Owning Your Own Domain Name Blog vs. Using Free Hosted Blogs Services

[ Read all the posts in the Blogging 101 for Pastors series here. ]

This is a topic I’ve been meaning to address all month and series long: Should a blogging pastor buy a domain name for a blog, or simply use one of the free services offered by Blogger, WordPress or __________________?

Here’s my answer ….

I look at domain names as investments in a brand and a product that you own.

For instance, I’ve owned CoryMiller.com since March 1999. It’s went through a BUNCH of revisions, tweaks, goals, strategies since then.

I’ve used it for all kinds of things — for business to show clients proofs and previews of things I was designing for them, for email (how easy it is to say, “My email is cory at cory miller dot com“?), for a resume/portfolio site (I can’t reveal that, it’s hideous and I still haven’t taken it down) … and for Gospel witness (which sadly I haven’t been able to devote much time to).

Only since probably a year or two year ago did I start using it as a blog. And I really didn’t call it a blog. I just used Blogger as an easy way to keep that thing updated.

Before I give you some advantages, I’ll just say that for beginning blogging pastors (especially cash strapped ones), I would encourage them to first use the free service for a month.

See if this blog thing is for you, then make the decision to switch or stay. If you’re just doing a once-a-month post, or not willing to put time into it … get the free account.

Now on to the advantages of having your own domain name and Web site … there’s a ton, but here are the ones that come to mind:

1. It’s yours. You own it. You’re not squatting on another piece of Internet real estate. That puppy is your own deal.

2. You can build your site and brand. I flat out beg bloggers who use those free services to make the switch, especially if they are the prolific kind. If you’re blogging on free hosted blogs like BlogSpot or WordPress or something like that, then you aren’t building your search engine status or rankings.

3. You have more control. Those free services are great, but they’re still “free.” I just like the peace of mind knowing that I’m paying for my site and hosting (about 7 bucks a month right now).

4. You have flexibility. Although we’re talking about blogs here, if you have your own domain name/Web site, you can use it for whatever you want. You’re not limited to JUST blogging with it. You can host your sermons, or make photo galleries, whatever you want with it.

5. It’s yours. Yes, I repeated this one. Do I need to stress this? It’s YOURS. YOU own it.

Right now, you can get domains for $9.95 (from me) or less … plus monthly hosting for $6.99 (from me) or even cheaper at other places.

There are other options too … but if you fork down your hard earned money (which is really the Lord’s money, right?) … make sure it goes to your domain name (not CoryMiller.WordPress.com but CoryMiller.com).

Here are some quick options:

  • WordPress.com — Now offers domain names with their accounts.
  • TypePad — Again, make sure it points to your domain name, not a sub-domain name.
  • Blogger — I use Blogger’s FTP publishing (for now) for this blog and my CoryMiller.com one. It “publishes” the files to my hosting account.

There are more, but these are the most prominent ones I’m familiar with.

Here’s a couple of things to look for in hosting and domain names:

  • If you’re going to use WordPress, you’ll need a Linux account. Blogger can be both on a Windows and Linux server. TypePad is hosted with them.
  • Buy your name as the domain name. That’s just my preference, but I think it’s a good one. I only use Church Communications Pro because this is for my work stuff and I’d rather build that brand and leave my personal site for my personal life and ministry. And use .COM … it’s the most common and people will still, by default, type in .COM, even if it’s 150 point font that it’s .ORG or .NET or whatever.
  • Make sure you are the registrant of your domain name, not the service. Don’t go for free deals. Own it yourself. Ask questions until you are 100% it’s you that owns it. For most, you own it. Just a warning there. Buying multiple years is also a good thing if you can afford it.
  • Email accounts. How many do you get? What about SPAM filtering. Despite this, I forward mine to my Gmail account. I love Gmail.
  • Bandwidth and storage space. There’s great plans out there, most of them offering really good values in these categories. You probably won’t use it all, but it’s nice to have.

***

SHAMELESS PLUS: Did you know I offer hosting? Yes, you can get it cheaper elsewhere and I’d be glad to point you to those places … but here’s the advantage of hosting with me …

1. You help subsidize/support this site.
2. You have the advantage of knowing me, a real live person typing in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, America! And my email address is everywhere on this site!

Check out my prices, email me with questions.

November 2, 2006 · Filed Under Blogging

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One Response to “Owning Your Own Domain Name Blog vs. Using Free Hosted Blogs Services”

  1. Alojamento on February 11th, 2007 10:22 am

    Great Article! When ever possible you will always want to own you or domain and hosting for that matter, you don’t want to give that type of control to any 3rd party.

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