Today we kick off a new weekly feature: Ask The Blogging Barista.

John asks:

What are the pros and cons of integrating a blog into a Web site versus hosting your Web site and blog separately?

John,

You obviously recognize the value of having both a blog and a Web site, and I’m glad of that!

I’ve tried both methods you suggest:

• I’ve created a mega Web site/blog combo
• I’ve created a Web site, and then linked it to my blog hosted by an outside service (Blogger and Typepad are the two most widely used blog hosting services)

Here are a few pros and cons I’ve discovered:

Web site + separately hosted blog

• I spent a big chunk of change having a Web site professionally designed and developed. When it got hacked, I had to re-create every single page on the site (and there were a lot of pages). Thankfully, my blog was hosted at Typepad, where an additional 750 articles remained malware-free. Lesson learned: back up your Web site database and your blog content DAILY.

• Nearly all blogs incorporate the same basic design elements, and it’s a snap to customize blog templates to match the look and feel of your Web site.

• And with a service such as Blogger or Typepad, set up is easy, even for technophobes. If you’re a newbie blogger and need a quick, painless way to get started, an external blog service is a good choice.

• If you use an external hosting service, I recommend purchasing a URL (Web address) and masking the service’s domain name (which usually looks something like www.yoursitename.blogspot.com) so that it appears to visitors as www.yoursitename.com. It’s a quick and painless process that results in a more professional feel and allows you to brand your blog more effectively.

• One advantage to using a service such as Blogger and Typepad is that search engines index their posts almost as soon as they’re published. If you integrate a blog into your own site indexing may take longer, depending on the whether you optimize your site for search engines.

• I’ve heard rumors that blog hosting services sometimes go belly-up or randomly delete everyone’s blog posts, but no one I know has ever reported having this problem. A word to the wise: back up all your content regularly, just in case (I’m big on backing up files; I’ve made to many bloopers that have caused me to tear my hair out in chunks).

Web site + integrated blog

During the past two years I’ve become a WordPress.org convert. WordPress.org (not WordPress.com) is a self-hosted platform (in other words, you buy and use your own domain name). With WordPress, you have several options:

• Create a stand-alone Web site
• Integrate a blog into the site
• Create a stand-alone blog

I love the increased creative control I have over the site’s design and the convenience of managing all my content from one home base, as opposed to flipping between my Web site database and my blog service’s dashboard.

Is cost a factor?

It can be, depending on what combination of options you choose.

• Many people hire a graphic designer and developer to create a snazzy Web site, and then they use the free Blogger.com service for their blog.
• Others hire a designer/developer to create a custom site that incorporates everything.
• Still others do it themselves, customizing one of WordPress’s many themes (templates) to create a unique look for their Web site/blog combo.

The major costs you’ll incur for a Web site include:

• Domain name registration (about $10/year for a .COM at GoDaddy.com).
• Blog hosting service (free at Blogger and many other places; $5-$15/month at Typepad, depending on the level of service you choose).
• Web site hosting ($6.95/month at bluehost.com, which I use and recommend).

WordPress sites can be slightly intimidating for beginning bloggers who look at the blank theme and wonder:

“How the heck do I customize this? If I tinker with it, am I gonna blow the whole thing up?”

The solution:

Spend a minimal amount of money to hire a professional to create a semi-custom WordPress.org site/blog for you. Perhaps all you need to achieve a professional feel is a cool banner at the top of your site. Once your site is designed, you won’t have to mess with it at all; you can just focus on creating content. And trust me, the dashboard (text editor) is identical to all the other blogging services’.

Blatant Self-Promotion Alert!

Did I mention that Blogging Bistro provides custom setup for WordPress and Blogger sites? Whatever level of assistance you need, our team of designers, developers, SEO experts, and content writers deliver. Book your free, 15-minute needs assessment right now: info@bloggingbistro.com.

Okay. I’ve covered a lot of territory in this post, but I know I’m probably forgetting about a dozen things.

• Which method do you prefer?
• What works best for you?