There are different grades of bloggers. You’re either a professional blogger or you’re just blogging for fun or as a hobby. One of the ways to differentiate between these 2 types of bloggers is by the type of domain they use. Usually, those who are blogging for the fun of it or as a hobby make do with free blogging options that allow you to create your content and share it with the whole world under the umbrella of a host.  The most popular type of blogging platforms are BlogSpot and WordPress.com.

However, probloggers make use of self-hosted blogging platforms or vanity domains which enable them to have your blog hosted on their server and gives them the opportunity to own their own domain.

What Does a Free Blogging Domain Have to Offer?

To give you a good idea of what you’ll be missing if you stick to a free blogging domain, let me tell you about what blogging platforms like BlogSpot and WordPress have to offer you when it is free.

Having a blog under BlogSpot or WordPress is free and easy to set up. All you have to do is to register and within a couple of minutes you’ll have a fully functional blog ready for you to start creating content.

This all sounds fine, but the major downside is that your domain is actually not your domain. It is under WordPress or BlogSpot. What this means is that you won’t have much control over your blog domain name and how you would like your blog to function.

So instead of having your domain name like “www.stylishblog.com”, it’ll look something like “www.stylishblog.blogspot.com” (if you’re using BlogSpot) or “www.stylishblog.wordpress.com” (if you’re using WordPress.com). As a blogger, this will make you look unprofessional as not many clients trust bloggers with such domain names.

Your options as to customization, advertising or even bandwidth will be greatly limited and this will prevent you from making a decent income from your blog.

What Does a Vanity Domain Have to Offer?

This is what all probloggers use. A problogger always makes sure they own their own domain.Some have it on a WordPress or BlogSpot hosted server, while others have it on a self hosted platform.

Clients are more comfortable dealing with bloggers who own their own domain. They see such bloggers as more professional and they get more value from working with such blogs because they can benefit from the blog’s domain authority.

With your own domain you can enhance the capability of your blog by installing useful plugins. Plus, you won’t be restricted on how you advertise on your blog. This means that you will be able to earn a decent living off your blog.

Verdict?

Whatever option you choose for your blog is up to you. But if you plan to take your blog seriously then owning your own domain is the way to go. There’s nothing as good as being in control of your own blog.

Do you agree? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Thanks for reading.