Self Hosted Wordpress vs Free Wordpress Account

Because i always saw someone that is asking what is the difference between the self hosted wordpress blog and the free wordpress account. I decided to create this post. Just in case someone didn't know about the difference between those two wordpress type. Although i don't think anyone will read this … but like i always said, it's not hurt to try everything ;)

Although i think most of you already knew the answer for such question, especially if you read the free wordpress terms of service .. (but i always knew that no one like to read that legality stuff because of various reason) :P .. as a side note, this is just in my own opinion with a joke of course .. and you shouldn't take everything seriously .. got that ?

Okay and here’s the list :

Free Wordpress Blog :

Why you should choose free Wordpress Blog :

• Free as in free beer : And that means you don't have to pay anything to get your blog
• Unlimited Storage and Bandwidth : The only place to get a truly unlimited space (i mean your post content not other stuff like image,etc) and bandwidth is the free Wordpress.com account .. there’s no other place that gives you a free and reliable service other than Wordpress dot com
• No Technical Knowledge Required : Yeah .. that means you don't have to understand about uploading and installing, your Wordpress files into your server, etc. The only thing you should know is writing a good content for your blog
• Dedicated Server for free : If your site got slashdotted or digged .. then there’s no need to worry about it, because Wordpress server can handle it without problem … and this is the only free place that can handle digg or slashdot effect without changing your site into suspended page of your hosting provider.
• No Upgrading Required : You don't have to worry about upgrading your wordpress installation, and that means less problem for you.
• Good for Search Engine : Because there’s site wide tag, you’ll get your blog discovered by search engine very fast .. and that means you don't have to do everything by yourself to be recognized by Major Search Engine
• Can Drive Traffic Easily : Because Wordpress using site wide tag just like i said before, you can get easy traffic for your blog because someone can see your site listed on the tag you used on your blog … but with one exception .. you must write something interesting for someone to read your blog
• Write Anything You Want : Wordpress allow adult material too .. and for those who like to post adult material, you can use it for free as long as you’re not putting something illegal there (although i’ve seen several blog posting illegal material too .. but it's not a good idea to post something illegal there)

Why you shouldn't choose free Wordpress Blog :

• No Advertisement Allowed : And that means you can't use Advertisement on your page, and that’s including Amazon affiliate, Google Adsense, Pay Per Post, and other advertising method.
• No Javascript / Scripting Allowed : You can't use scripting on your site because if you try to do it, you’ll see your code got filtered by their system automatically .. and that means no fancy effect on your site
• No Object Allowed : You can't use your own Macromedia Flash stuff (except converting it into GIF Format), or other object on your free wordpress account except for trusted provider such as YouTube
• No Custom Plugin / Themes Allowed : There’s no way you can upload Custom Wordpress Plugin and Wordpress Theme because they’re not giving FTP Access. So the only thing you can do is give your suggestion to the free Wordpress Blog Staff

Self Hosted Wordpress Blog :

Why you should choose self hosted Wordpress Blog :

• I Want More Control : Yeah .. with a self hosted blog, you can do anything you want to your blog, and that’s including destroying all of your wordpress installation in a minute
• I Want Money : Of course everyone wants money, so if you want to have advertisement placed on your blog, this is the only way to go
• I Want Custom Themes / Plugins : Like i said before, you have control of everything .. and that means you can have custom plugins / themes installed on your blog
• I Want to Write Anything I Want : Of course, you can write everything you want on your self hosted blog .. and that’s including illegal material .. but be prepared, if your host doesn't allow illegal files then you should see your host deleted account page soon ;)
• I Know a lot about Computer : If what you said are true, then you should be able to handle everything well, and self hosted blog is the best thing you can get

Why you shouldn't choose self hosted Wordpress Blog :

• My Blog get lots of traffic daily : Of course if you’re not prepared (i mean you don't have enough money) to get a dedicated server, then you shouldn't choose self hosted blog because .. you’ll always get suspended everytime you move your site
• I don't know anything about computer : Well .. i think it’d be better to choose free wordpress blog, because you don't have to deal with this stuff

That’s it … basically everything is just the same, except that if you’re using self hosted blog, you’ll have to take care of everything by yourself .. because your host doesn't care about it (even if they care, they’ll not help you when you gave them a really hard question)