HN Explorer

Ask: What is the best blogging platform?

8 points by Rhapso ↗ HN
I am new to the blogosphere and wondering the best place to get started. Honestly I am looking for a way to "get off" the social network grid, perhaps connecting to Facebook and twitter via APIs but not having an explicit account.

11 comments

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Unseelie
I've tried wordpress and Blogspot, and prefer blogspot, found its presentation slightly more customizable. It isn't, exactly, what I would like, but I can't say I'm willing to design my own. If I was, I'd consider finding free hosting, or hosting with a right side banner add, plopping a blog in the middle, and a microblogg feed on the left, because most of what I say doesn't have the depth of prose to really be called a 'blog'.
ddemchuk
Wordpress by far. You can get hosting for as low as $15/6 months that should do just fine for your initial efforts (I've gotten hosting from ASmallOrange at that price). Wordpress has the largest number of plugins and themes that can basically turn it into anything you need it to.
vlad
Try installing wordpress 3.0 release candidate locally on XAMPP, then upload your blog to cheap web hosting once you have a minimum viable blog (MVB.)
alanthonyc
You should also check out Posterous.
crazydiamond
blogspot, wordpress, tumblr, posterous

You can get a free account on all these. There's also blogsome and livejournal, but not as good as the above.

pramit
I created Bighow.com as a multipurpose Blogging platform [share news, resumes, classifieds etc.] - News Platform [team of news editors] in 2007.
csomar
depends on your needs.

Wordpress: You get the power of manipulating the Server Side freely. Think plug-ins, widgets, Ajax... You host it yourself.

Blogspot: You only have JavaScript and few Server side commands. Good for simple blogging. They host it for you. Secure hosting that handle effectively massive traffic.

Others (Like posterous, tumblr...): You are limited, some how. I prefer to stay away from them, as they may surprise me with new rules.

underdesign
Best? 'Best' means many things to many people. If you think 'Best' means ownership of the code and server, install WordPress. If 'best' means quicker Google Rankings, some suggest Blogger as the choice. If you want easy-to-use and quick-to-deploy, others might suggest Posterous.

I've used and demoed them all. Your mileage may vary.