Further Money Talk
How to Choose the Best Platform for your Blog
There is no more common concern or question among both new and experienced bloggers alike: which blog platform should I pick? Aside from learning how to blog, it’s an almost universal concern.
And there is no definitive answer. All bloggers NEED to own their URLs, but platform choice is largely dependent on the indivudal blogger’s needs. With that stated, I’ve compiled a list of pros and cons of the two primary platform categorizations below.
Hosted Platforms
Hosted platforms refer to services whereby a service provider gives you access to their software, network connection, and hardware, and you create a blogging account to use on their service. With a hosted blog, you have access to a control panel for your blog, and nothing else.
Typical hosted platforms include solutions like LiveJournal, Blogger, and Typepad.
Advantages of Hosted Platforms
- Inexpensive: many are free; some (like TypePad) are offered with multiple price points
- Quick to get started: just signup for an account and then quickly learn how to create blog posts
- Automatic updates: you don’t need to concern yourself with keeping hosted software up-to-date and patched.
Disadvantages of Hosted Platforms
- Inflexible: there are fewer configuration choices with hosted platforms.
- Fewer design options: you usually only get to select from a limited number of mediocre designs, and you often can’t make improvements to them
- Generic URL: some hosted platforms don’t have the option to use your own URL
- Less control: you are at the mercy of the platform
- Migration issues: moving from many free hosted platforms results in a lot of effort and often the temporary loss of search engine rankings
Self-hosted Platforms
Self-hosted platforms consist of your own web hosting account with a host, and the blogging software you install on the data center’s server. With a self-hosted blog, you have access to an administrative panel for your blog, but you also have access to a server account and the blog software where you can do just about anything.
Common self-hosted software includes Movable Type, Joomla, and WordPress.
Advantages of Self-hosted Platforms
- Design flexibility: you have full control over design and layout
- Great software: the best software exists on self-hosted platforms
- Custom URL: custom URL’s are ubiquitous on self-hosted platforms
- Adaptability: as your needs change, so can your blog
- Easy migration: if you ever want or need to migrate to another platform or another server, moving is a snap
Disadvantages of Self-hosted Platforms
- Difficult setup: setup can sometimes be difficult, but this can be overcome with a good blogs how to
- Cost: while the blogging software is free, the hosting platform will cost you money
- Hosting issues: unless you choose a good host, you might have to suffer from down-time or poor support
- Upgrades: you will need to keep your software patched
The majority of my blogs are self-hosted, and that’s what I usually recommend to anyone looking to create a professional presence. There are just too many benefits to turn down, and you usually have the ability to host many domains and blogs on just one account, lowering the cost per blog down to a small amount.
Jared is co-author of Blogging in Action, a popular package that helps people learn how to blog the right way. He is also the programmer of the Six-Figure Plugin Suite, used by hundreds of people to drive traffic to blog posts and sites.
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