What Blog Software Will You Use?

There are many blogging applications available to you, with WordPress, Blogger and b2evolution being among the most widely used.  This is all a matter of preference, but it should help to know that WordPress is the most popular of the bunch.  Supported by a large community of developers and users, WordPress is highly customizable through a vast selection themes, widgets and endless plugins.  Regardless of the platform, you may want to put an emphasis on ease of use as some blogging applications are more complex than others.

Free or Paid Blog Hosting?

When making the decision to set up a blog site, you also need to determine if you want a free or paid hosting service.  Free services are abundant and usually do not force you to litter your pages with third-party advertisements like free web hosting offerings.  However, there are some disadvantages you should know about.  Opting for free blog hosting restricts you in terms of features and control, factors that could possibly limit your potential.  If you want to make the most of your blogging experience, it would be best to purchase an affordable web hosting plan that comes with free blog support.  Being that blogging has become such a phenomenon, rest assured that these services are plentiful on today’s competitive market.

Finding a Host

If you decide that paid hosting is the best move for you, the next thing you need to consider is the company that will be hosting your blog site.  In the past, finding a good web host was a rather tedious process that often left prospective customers worn and frustrated.  Things have changed as more resources are now available to aid in your search.  There are numerous sites online that provide side-by-side comparisons of companies offering blog hosting services.  These sites generally tell you the price you will need to pay for the service and the type of blog supported along with other specifications such as the amount of disk space and bandwidth included in the package.  Review sites also make a good source of information, particularly the ones that offer both expert opinions and feedback from real users.

Technology just keeps moving along but it is hard to imagine an internet and World Wide Web without the blog.  This medium is here to stay and will likely evolve with improvements that make the experience even more worthwhile.  If you can find a web hosting solution that provides adequate support for your specific needs, a blog can give you a viable and near flawless connection to the rest of the world.

Ads

While a company may offer hosting at no cost, they are by no means not making money off of your site.  Nearly all free hosting offers will involve advertising placed on your pages.  These will be completely out of your control.  Some companies try to gear ads toward being relevant to the site topic but this isn’t always guaranteed.  Add in the very real fact that your competition may be placed on your web site and this can equal a loss of revenue for you.

No control

Another downside to hosting for free is a severe lack of control.  Most free hosting companies do not offer a control panel or an ftp access account to allow administration of a web site.  This means you cannot make page changes on the fly or add in programs that may be needed by your business.  If you are a retail business, this means no ability to add in a shopping cart or software that helps you control your inventory.  Putting a bit of tracking coding is not an option unless you can have access to the page coding.  Even attempting to change the look of your web site can be an issue.  Some free hosting sites will give you access to templates and a few will even allow some minor changes made to backgrounds.  But, all said, you are very limited to what you can do within your own site.

Support

Support is another problem with free web hosting.  You’ll be limited to perhaps some online forum areas to ask your questions but you won’t have numbers to call, ticket support systems or one of many options offered by paid hosting.  If your business site isn’t working, this can end up costing you a lot of money.

Affordable solutions

Paid hosting these days really doesn’t put a huge dent in your pocketbook.  Some hosting companies run specials on a regular basis and you’re sure to find one that will fit your budget.  You can find hosting from as low as $3-$5 a month, depending on what your business web site requires.  Many of these companies also give a lot of great features for your money – including unlimited web space, unlimited bandwidth and a huge assortment of easy to install programs to get your site up and running quickly.

What it boils down to

When all is said and done, you need to ensure your business is hosted with a company that you can rely on for support and also one that gives you the needed tools to ensure your online site is a success.  This is one time when you do not want to “tighten your belt” or “pinch pennies.”  Do a bit of research and find a good, solid hosting company with a price you can afford.

Free Hosting

Yes, free web hosting really does exist.  You can have your very own website without paying anything at all – that is, if you don’t mind being restricted.  What do we mean by restricted?  Well, with a free web hosting service, you generally have little disk space and bandwidth to work with.  Features?  You don’t get too many of those either.  If you’re lucky, you may get a simple control panel along with the ability to upload a few images and integrate a free shopping cart into your site.  How could we forget the advertisements?  When hosting your site with a free service, the provider typically places third-party ads on your site and best of all, you have no say in the matter.  If you can deal with the drawbacks, know that free web hosting is widely available.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the most common type of web hosting today.  After free services, it is also the most cost effective.  With shared hosting, you are literally sharing server space and resources with other web hosting customers.  This arrangement calls for you to share disk storage, bandwidth, CPU, RAM and generally an IP address as well.  Shared hosting allows providers to offer a cheaper service because the customers essentially pay for the cost of the hardware and critical resources.  Although you have no control over the web server, you do have control over your site by way of a control panel application.

VPS Hosting

Short for Virtual Private Server, VPS is similar to shared hosting in the way that it involves hosting multiple websites on a single server.  The major difference is an evolving technology known as virtualization.  This type of software has the ability to simulate multiple servers within a single physical server.  A VPS is partitioned in a manner that isolates you from other customers hosting on the server, providing you with guaranteed resources and enhanced stability.  If you require more flexibility than shared hosting can offer but can’t afford an entire server, VPS could be the right solution.

