As we discussed in the last article, blogs have become a staple of the internet.  Because of their popularity, many companies have offered blogging services over the years.  Out of all the services available, two companies have stood the test of time and become the industry standards for blogging.  Blogger and Wordpress are currently the most widely used blogging platforms.  Whether you are a professional blogger or brand new to the blogging medium, chances are you are using one of these two platforms.

Although Blogger and Wordpress are the most popular blogging platforms, each one has its own unique strengths and weaknesses.  Because of this, neither service has established complete dominance in the blogging realm.  Although hardcore enthusiasts will highlight only the positive aspects of the platform they support, it is important to also take the weaknesses of each platform into account.  By analyzing each platform, you can choose the service which best fits your blogging needs.

Blogger, which was bought by Google in 2002, is the most well-known of the two platforms.  A Blogger blog can be hosted for free on a .Blogspot domain or on any paid domain.  The biggest advantage of a .Blogspot blog is how easily it is crawled by Google�s spiders.  This can benefit a blog�s ranking within Google, as well as its ability to display targeted AdSense ads.  Regardless of what domain you host a Blogger blog on, the template is the feature that makes Blogger unique.  Although there are plenty of pre made templates to choose from, Blogger gives you full control over the appearance and layout of your template.  With a basic understanding of CSS and HTML, you can completely manipulate your blog�s template.

At first glance, Blogger may seem like a flawless platform.  However, it is not without its weaknesses.  Currently, the Blogger�s biggest weakness is its lack of categories.  Blogger does not provide any easy way to file posts into separate categories.  The second major weakness of Blogger is the .Blogspot domain.  Neither Blogger nor Google have taken any steps to regulate this free domain.  Therefore, it is cluttered with thousands (if not millions) of spam blogs and blogs that have not been updated in over five years.

Blogger�s competitor, Wordpress, features a very different design.  Wordpress is designed around the concept of pre made templates which can be fully customized with �plug ins.???  There are hundreds of Wordpress plug ins, ranging from AdSense to spam control.  These plug ins can be downloaded for free and installed within seconds.  The biggest advantage of a Wordpress blog is actually one of Blogger�s disadvantages.  Wordpress allows you to file individual posts into different categories.  This makes it simple for visitors to find the content they are looking for as quickly as possible.

As with Blogger, Wordpress is not without a few weaknesses.  Although the template can be customized and accented with plug ins, Wordpress does not have a fully editable template.  This can cause a Wordpress blog to look much more generic and less exciting.  Additionally, some of the Wordpress controls and settings may be slightly overwhelming for users with no previous blogging experience.

At the end of the day, whether you choose to create a Blogger or Wordpress blog comes down to a question of personal preference.  You should take the time to plan out what you want to accomplish with your blog, and then select which platform will make it easiest to accomplish these goals.

As we discussed in the last article, blogs have become a staple of the internet.  Because of their popularity, many companies have offered blogging services over the years.  Out of all the services available, two companies have stood the test of time and become the industry standards for blogging.  Blogger and Wordpress are currently the most widely used blogging platforms.  Whether you are a professional blogger or brand new to the blogging medium, chances are you are using one of these two platforms.

Although Blogger and Wordpress are the most popular blogging platforms, each one has its own unique strengths and weaknesses.  Because of this, neither service has established complete dominance in the blogging realm.  Although hardcore enthusiasts will highlight only the positive aspects of the platform they support, it is important to also take the weaknesses of each platform into account.  By analyzing each platform, you can choose the service which best fits your blogging needs.

Blogger, which was bought by Google in 2002, is the most well-known of the two platforms.  A Blogger blog can be hosted for free on a .Blogspot domain or on any paid domain.  The biggest advantage of a .Blogspot blog is how easily it is crawled by Google�s spiders.  This can benefit a blog�s ranking within Google, as well as its ability to display targeted AdSense ads.  Regardless of what domain you host a Blogger blog on, the template is the feature that makes Blogger unique.  Although there are plenty of pre made templates to choose from, Blogger gives you full control over the appearance and layout of your template.  With a basic understanding of CSS and HTML, you can completely manipulate your blog�s template.

At first glance, Blogger may seem like a flawless platform.  However, it is not without its weaknesses.  Currently, the Blogger�s biggest weakness is its lack of categories.  Blogger does not provide any easy way to file posts into separate categories.  The second major weakness of Blogger is the .Blogspot domain.  Neither Blogger nor Google have taken any steps to regulate this free domain.  Therefore, it is cluttered with thousands (if not millions) of spam blogs and blogs that have not been updated in over five years.

Blogger�s competitor, Wordpress, features a very different design.  Wordpress is designed around the concept of pre made templates which can be fully customized with �plug ins.???  There are hundreds of Wordpress plug ins, ranging from AdSense to spam control.  These plug ins can be downloaded for free and installed within seconds.  The biggest advantage of a Wordpress blog is actually one of Blogger�s disadvantages.  Wordpress allows you to file individual posts into different categories.  This makes it simple for visitors to find the content they are looking for as quickly as possible.

As with Blogger, Wordpress is not without a few weaknesses.  Although the template can be customized and accented with plug ins, Wordpress does not have a fully editable template.  This can cause a Wordpress blog to look much more generic and less exciting.  Additionally, some of the Wordpress controls and settings may be slightly overwhelming for users with no previous blogging experience.

At the end of the day, whether you choose to create a Blogger or Wordpress blog comes down to a question of personal preference.  You should take the time to plan out what you want to accomplish with your blog, and then select which platform will make it easiest to accomplish these goals.