It is hard to sit here and believe that there are still people out there who do not have a blog but since there are thousands of new ones popping up daily, I’m quite certain there are that many more who do not have them.
In this entry I’ll just be covering a couple of common questions and will dig down deeper later on in other blog entries.
1. What is the best blogging platform to go with?
2. Should I host my own or create one that is already hosted?
These two questions are generally the main topic of discussion when first starting out with the idea of blogging. Once you figure these out, the rest is pretty much learn as you go.
1. What is the best blogging platform/software?:
Personally, I use Wordpress for all my blogs. I’ve tried others such as Typepad, Serendipity, and Blogger. I’ve even tried out CMS including Drupal and PostNuke CMS. I still keep coming back to Wordpress. Why is that?
I’ll begin by letting you in on a little secret. Ease of use and options. That is it in a nut shell. If you are not familiar with installing software or doing any coding, it may be the best thing to have it hosted for you. But if you are willing to learn or already have that knowledge, I would certainly recommend you host it yourself.
A few of the reasons why are the goal you have in mind (purpose of blogging), your budget, and how much control you want to have over your blog and the running of it. You can have Wordpress host your blog for you and do just fine. The main problem with that is identity. Do you want a blogging platform name attached to your blog or do you want to have a self branded blog. Your own unique name without any predetermined stigma attached?
Serious bloggers will usually elect to buy a domain name, find a good host (I’ll list a few I know is dependable later) and install or have installed the blogging software of their choice.
If you elect to have one hosted by the platforms maker, there are also good reasons for doing so.
Upgrading a stand-alone (self hosted) blog can be difficult and could end up costing you your content if you have not backed everything up before you upgrade. With the hosted solution, this is done for you.
The costs associated with a hosted blog is usually cheap/inexpensive and requires less know-how. They already come with ready made blog templates and usually you can just select one by clicking a link or ticking a spot to select it. With the self hosted version, you can create your own but you also have to know how to install it once you’ve created it. Or found one that has been created by somebody else.
With a hosted version, they are usually indexed into the search engines quickly but since Google Sitemaps was created, that has become the case with our self hosted versions as well.
If you are looking for a platform that is hosted for you, you may wish to try:
Stand alone versions can be:
Wordpress
Movable Type
Serendipity
There are of course, others out there but these are, in my opinion, the best ones. Happy Blogging!
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