If you are not a host, it is not yours
Creating a blog is easy. Between WordPress, Tumblr, SquareSpace, Blogger, etc. There are numerous options to get started for free and write to your heart’s content. But this can come with a false sense of security.
The content you create on these free blogging platforms is still subject to the strict terms and conditions that the site dictates.
They are paying for hosting, so they really own the content.
There have been stories of legitimate blogs and online businesses being shut down due to “unpopular” content that a group of people may have reported as spam. With your provider hosting the content, they have the right to suspend or even shut down the page entirely and have you prove your case against the suspension. In some cases it is guaranteed, but many times it is not. This is a hassle that can be avoided.
Having a paid hosting domain gives you a huge advantage when it comes to bandwidth, security, and content creation. Yes, your wallet will be a little lighter, but I’ll deal with losing my entire site because someone hit spam too many times. This is especially true for freelance bloggers posting controversial topics or a small business where a customer order didn’t go quite right.
If you look at it from the perspective of a free blogging company, your name is connected to your blog. When someone doesn’t like what you say or has a bad experience, their name gets dragged through the mud just as much as yours, if not more. No company wants that and in most cases they will overreact by figuring out what the problem is before even giving the user a chance.
With your own hosting, it’s like having a separate place on the Internet just for you. The content can be whatever you choose and the security of having your space can even help stimulate the imagination.
Not to mention access to many more tools once you have a self-hosted site. Changing themes and fonts is just the beginning of customization, and cPanel becomes your new best friend.
This all stems from the realm of content creation.
Now free blogs have the benefit of… wellness of being free. But then again, you are not only subject to their content rules, but also to their security.
In general, paid hosting is more secure. If Tumblr gets hacked, all accounts are exposed. If a paid hosting site is hacked, it is limited to that account due to the privatization or division of the servers for each site. Very rarely is the entire infrastructure compromised. Both cases are rare, but are more likely to occur on a freely hosted site.
All of this means very little without bandwidth. If the website cannot support the number of users accessing it, then everything is a point of silence.
There is no option for bandwidth on freely hosted sites, most of the time you are not even told what it is. Most of the time that’s enough, but to grow a website and expand a user base things can get really small really fast. Free hosting companies would love to see their site thrive as it helps them too, but there is still a limit they can change at will. You can only hope that what they give you is enough.
The only way to truly own your content and site is through paid hosting. Not as many “what if” and “I don’t know if this is okay” issues. It’s your content, why not take control of it?
