Choosing a Blog Platform

Choosing a platform can be tough sometimes. You want to make sure you make the right choice. And you want to make sure you make the most logical choice for the now and for the future. Knowing which platform to host your blog or website on can be one of the more complicated decisions to make because it may require spending money to get what you want. Most of the time this is an upfront investment that you will hopefully make back.

For others the decisions may be clear, they know which one they want to use or they know they want/don’t want to spend any up front money. For those of you who know, great! For those of you who still don’t know which one to choose check out my list of pros and cons for each platform below. Hopefully this list will help you to make a better decision on which site to choose.

Wordpress.ORG

Wordpress.ORG itself is free to download but you need to pay to host this website on other sites like Bluehost or Siteground. This is the most common option that I see people choosing.

Pros

• ·         Super customizable
• ·         1,000+ templates to choose from
• ·         Tons of plug ins to choose from
• ·         You own all your content
• ·         Ability to use Google AdSense and Analytics

Cons

• ·         Requires some effort to set up
• ·         May require you to purchase the template you want. Not all of them are free.
• ·         Requires hosting. This is about $200/year
• ·         Requires a domain name purchase of around $12-$15/ year. Sometimes your hosting will come with a free domain name included.

Wordpress.COM

A free to use blogging site that has some limited customizability and features. Upgrades are available from $100-$300/year.

Pros

• ·         Simple set up
• ·         Free to use
• ·         You have a free domain name extension given to you (yourblog.wordpress.com)
• ·         Very recognized name so the extension isn’t that big of a deal
• ·         Great for a beginner who doesn’t want too much customizability to confuse them

Cons

• ·         No use of Google AdSense and Analytics (you have to use their stat tracker unless you upgrade)
• ·         Limited customizability  and templates
• ·         Cost extra fees to use your own domain name
• ·         Plugin and AdWords (WordPress AdSense) requires an upgrade.
• ·         You do not own your content. If the website is ever to be shut down, you loose everything.

Blogger

Blogger is free to use blogging site that is owned by Google. Most abilities on here are free and integration with other Google products is made easier. Has some limits to customizability based on coding skills.

Pros

• ·         Free to use
• ·         Hundreds of templates to choose from
• ·         Templates are usually offered for free, with upgrades for support costing extra.
• ·         Quick and easy integration with AdSense, Analytics and Google Domains
• ·         Great for beginner who doesn’t want anything fancy but the ability to use ads on their site.

Cons

• ·         Requires some coding knowledge (very minimal) to install custom templates
• ·         Editing custom templates requires a bit more coding knowledge
• ·         No plug ins for SEO or further customizability
• ·         Multiple pages require coding knowledge or are not available. I am unsure on this one as I do not have the coding knowledge to try this one out.
• ·         You do not own your content. If the website is ever to be shut down, you loose everything.

Please know that choosing one platform does not meant that you are locked into this platform for life. I frequently go between them and haven't' fully made up my mind myself. I am currently using Blogger and have WordPress downloaded locally to my home computer. This allows me to slowly create my website without having to pay for hosting just yet. I'm usually quite resistant to change so I'm taking it slow.

 If you are still unsure which platform that you want to use, drop a comment down below and we can figure it out together.