This post has been submitted by Sharon Hurley Hall from Get Paid To Write Online.com.

Once you have decided on the type of hosting you want, it’s time to choose a platform. There are dozens of blogging platforms available and you don’t need to pay for them if you don’t want to. Even paid web hosts usually offer a selection of free blogging software that you can install with a single click. Here are some of the contenders.

WordPress

Available in both hosted and self hosted versions, WordPress is open source software used on hundreds of thousands of blogs, including many of Technorati top 100. So if you choose WordPress you will be in good company. You can either sign up for a free account at Wordpress.com, download the software and install it on your domain or (my favorite option), choose a web host that offers a 1-click Wordpress install and get started. WordPress is great because:

• it is easy to use - it takes seconds to publish a post
• you can customize it with one of hundreds of themes (on the hosted version you have to use the ones built into the system)
• you can add functions with plugins (when you use self-hosted WordPress)
• it has great content management features
• there is a lot of information out there on every aspect of using it

WordPress is my favorite blogging platform. If you are looking to make money from affiliate products and advertising, you will need to go for the self hosted version.

TypePad/Movable Type

This is another popular platform.TypePad is the paid version, with Movable Type being the free version. Created by SixApart, this is the second most used blog platform by the top 100 blogs, and other stats also support this. TypePad and Movable Type benefits include:

• a wide range of templates to customize your design
• built in spam protection
• great content management features
• a strong, active community

I last used Typepad a few years ago and didn’t find it as easy to use as WordPress, but thousands of people would disagree with me, so try it for yourself.

Blogger

Blogger is a free blogging platform. You can use the hosted version, which will give you a blogspot.com URL or redirect it to your own domain. Blogger is great for trying out blogging, as you can get started within five minutes even if you have never blogged before. Blogger is great because:

• it is easy to use
• you can customize it with built in or other templates - there are hundreds available
• it is owned by Google, so your blog is indexed quickly and regularly
• there is easy integration with Adsense, Google Analytics and similar services

I think Blogger is great for beginners, but I have found that after a while you want to do more with your blog and Blogger can be limiting.

Other Choices

These are the platforms which are most widely used, but there are many others which also have a large following. There’s a list of free blogging platforms here and you can also consider these others:

• Drupal (open source)
• ExpressionEngine (free version, but you will have to pay for advanced features)
• Joomla (open source)
• Squarespace (paid)
• TextPattern (open source)

With some of the paid platforms, you can try some of the functionality for free. This is a great way to find a blogging platform that really works for you.

Sharon Hurley Hall
Get Paid To Write Online.com

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