So you've decided that you want to write a blog - good on you!

When I started blogging four years ago, I was a complete beginner with no real idea about what I was doing. I simply had a subject that I felt passionately about and wanted to write about; maybe you're in the same position now. I did no research about the subject, about what other people were writing, or about the different types of blogging software available. I simply Googled 'blogging' and top of the list was, surprise surprise, Google's own Blogging Platform Blogger.com. So I went through the simple set-up process and started writing, but I think I'd have been a lot better off doing a little research first, and thats why I want to help you now, before you take a plunge into the deep-end like I did!

I'm still using the blogger platform, (as you can see, evern for this blog too) as I feel it is right for me, but different bloggers have different needs.

So which Blog Platform Should you use?

I can't tell you which blog platform is best to use because there are good reasons for choosing any of the available platforms, depending upon the type of blog you want, and what you hope it will achieve. I do hope that this post will help you to choose, after thinking about what's right for you.

There are a great many competing blog platforms on the market (just Google 'blogging platforms' to see!). While you can usually change your platform in the future, since many of them have a function to import and export your content later, there may be some draw-backs associated with transferring - such as changing the url, updating your feed address etc. Its worth having answers to the following questions to hand before making your decision; that way hopefully once you choose a platform, it will serve your needs for a long time and save you the hassle of changing your platform once the blog's got off the ground.

What are your goals? - Probably the most important thing to do when starting the process of choosing a blog platform, is to consider your hopes and ambitions for your blog. What is your blog for?

What will be the main purpose of your blog?

Will you be blogging just for a hobby, or will there be a more professional reason for it (IE selling a product you make, or advertising a business you're involved in)?

Is blogging something you see yourself doing long-term?

I'm sure other questions will occur to you as you examine the available options, and it's worth bearing your answers in mind as you make your decision, because some platforms are more suitable for those blogging for a hobby, whilst others are more suitable for people blogging for professional reasons.

What is Your Budget? - Some platforms are free, others charge a fee. Again the kind of blog you want will determine whether you're prepared to pay or not!

Different blogging platforms offer different levels of service. Some - like Blogger.com and WordPress.com - offer the platform, domain name and hosting for free. Others - like Wordpress.org (note this is different to WordPress.com) offer the platform for free but you then need to find and pay for your own hosting and domain name. Others still, like MovableType charge for a license for the platform (depending how many blogs you have and whether they will have a commercial, personal, educational or not-for-profit use - they do also have a free version) and then you need to arrange and pay for your own domain name and hosting.

Other costs you might like to factor in at an early stage include:

Design - all platforms come with free templates (some more professional looking than others) but if you want a more individual look you’ll either need to have some design skills, know someone who does or be willing to pay for a design.

Blog tools/metrics - there are any number of tools you can pay for to help you in your blogging, for example statistical packages that let you track visitor numbers and usage of your site (free ones are available, but of course if you want more features, you'll be paying more for them). As a beginner you might find that you don't need extra tools such as this, but as your blog progresses and you get more visitors, tools like stats packages become more and more useful.

How tech-savvy are you? - This is very important to consider when choosing a blog platform. If you’ve not had any experience in creating a website or blog before, have little or no knowledge of HTML or Javascript and no desire to learn, then some blog platforms will be more suitable for you than if you're a whizz with web languages (I'm assuming you're not, if you're reading this far!) or at least are prepared to learn some of the basic commands.

Another option is to find someone who is tech-savvy to help you (either paid or as a friend). One of the great advantages to blogging is the number of user forums and help pages available for each platform, often written by the very people who blog using thier favourite platforms.

What platforms are other people using? - Of course your own blog should be yours, with the look and feel that reflects you, but when you initially choose a platform it's well worth checking out what other bloggers are using, particularly those who are blogging about similar stuff to you.

So bearing in mind your answers to the above questions, it time to consider the next step:

Is a Hosted or a Stand Alone platform right for you?

Hosted Blog Platforms

This is the type of blog that many bloggers start out with, simply because they are easy to use and usually cheap, or even free. Probably the most popular of these systems is Blogger.com (the one I'm using) but of course others are available, notably WordPress and MSN Spaces

These systems are hosted platforms because they host your blog on their own domain. After a fairly easy set up process they'll give you a web address (URL) that will usually be some combination of their own URL and the name of your blog. For example the url for this blog is http://buildbetterblogs.blogspot.com - my name for the blog (buildbetterblogs) plus blogger's domain name (blogspot.com).

