Best Blog Web Site Hosting: Typepad

* Best Blog and Web Site Hosting for Small Businesses

I've done a lot of research in response to repeated reader questions about web site hosting solutions.  My new recommendation for blog and basic web site hosting is Type Pad. Please note that although they are seen as a blog specialist, I've found the Type Pad service to be very effective and easy to use for general web site hosting, too.

Summary: TypePad is a cost-effective and easy-to-use content publishing and site hosting solution for anyone wanting to set up a blog or basic web site. The Typepad system offers a range of strong features, easy to use customizing and editing tools, and reliable hosting. There are also free blogging services available but none that we have tried match Typepad. Their 14 day free trial is a great way to get acquainted with Typepad. (And the basic paid version is only $4.95/month - well worth it given the system's features, reliability, and flexibility.) I like their service so much that I recently moved not just ScottFoxBlog.com but my main web site, ScottFox.com over to Type Pad hosting, too.

Click here to visit Type Pad for more details on their hosting features and pricing…

My Detailed Review of Type Pad Blog & Web Site Hosting Services

The Type Pad hosting service is great for blogs and works well for general web site hosting, too. It's an excellent example of an easy to use yet affordable online system that anyone can use to cheaply and quickly start an internet business, even without knowing much technology.  Here’s why:

Easy to Use: Type Pad offers you the ability to quickly and easily create a new web site or blog. After registering with a few clicks, you can set up a new web site or blog using one of their pre-defined graphic templates. No FTP or Dreamweaver type editing software is needed – the service is delivered completely through your web browser - simply click and type to get your site up online. You can enter your content as a series of blog-style “posts” to create a blog, or as more traditional web site “pages” if you want to use the service to create a non-blog web site. The “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editing tools are straightforward.  They are easy to use and familiar to anyone who uses Microsoft Word.  (Although they inexplicably don't include buttons for two basic layout tools: alignment and table insertion.)

Type Pad is also a hosted solution (sometimes also called an ASP – application service provider – or SaaS – software as a service). This is tech speak but is basically good news for you because it means that they handle all the software and hosting. You don’t need to worry about installing any software or upgrades or bug patches when operating your new web site. You can access all their services through your web browser, 24/7/365. This means that you can focus on your business instead of technology support!

Strong Publishing Capabilities: The Type Pad system gives you good control over your publishing schedule because you can pick the time that a post will go live. You can also quickly and easily insert photos and other graphics into each post or page without having to create a separate photo archive.

Best of all, you have easy and direct access to the HTML of the posts you make. You may not need this (because the basic WYSIWYG editing tools they provide are generally adequate) but it can come in handy if you want to try more sophisticated layouts or formatting.

Customization: Although the provided graphic templates are a pretty weak bunch, you can probably find a look for your new site that will be enough to get you going. If you tire of the theme you selected, it is as easy as a few clicks to change your template, too.  Templates are limited to 2 or 3 column blog-style layouts.  This should be sufficient for the basic uses I'm recommending but may be constraining if you want to present a more freeform page structure.  Advanced customization of design is also an option for advanced users but my focus here, as usual, is for users wanting to create something quickly without a lot of technical investment.

Because it was designed for blogging, most of the Type Pad customization is available in the sidebars on the web page with the central column being largely limited to text input and graphics (unless you want to get fancy with custom HTML and CSS).

That being said, the sidebars are full of interesting and useful customization tools. For example, you can easily check boxes in the preferences screens to add or subtract different content modules such as your "About Us" page or lists of recent posts or comments. 

The side bar content modules are also easily re-arrangable.  Type Pad offers a clever "drag and drop" content rearrangement system that really helps in making the site look exactly how you want without any coding skills needed.

Type Pad also makes it easy to start “domain mapping”. This allows you to use your own URL to overwrite the assigned TypePad URL that visitors would normally see. (So www.yourbrandname.typepad.com can become simply www.yourbrandname.com for all your pages.)

This is important so that you can keep your branding consistent.  Customers never need to be distracted by knowing that you are using Typepad. The instructions in the Help section are detailed and specific enough so that anyone could accomplish this important bit of technical domain mapping customization without much trouble.

