A blog is a type of website. Because a blog is a website, you will need to sign up for a website hosting service such as 1&1 Internet or www.GoDaddy.com . Website hosting is an internet connected computer (also called server) that allows your website to be accessed from the World Wide Web. If it helps, think of the World Wide Web as a television cable network and your hosting service as the production studio for a new TV show. Your server is the environment in which you will produce your website.
The Difference Between Hosted and Self-Hosted Blog Hosting Solutions
Now that we have learned what blog hosting is, next we are going to discuss the difference between the types of blog hosting solutions. Hosting is generally divided into two groups:
- Self hosted blog. In a self-hosted set-up, you control the hosting environment. Building on the analogy of the TV studio, the productions studio is owned or leased directly to you – you are the one on the lease. I HIGHLY RECOMMENDS SELF-HOSTING YOUR BLOG. Some common characteristics of self-hosted blog solutions include:
- You pay a fee for hosting, usually monthly
- You are responsible for customizing server configurations, installing a content management system, upgrading applications, etc.
- There are no restrictions preventing you from advertising on your blog and the only ads that appear on your website are of your choosing.
- Hosted blog. In a hosted blog set-up, someone else in the primary leaser, renter, or owner of the hosting service and they allow others to use it under specific conditions. In many ways a hosted solution can be compared to borrowing or renting a production studio from a friend for a day. Some common characteristics of hosted blog solutions include:
- Hosting is usually free
- Fast and easy set-up, including preinstalled software.
- A preinstalled content management system or blog platform
- Your blog is usually placed in a sub-domain or directory on a domain owned by someone else
- Guidelines preventing advertising or ads from a third party are inserted on your website as part of your service agreement
Which Hosting Solution Should You Choose?
Here’s how to decide if a hosted or self hosted solution is right for your blog.
When to choose a self-hosted solution
Pick a self-hosted blogging solution if you want greater control of your blog. If you plan to incorporate advertisements into your blog or participate in affiliate marketing programs. Additionally, if you are already tech savvy or desire to develop a better understanding of the Internet, a self-hosted package is the way to go.
When to choose a hosted solution
Selected a hosted blogging solution if you want a no hassle, plug-and-play blogging experience. You’re intention is just blogging for the sake of blogging, without any intentions to monetize your blog.
You’ve decided what your blog is about and you’ve written your 
Search engines such as Google, Bing, and Yahoo are able to read the keywords in website domain names. Many use keywords in domain names in order to rank websites relevant to a user’s search. Search engines also use domain names to as cues to understand the topic of the site. Again, this helps them to present better results to their searchers. Therefore, incorporating keywords into your domain name can benefit your search engine rankings, help you to attract people who are interested in your blog topic, as well as your search engine referred traffic.
