Choosing a Platform For Your Blog

There are many questions you need to consider before deciding on which platform to use for your blog. Some of these questions are:

What is the purpose of my blog?

What are my blogging goals?

Should I start my blog on a free platform and upgrade later?

What are the pros and cons of each blogging platform?

Do I have a budget for my blog?

Do I have any technical expertise in setting up a blog?

What is everyone else using for their blog?

Blogging Platforms can basically be broken down into two categories: Hosted Platforms and Stand Alone Platforms. Let’s start at the beginning and define what each of these platform categories are. Then we will cover what options are available and the pros and cons for Hosted vs. Stand Alone Platforms.

Hosted Platforms

Hosted Platforms are a popular choice for a lot of bloggers just starting out. They are usually free and require very little technical expertise to get up and running. Here are some of your options for hosted platforms:

Blogger - A free platform owned by Google and probably the most well known and used hosted platform.

Wordpress - A hosted version of the popular blog platform.

TypePad - A personal publishing service designed to provide a simple yet full-featured environment for you to put your thoughts, ideas, and experiences on the web, whether it be a weblog, journal, photo album, diary, or an entirely new creation.

Live Journal - An online journaling community, where people from around the world share stories, discuss topics and keep in touch with friends. It’s a free service that you can use for meeting people and creating bonds through writing and sharing.

SqaureSpace - A stylish, streamlined way to build and manage a website, start a blog, and publish just about anything else on the web

Xanga - An online community for you and your friends. You can easily start your own free weblog, share photos and videos, and meet new friends, too!

Pros of Hosted Platforms

Free or very inexpensive

Easy to setup (usually can be setup in a matter of minutes)

Easy to use

Software automatically updates, often without any need for input from you

Cons of Hosted Platforms

Must use generic URL (yoursite.theirsite.com)

Limited amount of configuration

Mostly limited to default designs

Can be difficult to transfer to Stand Alone Platform

Stand Alone Platforms

Stand Alone Platforms offer you the most control over just about everything to with your blog. However, these platforms require some technical expertise. In order use a Stand Alone Platform you will need to provide your own hosting and depending upon the host you choose, may be required to install, setup databases, and maintain yourself. Here are some of your options for a Stand Alone Platform.

Wordpress - A state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. What a mouthful. WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time. More simply, WordPress is what you use when you want to work with your blogging software, not fight it.

MovableType - A comprehensive publishing system that can help you create your own professional, personalized blog.

ExpressionEngine - A flexible, feature-rich content management system that empowers thousands of individuals, organizations, and companies around the world to easily manage their website. If you’re tired of the limitations of your current CMS then take ExpressionEngine for a spin…

Pros of Stand Alone Platforms

Control over your design

Your own domain name

You have control over how your blog works

Plugins

Cons of Stand Alone Platforms

Requires some technical ability to set up

It’s not free (you need to pay for hosting, domain, etc.)

You will be responsible for all updates

So which is right for me?

If you want some control over your blog, it’s design, and functionality, and you have some technical expertise and a little money to spend on a domain name and hosting, then a Stand Alone Platform is probably what you are looking for. If you don’t care about any of that and just want to get started blogging, then your probably looking for a hosted solution.

Take some time to look over the options I listed above for your choice, Hosted or Stand Alone, and pick the blogging software that fits you best. Don’t be afraid to try a few of them out before determining which one to use.