Setting up Your Blog: Which Platform Should I Choose?
One of the most common questions I get from clients is, "Should I use wordpress or blogger?" Unfortunately, there is no perfect platform that fits each case. Choosing a platform comes down to understanding what is best for you and your audience, the purpose of your site, and your level of online skills.
Here is a brief overview of three platforms that I recommend, and why I recommend them:
Blogger
Blogger has been hard at work improving their platform and system. One of the biggest strengths of Blogger is how user friendly they have made their back-end. Blogger is great for beginners, and for people who don't have the time and resources to spend on a custom site. It is great for people who need to get the most out of their blog, with as little effort as possible.
Wordpress
Wordpress is the most popular platform for most designers and coders. It is highly flexible and has wide range of uses. The back-end is simple and powerful, and there are plugins for any need you can imagine. Wordpress does take some time to learn, so be patient as you customize it to look the way you want. There are many custom themes on the web that can turn your Wordpress blog into a complete site (i.e., a portfolio site). Wordpress is great for more intermediate to advanced bloggers, and is ideal for anyone who needs a complete site.
Squarespace
It's no secret that Alt loves Squarepace! Our site is hosted through Squarespace, and we utilize their amazing back-end and and customizable features. Squarespace is a good in-between to Blogger and Wordpress—it offers a bit of customization, but is really user friendly on the back-end. There is still a bit of a learning curve, but their support is fabulous. Squarespace is great for intermediate bloggers, as well as those who just want a pretty blog and site.
Stay tuned for more tips and hints about setting up online in a series by Melanie Burk from Fifth & Hazel. Image by Britt Browne.
Aug 13, 2012
Reader Comments (6)
As a brand new blogger I would like to say thank you for the advice!
I was also wondering, how difficult is it to switch platforms at a later date? Thanks.
I use squarespace and LOVE it! So easy to customize. I love the clean look of squarespace 6.
I use Wordpress and love how easy it is once you get to know it. It does take a little bit of patience at the beginning, but like any program, once you start using it daily it soon makes sense. I also write for a blog that uses blogger too and it is great for beginners and then of course Squarespace is awesome too! I think your advice is perfect - start with blogger or Squarespace and then you can always go to Wordpress if your needs change in the future and you want more customization. Thanks so much for the great posts!
I have been a loyal TypePad user for years now and find it super easy to have a basic theme and customize to my hearts content with CSS. The only downside I have is that there aren't as many plug-in's built for this platform. Does anyone have any experience on TypePad vs. the others mentioned above?
Hi Emily, I've used Typepad for the last year and am transitioning over to a self-hosted Wordpress site. I really liked Typepad but when I decided it was time to grow my site I had a hard time finding designers/web developers who knew Tyepad. Once I decided to make the change I learned that Typepad makes it very difficult to transfer data. When you do an export it doesn't include any of your photos. You still can transfer the data but you need to be pretty tech savvy or hire a special service (which I did) if you want to keep you photos and links.
Thanks for the great comments! Yes, @Tessie, and @Emiy, Typepad is notorious for being difficult to transfer content, but most of the other big platforms have made it pretty easy to streamline and transfer your content. Squarespace and Wordpress are extremely awesome at making it easy to import content in. Thanks for the great comments ladies!