Blogging Platforms: What to Choose

Each week on our blog we feature real blogs from our students; last week we talked about having online portfolios.  Yes, having an online presence is pretty important once you begin networking.  Let's face it: people want to know who you are and what you do before they decide they want to meet you.

A great way to put something on the web without a lot of coding is by starting a blog on a site-specific platform.  Blogs are a great first step as they can be easily edited, maintained, and networked through easy one-step editing.  Below you will find some great options for starting up your own blog.

1.  Blogger

Blogger is one of the most basic blogging apps that's out there.  Owned by Google, this platform is user-friendly and offers many different layout styles and options.  Users can also add a "followers" option (via Blogger profile or email updates) and other social network widgets.  This platform is great for bloggers who are just beginning their blogging career.

Pros: Ease of use, great for beginners, scheduled posts, completely customizable, domain ".com" name can redirect, links to all other Google accounts

Cons: Very basic, takes a lot of coding to customize, image sizes can sometimes slow down the blogging process

Sample: They Draw They Cook

2.  Wordpress

Wordpress is another great option when you are looking blog; this site is a tad more technical but can also create a much sleeker and cleaner design.  Wordpress offers a lot of extra plug-ins and features when it comes to posting photos and videos.  This is great for someone who wants to take their blogging to a more advanced platform.

Pros: Design and flow of pages, different options for pages and tabs, linking to social networking websites, domain ".com" name can redirect, widgets and plug-ins are more advanced

Cons: Hard to use when first getting started, can be customized but it takes a lot of extra steps, less help forums (compared to Blogger)

Sample: The Official Playstation Blog

3.  Tumblr

Tumblr is one of the newest blogging platforms on the market thus far.  "Tumblogs" can range from a number of topics and allow one-step publishing for text, video, photos, and music.  Users can choose from 1,000+ premade layouts or edit their own CSS.  This website is great for bloggers who want to host an "inspiration" blog to use as a visual mood board and not a lot of original content.  (See why below)

Pros: One-step publishing, domain ".com" name can redirect, linking up with other bloggers is easy, lots of different types of Tumblogs dedicated to specific subjects (ex: there is a whole Tumblog dedicated just to Andy Warhol.)

Cons: Editing CSS/HTML platform is pretty basic, many blogs run the risk of stolen content (Tumblr uses the feature of "reblogging" where with one click users can take the photos/text you posted and post it to their own blogs; often times these images/text/etc. are left uncredited and turn into stock around the internet)

Sample: Pretty Colors Pantone Swatches

Hopefully these reviews can help you find a platform that fits your needs.  Of course, there are many other platforms besides these three out there, but these are some of the top three basics.  What about you?  What type of blogging platform do you use?