Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 20 of 36

Thread: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

  1. #1
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,367
    Thanks
    6,856
    Thanked 10,336 Times in 3,966 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    I've been thinking about writing a blog for a long time and every so often I try to work out the best platform to go with. One of my pen-pals has written that I should do this to have my ink reviews saved all together.
    However, I get scared that I will choose the wrong one so I always withhold my money.

    I'm really tempted to go with WordPress because it looks very good on other blogs that I frequently read, but my current confusion lies between WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

    Who has what, how easy is it to get up and running, and how expensive is it?
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  2. #2
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,744
    Thanks
    2,333
    Thanked 1,912 Times in 840 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    I did mine on wordpress.com. My only outlay is for my domain and that's just a few quid.
    Regards,
    Deb
    My Blog

  3. #3
    Senior Member Runnin_Ute's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Sandy, UT
    Posts
    449
    Thanks
    24
    Thanked 266 Times in 140 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    I use/used wordpress. The free version with no issue. Can post from the app as well. I am not very good about posting to it regularly.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    Brad "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling

    "None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

  4. #4
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,367
    Thanks
    6,856
    Thanked 10,336 Times in 3,966 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Thank you both. That's good to know.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  5. #5
    Senior Member SIR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    GB
    Posts
    1,635
    Thanks
    725
    Thanked 732 Times in 466 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    You could use Tumblr to blog, it's free.

  6. #6
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,367
    Thanks
    6,856
    Thanked 10,336 Times in 3,966 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    WordPress is free but you always have to buy a domain and hosting.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  7. #7
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,744
    Thanks
    2,333
    Thanked 1,912 Times in 840 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    WordPress is free but you always have to buy a domain and hosting.
    That costs me around £14 annually.
    Regards,
    Deb
    My Blog

  8. #8
    Senior Member Runnin_Ute's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Sandy, UT
    Posts
    449
    Thanks
    24
    Thanked 266 Times in 140 Posts
    Rep Power
    11

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Mine is name.wordpress.com rather than a domain I had to purchase.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    Brad "Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind" - Rudyard Kipling

    "None of us can have as many virtues as the fountain-pen, or half its cussedness; but we can try." - Mark Twain

  9. #9
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,367
    Thanks
    6,856
    Thanked 10,336 Times in 3,966 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Quote Originally Posted by Deb View Post
    Quote Originally Posted by Chrissy View Post
    WordPress is free but you always have to buy a domain and hosting.
    That costs me around £14 annually.
    That sounds like quite a good buy.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  10. #10
    Senior Member Quantum Sailor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    312
    Thanks
    34
    Thanked 259 Times in 105 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    I use github pages. It has a higher learning curve than wordpress but has more control over the blog
    My Pinterest Feel free to add me on Facebook as well.

  11. #11
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,744
    Thanks
    2,333
    Thanked 1,912 Times in 840 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Quote Originally Posted by Runnin_Ute View Post
    Mine is name.wordpress.com rather than a domain I had to purchase.
    Yes, if you do it that way it doesn't cost anything at all. I chose to go with my own domain.
    Regards,
    Deb
    My Blog

  12. #12
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    2,016
    Thanks
    3,725
    Thanked 1,703 Times in 822 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    I've done all my blogs on blogger aka blogspot (Google) but had I to do it over again I would do WordPress. It seems like a much better more fully featured product and is the industry standard.

  13. #13
    Senior Member Jon Szanto's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Posts
    6,605
    Thanks
    7,789
    Thanked 11,015 Times in 4,003 Posts
    Rep Power
    22

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    On top of everything else, when picking a content platform - unless you are a coder - it is really good to go with a well-establishished model. Wordpress is exactly that, which means that you have a huge supply of add-ins, insight and many forums and resources to help you as you get going. If you ever need to move, the format is readily known and used so you don't get locked into some fairly-unknown form of code that makes future moves of your blog pages a burden.

    There are times when going with a common, popular format is a smart move. I think this is one of them.
    "When Men differ in Opinion, both Sides ought equally to have the Advantage of being heard by the Publick;
    and that when Truth and Error have fair Play, the former is always an overmatch for the latter."

    ~ Benjamin Franklin

  14. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Jon Szanto For This Useful Post:

    azkid (September 10th, 2018), Chrissy (September 10th, 2018)

  15. #14
    Senior Member Deb's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2013
    Location
    Highlands of Scotland
    Posts
    1,744
    Thanks
    2,333
    Thanked 1,912 Times in 840 Posts
    Rep Power
    12

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Very good points, Jon! Unlike the situation years ago, Wordpress and some others have made it very easy to get your thoughts and photos onto the Web. There's very little learning involved and you can get down to writing almost right away.
    Regards,
    Deb
    My Blog

  16. #15
    Senior Member Quantum Sailor's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    312
    Thanks
    34
    Thanked 259 Times in 105 Posts
    Rep Power
    10

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Quote Originally Posted by Jon Szanto View Post
    On top of everything else, when picking a content platform - unless you are a coder - it is really good to go with a well-establishished model. Wordpress is exactly that, which means that you have a huge supply of add-ins, insight and many forums and resources to help you as you get going. If you ever need to move, the format is readily known and used so you don't get locked into some fairly-unknown form of code that makes future moves of your blog pages a burden.

    There are times when going with a common, popular format is a smart move. I think this is one of them.
    This is very true. If you have no desire to dig any deeper than just writing what you want to write this is the perfect way to go.
    My Pinterest Feel free to add me on Facebook as well.

