Hosted Weblog Platform: Part 2

On the other hand there are also some very severe restrictions and disadvantages to having a hosted weblog platform. The first and one of the most important (to me) is that there is a restriction on how your blog will actually look like and perform. Granted that there are certain norms when it comes to blogs in terms of how they look and perform but with hosted weblog platforms you are severely restricted in terms of both the look of the blog and also how the blog performs. Basically you will get a standardized look and performance with nothing to set you apart from other blogs other than your content and your pictures.

In the beginning this restrictions in terms of look, layout and content management may seem like a blessing because you don’t have to think about all the nitty-gritty details of the blog, you can go straight into developing the content and the blog. This however is a problem in disguise, the worst thing that the restrictions will do is also restrict your conversion and directly affect that amount of money that you will make with the blog. This is because most of the free hosted weblog platforms are just not flexible enough to enable money making features which you can sign up for.

Secondly, and most critically, you must understand that when you actually sign up for a free hosted weblog platform, there are some legal matters that you must understand. The content that you put up is yours, any extra advertisement space that you have in addition to the ones specific by the weblog hosting company is yours however your right to actually own the blog and the space that it is in is still the right of weblog hosting company. Basically what this means is that the blog company has the right to pull your blog offline anytime it wants. ANYTIME! This is one of my primary concerns with using free weblog platforms (and also free hosting).

As an example, in my research for the term “bad credit” for one of my sites, I came across one hosted blog (http://bccc.blogcu.com/) which was ranked at #62 for the term “bad credit”, it’s a very good rating which is very difficult to get. I looked at its structure and my estimated based on my other sites is that the blog could easily earn at least $10,000 a month based on the competitiveness of the keyword and how much people are willing to pay for it. Guess what happened? The weblog got closed down and the owner would have lost at least 1-2 years worth of work and a very heft $10,000 check every month.

My recommendation is this, if you want to write a blog that is purely personal where you want to make yourself heard then the hosted weblog platform is of viable use. Worst case scenario is that you loose the blog but then again you can always start another one and no one will be the wiser. If you truly want to make a money making blog and keep it as a legitimate stream of income then it is vital that you consider the other options.

 Hosted Weblog Platform: Part 1