Which blog host will you choose?
Over the years, I’ve created and managed many blogs, on many different hosts. Some hosts were outstanding, others were a complete and utter disaster. (I don’t need to name the disasters, because they’ve long vanished from the web.)
When you’re looking for a great blog host, decide whether you want a free option, or whether you’d rather pay for a commercial web host.
Free blog hosts
If you choose free, remember that you generally get what you pay for. Free hosts (like Blogger) are great when you’re just starting out. They let you create a blog in moments, and they do everything for you.
However, your blog lives and dies at the discretion of the host. They can “fire” your blog at any time. Or your blog may just vanish, and no one knows why.
If you’re serious about blogging therefore, it makes sense to invest in your blog(s), and choose a commercial host.
When you choose a commercial host, you have more control over the blog.
Commercial blog hosts
You’re not done choosing yet. 
If you decide to go with commercial hosting, you need to decide whether you want your blog hosted by a dedicated blog hosting company, which will do all the hard graft for you, or whether you want to opt for a self-hosted blog.
I have both kinds of blogs. I have several blogs hosted on Typepad, including my primary writing blog. The best thing about having blogs hosted for me is that I don’t need to worry about anything — no hassles. If I have a problem, I fill in a Help ticket, and the problem is solved. Time taken: 60 seconds.
Unfortunately, when a company hosts your blogs you don’t have complete control. My biggest bugbear with Typepad, amazing as the service is, is the lacked of hands-on search engine (SEO) optimization options. I’ve no doubt that if I wanted to dig into the innards of the service, I could enhance the SEO on my posts, but I don’t have the time or the inclination to do that.
Self-hosted blogs
Finally we come to my preferred option, self-hosted blogs on the WordPress platform. Most of my blogs, including this one, are self-hosted on Hostgator.
Why HostGator?
I have two hosting accounts on HostGator, and various other hosting accounts on other hosts. Hands down, HostGator is my favorite.
Here’s why I love Hostgator:
* I can set up a blog on a domain on HostGator with a couple of clicks — I know how the system works;
* I’ve had no problems with the service, ever. I know that my blogs are up, and they stay up;
* If anything does go wrong, a Live Chat person is always available 24×7.
The blog host you choose depends on your needs, and your needs will change over time.
If you’re new to blogging, here’s the best advice I can give you: when you’re just starting out, don’t sweat which blog host you’ll choose. Go with free for now. Get the blogging habit. If you love it (and I’m sure you will) you can change hosts at any time… choose a commercial host, and just move your blog.
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