Free blog or sui generis website?
May 25, 2005 1:28 PM
I'd like to set up a website. Not a blog, exactly, but something simple, something warm, something that reminds me of home and summer days and the first time I was kissed. I'm a tech weenie but I've made a simple site or two. Should I build and host my own site, or use one of the free blogging sites?
Why would I choose one or the other? What are the hidden downsides to the free solutions? Which free solutions are the best ones? How much would I pay to host my own site (a simple one)? If I build it, will you come?
All opinions appreciated.
Why would I choose one or the other? What are the hidden downsides to the free solutions? Which free solutions are the best ones? How much would I pay to host my own site (a simple one)? If I build it, will you come?
All opinions appreciated.
Well, if you want to learn, build it yourself. If you want to get it up and enjoy it quickly, use a blogging site, blogging software or website builder.
If you want it to be truly unique you'll want to build it from scratch or you'll need to heavily modify what you'll get with any other solution.
With hosting you mostly get what you pay for. I don't recommend free hosting services for a number of reasons, but mostly it's about control and features. When you add in the fact that free services can always go away, it's really worth the money, in my book anyway.
You can get plenty of space, bandwidth and features for less than $10 per month. The $7-$8 range seems to be a sweet spot for balancing budget/stability/feature concerns.
posted by FlamingBore at 1:39 PM on May 25, 2005
If you want it to be truly unique you'll want to build it from scratch or you'll need to heavily modify what you'll get with any other solution.
With hosting you mostly get what you pay for. I don't recommend free hosting services for a number of reasons, but mostly it's about control and features. When you add in the fact that free services can always go away, it's really worth the money, in my book anyway.
You can get plenty of space, bandwidth and features for less than $10 per month. The $7-$8 range seems to be a sweet spot for balancing budget/stability/feature concerns.
posted by FlamingBore at 1:39 PM on May 25, 2005
Just a website? Typically, your ISP is probably giving you a small tract of webspace without you even knowing it. Poke around the FAQs on their support site and see. It is probably something small, maybe 20mb, and they might restrict your access to a web-based customizing tool, but it would be enough to experiment.
But really, you probably want a blog, even if you don't wish to admit it. Start with a simple Blogger/BlogSpot account, see if you like it. They're free and reasonably customizable.
If you enjoy it and find it is worth your while, then start investigating the more individualized options, like WordPress. GreyMatter is an excellent tool, but it does suffer from lack of active development and support (beyond the patience of their stalwart forum members).
You'll need a host for whatever solution you choose. Don't go shopping for cheap or free, because the frustrations will waste more precious time than the money you might save.
If you need more specific advice, let me know.
(And will we read your blog? If your content is compelling, then sure.)
posted by grabbingsand at 1:48 PM on May 25, 2005
But really, you probably want a blog, even if you don't wish to admit it. Start with a simple Blogger/BlogSpot account, see if you like it. They're free and reasonably customizable.
If you enjoy it and find it is worth your while, then start investigating the more individualized options, like WordPress. GreyMatter is an excellent tool, but it does suffer from lack of active development and support (beyond the patience of their stalwart forum members).
You'll need a host for whatever solution you choose. Don't go shopping for cheap or free, because the frustrations will waste more precious time than the money you might save.
If you need more specific advice, let me know.
(And will we read your blog? If your content is compelling, then sure.)
posted by grabbingsand at 1:48 PM on May 25, 2005
I'm curious as to what it is you're going to make. You say it's not a blog, but you're also looking at free blogging sites. Are you planning to offer a regularly updated website with dated links, and your calling it something besides "blog" is just semantics? Or are you trying to do something else? If it's the latter, a free blogging service like Blogspot might not fit your needs.
FlamingBore is right about the paid solutions. I'd watch for sales -- hosting services are constantly drawing people in with promotions (no setup fee, six months free, etc.). Some of them will even install blogging software for you free of charge. Anyway, I'm sure MeFites can recommend good hosting services if that's what you're after. (I haven't been with mine long enough to form an opinion of it.)
Good luck!
posted by danb at 1:57 PM on May 25, 2005
FlamingBore is right about the paid solutions. I'd watch for sales -- hosting services are constantly drawing people in with promotions (no setup fee, six months free, etc.). Some of them will even install blogging software for you free of charge. Anyway, I'm sure MeFites can recommend good hosting services if that's what you're after. (I haven't been with mine long enough to form an opinion of it.)