The system also offers a concept called “Typelists”.  A typelist is essentially a content module that you can fill with whatever you’d like. Graphic ads, link lists, photos, etc. are all fair game. You can then publish those modules to your site, or even across multiple sites/blogs if you are using your Typepad account to power more than one site.

The Type Pad Widget Gallery also offers dozens of additional plug-ins that can enhance the functionality of your blog. These have been specifically designed to integrate with the Type Pad system. I installed a fun poll on my blog with a few extra clicks, for example. Reliable Hosting Service: Type Pad is a major service provider so thousands (millions?) of people depend on their servers being up and online all the time. I have had no problems in the time I have been using them.

Cost-effective: Pricing is competitive. While I love the open source theory behind free Wordpress blogs, I found Wordpress’s support and reliability less consistent than I wanted. And while Blogger’s service is okay, the Blogger branding and poor customer service support of Google led me to decide against recommending it either.

In running a business web site I frankly feel a bit better about paying a few dollars each month to have a reliable service. So far Typepad has not disappointed.

Pricing Plans: Typepad offers a 14 day free trial, so that’s a good place to start. If the service meets your needs, you can then sign up for your choice of 4 monthly plans:

- $4.95: the “Basic” account offers 1 blog with one log-in account.
- $8.95: a “Plus” account offers you 3 blogs via one log-in.
- $14.95: a “Pro” account offers unlimited blogs/sites and unlimited author accounts. (Most of the best customization features kick in at this level also.)
- $29.95: the “Premium” account has the same features as the “Pro” but includes priority support.

There is also an $89.95/month plan for serious, high traffic business users. The company also offers pretty good discounts off of these rates if you pay for a full year up-front.

Technical Support: Typepad’s support is decent. Their technical Knowledge Base can answer most questions fairly well. They offer no phone support – only email – unless you pay for the Premium Account. I’ve found their email support team to be friendly and responsive but it almost always takes 24 hours to receive a response. If you need more rapid help than that, you may need the Premium account.  Their Knowledge Base has been adequate for the vast majority of my set-up questions, though.

Special Bonus: One of my favorite things about the Typepad system is that with a $14.95/month “Pro” Account, you can post an unlimited number of web sites. This means that you can set up additional web sites and blogs for no extra cost. If you combine this with the availability of the domain mapping discussed above, this means that you can host a whole bunch of separately branded web sites for only $14.95/month. This is a great and cost-effective option for testing new web site concepts and content.

Weaknesses:
Overall, I’m a big fan of the Type Pad system and highly recommend it. It does have a few weaknesses, however, that I’ll highlight for you here so you can make the best decision for your needs:

Traffic Reporting: Reporting on viewership of your site(s) is limited to page views per day. The system offers no details on unique visitors, most viewed pages/posts, or entry/exit points of your users. The company is promising an upgrade of this rudimentary reporting, however, so I am hopeful for more in the near future.

Weak Design Templates: As mentioned above, the system only offers a few dozen design templates from which to choose. The ones available are fine for basic publishing, especially if you don’t mind your site looking like a typical blog, but do constrain the individuality and branding you can present.

Meta Tags: Any business site must be concerned with search engine optimization (SEO). Type Pad betrays its roots as a personal blogging platform, however, because it offers almost no control over the meta tags of each page/post. Search engines are said to be decreasing reliance on meta tags, however, so hopefully your good content is more important in attracting high organic search engine ranking.

No E-commerce: Lastly, Type Pad offers little to no native e-commerce integration. Again, this is not suprising since Type Pad was originally built for blogging but you should be aware that if you’re planning on building an e-commerce web site, there are better choices available.  A good compromise is to use the cost-effective Type Pad platform for your blog or basic web site and link to another provider that provides whatever e-commerce tools your e-business needs.

Conclusion:  Type Pad is Highly Recommended
If you are a startup looking for a cost-effective and easy to use web site system, Type Pad is an excellent choice. You can get a new web site up and running quickly, with enough customization to make your efforts easily reflect your desired professional image.  Updating is easy and quick - an efficiency important to any entrepreneur with a thousand things to do.

I like the Type Pad hosting system so much that I use it myself. You're reading a Type Pad-based web site right now!  How’s that for an endorsement?

Click for more information on Type Pad’s free 14 day trial…

Do you have a Type Pad blog or web site?  Please tell us about your experiences with the system.  (Include a link back to your web site for a little free publicity, too!)