Dedicated Hosting

Often referred to as dedicated server, dedicated hosting is an arrangement where you have the entire server dedicated exclusively to your personal or business needs.  This means that you don’t have to worry about sharing disk space, bandwidth, RAM and other vital resources.  Dedicated hosting provides the utmost in flexibility, stability and security but is also far more expensive than conventional shared hosting.

Managed Hosting

Managed hosting can be described as dedicated hosting in full turnkey service terms.  Because a dedicated server requires extensive maintenance and administration, managed hosting is often needed for individuals who lack technical knowledge or the time required to keep the machine thriving.  With this type of solution, you usually have the luxury to choose a predefined managed package or select the options and services that best suit your hosting needs.

The Cost You Pay

With free hosting, you are generally required to give up something in exchange.  Most free hosting providers will automatically place advertisements at the top or bottom of your web pages in exchange for their service.  Even worse, some use annoying pop-ups rather banners, scaring away visitors and making your site look very unprofessional.  Aside from advertisements that have nothing to do with your personal vision, you typically have to sacrifice customer support and the accessibility of your website.  Besides, you’re not paying for service so the host does not owe you anything – not even reliable customer service or the promise that your site will be available on the web.

The truth is that free web hosting is not all its cracked up to be, this is the main reason why so many people have no problem paying for a more reliable service.  The best way to sum up free hosting is the word limited.  There are limited features and control with decent support being pretty much out of the question.  Because the servers are not of the highest of quality, your site could run slow and experience an unreasonable amount of downtime.  If your intentions are to create a personal website, you may or may not be able to deal with such instances.  If you intend to run an online business, there is no way it can survive in this environment.

Reliable Free Hosting

Overall, free web hosting is far less dependable than its paid counterpart.  However, there are actually a few hosts that offer decent service.  This isn’t to be confused with the reliability you tend to get with a paid hosting plan but compared to free hosting standards, it’s acceptable.  If you look hard enough, you can actually find a free web host that doesn’t force you to place advertisements on your web pages .  These companies usually set you up nicely with a small amount of storage space on the server, minimal bandwidth, and if you’re lucky, a simple control panel that allows you to play webmaster.  What they hope is that you will enjoy the free service and eventually upgrade to one of their paid hosting plans.  Several hosts have actually started out this way, offering a free service for a while and then earning enough revenue to move up full fledge paid hosting.  So if you are not ready to pay for a website, this would be much better situation as at least gives you a little more flexibility.

Conclusion

If you really think about, free hosting really isn’t free.  Every provider has to pay for their servers, bandwidth and other associated resources.  What you are required to give up in exchange ultimately determines the price.  The good thing as that even though you’re not coming out of your pocket, you don’t necessarily have to be stuck with a crappy service.

Free Hosting

What could be any better than a free web hosting plan?  This makes a great option for someone who wants to create a homepage or small personal site to share with friends and family.  While free hosting has received a bad rap for its lack of security and support, there are few reliable hosts that will take care of you.  Tripod.com offers free hosting and actually comes with decent support.  If blogging is something you want to get into then WordPress makes a good choice.   However, free hosting is more geared for getting your feet wet and having a little fun on the net.  If you want to establish a powerful web presence with an online business, you need your own email address and domain name.  Though a free host may allow you to set up a PayPal shopping cart and sell your products and services, there is no doubt that your credibly will be tarnished when potential clients notice someone else’s domain tacked onto your URL.

Shared Hosting

Shared hosting is the vehicle used by many people embarking upon their online endeabours.  As the name implies, this type of hosting describes a situation where you are sharing space on a web server with other users.  As clients are sharing the cost of the server, shared hosting is the most affordable and popular type of hosting available.  This makes a viable option for personal users and small businesses as companies will set you up with everything needed to open a web store – email accounts, shopping cart software, database access.  The problem with shared hosting all boils down to stability.

When hosting on a shared server, you are exposed to all the activities of your neighbors.  If someone makes a huge scripting error, the entire server can suffer.  If someone experiences a sudden burst in traffic, your site might run slower.  Because many providers will run hundreds to thousands of sites on a single machine, the shared server is susceptible to overloading and going down.  If it goes down, so does your business. On the other hand, several companies are able to make the most of shared hosting and provide excellent service, actually living up to their highly rated uptime guarantees.

Dedicated Hosting

When your business takes off and sharing server resources is out of the question, it’s time to move up to the dedicated server.  Now you’re in the big leagues with an entire server devoted to your hosting needs.  On the other hand, the dedicated server makes up the most labor intensive form of hosting; not exactly physical, but from a management aspect.   Without any experience, succeeding with this option is nearly impossible.  Those who require a dedicated server but don’t know a thing about server administration can get by with managed hosting.  In this scenario, the provider handles all the management tasks which frees you up to focus on other areas of the business.  Keep in mind that a managed service requires a larger initial investment on your part.

What is the Best Hosting For You?

The best advice we can give about hosting is to know what you’re getting into.  Free services are geared for personal sites, shared hosting is suited for small businesses and a dedicated server is designed for larger hosting needs, yet is far more expensive.  By knowing what your site requires, it will be much easier to determine which is the best solution.