So, are you ready to start your own blog, but don't know how or where? Here are some pros and cons of the top 5 most popular blogging platforms.
Blogger
Easy to use and get started with
100% free
Owned by Google, so AdSense is built in
Good choice for personal blogging
There are not as many options for customizing your blog
Some people look down on Blogger blogs
Unless you purchase your own domain name and point it to your Blogger blog, you're stuck with a xxx.blogspot.com domain name
LiveJournal
Built-in social network
100% free
Accepts posts from email enabled cell phones and from IM services
Hasn't changed much over the years
Provides few traffic statistics
Offers little technical support
Tumblr
Can update your social media feeds via a single location
Good for visual blogs and posts with minimal text
Free
Great option for creative types like photographers, designers, illustrators, and musicians
Interface could be much more practical
Limited design/theme controls
Small text field
Unique domain names must be registered with another provider
Typepad
Typepad blogs also do well in search engines
Easy to set up and run
The software is very intuitive
Customer support is excellent
Typepad charges fees depending upon what features and benefits you want
Typepad hosts their blogs, so your blogs will include the ".typepad.com" extension after your domain name, which can be seen as amateurish
WordPress
WordPress blogs look professional and have become the industry standard for blogging
Free and easy to set up
Numerous useful features even in its free version such as gorgeous themes, SEO, anti-spam filters, traffic stats and more
Requires that the user provide hosting
Frequent releases of new versions
Plug-ins are created and maintained by 3rd parties, and are not supported by WordPress itself if you encounter a problem
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