So, I have covered why you should be blogging and How to get started blogging with hosted blogs. Finally, I would like to discuss which of the two biggies you should consider if you want to blog for your business.
Self-hosted blogs or Non-hosted blogs are blogs that are hosted on your own Website.
A non-hosted blog gives you the ability to integrate your blog into your existing website, giving you complete control over your content. Although there are several options out there, I will cover just two, WordPress and MovableType. Below is a diagram from pingdom.com that will give you a quick overview of which blog platforms (and CMS) are the most popular among the top 100 blogs.
Blog Platform Usage Among Top 100 Blogs
As you can see, WordPress is the most-used platform among non-hosted blogs. It has more than twice as many blogs in the top 100 as MovableType, the blog platform that came in second place. WordPress is used by 27 blogs in the top 100. Movable Type is used by 12 blogs in the top 100. Here’s my analogy. In my teens I spent a fair amount of my time racing street cars. The majority of those around me raced Chevys while I raced a Ford Mustang. It didn’t take me long to realize that, because of the popularity of Chevys, parts were much more abundant and cheaper. Finding parts for my Mustang were harder to come by and as a result cost more.
Although WordPress and MovableType are both free, the “parts” for WordPress far outnumber what is available for MovableType. With that said, let’s look at some of the differences between the two.
Cost
WordPress and MovableType are free.
Installation
On the homepage of WordPress.org, it states to have a “famous five minute installation.” Actually, in every WordPress installation I preformed I have found this to be true, even though I am installing it on a Windows platform. Movable Type has a fairly easy installation process as well.
Daily Blogging
Both systems offer basically the same features. Some prefer the Movable Type dashboard. I personally prefer the WordPress dashboard. They both offer scheduled posts. WordPress’ YSIWYG editor is more advanced over MovableType, but some say it can be buggy at times.
Ease of Use – Site Maintenance
For site maintenance, MovableType uses modules. Its functionality is pretty straightforward and easily updated. A huge plus for the non-geeks out there is that MovableType uses HTML instead of PHP. WordPress uses pages. Its functionality is simpler to use than MovableType. I believe that WordPress has a much larger library of themes than MovableType. At last count it is well over 650! The collection of sidebar widgets is pretty extensive as well.
Comment Filtering
Comments, what a love/hate relationship! All bloggers want comments. They want the feedback. Unfortunately, spammers enjoy comment sections as well and they always seem to slip in their little devils when you least expect it. Fortunately, WordPress uses the Akismet spam filter plugin. Once activated, it goes to work in the background and saves a lot of headaches. You will have to check on the spam filter to make sure regular comments are not being spammed. MovableType uses an open source, TypePad AntiSpam plugin that is free. It is said that it works better “Out of the box” than Askimet. A version for WordPress is available as well.
Support
Invariably, things will go wrong. Movable Type has a robust, ticketed support system, but I don’t know if this ticket system pertains to the free version or their pro versions only. Since WordPress is an open source project there is an enormous community willing to answer your questions; pretty straight forward. I have been using forums for years to get answers to my technical problems. The only drawback to this system is you may wait a while for an answer.
Plugins
Movable Type and WordPress have several plugins available, but I would have to say it is probably easier to find that plug-ins for WordPress. There are plug-ins for pretty much anything you can think of. Installing plug-ins in WordPress is easy. Just click on the “Plugins” button, click on the “Add New” button, search the plugins directory, then install it. Badda Bing, Badda Boom, you’re done. See what’s out there, google blog plugins and see how many are out there.
And In The End…
I will admit that I am partial to WordPress, this blog is a WordPress blog. You may find you prefer MovableType. Take a look around, ask questions of those who are using these platforms and make an educated decision based on you have learned and what your preferences are. If nothing else, hopefully, I have made you aware that there are a lot of options out there and that a little preplanning will go a long way to helping you have a pleasant blogging experience.
If you should decide that you prefer going with a non-hosted WordPress blog I am for hire. Contact me about your plans.