So let's take a little look at the ups and downs of hosted platforms:

Plus points:

Cheap or even free to set up and run - most hosted options are free.

Easy to set up - most of these types of blogs can be set up with a basic default template within minutes. The set up is usually just a matter of filling in a few fields with your options and choosing a template design.

Simple to run - hosted blogs are usually pretty simple to run. You will obviously need to learn some basics, but these days most blog platforms come with very user-friendly features.

Indexed in search engines quickly - one of the advantages of many hosted blog platforms is that they are put onto domains that have good page ranks already. While your blog won’t be indexed in search engines when you start, most bloggers notice that their blogs get picked up and ranked pretty quickly.

Down points:

Less configurable - limited design features.

Default design limitations - many hosted blogs end up looking very similar to one another. This is because the few default templates provided get used over and over again. To make your blog really stand out and look unique, you need to learn the details of writing HTML.

Generic URL - having your own uniquw URL can give a sense of professionalism and memorability to your blog that hosted options might struggle to compete with. While there are some very successful blogs on hosted platforms, many bloggers think that having a unique URL is much more professional, and worth paying for, if your blog is intended for a professional purpose.

Upgrading to Stand alone can be difficult - another question worth thinking about before you decide on a hosted blog is, what you do if your blog gets big, or you get the blogging bug so bad that you just can't stop? If you decide later to move to a stand alone platform, it might be difficult to take all those readers you've built up with you, and of course you're back to scratch with your position in search engine rankings.

Who would use hosted blog platforms?

If you just want a blog and don’t care much about having your own unique domain, are not too interested in tweaking your blog or getting all the latest and greatest features, then hosted options are a good choice. In fact it’s worth keeping in mind that while some may scoff at hosted blog platforms and say that serious bloggers don’t use them - there are many popular bloggers who use them very successfully.

Stand Alone Blog Platforms

The other type of blog platform is one which is hosted on your own domain/URL. Common platforms includeWordpress.org (not to be confused with Wordpress.com), Movable Type, PMachine, Greymatter, B2Evolution, TextPattern and Expression Engine, to list just a very, very few.

The ups and downs of stand alone platforms:

Plus points:

Full design control - standalone blogs are very adaptable. Of course novice or intermediate bloggers with little design ability may need to use default templates (with the same limitations as default templates of hosted blogs) or get others to help with this.

Free platforms - while you end up paying for your domain name and hosting, systems like these are usually free to run. Some do have license fees if you’re having multiple blogs or using them for commercial purposes - but many are open source.

URL - having your own unique domain name is great for many reasons. Firstly it's easier to remember, secondly it makes your blog appear more professional and thirdly it is more easily brand-able.

Down points:

Complicated to set up - once again this depends upon your technical abilities and web savvy, but when you move to stand alone platforms the complexity of set up does increase. It usually involves arranging hosting, setting up databases and then downloading the platform onto you own computer and then uploading it via ftp onto your web hosting server. There are plenty of good tutorials around for most of the platforms to help with this process, but for many it is a difficult and potentially daunting process.

Cost - while the blog platform itself might be free, you need to think about the ongoing costs of having your own domain name (an annual fee plus a one-off registration fee) and hosting fees (again annual). There are many great deals around so it's worth taking a good look at whats on offer. If your blog gets a lot of traffic, the costs do go up and you might want to think about upgrading to a more professional, and thus expensive, plan.

Updates - most blog platforms go through different versions over time; updating from one version to another can be complicated and time consuming if you're not completely sure what you’re doing.

Stand alone blog platforms are ideal if you want a little more control over and flexibility with your blog. They can be configured to look and run very professionally, and to be adapted into configurations that are limited only by your imagination and skill with programming. Of course just because you choose a stand alone platform it doesn’t automatically follw that you will have a perfect, professional-looking blog; if you don’t have the ability to set these blogs up correctly (or know someone who does) then standalone blogs can be messy and look rather un-professional.

In conclusion:

If you intend to develop a serious and professional blog, I’d recommend that you choose a stand alone blog platform. Even if you are not highly skilled in this area, it’s worth spending a little money to get it set up with a designer or even better still, to learn how to do it yourself.

If you're just blogging for fun or for special interest, and don't need all the extra features and adaptability of a stand alone platform, or don't want to spend the time, effort and capital required to set up a truly professional-looking blog, then you may want to consider using a hosted option like Blogger.com.

Whatever you decide, I hope you'll enjoy writing your blogs as much as I do mine.