I don’t think that I could ever pay to blog when I can do it for free. I understand that you can do a whole lot more if you have your own domain, but is it really enough to justify paying for something that can be done for free? As frugal as I am, I can’t see how it is. What does everyone else think? Is it worth it to pay to blog?
B”H
Posted in Random Thoughts
I don’t understand the paying for something when all one needs to do can be done for free, either. I stopped using iWeb because I had to pay for a dotmac membership (£70/year) and then there was the hassle of configuring every bit of the software. Of course, iWeb’s blog didn’t offer as much as some pay blogs, nor the ease of use (unless you enjoyed that kind of thing) so it may be an apples and oranges.
What are the benefits of a pay blog that you think you want and do you need them bad enough to pay for it?
By: Will on March 28, 2008
at 3:56 am
Will: I don’t think there’s any benefit that’s good enough to have me pay for something that I can get for free. I do wonder what drives other folks though.
By: Nick Norelli on March 28, 2008
at 10:11 am
You have more freedom with your own domain, especially in terms of editing the pages themselves. You can design the look instead of getting a choice among options.
By: Mike on March 28, 2008
at 10:55 am
I bought the domain name and arranged for the web space for other reasons, and it is convenient to use them also for my blog, with the extra freedom that allows.
By: Peter Kirk on March 28, 2008
at 1:16 pm
What Peter said.
By: Christopher Heard on March 28, 2008
at 1:32 pm
Mike: Do you see the irony in that comment? You have more freedom in what you have to pay for. 
Peter & Chris: I can understand that. If you didn’t already have the domains for other uses, do you think you would have gotten them solely for blogging? Or would you opt to do it for free?
By: Nick Norelli on March 28, 2008
at 2:49 pm
If I were only blogging, then I’d be hard pressed to justify paying for a hosted domain. I’d still probably want to buy the CSS editing feature here on WordPress though - I’m too much of a code head to not want to customize something.
Lately I’ve been greatly disappointed with the default themes from WordPress.com. They border on very good, but there’s always something that’s too annoying (to me) and needs some TLC on the coding side.
That said, I’m planning to transfer and upgrade my hosting account this summer to include database support (for my other projects), so a WordPress installation would be a natural thing to do.
By: ElShaddai Edwards on March 28, 2008
at 4:02 pm
I’d rather buy more books than a chunk of the web. Also, I can’t find much to complain about with WordPress… much nicer than Blogger.
By: Nathan Stitt on March 28, 2008
at 6:32 pm
I’m with Nathan on Sentence #1, but aghast at yet another manifestation of the WordPress Cult in Sentence #2!
Nick, I just came up with an analogy for you to understand my general sentiment re: WordPress. I feel about WordPress groupies like you feel about Firefox groupies! (Heh.)
By: Esteban Vázquez on March 29, 2008
at 1:15 pm
Hey now! I use WordPress and Firefox… whatcha sayin?
Tell me why I should go back to Blogger. But never IE!
By: ElShaddai Edwards on March 29, 2008
at 5:13 pm
Esteban: Nathan is quite correct, and to call WordPress a cult is akin to calling orthodox Christianity a cult. Moving from Blogger to WordPress is like leaving the Jehovah’s Witnesses for Eastern Orthodoxy.
Oh, I understand how you feel, and I will pray that God guide your misguided feelings in the right direction. 
ElShaddai: IE7 is in my opinion way better than Firefox. I don’t understand the cult-like following that this browser has. And there is NO reason whatsoever to return to Blogger, unless of course you like making it hard for folks to comment on your blog.
By: Nick Norelli on March 29, 2008
at 5:43 pm
Money=choice.
By: Mike on March 29, 2008
at 11:22 pm
[...] must say this seems like a really good upgrade to WordPress. A few days ago Nick Norelli asked why on earth people would pay to blog when you can do it for free. Well, I don’t pay that [...]
By: Some Blogkeeping bits » MetaCatholic on March 30, 2008
at 12:46 pm
