Some may disagree, but I like the versatility of wordpress.

There are all sorts of pre-made themes(or templates) to use, a ton of plug-ins for more functionality, and the interface is pretty straight-forward. Support and tutorials are plentiful too.

I use Bluehost as my host and have more space than I know what to do with - we use the same host for my business. They have a simple c-panel set-up that includes fantastico - an easy script installer.

Fantastico will help you set up wordpress with just a couple clicks, then you just log into the wordpress dashboard with the username and password you created and get started!

Installing ads is pretty simple. There's a presentation editor within the dashboard. You can open your sidebar page files and directly insert your ad code. There are also a few plug-ins designed to make it even more simple.

I used wordpress before I used blogspot, but I found wordpress just as user-friendly and a lot more versatile.

Best of luck finding something that works well for you!

You could buy a domain from Google (Blogger) and use their "Custom Domains" setup. That's about the easiest and most secure way. You only pay for the domain name, $10 a year, and that's it. They do the rest and it's the easiest way imaginable without worrying about security, getting hacked, and updates.

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