Blogger vs WordPress

You may have heard a lot of talk about self-hosting your own blog and the advantages of WordPress over Blogger.

But what does it all mean, and should your blog be self -hosted? Should you use Blogger or WordPress or even something else?

If you already have a mom blog, or plan on starting one, you are probably ok with Blogger.com.

Blogger is a FREE blogging platform that is very easy to learn.

Just go to www.blogger.com and fill in the blanks.

For extra help, request your FREE 1/2 hour consultation. I will answer any questions you have.

If you are planning on making money from your blog, such as blogging about a home business, selling products or ad space on your site or any other money generating activities…..

You need to be self -hosted using WordPress.org (not.com).

Why you really need to be self-hosted

1. Blogger frowns upon money making activities on their free site. I have heard of at least three people (just from blogs I read) whose blogs were totally gone one day, or they were no longer indexed in the search engines…scary after working so hard to create the blogs….
2. Total control of your blogs!
3. Many hosting companies provide you with Unlimited Email accounts
4. You can get unlimited blogs and pages
5. SEO- WordPress blogs are search engine friendly
6. You can add forums, paypal buttons and more on your blog
7. Get approved for product reviews and affiliate programs easier
8. You can sell your blog if desired

So how do you get started with self-hosting?

First you need to pick a hosting company.  Here are a few of the most popular ones:

Hostgator:

Looking for Web Hosting With Quality Support? 24/7 Support Via Phone, Live Chat, and Email!

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HostMonster

Host Unlimited Domains On 1 Hosting Account

You can also run a Google Search to find one as well. I would recommend going with a service that offers unlimited blogs….

For the record, I use Hostgator and have been EXTREMELY pleased with customer service….I was totally in the dark about all of this in the beginning. They were there to lend a hand and even get me out of a few jams!

Once you find a service, you want to go to your account and start a WordPress.org blog. If you currently have a blog on Blogger, you can easily transfer your file to WordPress.

If you don’t have a WordPress, just start a new blog.

I recommend having a redirect URL (your own ,com, ,info, .biz, etc…) Try to match your blog & URL names as closely as possible. You can actually have more than one URL point to your blog if you want. I have 3 that direct here!

A URL will cost from $1.99- ?…..usually under $20.00/yr

If you need help getting started with self-hosting and a WordPress.org blog, request your FREE 1/2 hour consultation. I would love to help in any way possible.

For ideas on some great plug-in’s to put on your blog, go to the Get Bizzy Blogging online radio show. I did a show on widgets and plug-in’s. they are listed in the blog section.

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to my Tuesday Morning Blogging Tips newsletter!