You may already have a blog or maybe you are still in the early stages of one. You’ve probably considered your logo and your template, but you might not have given too much thought about the platform you are using.

Two of the most popular are Blogger and WordPress. Obviously, I’m using WordPress, so you can guess what I’m going to suggest. But when I started my personal blog www.thesearethesaladyears.com I started it at Blogger. For beginners Blogger is great. It’s super easy. But with that ease comes a lack of options. First, you are stuck with a boxy look. Granted there are some great templates out there for Blogger, you are still limited with your look.

WordPress has great themes you can use and awesome plug-ins for just about anything you want your blog to do. Having the ability to customize your site may not be as important when you are first getting your blog off the ground because you may not be aware of all the great things you can do with your blog. I know, that was me when I started my personal blog. So when I decided to start my business blog I definitely went with WordPress. A little hesitantly, I’ll admit because with so much freedom to customize I was a little overwhelmed. But it really is a relief now that I’m up to speed.

WordPress is the best option if you decide you want to, say, have some content available to members only, there’s a WordPress plug-in for that. Or if you want to add a shopping cart. If you want an SEO pack on your site to help you in your search rankings. Or if you just want a totally customized look. It’s all WordPress.

Again many of the plug-ins available for WordPress may be advanced for what you want to do in the beginning. You may be thinking, “Hey I’m just trying to increase my readership” but by looking forward you’ll save yourself a lot of time and frustration and the need to transfer your blog at a later date.

What were some of the things you learned when starting your first blog?