People often ask me what is the difference between Blogger, Livejournal and WordPress blog on your own hosting.
I have been blogging for some time now and have blogs on every platform, so in this article I’ll compare them.
Livejournal
Livejournal is the best solution for people who just want to have their own space in the internet and meet many new people.
Pluses: It has some social networking features and communities where blogger can read and write articles and comments. It is very easy to find new friends there and track their blogs.
Minuses: Livejournal will not allow you to monetize your blog – all advertisements there are added by Livejournal company and bring them millions every month. The amount of themes is limited and there are no plugins at all. The search engines don’t like Livejournal blogs: you will never be on the first page of Google, so all you’ll get is the same Livejournal users as you. All your data will be stored in Livejournal’s database. According to their policy, they can delete it without any explanation.
Conclusion: Basic blog for those who feel lonely.
Blogger
This is a platform for beginners, who just want to practice in blogging.
Pluses: It will partially allow you to monetize your blog: the advertisements can be added in limited amounts and positions (you can add Adsense only). It has some interesting plugins for making your blog more entertaining, and more themes.
Minuses: It is not SEO friendly. Many beginners think that if this platform is earned by Google, then their blog will be in the Top 10 on every page of the search engines and have thousands of visitors every day. It is not true: Google has to play by it’s own rules. You can read the full explanation here: http://andybeard.eu/1832/blogger-blogspot-blogs-seo.html
Although there is a possibility to be on the first page of Google, it will take much more time to get there as on WordPress.
You’ll not be able to monetize your blog properly and it will lower your earnings.
Blogger doesn’t look nice: doesn’t allow to add categories, favicon, etc. It doesn’t suit the company needs, or the needs of individual who wants to build a professional image of (her)himself.
All your data will be stored in Blogger’s database. According to their policy, they can delete it without any explanation.
Conclusion: Good solution for people with simple needs.
WordPress (on your own hosting)
The best solution for companies, people, who want to earn money by blogging, and individuals who want to have professional and nice looking web-page.
Pluses: Wast amount of professional themes and plugins, code moderation, possibility of adding categories and pages, ability of full monetization.
Minuses: You have to pay for your own hosting. However, the price is not expensive and can be covered by earnings from your blog. Some hostings doesn’t guarantee 100% uptime. That means sometimes your blog may not be visible. But this happens very rarely with good ones (see the list of hostings I recommend).
Conclusion: Excellent platform for everyone who wants to build a professional image on the Web, or to earn money.
Please read very helpful tutorial:
Making money by blogging
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