Have you decided to become a blogger, but have not decided what platform to choose for your future project? There is something entirely to select from – social networks, a separate website or specially adapted blog sites. Let us try to tell you briefly what is what, and at the same time try on the trends of this year's blogging.
Where to begin?
First, decide on the theme of your blog. The choice of the site depends on it. There are the following groups of blogs:
Lifestyle. Many excellent bloggers started their way to the top of the ratings with good old diary entries.
Corporate blog. It is conducted on behalf of the company to attract loyal customers and increase the level of trust.
Narrow niche blog. If you are an expert in one field and plan to tell about the features of your work to the whole world – welcome to blogging!
Portfolio. A successful combination of a corporate blog with a specific topic can turn into an unexpected benefit: subscribers become customers, and views turn popular.
Uncertain or mixed topics blog. It will be interesting to combine lifestyle with a portfolio and a small niche blog, but nothing is impossible for a talented blogger.
Many bloggers began to keep their pages as a corporate blog, but then gradually switched to lifestyle style. Such a blogging format is attractive for business owners who want to strengthen their brand, as well as increase loyalty. However, the reverse transition from lifestyle to a corporate blog also works well: subscribers will follow with interest in the development of their "friend" business.
How to choose a platform?
If earlier to become a blogger, it was necessary to create an account on a specific blogging platform, today there is no such all-or-nothing mentality: you can blog on social networks, or you can create an individual website for this business.
Therefore, to begin with, decide whether you need a blog in the traditional format or you can limit yourself to short posts in social networks, similarly, with the choice between an account on a blog platform and an individual website. In the first case, it is enough to delve into the user settings, while launching the second will take much more time and effort.
Combining a traditional blog with social networks will attract an additional audience to your project. Just write posts and link them to your accounts. It is also possible to create a separate page in social networks for your project.
Blog platform or a separate blog?
Creation:
- It will not be easy to do it yourself when creating a separate website;
- There is no need for specialized knowledge to register an account on the blogging platform.
Design:
- When choosing a design blog platforms offer some cute templates to choose from;
- The plan of themes for a separate site, in any case, will require severe improvement and adaptation specifically for your needs.
Advertising:
- On the blogging platform will have to endure someone else's hype. Well, or pay for a paid account;
- Domain and hosting cost some money, so the issue with advertising is off automatically.
Promotion:
- Blog platforms are blogs development-friendly hosted on them through the rating system;
- There is no such rating for individual sites.
Security:
- The chance to lose all your posts when you close the blog platform without the possibility of recovery;
- A separate site may experience problems with hosting, but backups will come to the rescue.
A blog platform implies a third-level domain, limited design, and functionality of your page, as well as dependence on the site administration. However, the stand-alone site is not a panacea: the domain and hosting require regular payment and maintaining it in the right form take a lot of time and effort.
Basic blogging platform
Even though some of the sites below are hopelessly outdated in their functionality, they deserve making mention, and for a beginner, in blogging, they can be an excellent elementary school.
Tumblr. Initially, this site was for posting images, but over time, it has acquired new features and turned into a full-fledged blog-platform. True, the particular popularity among users has not won.
Blogspot. Provides the ability to purchase a personal domain. However, in 2019, this idea looks particularly dubious, given the opportunity to start a blog on a separate site right away.
Medium. The long-forgotten format of a concise and straightforward blog with a single design and mostly text content.
First, the choice of platform should depend not on the technical and financial capabilities of the blogger, but the goals of his future blog.
Social networks as a new swing of blogging development
More and more authors are moving from their cozy blogs in the social network. There are many reasons for this: someone “runs” from innovations and transformations of traditional blog platforms, others move away from long posts to the format of short notes, others decide to reduce their blog presence due to lack of time, others lose sources of monetization of their blogs, and with them the meaning of their message in a full format. And what about the social network?
Facebook became the place where the liveliest discussions take place today on entirely different topics. The number of comments under some posts is impressive.
Instagram seems like a photo and video sharing app. In fact, on this platform, the authors successfully combine lifestyle, portfolio, and blogs on a narrow topic.
Twitter is perfect for those who do not like long reads and ignore pictures.
Special blogging platforms
YouTube is the principal and primary platform for video blogging. This platform has no competitors. If you make video content, this is the place to be for you.
Telegram is a cross-platform messenger. The lack of feedback and the ability to collect likes on the channels did not become an obstacle for the authors. In the microblogging, Telegram significantly pressed Twitter.
Conclusion
The blogosphere is one of the most dynamically developing information spaces. To choose a site for the blog is difficult. Therefore, before starting your blog, think carefully and weigh your decision. Content runs the show, but a lot depends on the site for its placement.
