By skyforbes 
So, you’ve decided to start blogging.
Let me start off by saying congratulations!
Running a successful blog can be a great source of income and blogging is also one of the best ways to funnel traffic to your business website. It also gives you the chance to position yourself as an expert in your niche.
Blogging also requires a lot of time and patience, so be proud of yourself for taking the plunge!
There’s a lot of posts out there that will promise you a certain number of clicks or views if you follow their exact steps. But this blog post isn’t about that.
To put it simply, my goal is to help you get your sh*t together and set up a successful looking blog that looks professional from day one!
Don’t worry blogging newbie, I’ve got your back.
Nothing screams NEW BLOGGER like creating your website on a free platform like Blogger.com or Wix.com.
Honestly, these types of platforms give you a website that looks pretty mickey mouse and seriously limits your design and ability to personalize.
And straight up, you’ll never have full control or ownership over your website when it’s being run by another company. If Blogger or Wix go bankrupt tomorrow (not saying they will), but if they did, your site is dead.
yes… that was dramatic.
That’s why the best solution is to own your own domain name and set up a self-hosted website. Don’t worry, it sounds more complicated than it is!
For example, you want your site to read:
ladybossstudio.com
RATHER THAN
www.tasha.wix.com
See my point? Buying your blog a personalized domain name and and setting up a proper website host like Siteground, makes a world of difference.
Now, setting this up will cost a little in comparison to free, but it doesn’t have to break the bank, which is why I suggest Siteground!
They are by far the best happy medium. Fast, super reliable and still relatively cheap for about $4/month for hosting. Siteground is also a great place to start when you just want to see if your domain name (your blog or business name) is available!
*Pro-tip – buy the domain name of your own name. You might not use it tomorrow but unless you have a very unusual name, it might get snatched up by someone else with the same name!
Free hosting sites can also limit your chances of blog monetization as they don’t allow affiliate specific plugins or customizations.
K, so super quickly, in case you’re a super duper newbie, let’s cover what hosting is.
Just like you, your website needs somewhere to live. Your domain name is like your website’s street address and your hosting is the physical house your website lives in.
Your hosting company simply houses your website on their servers and make’s it available online. Just like you wouldn’t want to hire a crappy home builder, you don’t want to house your website on a crappy server. You need a fast and reliable hosting company that also offers you security and excellent customer support.
Makes sense right!
When weighing the pros of a “free website” with the cons of…well…limited ways of making future income, unreliability, no ownership… I think the choice is pretty obvious, my new blogger friend!