Blogging platforms were once few and limited. Now there are many of them and most have numerous free plugins and other assets to help expand the blog. There are five blogging platforms, however, that stand above all the rest. One would be hard-pressed to find a real reason to look beyond this list, that’s how good they are.
1. WordPress – It’s still the big kahuna and dominates the field simply because it’s good, versatile, and highly customizable. Any early exploit concerns have been addressed with updates and plugins. Updates for self-installers are automatic. The tons of free plugins, which can expand functionality of a blog in almost all cases, are searchable from within the blog master dash. WordPress may be used as either a classic blog or a content management system. There are plugins that will serve both functions. The huge database of themes, also available for various applications of the platform, are searchable too.
2. Blogger by Google – It’s an all-automated, free-hosted blog platform with fewer options than WordPress but still a lot of flexibility. It is low stress and very easy to use, and a fun, fast set-up. Bloggers get their own sub domains.
3. Movable Type – This platform is different in that it’s a part of the Open Source Project. It’s a handsome piece of software, very sleek and highly manageable, and, being open source, is free for anyone to modify and use for any reason.
4. Squarespace – This platform is entirely commercial. Because it is pay-to-play, however, Squarespace has a lot of cool backend goodies that the free blogs don’t have. The difference between WordPress and Squarespace is mainly in the details. Some bloggers like the bells and whistles while others don’t. The perception of quality differences is in the eye of the observer.
5. Tumblr – This may be the worst name ever for a blogging platform, but it’s easy to remember. Tumblr is largely thought of as a phlog or photo blog. Tumblr is also free and free-hosted. It’s not as customizable as WordPress, and it’s not as user-friendly as Blogger, but some people find it preferable because of its simplicity.
However, the one constant on the Internet is change. There may be an unknown platform that’s loaded and ready to blow away the competition.