Which blogging platform should I choose?
Choosing a platform for your new business blog can be a daunting task. There are so many options, all with different pluses and minuses. Two of the most well-known stages are Blogger and WordPress. In this article, I want to help you decide which platform is right for your company blog. Before we do that, I want to give you some background on Blogger and WordPress.
Blogger was founded on May 9, 1999, by a small company called Pyra Labs. At the time, it was one of the first tools for online publishing or blogging. In 2003, Pyra Labs was acquired by Google, and in the following years, the platform was migrated exclusively to devices owned and operated by Google. Today Blogger is one of the most frequented domains in the world.
WordPress was founded in 2003 with the original goal of improving typography in everyday web texts. Little did they know at the time that WordPress would become the largest self-hosted blogging/self-publishing environment in the world. Millions of websites around the world use the WordPress engine to power their blogs and websites.
So that's the background on Blogger and WordPress. So which one is right for your company blog?
How much do they cost?
I'll start with the financial aspects because this is something that most businesses are concerned about. Fortunately, both Blogger and WordPress are free, totally free. You do not need to buy a license to use them, and you do not have to pay ongoing subscription fees. WordPress, however, comes in two forms. Hosted and self-hosted. Hosted is self-explanatory as your blog is hosted on WordPress servers, but with self-hosted WordPress, you need to buy a web hosting package to host your blog. Blogger, on the other hand, is fully hosted and does not offer a self-hosted option. For the rest of this article, I will be referring to the self-hosted version of WordPress. So, in summary, Blogger is the cheaper option if you have a very tight financial budget.
Can I use my own domain name with these tools?
In short, yes you can. Since WordPress is hosted on your own hosting, you have full control over addressing the domain name. With Blogger, you can also point your own domain to your Blogger blog, however, all your content will still be hosted on Blogger's servers and the setup will require some technical knowledge.
Can I customize my blog?
WordPress allows you to fully customize the look and feel of your blog. There are thousands of WordPress themes available, and if you know HTML and CSS, you can create a custom theme to match your business website, or you can hire a web designer to create a custom theme. Blogger does have some templates, but they can be quite limited, and since they are hosted, you can not fully integrate the site with your business website.
Do I have control over my content?
With WordPress, absolutely. Since the website is hosted on your web hosting system, you can back up your content and keep it safe in case a problem ever occurs. You can also control what content gets onto your site. If you choose Blogger, you need to be aware that your content will be stored on servers owned by Google and that you will have very little control over what happens to it. This may not be a big problem, but it's something you need to take into account when making your choice.
Summary
In summary, both Blogger and WordPress are ideal for a corporate blog, albeit with some limitations. If you are looking for a quick and easy blog platform that's managed for you, then Blogger is probably the right choice, but keep in mind that it puts you out of control. However, if you want a blog that you have full control over and access to all the customization tools, I would recommend blogging with WordPress.
