A Quick Guide on Choosing a Blogging Platform

If you are planning to launch your blog, it is important to plan ahead. One of the major considerations is of course the blogging platform to use. For most bloggers, this is a decision that is overwhelming considering that there is a lot of contradicting information online. Many bloggers choose a blogging platform only to realize a few months down the line that it is not the perfect choice.

Such a blogging platform is either costly or cannot be customized. If you are in the process of building a blog, it is time to get some insight on blogging platforms. This guide will help you find the best blogging platform:

Free vs. Self-hosting Blog?

Pros of Free Blog Hosting

This is the first decision you have to make. You have probably come across free blogging platforms including WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, and TypePad among others. Free platforms are cheaper to set up because there are no upfront costs.

More importantly, they are easy to set up with WordPress and Blogger allowing one-click installation. Customization and maintenance is also easy and you don’t need any prior programming skills.

Cons of Free Blog Hosting

The downside of fee hosting is the fact that your blog URL will not be impressive because it must contain the name of the host. Worse still, there are more limits including uploads you can add, and they look less professional than self-hosted blogs. There are also limits in terms of bandwidth, advertising options, video time, limited free WordPress themes and limited memory space.

Pros of Self-Hosted Blogs

With a self-hosted blog, you have your own server but you can use a third party to host your blog. These hosting services allow you to leverage the full benefits of self-hosting. Advantages of a self-hosted blog include:

• Full control of your blog including SEO, advertising, and monetization
• Easier customization of your custom themes from branding
• Complete access to backend files to make code changes when necessary
• Unlimited bandwidth, memory space, free WordPress themes and much more

Cons of Self-Hosted Blogs

There is some initial investment required and this might not be an ideal option for small businesses. Self-hosting can also be intimidating for beginners.

The choice between self-hosting and a free blogging platform boils down to your blogging goals. Most bloggers are not interested in a professional look, especially if they already have a running website. After all, a blog is supposed to be more personal. However, this does not mean that you should compromise on quality when building a blog.

If you are starting out as a blogger, you can opt for a free blog. As long as you have quality content, readers will still find you. It is important to appreciate that a self-hosted blog is not a guarantee that you will get a large following. You need to work diligently towards attracting quality traffic by posting quality content regularly and consistently. More importantly, make sure you engage with your audience as much as possible.