eMoms Comparison Guide to Blogging Platforms and Hosting Companies

As many of you know, this blog is powered by Wordpress - I migrated my blog from NucleusCMS back in June (’twas no fun!). I [heart] Wordpress, by the way, and I really can’t imagine blogging with any other platform. It’s world-class, and it’s free!!

I know my blogging needs are not the same as everyone else’s on the planet. I have had to do a lot of research since the beginning of my blogging days, and even more recently as I begin laying the groundwork for a few other blogs I will be launching (Oooo… she just dropped the hint!! Yes, more on this to come!!)

Though I am sticking with Wordpress, I don’t like messing with the server installation. Thankfully, many hosting companies are now pre-installing the database and Wordpress software so all I have to do is click a few buttons and I have my WP ready to roll.

I have collected this info over the months, knowing full well some of you would probably need it yourselves as you start or add to your own blogging efforts. So I [very!] painstakingly have put together a rather large table to compare the following blogging platforms. (It will open up in a new window and I broke it down into sections to keep it easy to read).

My focus in the table is on business blogs, or blogs that need customization and will likely carry advertising. Platforms included are:

• Wordpress.org
• Movable Type
• TypePad
• Wordpress.com
• Blogger
• Expression Engine
• Squarespace

I’ve also dug around to find a few hosting companies to recommend - I’ve tried all of them but one (and hope to give that one a whirl sometime soon). They all have the blogging software and database pre-installed. If you are up for your own server setup for Wordpress or Movable Type, your hosting options open up - just check the fine print for server specs before you start.

Features on the comparison chart include:

• Hosting company support, if applicable
• Costs
• User help features
• Ability to add/customize advertising
• Statistics
• Various sidebar features
• Domain mapping (use your own domain name)
• Static page creation

Please drop me a line or a comment and let me know if it helps, or if you would like to see another feature/platform added for your comparison needs. I’ll be happy to add more info as needed.

This project has taken a while to finally get published - I am SO dang relieved to have it done! Phew! Happy Blogging Everyone!!

Comparison Guide to Blogging Platforms and Hosting Companies Table

The recommendations, if you want to hear them:

If you are brand new to blogging, want to make money with your blog, and don’t already have a website, I recommend using WordPress, which is pre-installed on BlueHost. After several major and minor problems with other hosting companies, BlueHost is the only hosting company I feel comfortable recommending to my readers. They also have a very large selection of free open-source web applications that you can easily set up on your site as you grow, such as Joomla, OpenAds, SMF Forums, and Zen Cart.

If you already have a site, don’t want to mess with the database set upand/or don’t want to self-host your blog, use TypePad - they can even make the blog appear as though it sits on your domain name (very, very important for a professional appearance!). (I don’t use them, but know enough about them to recommend them highly - if Wordpress wasn’t around, I would go to TypePad in a heartbeat!)