Which Blogging Platform Is Best For You?

Blogging PlatformsNowadays, it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t have a blog. There are a variety of Blogging platforms that can easily set up an individual with their own personal blog. However, the blogging platform plays a major role in the theme and tone: certain platforms are suited for personal use, while others are used to convey a professional tone. Whether you’re starting a personal, business, or niche blog, it’s important to choose the platform that best suits the theme.

Comparing the Blogging Platforms

There are a variety of blogging platforms to choose from, each with their own unique advantages and disadvantages. The following are the most common content management systems used today:

Blogger

Blogger is a blogging service owned by Google, which allows users to create a free blog. While Blogger can be used for business purposes, the majority of users on Blogger tend to focus on personal use. One of the main benefits of Blogger is its easy setup process: anyone with a Gmail account can create a blog through Blogger. (See why people prefer Blogger).

Drupal

Drupal is a content management system that is open source and free to set up. A variety of parties use Drupal for their backend systems, ranging from businesses, personal blogs and government sites. One of the key characteristics of Drupal is its add-ons, called “contrib modules”. These extensions allow users to add various features to their blog and increase functionality. Though no programming knowledge is required in order to setup a site through Drupal, proficiency in PHP may be needed in order to use advanced features.

Moveable Type

Moveable Type is a growing competitor amidst more well known blogging platforms. This content management system allows users to create professional websites with the ability to support an active social network. While Moveable Type offers several free versions, there are a number of advanced, enterprise solutions ideal for businesses.

Tumblr

Tumblr is known as a microblogging platform, type of short form blogging that integrates social media elements. With a highly connected sharing function called “reblogging”, users are able to quickly share and spread content. While Tumblr is commonly used for personal blogs, a majority of users come from creative industries and backgrounds.

Typepad

A blogging platform, Typepad is used by a variety of parties, including creatives, industry leaders and businesses. Typepad does require a subscription, but customers are able to gain access to a domain name, customized blog designs and personal support. However, if you’re looking for a more cost-effective solution, Typepad also features a Micro version, a microblogging platform that easily integrates with Facebook.

WordPress

WordPress is arguably the most popular and well-used content management system available. With an open source system and a number of free templates and themes, anyone can quickly set up a WordPress blog. WordPress also features an extensive plug-in library, allowing users to expand the functionality beyond the basic architecture. In addition to personal use, many companies and businesses use WordPress to create well-designed websites integrated with blogs.

When deciding among the various blogging platforms, it’s important to take into account a variety of factors, such as user interface, ease of setup and programming language. Choosing the right blogging platform may be confusing, but by considering your requirements, you can find a blog that best meets those needs.

Photo Credit: todaymade.com

This article is written by Rachel Hyun Kim. She is a writer at Resource Nation, writing on a range of topics from social media, blogging and SEO. Resource Nation is an online resource that gives advice for small business owners and entrepreneurs. You can follow Rachel at @rachelhyunkim. If you wish to write for HBB, kindly check this.

39 thoughts on “Which Blogging Platform Is Best For You?”

  1. These free system have done nothing for me except wasting my time and money.. Because these free places are used by spammers to build links, so Google and other search engines don’t just give any value to them now a days unless you are famous on these Free blogging platform.. Mine is this http://harrybhanot.com/get-money-video/ (watch video here) I pay $25 per month and Vaulaa… I rank for many keywords in the search engines. Here is the screeshot of my traffic in Google analytics in case your mind says FAKE GUY Fake guy LOL http://harrybhanot.com/ENproof.pdf.

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  2. If a blog is for only personal information only like personal diaries then i would definately choose blogger or Typepad. When it is for blogger for a niche then wordpress is the only Platform i love to use <3

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  3. i know that wordpress is the best on earth,but everyone,like students cant afford hosting ,so they prefer blogspot

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  4. The reason that I like wordpress so much is the amount of devolopers and people in the community willing to help you out should you get in a bind. Same can be said for those using Drupal, although they are not really a blogging centered cms as wordpress is,but can be done with a couple of modifications.

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  5. Well i have been on blogger.com for two years and have worked on joomla for 1 year

    and now shifted my blog from blogger to wordpress
    after working on all three different platforms i jst feel one thing..

    WORDPRESS ROCKS.

    Wordrpress is best in terms of flexibility, seo, layout , etc.

