A few days ago, in this blog, I wrote an entry: Ten Things Every Blogger Needs to Start a Blog. If you were a new Blogger, I strongly recommend you to read it  and if you have already read the entry, then you must have noticed that one of the most important things that you have to decide is whether you want to buy a domain or blog in a sub domain of popular blogging websites like Blogger/Blogspot or WordPress. In this entry, I would like to discuss this simple question from different point of views.

Why your own Domain

Your own domain means something like this: blogging37.com. You are the owner of this name and it exclusively belongs to you. There are naturally some advantages about something that you own. First of all, you have total control on it and you do not need to worry about the ownership of another person. Some people feel that independent domains do better in search engine rankings, compared to sub domains or Blogspot or WordPress. It is perhaps a very difficult to prove but I have the same opinion and I have noticed that especially when it comes to other search engines except Google like Bing and Yahoo, Blogspot blogs don’t do well compared to independent domains. And last but not least, your own domain gives you an opportunity to establish a brand- like my brand is called Blogging37 or Sports37 etc. By the way, buying a blog is very easy and very inexpensive- $8-$10 per year.

Why Blogspot/Blogger

You may wonder now that after all the benefits of a domain, why should anyone be interested to go for a sub domain in Blogspot? Well, the first thing that comes to my mind is that maintaining a blog in Blogspot is very easy and it doesn’t need any effort at all. You do not need to have any kind of technical skill. This facility surely encourages a lot of people and that is why you can find perhaps more than 8 million blogs in Blogspot. The second benefit you get is that you’ll also get free hosting and you also have the opportunity to earn money with Google Adsense and other advertising programs. So, with Blogspot blogs, you can earn money without investing anything.

Why not WordPress.com Sub Domain?

I know that these days most bloggers are passionate fans of WordPress. I’m also a big fan of the technology but not of the free version WordPress.com where just like Blogspot.com, you can get a free sub-domain and free hosting. The thing that I do not like in WordPress.com it that he does not allow you to earn money by putting advertisements. There are some other limitations too. So, if you care about the earning any money then you should just simply forget it. Of course, if you’re a hobby Blogger then you have no problem.

Own Domain with Blogger Hosting

This is the thing that I like most these days. I have two blogs with my own domains but hosted on Blogger. I just needed to buy the domain for only $7.5 per year and then the hosting is free. It needs some technical know how but it is very easy as both Google and Godaddy have put up enough help materials.

Self Hosted WordPress Blogs

Among professional bloggers, it is very popular. For example this blog (Blogging37.com) is of this kind. I bought the domain and hosting from Godaddy and then installed WordPress at free of charge. It has many facilities and you have all the freedom in the world. However, just remember that you need to have some decent amount of technical knowledge and you have to give some time to look after the domain and the hosting and also you need some knowledge about maintaining a blog in WordPress.

I have talked about almost all the issues that a blogger may face about domain related matters. I hope that it has answered to most of your questions. Still, if you want to know anything more then leave a comment.