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WHICH BLOG PUBLISHING SERVICE DO YOU LIKE THE BEST?

Posted by XanthePat • 4/10/08 • Subscribe to this Discussion [RSS] • Report This Topic
Topics: blog publishing

I hope that someone can help me,Im a new blogger and I'm not sure which blog publishing service is best. Why do you have to pay some publishers like typepad yet blogger is free? is it better to pay???????????? and what am I paying for?

User Comments

4/10/08

robertstevenson

I use wordpress.com. It's okay, but it doesn't allow ads. I'd like to hear the pros and cons of the other hosting companies.

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1. 4/10/08
  
  timethief
  
  @robertstevenson
  Although wordpress[dot]com does not allow advertising on our free hosted blogs (because Google only allows one urchin script to run on any blog at a time and word[dot]com itself is already running adsense on our blogs there), there are other advantages to being a wordpress[dot]com blogger. The global category/tag pages and the news department categories bring in lots of traffic. Also wordpress[dot]com has community support that blows the butt off blogspot support. Lastly note that wordpress[dot]com is poised to become a huge social network in its own right.
4/10/08

timethief

We can all give you better advice if you are more specific.
(1) Have you ever blogged before?
(2) Are you prepared to pay for hosting?
(3) Do you have the skills required to self-host a blog?
(4) Do you intend to try to make money from your blogging?
(5) How much are you willing to spend to blog.

I am familiar with Blogger free hosted blogging, wordpress[dot]com free hosted non-commercial blogging, wordpress[dot]org self hosted blogging, and with Tumblr blogging.

I cannot recommend one over the other without knowing what your skill level is, what the nature of the blog will be (commercial or non-commecial), who your target audience will be, how often you intend to post and, how much money you are willing to invest in blogging.

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1. 4/11/08
  
  XanthePat
  
  I am blogging right now, my blog is for fun and not financial. But would like to try out things like entrecard. My skill level is 0. After a happy month at wordpress.com they changed the format and I lost a few things that I liked. Was thinking of moving to wordpress.org but all seems a little complex. 2 other blogs have started stealing my articles, (my blog includes photos that I have asked people permisson to use) can i get better protection from this if i pay?
4/10/08

Ambrya

I use blogspot and love it. I've tried others but always come back to blogspot.

www.ArkansasFamilyFun.com

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4/10/08

daniel23

Blogger is best. Wordpress is snazzy but not as smooth.

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4/10/08

kaybday

If I were brand new to blogging, I'd go for blogger. You learn a lot and they're doing some new things with beta blogger. You can moneytize easily there. I spent the better part of a year building several blogs there, and ended up focusing on my Florida blog.

As I learned more, I wanted more options. I've used WordPress, TypePad and now Squarespace in addition to blogger. You can use the freebie version of WordPress (if you're new that's what I'd recommend). Or you can opt to buy a version of WordPress. TypePad charges, but it's low. I had a pretty trying experience with TP, but that was over domain mapping and not the blogging program which is pretty user-friendly.

Of all I like Squarespace better, but they do charge I think $7 per month.

But for a newbie like I was, Blogger is the easiest to learn, it's free and they let you moneytize. In my humble opinion.

Meant to add if you buy Wordpress you can moneytize.

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4/10/08

drazhardaud

the free blog is the best..!

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4/10/08

wehireu

I use blogspot because it is easy. That is the main reason.

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4/10/08

timethief

@kaybday
This is not correct: "Meant to add if you buy Wordpress you can moneytize."

Wordpress software from wordpress.org, including plugins, is open source freeware. There is no charge for it at all.

What we pay for when we get a free wp[dot]org install is for web hosting that we set up at the web host of our own choice. Web hosting is very inexpensive. Here's an example: www.asmallorange.com/services/hosting/

The post at this link explains the differences bewteen wp[dot]com and wp[dot]org. en.forums.wordpress.com/topic.php?id=3700&replies=1

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4/10/08

kaybday

Thanks, TT. I knew there was a pay method, just wasn't sure how you do it. Glad you fixed my goof.

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4/10/08

timethief

No problem. Not a day goes by when volunteers working the wp[dot]com forum don't have to explain again, and again and again the differences between the two.

