Shine With Grace

If you are similar to me, new to blogging and searching for a suitable place to start with, you may be interested in my experience in picking the blog platform.  I have tried the services of Blogger, Typepad, Wordpress.com and Wordpress.org (self-hosted) and most gladly that I have now settled down comfortably with the blogging software provided by Wordpress.org (with my blog hosted by a hosting site).  

There are numerous blogging sites out there and you may wish to spend a few minutes on the following questions so as to find the most suitable blog platform for your new blog.  It does take some time and energy to move your blog from one site to another and therefore it is advisable to have a plan beforehand.

• The purpose of your blog

• Do you prefer a local blog community or a wider audience base?

• Do you want to customize your blog or would you be happy with basic designs?

• Do you have any knowledge in html, ccs etc?  (And, are ready to acquire some if you are not a “techie” person yet?

• Would you like to introduce some commercial elements, such as Adsense, affiliate programmes to your blog?  Or, would you prefer a non-commercial site?

So, why I picked the Wordpress (hosted site)?  My experience with the blog platforms are as follows: 

Blogger – Blogger is now owned by Google.  The basic provisions offered by the site are quite minimal and users need to have some knowledge in html to introduce customization.   

Typepad – Typepad is the product of Six Apart.  The services and support for Typepad is good and customization is easy to introduce.  Nevertheless, you may wish to note that this is not a free site.

Wordpress – I love Wordpress!  Its designs are clean designs, and functions easy-to-use.  The community is also a great one.  I started with the free version of Wordpress (@Wordpress.com) version and have just migrated to the self-hosted version offered by Wordpress.org for the even greater flexibility and adaptability with all the available “plugins”.  It is not as simple as the free Wordpress version or the Typepad, as I have to engage a hosting site, establish my self-hosted blog and install the many plugins myself.  I am nevertheless happy with the challenges and the flexibility.  BTW, knowledge of CCS would definitely be an advantage if you are planning to adopt the self-hosted version.  Having said that, I survived though starting from ground zero and am happy learning throughout the course.  Should you need further information, the following are useful:  

• Problogger’s detailed advice on choosing a blog platform

• Problogger’s concise comparison between Typepad and Wordpress 

• How to blog’s comprehensive comparison between Typepad and Wordpress 

• Comparison between Blogger and Wordpress

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