Characteristics of your Blog Platform Choices
There is no more common question or concern among both novice and veteran bloggers alike: what blogging platform should I choose? Aside from learning how to blog, it’s an almost universal concern.
And there is no definitive answer. All bloggers NEED to own their domain names, but platform choice is largely dependent on the indivudal blogger’s requirements. That said, I’ve compiled a list of disadvantages and advantages of the two main platform choices below.
Hosted Platforms
Hosted platforms refer to services whereby a service provider grants you access to their software, network connection, and hardware, and you register a blogging account to use on that service. With a hosted blog, you have access to an admin panel for your blog, and nothing else.
Popular hosted platforms include solutions like Typepad, LiveJournal, and Blogger.
Advantages of Hosted Platforms
- Economical: most are free; others (like TypePad) are offered with multiple price points
- Easy to setup: just signup for an account and then quickly learn how to create blog posts
- Automatic updates: you don’t have to worry about keeping hosted software patched and updated.
Disadvantages of Hosted Platforms
- Rigid: there are fewer personalization options with hosted platforms.
- Limited design choices: you usually only get to choose from a limited number of mediocre designs, and you often can’t make updates to them
- Generic URL: some hosted platforms don’t offer the option to use your own URL
- Less control: you are at the mercy of the platform
- Migration issues: moving from some 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 data center, 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 nigh anything.
Common self-hosted software includes Movable Type, WordPress, and Drupal.
Advantages of Self-hosted Platforms
- Design flexibility: you have complete control over design and layout
- Great software: killer software exists on self-hosted platforms
- Custom URL: custom URL’s are common on self-hosted platforms
- Adaptability: your blog can change as your needs change
- Easy migration: if you ever need to migrate to a different platform or another server, migrating 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
Most of of my blogs are self-hosted, and it’s what I generally recommend to anyone looking to create a professional blog. There are just too many benefits to pass up, and you usually have the ability to host many domains and blogs on one account, lowering the cost per blog down to a negligible amount.
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