Good luck!
posted by danb at 1:57 PM on May 25, 2005
I highly recommend dreamhost. Dreamhost has "one-click" installs of both WordPress and MediaWiki, so it makes it really easy to get up and running quickly, but still have much more control than a blogger-type site. They've got plans with plenty of bandwidth and storage for cheap. On top of that, I think they're still running a deal where you get your first year of hosting for the normal cost of one month. Use '777' as the promotional code.
posted by monju_bosatsu at 2:14 PM on May 25, 2005
posted by monju_bosatsu at 2:14 PM on May 25, 2005
Thanks for asking the question OmieWise. It's something I'd been thinking about lately. Will there be free psychotherapy? Or at least a button to click that will bestow upon the visitor some peace of mind? ;- )
posted by peacay at 2:36 PM on May 25, 2005
posted by peacay at 2:36 PM on May 25, 2005
My suggestion is to start out with a free blogging site (afaik, Blogger is the best). A lot of people start websites/blogs with big aspirations only to abandon them weeks or months later. Start free and see if you'll stick with it. If you do or if you feel like you need more control/options, then it may be worth investing some money in.
If you want more options/control, but you don't want to get too technical, try TypePad.
Personal websites can be had for fairly cheap these days. I pay about $12/year for my domain name from Joker, and $10/month for hosting from InsiderHosting. There are even cheaper reliable hosting options, but I have multiple domains. I don't have any experience with other blogging software, but I love MovableType and they partner with hosts that have MT pre-installed for you.
posted by geeky at 2:55 PM on May 25, 2005
If you want more options/control, but you don't want to get too technical, try TypePad.
Personal websites can be had for fairly cheap these days. I pay about $12/year for my domain name from Joker, and $10/month for hosting from InsiderHosting. There are even cheaper reliable hosting options, but I have multiple domains. I don't have any experience with other blogging software, but I love MovableType and they partner with hosts that have MT pre-installed for you.
posted by geeky at 2:55 PM on May 25, 2005
OmieWise posted "but something simple, something warm, something that reminds me of home and summer days and the first time I was kissed."
Consider that a free blogging site will probably add ads to your memories, reminding you of home and summer days and HIT THE MONKEY TO WIN $500!
This may undermine the impression you seek to create.
posted by orthogonality at 4:58 PM on May 25, 2005
Consider that a free blogging site will probably add ads to your memories, reminding you of home and summer days and HIT THE MONKEY TO WIN $500!
This may undermine the impression you seek to create.
posted by orthogonality at 4:58 PM on May 25, 2005
Thanks for the input, the ads are something I had forgotten to think about. The question about you all coming there was actually just a joke about Field of Dreams.
Peacay, we can work something out, I'm sure.
posted by OmieWise at 6:09 PM on May 25, 2005
Peacay, we can work something out, I'm sure.
posted by OmieWise at 6:09 PM on May 25, 2005
Find a friend (or a random person) with webspace that they don't need, get them to make a subdomain, and away you go. Much better than a free host, and if you're moderate with diskspace and bandwidth most people with largish hosting accounts won't care (I certainly wouldn't).
If you want to go the paid route, you're probably talking $10/mo for semi-decent hosting, but there's no reason you should pay that. People are fairly generous with webspace, and the most you'd be asked to do is provide a small link or graphic showing where the site is hosted.
posted by devilsbrigade at 7:49 PM on May 25, 2005
If you want to go the paid route, you're probably talking $10/mo for semi-decent hosting, but there's no reason you should pay that. People are fairly generous with webspace, and the most you'd be asked to do is provide a small link or graphic showing where the site is hosted.
posted by devilsbrigade at 7:49 PM on May 25, 2005
DirectNIC will allow you to register your domain name for $15 per year. For another $15 per year, you can have bannerless (that is, without advertising) hosting of your web site, with quite a bit of server and transfer space. If you end up with large numbers of visitors, they will charge for bandwidth at (as I recall) another $15 per 2GB. Very much a pay-as-you-go operation.
If you can create your own pages, this is an inexpensive choice.
posted by yclipse at 8:28 PM on May 25, 2005
If you can create your own pages, this is an inexpensive choice.
posted by yclipse at 8:28 PM on May 25, 2005
Blogger does not put ads on their free blogs, and you can build your own template if you so desire.
posted by cali at 9:32 PM on May 25, 2005
posted by cali at 9:32 PM on May 25, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
To answer your second question: I don't spend a lot of time reading people's personal sites, but I maintain my own blog because it's a nice record for me (I recently spent a few hours navel-gazing over my archives), and it's also a nice way for people who are interested to keep up with me - rather than sending mass emails.
Luckily, I have a good friend who works as a SysAdmin, and I get free hosting through his company under the radar. It's nice to have a warm body a phone call away if something goes wrong.
posted by ArsncHeart at 1:38 PM on May 25, 2005