Setting up your blog takes a lot of energy like a rocket launch. Once in orbit it takes little to keep it on course, like with a blog. Most of the initial energy is spent choosing a domain name and locating a proper host.
There are two choices for thin finances, either a free domain with a not-so-terrible free host or paid hosting service and a real domain name. Your experience can differ greatly based on this foundational business decision. Your business may suffer many setbacks if you do not approach this seriously.
Search for free hosts:
- Free Host Finder
- Free Web Hosting
- Free Hosting Bug
Sign up for free domain names:
- Co.cc
- Cz.cc
- Dot.tk
As for low-end paid hosting and domain registration, you can usually get 1-3 free domain names if you pay for hosting. Just don’t settle on the first one. Shop!
One company I have had good luck with is IX Web Hosting, but some like GoDaddy, or Blue Host. You should search for one that meets your needs. I prefer IX Web Hosting because they give three free domain names.
The big question in this business decision is whether it is more efficient to pay for hosting and domain name or to settle on a free host and domain solution. On the one hand, you could save nearly $100 a year if you secure a free host for your blogs. On the other hand, free may translate to troubles galore and eat up so much of your time you cannot blog. Compare the two for a deeper analysis, with me.
Free domains are not 100% reliable, with little incentive to meet high standards. I have tested Cz.cc and Co.cc and found my domains reported as down due to their name servers on many occasions for as long as 12 hours. That is half a day no one in the world can access your blogs.
Limitations of free hosts become obvious when you post your site and beginning working with it. The ftp might be clogged and your connection refused, as it was with me on 000space.com all evening while moving my blog to a paid host. Many of them that I tried out had no easy way to password protect a directory.
Nearly all the free hosts advertised the Cpanel and bragged about the scripts to install tens of programs, such as WordPress and Joomla. However, when I signed up and tried, every host had the same. We are upgrading our services, and cpanel will be available soon. One site had had this message for two years, according to a forum entry.
So in the end, my advice is to bite the bullet and pay for hosting, but try to get as much as you can from that paid hosting company. You should have at least one free domain name with it. Then you can set up sub-domains for each blog you want to host. In the long run, you will save yourself time, money, and stress. You will be happy and will write more frequently and higher quality content. This will affect your SERP’s and your readers’ satisfaction.
About: The author, Ajeet Khurana, is a tech enthusiast and enjoys tech blogging. He also runs a tech blog called TechnoTropis.