Where do you blog? #pbloggers Party: 31st March 2013

Where do you blog...?

This week's discussion was all about where you host your blog whether it be on Blogger, Wordpress another blogging platform or self hosted.  Here's what you all thought:

To Blogger or to Wordpress? That is the question...
When asked if you preferred one or the other, answers seem pretty split down the middle between Blogger and Wordpress; they both seem very easy to use for both new and experienced bloggers.  Some thought that Blogger is the more basic platform of the two, but you could still customise your blog to be more-or-less how you want it.  Others thought Wordpress had more freedom and functionality.  Blogger and Wordpress are, of course, completely free of charge.

Self-hosting
It seems that more and more people are deciding to self-host their blog as this allows complete freedom when it comes to design and other functions such as plugins and widgets.  You also thought that being self-hosted enhanced your stats in that your site is more accessible with improved SEO.

Most of us on the #pbloggers team were surprised to learn from you all that going self-hosted is relatively cheap. Prices are under £5 from sites such as GoDaddy or 123reg to buy your own domain name.  Once you have your own domain name, you then need to acquire hosting.  This is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their site accessible via the web. This is again relatively cheap and depends on how much your hosting site charges.  Some of you pay a monthly charge of around £5 a month and others paid a one off charge of under £10 for the year. A couple of recommended hosting sites are One and One and Hostgator (Hostgator is US based but Mum in a Hurry has so far had extremely good customer service from them and can recommend them).

Another very useful site for new bloggers is Blogging with Amy who has a whole series of posts on Wordpress and self-hosting. Check out her site and use her search bar to find what you need.

Please add any comments you may have and if we missed you off the list of favourite bloggers last week, please don't be shy, add your blog to the linky below which we have set up so that you can share your blog and find other #pbloggers.  Thanks everyone for taking part and we'll see you next Sunday!