Which Blogging System to use?
Once you have decided to start your business blog the next step is to choose your blog host. The two most popular sites are Blogger and WordPress. In thie article, Erica Douglas of social media training provider www.aceinspire.com helps you understand the differences.
Blogger blogs are free but are essentially owned by Blogger. They are ideal for beginners with no technical knowledge. Blogger has a step by step guide and you’ll have a blog in less than fifteen minutes. Blogger allows ‘anyone’ to start a blog. If you can use a mouse and you can follow instructions you can start a blog on Blogger.
The disadvantages are as mentioned, that you don’t own your blog and you don’t have as much choice on how your blog looks. It doesn’t often happen but Blogger can close your blog down at any time if they take a disliking to your content.
On Blogger the look of your blog, the bit your readers see, is called a template.
In Blogger you choose your template from a selection which you are offered during their step by step process.
You can start a blog on Blogger and transfer all your content to WordPress later on, it’s a little complex and some bloggers in hindsight wish they’d started on WordPress from the outset. That said it’s a good option if you’re just trying blogging out or you can’t afford the costs involved with a domain name right now. Blogging is for everyone, so don’t let lack of money or technical knowledge hold you back. WordPress has lots more flexibility, which we’ll be discussing in upcoming posts. You can opt for a free hosted blog, as with Blogger, but you can also download WordPress and integrate it to your own site, use your own hosting and have your own domain name.
On WordPress the look of your blog that the readers see, is called a theme.
In WordPress simply search for ‘free WordPress themes’ in Google and a selection will come up. Your webmaster will help you choose and customise your theme, if this is part of the price (check first!).
For more information on WordPress read our post WordPress.com v WordPress.org.
Whatever host you decide to use make sure you are comfortable with it. There is nothing stopping you setting up a blog on both sites and seeing which one works out best for you.
I think WordPress is a great business blogging program and is also ideal for setting up a low cost website.
Domain names are cheap, the costs for hosting (where your WebPages are stored) can seem expensive £50+ per year. You can always register a domain name and then point it to the web address of your new WordPress blog.
Linda