So you’ve decided to finally start your own blog. You have a name and even a domain name. So what now? Well you need to choose what type of blogging platform is going to be the best for you.

There are basically two choices: a do-it-yourself platform or a hosted solution. Hosted solutions are thought to be simpler (very good choice if you don’t have your own domain name), while the do-it-yourself option has more powerful options, just like a tax calculator.

Some hosted bogging platforms include squarespace.com, typepad.com and others. With these sites, you go through a very simple registration process and in some case pay for the hosting fees. You then get a URL for your blog, some simple tools for writing and editing and away you can go!

Do-it-yourself platforms such as WordPress require a bit more work. You’ll also need a web host. And this host will need to support the scripting language (usually PHP). Database support is also required (usually MySQL). Make sure you know how many databases your host will provide and the type of database support will be provided. Also, make sure that your hosting account will provide enough space. Blogging sites can take up large amounts of space, so make sure your host can provide enough.

Make sure you check on your host’s allowed throughput. When your blog gets popular you may be serving up video and images in great quantity, so you want to make sure you don’t have a small limit as to your traffic flow.

Make sure to choose a reputable hosting site. Make sure that the host company will and can offer the options you need. It is important to know whether your chosen host will actually let you host blogging options such as WordPress or whether they will only allow their own chosen options.