In this post, I would like to discuss this hot topic ‘ how to make money blogging for free’, that practically everyone that wants to start a new blog asks.
People that are new to the blogging world don’t know whether to start their blog on a free blogging platform or have a self-hosted blog.
I think many newbies that ask this question don’t know much about blogging and they are not even sure if they will make money in the future, so they prefer to spend nothing until they make some bucks online.
In this post, we will talk about the differences between blogging on a free platform and on a self-hosted one with their pros and cons.
What is The Difference Between a Free Blogging platform and self-hosted (paid one)?
Before we talk about the differences let’s define those platforms:
1) What is a free blogging platform? Â
It’s a website that hosts many blogs where you can sign up and get your free blog, the best sites to get a free blog are wordpress.com and blogger.comÂ
2) Pros of a free blogÂ
- You don’t have to pay for anything, you just need to sign up for a free account and then you will be able right away to choose the title and pick up a theme.
- Easy to manage especially on Blogger
3) Cons of a free blog
- When you set up your free blog, your blog’s link will look something like this ” www.yourblogsname.coom.blogspot.com.
- Free blogs don’t look very professional
- You don’t have full control over your blog as you can’t add plugins like you can in a self-hosted one
- Â a limited amount of memory space and bandwidth
-  It’s harder to make money with free blogs are your advertising options are limited
4) Who should go for a free blogging platform?
Free blogs are for those people that just want to share their best memories and life adventures with their friends, or for those that just want to blog for fun and not interested in starting a home based business.
It might be also a good option for people that want to use it for their studies, for instance, Â I know a teacher that has a blog where his students find summaries and studies notes.
1) What is a self-hosted blog?
A self-hosted blog is the one that is on your own server, usually, people pay third party companies to host their blogs, for example, the blog that you are reading right now is hosted on Wealthy Affiliate, another good example is Hostgator.
2 ) Pros of a Self-hosted Blog
- Full control over your blog as you can customize as you want, in addition to the total control of the search engine optimization, monetization options and more
- You can install custom themes
3) Cons of a Self Hosted Blog
- It requires some investment
- It might be intimidating to newbies
4) Who should use a Self Hosted Blog?
Self-hosted blogs are the best for people that want to start making money blogging since they look professional.
So What is The Difference between them?
Well, the difference between a free blogging platform and the other one is simply that by getting a free blog you can’t expect to make money seriously.
If you need to start a serious home business then you should definitely get your own hosting and domain name, so you can make money as a full-time blogger.
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ConclusionÂ
Are you new to blogging? did you start your blog yet? if yes what platform did you pick up?
You know if you have any question feel free to drop a comment I will be more than happy to reply!
Your Friend Anis
Anis, thanks for providing a clear reason for choosing which way to go for my blog. I am interested in doing this for a business and definitely will pursue the self-hosted blog rather than the free-blogging platform. You’ve identified the major free sites and by viewing them I can tell that you know these pretty well. The pros and cons are helpful. Thanks again.
A free blog is bad for business a self hosted one is way better, but the SiteRubix free website is a good option if you want to start a free website and earn money
I had a free blog for a while and tried to make money off of it but it never worked. Makes sense that if it is free that it looks more unprofessional than a paid one. What site do you suggest for buying a domain on for hosting a paid blog?
Hostgator, Godday are the best
Thanks for the informative post. For newbie bloggers it can be confusing. You’ve set out the pros and cons very nicely. Personally I feel that if you want to monetize your blog you should approach it like a business. Understand that a business will need an investment. Be professional from the start.Invest some money into your blog and do it right from the beginning.
You are right Celeste and glad you like my post, thanks for stopping by 😀
Hi Anis,
I see that your site is a new one. You do address what I look for first in a Money Making website – Sites & Apps to make money online – I will try your suggestions 🙂
I would suggest categorising your posts, in order for users to find content they are interested in easily.
Keep up the good work!
I will surely do that, thanks for your feedback Marios! 😀
To tell you the truth, having a free platform was nice. It kinda warmed me into the whole idea of starting my online business. It was like a preview to the real thing. That’s why I decided to get my own domain. i didn’t just want a preview, I wanted the real thing and the real thing is so much better! There are so many things that I am able to do and I really see it taking me to a successful online business.
Yeah that a good idea to start on a free plaform once you get the hang of it you get your own domain!
Thanks for stopping by
I have to agree with your post that if your into blogging to make money then it is better to spend a little bit of money to have a self hosted one.
The fact that you own your blog and can do whatever you want, are 2 key factors as to why I think this is a better choice. Also the cost does not seem to high either.
I feel you only need a free blogging platform if all you want to do is write about things you enjoy, and are not in it for the money.
You are right Michael, if you want to start a home based business, you can’t do it on a free blogging platform, thanks for stopping by!