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  6. thanks for your sound discussion,. from my side, i love to use wordpress for blogging . question may arise that why? because it is very easy to operate , easy to maintain, easy to use plugins, there are huge list of free theme , component etc . so, i love to use wordpress.

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  7. I like blogging on the sites which are user friendly and have a great content management system. That is the reason why I blog on WP and bloggers. I think these sites gained popularity among the bloggers because of their unique features and user friendliness. I also liked reading your post. Other platforms which you posted seems to be good. I have never tried using them but would surely love to try them after reading your post. You have posted a great comparison of the blogging platforms. I think you have shared a vital information for the new bloggers. Thanks!

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    • The other platforms are definitely worth trying. In addition, there's a lot of other different content management systems out there that I haven't even touched (like Joomla mentioned above), but this is a good way to start off. Thanks so much for reading, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

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  8. great article Rachel, for me it's the WordPress that's first in my heart, it's easy to use, popular, there is huge base of developers that can help me and I can help them and much more.

    thanks for sharing.

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    • I agree, WordPress is often the first choice for bloggers when it comes to a great content management system. I'm glad you enjoyed the article!

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  9. WordPress is undoubtedly the best blogging. I have also used bloggers and Tumblr. Tumblr is a kind of advance blogging platform. Overall WP is best and have collection of wide range of plugins.

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  10. Hey Rachel superb information. Blogger and WordPress both are superb blogging platforms. Newbies who are new to blogging world must use a blogger on a initial stage and later they can use wordpress to learn blogging at a advanced level. Thanks once again for sharing a great stuff.

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    • Hey Mack! I definitely agree, platforms like Tumblr and Blogger are a bit more userfriendly, but WordPress may require a bit of tech knowledge to get the features you need. But even with basic knowledge, WordPress has a great deal of potential for any user. Thanks for your input!

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  11. I have blogs on Blogger and WP But WordPress has definitely won my heart like many other millions of bloggers in the world, m/ WordPress m/Truly rocks in terms of functionality, flexibility and ease of use ! By the way you can get your own domain name with blogger instead of the blogger sub-domain .blogspot.com and Google just loves blogger since it is from the Big G's stable.

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  12. If you just want to share your thoughts and not sell your services or products, then a free blogging platform is all you need. If you opt for a free blogging platform at the start and then later on upgrade to your own personalized hosting account, it could cost you dearly. If your ‘free’ blog takes off and gains lots of visitors and you then decide to transfer to your own hosting account, you will have to start all over again. You will not be able to take your free domain name with you.

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  13. I have tried both Blogger and WordPress for several blogs. I think WordPress is far ahead in number of features and support. It is highly flexible and has a large community of programmers to support with themes, plugins, etc. It is continuously revised by dedicated programmers. Moreover, whatever additional features you want, you can get in one or another plugin. So, my choice is WordPress.

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  14. I love wordpress, it has that professional touch, and a very dedicated support forum to help the newbies, plus a lot more functionalities which it offers , safe and secure, no downtime, seo friendly, great themes, recently moved to wordpress.com to wordpress.org, loving every bit of it.

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  15. I Have blogs on both WordPress and Blogger.but i love wordpress, wordpress is easiest way to manage contents. I heard about tumbler lot but not tried yet.

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  16. No doubt in that these are the great platform to start blogging and from my point of view Blogger and WordPress are two nice sites to do this because good number of visitors are come on these two sites.

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  17. Thanks raechel.I think the type of blogging network depends on your usability as well.If you would ask me , I would go for either wordpress or Drupal.Its because they are easy to manage and are SEO friendly.

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    • I definitely agree, the type of blogging platform will depend on the user's purpose or intent of their blog. Whether a user is a casual or business blogger will play a major role in the type of blogging system used. Thanks so much for reading!

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  18. I think for beginners to start, Bloggers is the perfect platform. It is the simplest platform that one can use. It will help the beginners to understand the basics of blogging. But it is equally of not much use for the professional bloggers. WordPress is the best platform for the professionals. Features of WP are very good for the bloggers. Even I use it and have found it is fun to use. But at the same time for blog beginners it is slightly complex to use. But once started using WP, one will surely be addicted to it. It is the best platform a blogger can get.

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  19. I like WordPress the most. I have tried a few blogging platforms before, but at the end have remained with WordPress, since it is the easiest to setup and use, the most features-rich and is loved by a lot of bloggers!

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