Deciding on a Blogging Platform

Deciding on a Blogging Platform

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   Consider a free blogging service. Many people opt to create a free blog using popular services such as WordPress.com or Google Blogger. This is a good option for people who aren't familiar with web design, don't want to pay for their own hosting, or enjoy the ease and stability that comes with these services. These services do have limitations on how you can make money using them, however, so make sure your blog won't break the terms of service.
   • WordPress.com supports limited advertising, paypal links, and limited affiliate links. The website will not host blogs that contain third party ad services, banner ads, sites primarily used for affiliate links, or any advertisements for get rich quick schemes, gambling, pornography, multi-level marketing, or "disreputable merchants".^[8][9][10]
   • Google Blogger supports advertising through Google AdSense, paypal links, and limited affiliate links. If you use excessive affiliate links, fail to add relevant content when including affiliate links, or get paid to increase someone's search engine ranking, Google will move your blog much lower in the search rankings, greatly decreasing your audience traffic.^[11][12]
   • If you are not familiar with these terms, they are described under Monetizing Your Blog.
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   Consider hosting your own blog. If you purchase your own domain name, you will need to pay a hosting service monthly or annual fees to keep your website available. The advantage is greater customization, greater control over how to monetize your blog, and direct access to information on blog traffic for analysis.
   • If you aren't familiar with web design, you should have a knowledgeable friend assist you. Self hosted blogs are more easily affected by hackers or by mistakes from inexperienced owners.
   • Choose an easy-to-remember domain name, and use (yourname).com when possible if you are an author or other public figure.^[13]
   • Confusingly, WordPress.org allows you to use WordPress software on your own, self-hosted blog. This is a good choice if you are familiar with WordPress.com, a free blog hosting service described above, but want the advantages of your own site.