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WordPress? Blogger? Typepad? How to Choose a Blogging Platform

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When you decide to start your own blog, you have many choices to make -- and the very first choice is which platform to use. The most popular blog platforms are Blogger, Typepad, and WordPress. This article will explain the basic differences of these platforms, and the pros and cons of each.

When choosing your blog platform, you'll need to determine whether you would prefer it to be hosted or non-hosted. A hosted platform is housed on the platform’s server -- in other words, if you have a Blogger blog, your blog is usually hosted on the Blogger server; if you have a TypePad blog, it’s hosted on the TypePad server. A self-hosted blog is hosted on your own server or web host, usually a third party you pay to host your site. You can use WordPress, or Moveable Type, as a self-hosted blogging platform if you set up an account with a web hosting company. Or, optionally, you can use WordPress.com as a hosted platform like Blogger or Typepad.

There are pros and cons to each solution.

The pros of having a hosted site (like Blogger or TypePad) are

  • A hosted site makes it extremely easy for you to start a blog and see if you like it without spending a lot of money up front. In fact, Blogger is free. TypePad offers tiered pricing depending on your needs.
  • Hosted sites are generally extremely user-friendly and fairly intuitive (meaning it's easy to figure out which link to click to do certain tasks, like linking or italicizing text).

The cons of having a hosted site are:

  • Blogger blogs can appear to be less professional. This is a bias in the blogging community, but it is being disproved by several blogs (for example, Scribbit and Oh, The Joys are successful blogs that are both hosted on Blogger).
  • There are platform limitations. For example, archiving can be less user friendly; TypePad can have issues with comment spam and trackback spam; and search engine optimization -- the way search engines find you -- can be difficult because post addresses are generated by the platform and are not intuitive.
  • You will generally have less control of your HTML or CSS. Blogger allows you to change various parts of your HTML, but not everything. TypePad allows you to buy an option that gives you access to your CSS, but it is very hard to work with unless you are well-versed in CSS.
  • WordPress.com does not allow advertising on your blog.

The pros of having a non-hosted site (via WordPress.org, for example) are

  • You have control over how your archives are managed.
  • You have control over all of your HTML and CSS.
  • You have control over permalinks. This means that instead of the platform choosing the name of a post, you choose a name. This will help not only with managing permalinks, but with managing your SEO (or search engine optimization).
  • There are many plug-ins for the WordPress.org platform that allow you to do everything from managing advertising to managing and responding to comments more efficiently.

The cons of having a non-hosted site are

  • WordPress.org only supports one blog per installation. However, Moveable Type (TypePad's comparable platform) supports multiple blogs per installation.
  • Moveable Type is not as malleable as WordPress.org

It is widely held in the professional or semi-professional blogosphere that if you have a WordPress or Moveable Type blog, you are more serious about your blogging. TypePad or WordPress.com are the next tier, and Blogger blogs are low man on the totem pole. However, as I mentioned, many bloggers do very well with Blogger blogs. Blogger is also an excellent choice for beginning bloggers, because it is free and easy to use. I recommend it for those of you just starting out, who aren’t sure if you want to stick with it or not.

In the coming weeks I will delve more deeply into the different platforms and explain their functionality:

Additional reading:

Melanie Nelson writes tips and instructions for beginning bloggers at Blogging Basics 101.

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lollipopsocial
lollipopsocial 5 pts

I was a slow convert to Wordpress but once I figured out the difference between pages and posts, it's been almost all I use for building even the most mundane sites, and I'm a database-driven site developer by trade. I'm all for saving myself a little work.

If you use a hosting company that includes one-button WP installation as one of their services, you don't even have to learn the installation routine, but for anyone versed in FTP and the most basic HTML, it's literally a 5-minute install. 

It's also one of the most extensively documented blogging/CMS platforms anywhere, including several commercial apps that I've tested. The Codex is written in plain language and includes lots of examples. Adding plugins and themes to Wordpress is also pretty easy, once you realize that there's a good way and a bad way to do it - hint: the bad way is to upload 27 plugins then go into WP Admin and use the "select all" check box and activate them all at once.... don't do that.

Anyway, for $50 a year, gimme a GoDaddy Linux account and their push-button Wordpress installation - 10 minutes later I have a login link in my email and I'm ready to upload plugins and themes... 