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4/10/08

kaybday

Next to Squarespace, I really like WordPress. Took me awhile to learn it, but now that I understand it, the way it works just makes perfect sense. WP is one reason I got annoyed with Blogger. But I was afraid to try to do the install and maintain it; I didn't think I had good enough skills. And I would've wanted to do the host thing so I could moneytize.

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4/10/08

earthandeconomy

We use Movable Type 4.1. we like having control over the installation and customization of the platform. Much like the other platforms, you have a good library of plugins. I have personally implemented Joomla, WordPress, Drupal, MT and other larger enterprise content management systems. Of all of the affordable solutions, Movable Type is my favorite. For us it is very important to have a template engine that can output to static HTML files for performance and optimization reasons. Each system has their own value...so far we feel comfortable scaling using MT4. I would be interested in trying out Expression Engine but have not had the opportunity to do so. We try to take a very simplistic approach that less is more (less badges, less widgets, less ads, less fluff...). I would highly recommend if you are going to be building a long term media property that you look into doing your own installation. Movable Type is now open source and you can get a cheap hosting account to run it, they may even throw in a domain and ssl with it. As timethief indicated you can do the same with WordPress. If you don't feel comfortable because it is too technical then stay on a hosted solution.

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4/10/08

gosmelltheflowers

We're wordpress fans, because it's so easy to make changes and add new scripts and widgets to the blog.

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4/11/08

mskat

I have my own hosting and use Movable Type. I am not a fan of word press at all.
I've been using MT for about 7 years now and love it. The only thing is no themes, you have to use skinning, and it's good because it allows the readers to choose for themselves which way the blog looks for them.

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4/11/08

XanthePat

Tried blogger for about a week, I dont live in Europe or America so had aweful upload problems and bad connections for some reason, but they do have better widgets than wordpress, and are very user friendly for beginners.

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4/11/08

XanthePat

I was tempted by squarespace, looks very smart have you tried it?

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4/11/08

glosta

I use blogspot, I also have free wordpress but still find blogspot most user friendly..I don't do it for the money though

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4/11/08

pointlessbanter

I like the one that doesn't post everything in large caps.

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4/11/08

ohilovethat

I've tried a few, but have to admit that I like blogger/blogspot... wordpress confused me. I'm not very computer/html literate!

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4/11/08

kaybday

Xanthe, I just started a blog at Squarespace. I absolutely love it. It's hosted there--I don't have the tech skills to do that myself.

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4/11/08

toddlevy

I'm using two right now.

For my concert video and music blog... jamtopia.com ...I'm using ExpressionEngine.

It's extremely flexible, and despite a smaller developer base (and installed base) than WordPress, I've found it to be a joy. And it's not just for blogging. More of a full-blown CMS so you can create a website with it even if you're blogging per se.

For example, the company's entire site at expressionengine.com/index.php?affiliate=toddlevy is built using their own software and should give you an idea of the flexibility.

Or this site for example... pleohq.com ...which is also built on EE but doesn't really behave like a typical blog.

Plus it has a wiki, forum, membership functionality, and photo gallery built right in.

For my "personal" blog... tumble.toddlevy.com ...I'm using Tumblr.

I guess you could say it's at the other end of the spectrum. Not particularly flexible at all, but quite good at what it does -- which is basically to create a simple "stream of consciousness" type blog (sometimes called a tumblelog). You can find out more about it on their site which is tumblr.com.

TL

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4/11/08

johnnyutah

so ..i'm a blogger fun..
for those who look for the free hosted way of blogging , it's the best , accepting even adsense

POWER TO THE MOB!

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4/11/08

Mewie

I love Typepad.

There's a small price to pay for that reassurance that your blog has all the support and back-up you need. If there is ever anything wrong with something you messed up with (customization, advanced tinkering, etc.), the Typepad Customer Support fixes the problems or errors.

I guess I sleep better knowing that my blog is working at its optimum level. Plus, famous people like Seth Godin and Martha Stewart use Typepad... it's nice knowing celebrities use the same blog platform.

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2/05/09

feuersteinad

I suggest blogger for a beginner. There are many templates you can use for it. See secretstothesecret.blogspot.com

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