Marvelously, gloriously, thankfully, there is presently a lot of FREE blogging software available. And I reckon that it works just as good (if not better) than purchased blogging software.
Not that I'm against purchasing software--I'm not. As the manager of Tangible Words, a company that builds websites and writes content for other businesses, I definitely think paying for expert service is often a necessary expense--especially if you don't have the time, the tutor, or the ability to pick up a new language and method and "learn quickly"!
But as a fellow business owner, I also think that if you have the time to learn a new skill which will enhance your business for free (such as managing your own website or business blog with a free blogging software) it's worth checking out.

But first of all, you need to choose the correct blogging software to build your free website or business blog.

If you've already purchased software like Macromedia, Adobe CS4 or Macintosh's iWeb, these softwares feature built-in (seemingly user-friendly) website building functions. But I wouldn't use them to build my websites.
I know I could easily create an attractive site with iWeb, or even Dreamweaver, but I won't because company-specific software automatically generates software-specific code.

What I mean by "software-specific" is extra coding on top of the more universal HTML language.

So although the templates in purchased softwares like iWeb can be easy to use (and ease-of-use is their main goal) purchased web-building software's automatically generated codes are not edit-friendly which means purchased basic web-building software can make editing your site very difficult.

In summary, my thought is that pre-purchased can be exceedingly tedious to navigate when something goes wrong or you want to expand your website (as most of us eventually do).

Here's why I prefer FREE Blogging Software:

Tools like Cluster Maps are easily integrated in blogging software

• Free blogging software like Blogger or WordPress makes help super easy to find online. (After all, there is so much stuff available online, responsible consumers will help their fellow surfers navigate.)
• When I see one of the many free plugins in widgets on another website such as the Cluster Map on this site, and I want to expand my website with the addition of such a helpful tool, I can easily expand my website with free blogging software, which isn't always the case with larger softwares such as Macromedia's Dreamweaver.
• I am a big believer in creating good will on the Internet by giving away good, trustworthy information and tools. If you have a great product and you are a responsive person proudly giving it away (as opposed to a phishing scam, also freely given away on the Internet!) than you are fostering trust with an audience. And trust is always a good thing, but trust is essential on the internet.

There's lots of free blogging software, but so far, I always use WordPress.

And here are three very good reasons why I always use WordPress:

WordPress lets you edit your entire website - design and all!

1. WordPress is so similar to Microsoft Word, and although I'm now a MAC user,  I certainly used to be a PC user and have found Microsoft Word to be a very intuitive word processing program; WordPress takes on it's similar user-friendly processing and publishing features.
2. WordPress is a very proud, virile free online community and their strong security comes out with frequent updates to prevent hackers and phishing scams accessing your website.
3. WordPress has an excellent reputation and most web hosting servers will allow you to integrate WordPress effortlessly into your site which makes a huge difference when it comes to site management and customising your URL.

So that's why I use WordPress. What are your reasons for using purchased or free software?