Self Hosted Blogs for Business
In quite a few of Blog Posts I have recommended business owners use a Self Hosted version of Wordpress over the hosted version offered by Wordpress.com and Blogger.com however, I have never gone into much detail on why or what the primary differences are.
Wordpress.com and Blogger Blogs
Wordpress.com and Blogger Blogs are hosted and essentially controlled by Wordpress and Blogger web sites. They are free to use and very quick to set up, you can be Blogging in minutes. However, from a business perspective that is where the benefits end.
Self hosted Wordpress Blogs
There are other Blog Platforms available but Wordpress is the most popular and therefore has many more themes and add on functions available than other Blogging Platforms such as B2Evolution and NucleusCMS. I use and recommend Wordpress.org and Woothemes to my clients.
The Advantages of a Self Hosted Wordpress Blog
As I stated earlier if you are Blogging for personal reasons using a hosted version offers a quick, easy and affordable method to broadcast your message. However, Blogging for business is an entirely different scenario. The only way for business to really leverage the power of Blogging is to use a self hosted Blog. Some of the primary reasons for this include:
Blog Control
Although the current policies of Wordpress.com and Blogger.com may be favorable to your business, no one can foresee how these policies may change in the future and what impact any future changes may have on your businesses Blog Program.
Professionalism of Design
The professionalism of design is an important factor regarding how your business is perceived by your current and potential customers and clients. In many cases the days of the Home Page are over. It is likely that once you initiate a Blog for your business your Blog could be your point of first contact with your customer. Therefore, you require a design that portrays the professionalism of your company to the Blog's visitors.
There are very few themes options available for Hosted Blogs in comparison to the large number of both free and paid theme templates available for the hosted version of Wordpress. With a hosted version of Wordpress you also have the opportunity to develop a custom theme which provides seamless integration with the look and feel of your business's web site.
Added Functionality
One of the most powerful elements of Wordpress is the vast array of plug-ins available to assist you to add functionality for just about every online tasks imaginable. Although I have never used a hosted Wordpress Blog I have signed up for an account to view the differences and from what I saw the ability to add functionality through plug-ins appears to be missing.
I see many of the WordPress Plug-ins as an absolute necessity for businesses to improve both business connectivity with visitors and to improve the Blog's visibility in the online environment. The lack of plug-ins on hosted Blogs is a considerable drawback.
Back Links
The number and quality of Back links leading to your Blog has a significant impact on how visible your Blog is in the Search Engine Results Pages. If you do not purchase a Domain with Wordpress.com and pay for the additional Wordpress service Domain Mapping if you decide at a later date to migrate your Blog to a self hosted version redirecting the back links you have acquired will not be possible. Considering the importance of Back Links to your Search Engine Optimization Program this is one of the most serious drawbacks of a hosted Blog.
The Last Word
If your in business and Blogging there is only one option for your Blog Platform and that is a self hosted version of Wordpress. Although in the beginning when your business is new to Blogging and not sure how to implement a Blog into your online strategy a hosted version appears to be the ideal solution. It is fast, easy to set up and free which are some pretty appealing when entering something new. However, once the Blog begins to show its benefits it is often much more difficult and costly to migrate to a self hosted platform with some of the primary concerns mentioned above.
I encourage all my clients to Blog, the benefits for Search and Social Media visibility are enormous. Blogging is a long term strategy, so get started on the right foot and implement your business's Blog on a Self Hosted Wordpress Platform it is a strategic move your business will benefit from time and time again.
