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dasBlog: dasBlog is an ASP.NET 2.0 blogging application. It runs on ASP.NET 2.0, (all versions 1.9x and prior run on ASP.NET 1.1 & ASP.NET 2.0) and is developed in C#. dasBlog is an evolution of the BlogX weblog engine initially written by Chris Anderson and contributors.
Geeklog: Geeklog is a PHP/MySQL blogging tool that enables you to set up and manage a fully functional dynamic Web site.
Lifetype: LifeType is an open-source blogging platform with support for multiple blogs and users in a single installation. Writing articles is comfortable with the included state of the art WYSIWYG editor. Adding pictures and sound files (for Podcasting) is just a matter of browse and click. The Dashboard provides you with all the information you need every time you log in. Recent articles, comments and trackback as well as brief statistics get you updated about your blog immediately.
reBlog: reBlog is an open source web-based RSS aggregator which allows you to filter and republish content within one application.
Serendipity: Serendipity is a PHP-powered weblog application which gives the user an easy way to maintain an online diary, weblog or even a complete homepage. While the default package is designed for the casual blogger, Serendipity offers a flexible, expandable and easy-to-use framework with the power for professional applications
WordPress: WordPress is a semantic personal publishing platform (i.e., blog) with a focus on aesthetics, Web standards, and usability. It supports multiple users, categories, comments, bookmarklets, RSS syndication, several APIs, and weblogs.com ping, among other features.
Very easy to modify html part all the script part.
Hi,
Can i have sitemaps plugins on a wordpress hosted blog?
or even a simple sitemap?
thanks for useful info
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