Comments

[Ray Williams]

Hi Scott,

I want to add a blog to my website and facebook site. Firstly, why do I need a blog tool like Typepad when i can simply write a blog on my web page and also in email to send? Also waht are your recommendations in getting an active blog on or via fa cebook so my fans can (a) read and (b) subscribe to follow.

Would appreciate any quick tips.

Thanks

Ray

[Steven]

I prefer using wordpress than typepad because of the functionality that it offers compared to other cms systems out there.

[Scott_Fox]

Hi Ray,

If your website already has a blogging tool built-in, then you do not need a separate tool like Typepad.

But if it does not, I recommend Typepad (or Wordpress) to help you make your publishing easier.

Blog software like that is specifically designed to make it fast and easy for you to post new articles regularly. Updating a regular website daily will be a pain pretty quickly, especially if you want to offer archives of your past posts to readers and search engines.

I agree with your instinct to use Facebook for promotional purposes. But Facebook is also not designed for regular publishing of article-length material like a blog is. (Plus, on Facebook you can't control the branding or the ads – lots of distractions for your readers.)

The in-between I do recommend is to start your own blog on or connected to your own site, then feed your blog's posts out to Facebook to share them with friends there (and attract more customers, too).

I hope that's helpful.

Thanks for commenting and asking good questions,
Scott

Hi Steven – Sure, Wordpress is a great system.

And you're right that it does have more content management capabilities than Typepad ever will. That additional complexity causes many users (especially newbies) a lot of headaches, though, so I still recommend Typepad because it's easier for anybody to use, even if they are new to online marketing/publishing.

Thanks for the comment.
Scott

[Carol]

I couldn't agree more. I use typepad for my personal blogs for simplicity. This way I do not have to stress over a feature in wordpress that I do not really need.

[Scott_Fox]

Hi Carol,

I catch a lot of flack from Wordpress fans but continue NOT to recommend it for those same reasons.

Thanks very much for your visit and your vote of support on this often contentious platform choice issue!

[Don Hart]

I've never put up a website, but in looking at
Typepad it's too blogger oriented, and as you say "...not the best ecommerce site". Your response to Ron on this same question only leads back to reading the post we're already at and your response to Howard and Allen is very limited. Do you have any other recommendations for sites better suited to ecommerce, as yahoostores seems like an auto response, as would be Network Solutions. I may just try to do all my slaes via affiliations. Would this simplify my commerce enough so that I don't have too many on-site needs? I also want a good template provider, which also seems to be a weakness at Typepad. I also expect to spend more than the basic under $10 fees, but I'm another poor website dreamer with no significant funds. I read your "Internet Riches" book and will soon read the e-2 book. Sorry I'm not your best customer as I got both from the LA public library, but it's good the libraries recognize you. My site isn't up yet, much less fully designed.

[Scott_Fox]

Hi Don,

Great question. Have you seen this post?
http://www.scottfox.com/2011/03/whats-the-best-web-site-builder.html

This offers a lot more options for easy-to-use website building tools.

And if your site is a pure store, I would look at Big Commerce, Shopify, or Yahoo Stores.

Look at those resources and I'd be happy to help with follow-up questions if you have them.

Thanks for reading my books. I'm glad that the library is stocking them to help you, too.

Best,
Scott

[PAUL RAVENSCROFT]

Hi Scott

Hope you are keeping well. Sometime back I was a subscriber to your “Click Millionaire” group. I ceased to subscribe - not because it wasn't of great value and interest (it was!), it was simply that I am “time starved” and had little time to spend on breathing - let alone your particular internet group.

I have made contact on this occasion because I would appreciate your advice. I want to create an internal blog (would this be an “intranet”?) either on my existing website or on a new, separate website. This is solely to enable the people within my business to communicate with each other on a “blog” basis.

My new “blog” system would need to:

1. Be totally private to myself and the people within my business (rather than public).

2. Not be picked up and shown on search engines such as Google.

I see on your website that your recommendation for “blog” software is TypePad. My question is, would TypePad be suitable for my above requirements?

Many thanks.

Best regards

Paul Ravenscroft
Managing Director
Home Loving Cats Limited
www.HomeLovingCats.com