As a new blogger, it can be quite confusing trying to understand free vs paid web hosting and which is best for bloggers. Should you pay when you can get hosting for free? Or are there important benefits to having paid hosting?
And what is the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org and what is Wix or Blogger.com all about? Confused as a beginner blogger? In this post, I will explain the considerations and what you need to
Table of Contents
1. Benefits of Free Website Hosting
There are a number of advantages and disadvantages of free hosting so it is really not just a case of going for the free option.
The benefits of free hosting lie predominantly, unsurprisingly, in the cost in that you can get started immediately and without paying a cent.
This, in fact, is the one and only key benefit of free hosting.
If you are determined to use free hosting, there are three main options for blogging on a completely free platform and these are:
Whilst the hosting is free on these three platforms, you might want to think longer-term and think about the limitations that these free services offer.
2. Why Paid Hosting Can Still Be the Best Option
There are some serious limitations with using free hosting and thus, even as a beginner blogger, for the sake of paying just £3 (USD$5) a month, there is little reason to choose free hosting, especially when you consider the benefits of paid hosting.
With your own paid hosting you will normally:
- Have unlimited space or at least much more space than you would otherwise get.
- You can include ads on your site and you get paid for them.
- The option to add on eCommerce software onto your site.
- Ability to add Google analytics to your site (very useful to get key statistics on your site).
- You will be able to add any plugins you wish to.
- And importantly, you will truly own the site.
Quite simply, the benefits of paying for hosting are numerous, whilst the benefit of free hosting is simply that you save £3 (USD$5) a month.
Let’s briefly discuss some of the considerations mentioned in the bullet point list above so that you have a clear understanding of the constraints of free hosting and the benefits of paid hosting.
To Add WordPress Plugins You Need Paid Hosting
Plugins provide extra functionality to your website if you are using WordPress to run your site.
These plugins can be used for everything from contact forms, online shopping carts, and image galleries, to events calendars and booking calendars on your site.
These plugins are basically things you can attach to your site so that you can do different things on your site.
With free hosting, you cannot normally use any plugins! With paid hosting and WordPress, you can use whatever plugins you want!
Making Income Is Easier with Paid Hosting
The lack of control you will have with free hosting will also mean that you cannot add custom ads that will make you money.
This might be something you are not bothered about at the start but, once you start getting visitors to your site, you can easily add in ads automatically (such as via Adsense) and get paid for the clicks on the ads.
Actually Owning Your Own Site Means Flexibility Long-Term
If you host your site on Wix.com or WordPress.com or Blogger.com you will not actually own your own site. This is because your site/blog will sit on their hosting and they ultimately own the site.
The solution? Start your blog/site off from the start on paid hosting with the hosting company of your choice (we recommend Bluehost).
A very common situation that you will see on forums for new bloggers is questions such as:
- How do I get rid of the ads on my site? (These are ones that you get on free hosting and cannot remove, even if you don’t want them).
- How can I install xxxx plugin? (You won’t be able to on free hosting).
- How do I move my Wix site to my own hosting? (It’s difficult because your site will have Wix code all through it).
The question I have for you is why would you want to greatly restrict the plugins you can add, have ads on your site that you yourself are not getting paid for, and lack the flexibility to move your site if and when you want to? For the sake of paying just a few pounds or dollars a month, it makes little sense right?
3. Best Paid Hosting – Our Recommendations
There are two options that I can recommend and that I suggest, based on having used all of the major hosting companies for various clients, over the last ten years.
My recommendations are:
Beginner Bloggers – Bluehost
I recommend Bluehost because they offer:
- 24/7 hour support (when many other hosts only offer 9 – 5 Mon – Fri support and that is very useful when you get started)
- One-click install of WordPress (making it incredibly easy to set up your WordPress platform on your paid hosting with no technical expertise)
- Affordable hosting + A FREE domain name when you start off with them (they do charge more when you renew but so do all hosting companies).
More Established Bloggers – SiteGround
Many established bloggers swear by Siteground as a good host company.
They are slightly more expensive than Bluehost, so it’s your choice. Siteground though is a good choice too.
