So you are ready to start your own blog. What type of Blogging Platform is the easiest to use and optimise for search engine rankings?
The two most popular platforms are Blogger and WordPress. While each of them provides the same thing, a blog with posts that are easily updated, there are some key differences between the two. Take a look at the information below to decide on which platform is best for your needs.
The Blogger Platform
Blogger can be used as either a free blog account, or with a hosted domain. Blogger is owned by Google. This could be a disadvantage for a free account, should Google ever be bought out by another company and its name change. Of course, the odds of that happening are probably quite slim, at least in the present environment, but it is still something you may want to consider.
When you create a blog with Blogger, you have lots of built-in options for templates and changing the colour, photos, layout, etc. whether using a free or self-hosted account. But you are limited by the inability to access the theme code. So, while you may be able to easily pick a different background colour, you are unable to change some of page layout basics. Still, it is easy to control the look, even with a free account.
Another way that Blogger is less customisable is that it doesn’t allow the owner to add pages. There is only one main page allowed for each blog site, along with an “about me” page that is hosted on the main Google URL and pulls information from your account.
The WordPress Platform
For the ultimate in customisation and optimisation tools and options, self-hosting a WordPress blog is the way to go.
Because WordPress is an open source Blogging Platform, there are a wide variety of people who understand CSS code quite well and have created lots and lots of templates to choose from. There are even theme templates available which easily allow you to customise them as you see fit by changing colors, images, layout, etc.
Themes for hosted accounts include the ability to change CSS code for each area of the site and each page. Free WordPress accounts, however, are severely limited in the ways the look of the site can be changed so it’s important to note that there is a difference between a free WordPress blog and a self-hosted blog.
A great thing about WordPress is that this blogging platform most resembles a regular website. You can add lots of pages, and sub-pages with easy navigation links.
SEO tools are nearly limitless. Permalinks, trackbacks, metadata, post previews, categories – all of these options are included with any WordPress account and the latest version of the software makes it easy to add and change these components.
One of the biggest differences is that if you start with a Blogger account and then decide you want to move it to a WordPress Blogging Platform, it is really easy to do so. The information migrates across quite nicely, even to a free WordPress account.
For a business, it is advisable to use a self-hosted WordPress blog in order to enjoy the largest number of options and tools. If you are blogging for the first time, do not be afraid to start with Blogger and then transfer to a WordPress account later, if you so desire. Blogger is considered easier to learn, but WordPress is the more professional choice.