I use Blogger, Wordpress.com, Tumblr, and Posterous too - there's no law that says you only get one blog!  :)

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Blushblog
Blushblog 5 pts

I didn't realize that we couldn't run our own ads on the hosted wordpress page.  It's a good to know.  

I'll be reading your other posts.

Rae

www.blushblog.com 

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carlalets
carlalets 5 pts

I would still go for wordpress... I have made myself familiar from the time i started blogging... Anyway thank you for sharing this post, we might not know i would indulge to other form of blogging..

carla

online printing ( http://www.uprinting.com )

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FaMissWomen.com
FaMissWomen.com 5 pts

I really like Blogger because it is free and because Google owns it. It makes me think that they may favor the content on their own company. Maybe I am wrong about this, but I've hosted and promoted 6 blogs on Blogger and I've always been happy.

Sure the templates aren't that pretty but the important thing about blogging is content not beauty. I encourage all my clients to use Blogger with the understanding that building a history on one blog with a particular address does lock you in a bit unless you want to recreate everything.

But Blogger is pretty user friendly. Although some of my clients do hire me to set up blogger with them over the phone. ( http://www.famisswomen.com/How_to_Set_Up_a_Blog_to... ) This service is preferred by my clients who are pretty new to the internet and have never built a website. If any of your readers want help setting up blogger, they can visit: http://www.famisswomen.com/How_to_Set_Up_a_Blog_to...

Thank you for sharing the information.

Allison Frederick
www.faMissWomen.com ( http://www.famisswomen.com/ )

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Tre -
Tre - 5 pts

 I tried every platform available as well as ones still being tested.

I blogged for a year on wordpress.com....but because I wanted to be able to control more the design, layout, have options of plugins and overall be in charge of my content, I bought a domain and researched a ton of hosting plans..finally settled happliy with acornhost...they're women owned and green powered and not so huge feeling.

but in the 6 months since that move, while i love that my domain name is now my blog's full name without .wordpress.com at the end (simpler) i haven't done much on the design/plug in side. and it's just my slow pace way. i will though and intend to.

 i enjoyed practicing on typepad (offers free 2week trial) and i also enjoyed trying out squarespace (2 week free trial)

part of my unsettledness even now, i've recently bought a mac laptop, am aware of designing options it has (included software) and ultimately I may simply want to know Css and xhtml and html coding.

if you currently could recommend any resources for self hosted wordpress sites for how to do plugins, how to set up things like several posts as mini posts on your front page...you know the silly detail things like that, please say. i tend to google my questions and spend tons of time researching answers. 

in the end, i think everyone needs to buy their domain (name of your blog) and then it's always yours....and find a way to host it.....

but i will absolutely advocate NOT HOSTING with godaddy. the exploitation of women that hosting company does is truly degrading. I originally signed up with them, then found out about their advertising and had to wait 30 days.

who you host with matters. choose a hosting company that you support its philosophy, mode of business and check them out--their customer service, etc....i highly recommend acornhost.....

thanks for the post!

Tre~

http://thoughtbythought.net

evolveserenity@gmail.com

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Blagica
Blagica 5 pts

I am a BIG fan of Typepad, but to Melanie's point, it's time to move to MT. I'm researching installing everything myself or using 6A's support services.

If anyone out there has experience with doing things yourself, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Great post, Melanie

Blagica (blah-gee-tsa) StefanovskiChief GuideLink Text ( http://www.galsguide.com )

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WEBBMARENT
WEBBMARENT 5 pts

I am quite happy with my blog on Typepad.  I had one on Blogger and still have a personal / family blog on another platform.  However, for my blog at ThePromoMarketer.com  I find the features of Typepad the most beneficial to my business.

 Like many things, we all have different reasons for blogging and will find a platform that will cater to all our needs and / or requirements.  I appreciate your comments and observations.

http://www.thepromomarketer.com

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Skye
Skye 5 pts

How so, exactly?