4. How Do I Start or Create a WordPress org Blog or Website?
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) meaning that it is, in essence, a tool you use on which to manage your blog.
You first need to buy hosting and a domain name (website name) and then you install WordPress (this you can do with a one-click automatic installation on Bluehost as mentioned in this post).
5. Common Web Hosting FAQs
Do I Want WordPress com or WordPress org
WordPress.com is the free version and where you host your site with WordPress on their hosting.
WordPress.org is where you download the platform and place it on your own paid hosting.
The best option for total flexibility is to go down the paid hosting route and to thus use WordPress.org. You will NOT though actually need to bother going to WordPress.org if you buy hosting with Bluehost as they install the platform for you with the one-click installation.
Can I Transfer My WordPress com to WordPress org?
Yes. If you are already using the free version and are now ready to move to paid hosting, you can export your existing site. To do this you need to:
1. Sign in to your account on WordPress.com and on your blog click on the ‘Wp-admin’ link.
2. Go to ‘Tools’ on the left side menu and then select ‘Export’.
3. On the next page, you will see the export options. Select ‘Start Export’ on the Free export option.
4. Next, choose to export ‘All Content’ and then click ‘Download export File’. You will now have a backup of your WordPress.com site.
5. Next, you need to import your site onto your self-hosted (paid hosting). If you have not already done so, you can sign up with Bluehost (or your alternative choice).
6. Once you have the WordPress platform set up on your new hosting, select ‘Import’ on the left-side menu in WordPress.
7. Finally, choose ‘Install Now’ under the ‘WordPress’ choice.
If you need help or have any questions about any of this, we are happy to answer your questions on our Facebook support group. Join us on Facebook.
Is WordPress org free to use?
It is but you will need hosting to place the installation on. So you can go to WordPress.org and download WordPress.
To sort your domain and hosting, install WordPress and then log in and start adding posts and tailor the design the way you want it.
You will see some free themes that you can choose from in WordPress (go to ‘Appearance’ –> ‘Themes’ on the left side menu on WordPress and select a theme).
Or you can upload a paid theme.
Is Blogger.com Free Hosting?
Yes, it is. Blogger.com is now owned by Google and is a free blogging platform.
It is free but be mindful, as we have covered in this post, that with free hosting you are greatly limited in being able to add plugins, how you can monetize your site, and in many other ways.
Paid hosting is so cheap that there is little point in using free hosting these days, particularly when you can fairly easily cover the costs by including automated ads such as through Adsense.
Do I Have to Pay for Web Hosting?
No, but it is advisable as per the answer above to go with at least cheap paid hosting and to have total flexibility with your site.
What Are Hosting Fees?
Hosting fees are money you pay to a third-party company to house your website.
Think of your domain name (website name) as your home address like where you physically live. Then the hosting is the land you have your house on.
It is NOT practical to host your own site (or at least not for 99% of us) because you’d need very good technical knowledge, some very powerful computers, and so on.
What Does Web Hosting Cost?
You pay anything from £3 (USD$5) a month to a company such as Bluehost, through to several hundred a month if you are a huge company needing an extremely powerful site with huge traffic to your site.
As a new blogger, £3 ($5) a month is about all you need to spend!
Do I need Web Hosting?
If you want to have a blog/website online then yes, you will need hosting.
What Is Offshore Hosting?
Offshore hosting is very common. It means, in effect, having your blog/website hosted somewhere outside of your own country.
This is very common because someone like myself in the UK, for example, will often choose a hosting company from the U.S. or vice versa. There is no real difference and very little SEO benefit to hosting your site in your own location.
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Thanks for this, great information explained in a way I can understand (with zero previous knowledge) I had no clue what all this meant just went with what someone recommended. Glad I read this.
Thank you Tracy. Yes, many bloggers start off with free hosting but find themselves so limited in terms of adding plugins and controlling their site as it grows. Paid hosting is so cheap these days also. Glad yu enjoyed the article.
Hi
Thanks for sharing such useful information on free vs paid web hosting. I had learned a lot today going through your information.
Delighted that you found the information useful Maria.
I am grateful to this blog site providing special as well as useful understanding concerning this subject.
You’re welcome Ben.