Hosted vs Independent Software

Where should I host my blog?

This is a question each aspiring blogger has to face very early in the process. The two main options are sumarised below:

Hosted Blogging Software (normally free): With hosted software, you need to enter data so that it can be saved on your host company's servers for free. Your data (blog) is saved on servers from the host company you chose. Some hosts supply software that have paid versions that give you more freedom for customization. The free versions also offer a certain degree of freedom in customization by providing predesigned templates for you to use. The stored data is then accessed for search and interaction purposes.

Independent Blogging Software (normally paid for): This kind of software can be bought on line from software dealers and publishers to be downloaded via the Internet - or it can be installed on web servers. This kind of software allows you more customization but storage (for which you normally have to pay) is often limited because of web server capacities.

For the beginner it is proposed that the first option of Hosted Blogging Software is followed because it can be done for free and provides an excellent platform to improve your blogging skills.