Where to host my blog
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If I cannot have my blog on my main site, what is the second best option? It is currently on Blogger, but I am wondering if it would be worth it to move it to blog.mainsite.com.
Thanks!
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I would be moving my hosting.... or getting a new CMS that allows my blog to run in a subfolder.
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If you can't have it on your www subdomain then the next best thing is to have it on a blog.mainsite.com or other subdomain of your main site. This is the SEO perspective, however Loren Strand makes a lot of good points about other considerations for hosting above.
However, the best option for SEO is to host it in a subfolder, like www.mydomain.com/blog. This way your blog posts contribute to your domain rank for your main website. Is this technically not possible on your site, or some other reason you're not doing this?
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The subdomain choice is yours. blog.[domain] is common. If you are asking what hosting service to use, it depends on your requirements. For example, shared, low-cost hosting at hostgator.com may be a fine place to start.
Let's say that site performance is important due to the visitor experience you desire to deliver and you have a lot of traffic. Shared hosting is probably a poor choice. Pay more for a hosting plan that gives your blog dedicated resources.
You may require root access to tweak certain settings. Some hosts offer at a good price, others do not.
If you are using specific software (Wordpress, etc) then maybe a host that has experience with the install and support of that platform?
Customer service is one of my highest considerations in hosting. A low cost never outweighs down-time or slow/lousy/rude customer support practices. Read customer reviews for positive/negative experiences. Try out customer service line yourself.
Last, think about backup and recovery of your site. Some hosts help really well with backups and ports of your blog elsewhere. It's so hard when I hear stories of blogs created at cheaper hosts only to lose very valuable content because there was an implied (but never tested) backup and recovery plan.
Let us know what you choose and why.
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In the interests of not starting a subdomain vs subfolder flamewar, I'm going to say: it depends.
Same branding as the rest of your site? Want to treat is as part of the whole? Go with a subfolder.
Different brand? Different style? Different purpose? subdomain.
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