Skye Kilaen

Flooded Lizard Kingdom ( http://www.lizardkingdom.org ) | All Access Blogging ( http://www.allaccessblogging.com ) | Heroine Content ( http://www.heroinecontent.net ) | Bad Personal Ads ( http://www.badpersonalads.com/ )

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Lovebabz
Lovebabz 5 pts

I am on blogspot I like it. I have been on it for a year. I found it to be just the perfect fit for me.  I would like to have a new swanky look...they don't have many templates to choose from.  But I hear you...I am thinking Mama may need to move on up like Weezie & George (The Jeffersons...late 70's Black sitcom) Anyway...I now have 3 blogs...2 on blogspot and one on word press...which I haven't learned to use...LOL But am committed.

I am so looking forward to your next posts 

Be loving & Be in LOVE

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Joyce Porter
Joyce Porter 5 pts

My advice on first time blogger is used the free hosted blogs such as blogger, typecast, wordpress and many more. Then practice doing SEO once you've got enough traffic and feels that you can pay for a dot com and a hosting site then its time to move on.

Joyce from My Window Treatment Pro ( http://www.mywindowtreatmentpro.com )

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Megan Smith
Megan Smith 5 pts

Hi Melanie,

Great post with great info.  I've had my blog Megan's Minute on TypePad from the beginning.  Before I picked it I researched all the platforms and TypePad seemed the one that would grow with me the best if I decided to continue. I started out at the $4.95 a month rate with a standard template and worked my way up to the top tier as my blog grew.

Last year I hired someone to design a new layout for me and since that time I've learned how to work with the CSS code and my Advanced Templates to make adjustments. 

I will say that in the beginnning the TypePad customer service was first class but that has suffered a little since they've been rolling out a host of new features the last couple of months.  I'm thinking that will get better as things move along, and after having a Word Press blog and a TypePad blog, I still like TypePad the best.

By the way, the new TypePad dashboard does allow you to make your post address anything you want it to be.  You can even go back to previous posts and change those addresses as well.

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/Online Video ( http://www.blogher.com/blog/megan-smith )

My Personal Blog:  Megan's Minute ( http://www.megansminute.com/ )

( http://twoliablog.com/video-runway/ )

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kperfetto
kperfetto 5 pts

After having a Wordpress site hosted on a shared site, I went back to Blogger. Why? It's free, and I don't have the traffic to justify even a $10 a month host fee. Plus I hated my host. (I not naming names, but it was a nightmare.) I've found Blogger to me more than customizable as long as you're willing to learn a bit of HTML. (And it's WYSIWYG editor has improved greatly in the past couple years.)

Available Light ( http://kathy-p.blogspot.com ) & Five Dollar Radio ( http://fivedollarradio.blogspot.com/ )

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ynnej
ynnej 5 pts

I just hooked Google Analytics up to my Blogger blog and it was easy and seamless (can be accessed from my Google Account, just like my blog) and FREE. I would be interested to hear how the other platforms deliver analytics and whether you have to pay for them.

http://ConscientiousConfusion.blogspot.com

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aftercancer
aftercancer 5 pts

Nice article but I'd like to raise one point.  If you're hoping to monetize your blog than wordpress.com is not the one for you.  I had been using it for several months and with the economy I decided to move to Blogger for the purpose of making some extra cash. 

I look forward to your future posts. 

Kate

I blog at http://www.aftercancernowwhat.blogspot.com 

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Kalyn Denny
Kalyn Denny 5 pts

If I had known all of this when I started, I wouldn't have chosen Blogger. However now that I have the page rank and links that I do for http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com, moving doesn't seem like an option. I've actually been feeling much more favorable towards blogger the last few years; they seem to be doing everything they can to improve it.

I'm still using the classic blogger templates (versus the newer "layouts") so I have a lot of control over my html and css (or I should say my brother and his partner do, because they do a lot of that for me.) However, I'm living in fear that Blogger will force all blogs to go to layouts.

I also think that if you know how to write SEO friendly titles for your post, the permalink structure of blogger is really pretty good. About 70% of my traffic comes from google for things related to South Beach diet recipes, and a lot of people are finding the blog that way, so something about the blogger permalink structure seems to be working. (Of course I'm not a SEO expert, so maybe there are even better things I could do that I don't know about.)

Archiving is the weakest part of blogger for me. I create the recipe archives for my blog entirely by hand. It's labor intensive, but it works.

Kalyn Denny
Kalyn's Kitchen ( http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com )

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