  17. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Quantum Sailor For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (September 10th, 2018), Jon Szanto (September 10th, 2018)

  18. #16
    Senior Member manoeuver's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2012
    Location
    Near Midwest, US
    Posts
    1,592
    Thanks
    1,225
    Thanked 1,078 Times in 554 Posts
    Rep Power
    15

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Best to just pick a format and get going.

    All my sites use wordpress (links in signature) I don't like it, but all the other options seem worse.

  19. The Following User Says Thank You to manoeuver For This Useful Post:

    Scribbler (September 11th, 2018)

  20. #17
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    70
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    They're both from the same people - wordpress.

    The .com site lets you host a blog by just picking a name and going with some pre-determined choices. It's a great option to get your feet wet. You site would be something like chrissy.wordpress.com (or whateveryoupick.wordpress.com).

    The .org site is from where you would download the code (the software, if you will) that will run on a server and have visitors see your blog when they go to chrissy.com. This means that you need to buy hosting from a hosting company, register a domain (and renew it every year), and then, depending on the hosting company, install the wordpress code or have it provided by them.

  21. The Following User Says Thank You to alexwi For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (September 10th, 2018)

  22. #18
    FPG Donor ♕ Chrissy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    11,367
    Thanks
    6,856
    Thanked 10,336 Times in 3,966 Posts
    Rep Power
    24

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Quote Originally Posted by alexwi View Post
    They're both from the same people - wordpress.

    The .com site lets you host a blog by just picking a name and going with some pre-determined choices. It's a great option to get your feet wet. You site would be something like chrissy.wordpress.com (or whateveryoupick.wordpress.com).

    The .org site is from where you would download the code (the software, if you will) that will run on a server and have visitors see your blog when they go to chrissy.com. This means that you need to buy hosting from a hosting company, register a domain (and renew it every year), and then, depending on the hosting company, install the wordpress code or have it provided by them.
    Thanks for that. I think I eventually came around to that conclusion, sort of. I can still buy a domain from somewhere, so that I don't necessarily have to have whateveripick.wordpress.com, and buying a domain name, then renewing it annually is what Deb does, but I can still have the simple, free part of WordPress.com, that has their adverts on it. That should be OK for now. I'm not sure I want to go the way of buying a domain plus hosting then downloading WordPress.org and working through it with the help of WP Beginner. I am a beginner, and that does seem to work out to be an expensive starting version.
    Regards, Chrissy | My Review Blog: inkyfountainpens

  23. #19
    Member
    Join Date
    May 2018
    Posts
    70
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 40 Times in 22 Posts
    Rep Power
    6

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    Hi Chrissy,

    Let's take care of the language before I try to confuse you further. Si?

    You register a domain name (i.e. you tell the world that chrissy.com is yours), for which you pay a registrar a fee for at least one year of registration. I use dotster.com for my domains' registration. I've been them since the 90's and they've been good for that.

    Then you pay a hosting company for "space" in one of their servers, and this server, and this "space" is where browsers will go fetch your content when someone types chrissy.com. This could be monthly or yearly.

    There is managed hosting and unmanaged. Managed means that you have access to space on the server's hard drive and you upload whatever you want there, and the company takes care of keeping things running smoothly. Unmanaged means that you are in control of a virtual server and you have to install ALL the software (web server, ftp server, mail server, wordpress, etc.).

    Based on the questions you're asking, you want MANAGED or just plain hosting. Unmanaged would be like someone saying to you "hey," and handing you the keys to a 747 airplane. Your hosting plan is likely to include email, so you can have your own mememe@chrissy.com address.

    I run an unmanaged server, so my experience with managed hosts is VERY limited. Doster does this, but I've no experience with them for this. The folk at wordpress.org recommend bluehost, dreamhost, and siteground. Whatever price you'll see now, it's likely to be a one-year promotion, so find out what you'll start paying on month #13, so there are no surprises. Whatever you do, stay away from iPage.com - I had an unmanaged server with them and it was a disaster (they are part of the same conglomerate dotster.com and bluehost.com belong too, which doesn't mean that either of those is bad - I've used dotster for years and I'm happy with them).

    Many, if not all, hosting plans already have the wordpress software installed as part of what they provide, as well as tutorials on how to get your blog up and running in a good 2 hours. If the wordpress software isn't installed, you will have to download it from wordpress.org and follow the instructions to install it in the server where you rented the space, but I doubt that this'll be the case.

    Once you have wordpress up and running, it's possible to configure it so that when people type chrissy.com, they see the blog, or you could use blog.chrissy.com, or even chrissy.com/blog. It makes no difference, really.

    Now, for wordpress, there are a gazillion plug-ins and themes. The themes dictate what your web site will look like (typography, colors, menu formats, etc.). Plug-ins are, in lieu of a better word, applets that let you add things like contact forms, visit counters, photo galleries, etc.

    This isn't rocket science, but it's not what I'd call trivial, and, of course, it seems daunting, if you've never done it, but if the hosting company has everything set up and good support, it should take you about 3 days to have a good idea of what you're doing.

    Good luck!

    alex

  24. The Following User Says Thank You to alexwi For This Useful Post:

    Chrissy (September 11th, 2018)

  25. #20
    Senior Member azkid's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2018
    Location
    Colorado, USA
    Posts
    2,016
    Thanks
    3,725
    Thanked 1,703 Times in 822 Posts
    Rep Power
    9

    Default Re: How do you pick the best platform to write a blog on?

    I have set up and run several managed sites on services such as A2Hosting and personally that seems like way more trouble than it is worth for just a blog.

    I think a hosted WordPress solution would be less learning curve and less dinking with servers and settings and more time for writing/blogging.

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •