Most people inquiring about making money online come across the subject of blogging. Many Internet entrepreneurs make a living from running their own blog. Someone confronted with all of this for the first time might find it extremely confusing. There are many blogging platforms that aspiring bloggers can use to start their online journey.
A blogging platform is a special software which can be used by bloggers to aid them in running their own blogs. The software has the tools for carrying out all the main functions related to running this kind of site. These include functionality for writing and publishing posts, managing comments, marketing features, and so on.
Free platforms
There are a huge number of free blogging platforms available. Most of them are easy to access from the Internet.
WordPress
This is one of the most popular free environments and is said to power most of the blogs on the Internet today. It is under constant development and new updates are made available on a regular bases. There are two sites which users are able to access:
1. WordPress.org
The latest version of the software can be downloaded from this site. It also gives users access to a huge selection of design templates and modules to increase the functionality of your blog. Users need to find a suitable web host which supports wordpress to support their blog.
2. WordPress.com
This site allows bloggers to create their blogs directly online on wordpress.com. It is easy to get started and even the hosting is free. Blog owners who go this route are limited by the resources included as part of the environment.
Blogger
Google has its own free platform for bloggers. It works similar to wordpress.com and users are able to access the environment by going to http://www.blogger.com. Bloggers are able to get a site up and running in just a few minutes. As with wordpress.com, hosting is absolutely free when using this environment.
Commercial platforms
There are a number of online platforms which users need to pay for. They also provide access similar to many of the free environments, except that a subscription fee is required.
SquareSpace
SquareSpace is a commercial environment offering a platform bloggers can use to create sites with great functionality. It can be accessed by visiting http://www.squarespace.com. Potential blog owners wanting to make use of this powerful environment need to pay a monthly subscription.
ExpressionEngine
Expression Engine is another powerful environment in the commercial stable. It also provides all the tools to create professional blogs. Users who want to use this environment will need to pay a modest fee every month.
There are many blogging platforms available for aspirant bloggers to make their voices heard online. Some platforms are totally free while others require a monthly subscription. Only two have been mentioned in both categories, however, there are a huge number of blogging platforms that people are able to choose from. Fortunately for newbies, most platforms are not extremely difficult to use.