A blog is an online journal or information displaying a website on some subjects in a very broad definition. It is a blogging platform where a writer or a group of writers share their thoughts and opinions on a particular subject. Blogging for money has a very clear purpose- to rank your website higher in the search engines. As a new business, you use blogging as a tool to help you attract potential customers. We can say that without blogging, your website is invisible. You should make use of blogging to be searchable and competitive.
How To Choose?
Now the question arises, which platform you should go for blogging? As there are dozens of online platforms available for blogging, it’s hard to decide. As a beginner, probably you would like a platform that is easy to set up. If you are not a coding lover, you might require a platform that doesn’t require coding skills. You’ll also need to think about what kind of blog you want to write.
If you are successful in blogging or as your blog flourishes, you might want to add some extra features to your blog. You may want to change the look of your website for your growing audience. For this, you have to choose a flexible platform and allows you to groom your website the way you want.
Choosing the right platform means giving your blog a perfect start. It is important to make an educated decision on picking your platform. There are many choices available out there which makes it hard for you to think. You can narrow down these choices by asking yourself some questions. These questions are explained as follows;
What’s The Purpose Of My Blog?
Knowing the purpose is crucial. Purpose in blogging is as much important as in life. So, ask yourself, what’s my purpose? Am I trying to sell a story? Raise awareness on a particular issue? Promotion of a business? Or this is just for personal use, using which I am trying to document my thoughts? Each blogging platform has its personality and offers you success based on your interest.
Let’s take Tumblr as an example. It is known as a journal blog. It’s a private platform where people share their secrets with other people. Blogger is a good choice too. It is mainly related to the opinions and personal insights on a subject. But it is also related to academics and major focus on text posts. WordPress is the most flexible of all, as you can write in almost any media. It can be personalized, so this might be the first choice to turn your blog into a growing business. But it does require a lot of time commitment. WordPress is not for you if you are doing blogging as a side project.
How Technical Do I Want To Be?
According to a UK dissertation help firm, most blogging platforms provide you with ready-made sites for blogging. They offer you a range of themes that you can use for the visual aspect. The host site is responsible for looking after your domain and getting your blog online. But sometimes, these customized sites are annoying due to the restrictions. They don’t allow changes you want to make in your blog.
However, choosing a platform like wordpress.org provides you with more technical freedom. But using WordPress requires a lot of technical understanding. It becomes more hectic with coding as you have to edit codes for your themes. These platforms are a good choice if you search for themes: DW Mono, DW Jonson, and DW Minion. Alongside, wordpress.com doesn’t offer you security. So, you have to ensure your security features.
Along with ensuring security, you need to lock down your computer from potential threats of hackers. You should ensure good anti-virus and firewall against threats. However, if you are not willing to spend time on anti-virus or VPN’s, there are some blogging platforms available that offer such services. These include both Typepad and wordpress.com.
Who Is My Audience?
The audience dictates which blogging platform you should use. It is important to know which blogging site suits your audience. For younger audiences, Tumblr is the best choice as it is more popular among teenagers. It is also a great attraction place for upcoming artists.
WordPress usually caters to a relatively older audience that is more focused. It is home to intellectuals who always engage their audience in a meaningful discussion in their blog posts. The platform also has an excellent tracking system for your reviews. It tracks from where your views are coming. This is a great choice if you target an audience of a particular region or country. WordPress is by far the most popular platform and will provide you with organic viewers for your content.
Finally, you want to do blogging for corporate reasons, i.e. to build and promote your business. Drupal and Joomla are two content management systems offering great services to large companies in generating materials for their website. These platforms are the best choice if you are a part of a big team.
How Much Am I Willing to Invest?
This statement is very true that if you want to make money, you have to spend money. In terms of blogging, there should be a balance between investing in your future and keeping the costs down. It’s good to know how much money you are willing to invest to succeed in your blog.
The costs for blogging platforms vary dramatically. Tumblr, WordPress and Blogger are good choices to start as they are free to operate. However, they both don’t offer you some features which are crucial to making your blog successful. You can buy both WordPress and Weebly for free. But you can buy upgrade plans that give you more freedom to edit your blog and personalize your site.
When it comes to choosing a blogging platform, no platform fits all of your requirements. You have to ask yourself and make the best decision.