This is a question I get all the time and many bloggers undoubtedly get all the time.

Should I use the free Wordpress blogging platform or should I host my own Wordpress blog?

The free Wordpress blog you would get by signing up for an account at Wordpress.com. Your username would become your blog name, so for example if I got a user name “howdoyoustartablog” my URL would be howdoyoustartablog.wordpress.com

The self-hosted Wordpress blog would be on your own domain on your own site you would install the Wordpress software on. The Wordpress software would then be the blogging system that manage the content of your website. These days, installation is quite easy with most hosting companies. Most use push button software such as Fantastico Deluxe or Simple Scripts to install Wordprses. Check out my website and watch a free video and watch before your eyes as I set up a blog and post to my blog all in about 10 minutes.

So now to address the question: which is the right one for you?

FREE WORDPRESS BLOG PLUSSES AND MINUSES

PLUS free to setup

PLUS easy to setup (already done for the most part)

PLUS maintenance free (setup, upgrades, spam control, backups, security)

PLUS reliable servers (hosted on Wordpress.com servers)

PLUS inclusion into the Wordpress.com community may facilitate community traffic

MINUS cannot update/upload your own theme. Must use Wordpress.com themes

MINUS cannot change or edit any of the php programming (useful for adding almost unlimited site functionality and customization)

MINUS cannot upload any Wordpress plugins from third parties. There is a huge Wordpress plugin community

MINUS no ad placements allowed. In fact, Wordpress will place their own ads on your blog

MINUS Blog will still be under the Wordpress brand

MINUS no content .ownership. Blog is still a Wordpress site .

SELF HOSTED WORDPRESS BLOG PLUSSES AND MINUSES

PLUS can upload your own Wordpress themes or non-Wordpress.com themes. There are thousands upon thousands of third party themes you can choose from.

PLUS can change the php Wordpress code as desired. This will allow nearly unlimited functionality in your site. There exists a large community of Wordpress developers with many out-of-the-box scripts to add function to your site.

PLUS can upload plugins! iPhone’s motto is “There’s an app for that”. Wordpress’s motto should be “There’s a plugin for that”.

PLUS your own ads allowed, better control of monetization

PLUS since it is self-hosted, you will have a domain name and brand of your choosing.

PLUS you have ftp access to your hosted account which allows you a lot of control on your site outside of your actual Wordpress blog

MINUS you need to set up the Wordpress installation yourself. However, this is becoming much easier these days with push button installations available on most hosting accounts. My free “Start A Blog” video walks you through a Simple Scripts installation with hostmonster.

MINUS costs involved to setup. You have to pay domain registrar fees which is about $15 a year. Hosting fees can be $5 to $10 a month.

MINUS site maintenance such as spam control, security, and backups, are all done by you. So you will need to spend some time getting familiar with Wordpress and how to back up and restore an installation

MINUS need to find reliable servers. Make sure to choose a good hosting company. Most of them have a pretty good uptime guarantee.

In summary, if you want just the most basic blogging features of the traditional blogging sense, a free blog is for you. If you plan to monetize it even with adsense, then you will want a self-hosted paid blog. Moreover, if you want to add your own custom look and feel, you will want a self-hosted paid blog. You also have access to many free Wordpress themes as well. And finally the world of plugins is the big kicker. Think about apps for the iPhone. There is a quote that whatever you want, .there is an app for that.. Plugins are much the same from security to SEO to driving traffic to membership sites to just about anything.

That is why I will in most cases suggest the self-hosted paid blog. The cost of $15 a month is pretty trivial if you want to do a lot with your blog.

Hope this helps, and feel free to contact me if you have any questions or just post a comment here! If you would like to start a self-hosted paid blog, make sure to check out my free video!

Want to learn more about starting a blog with Wordpress? Come by Emil Yau’s site How Do You Start A Blog and watch his video as he creates and posts to a new Wordpress blog in less than 10 minutes right in front of your eyes.