When I first started blogging, i didn't think too much about which platform to use. I just went for the one that came with my Google account and ran with it. After three years of blogging, maybe that wasn't the wisest choice but it would be too painful to rectify now. For anyone looking to start their own blog, here are my thoughts on three of the more popular platforms out there. Hope it helps when making your choice. 

## Blogger / Blogspot

![Blogspot_Blogger_Logo.jpg](https://steemitimages.com/DQmV5SPtMPW2PtrUJ1D7Q7rHpi9G9f7CVnh6iJpgDK5WCLy/Blogspot_Blogger_Logo.jpg)

The very first blog most people start with is probably going to be on Blogger. While it holds a special place in most bloggers' hearts, it also comes with a lot of frustration as we'll get into in a bit. 

Blogger/Blogspot was one of the earliest blogging platforms out there in the 90s and were soon bought out by Google.  The Google brand-name, money and marketing power has made it into the blogging platform powerhouse it is today. The fact that you can use your Google account to start a blog makes it pretty much everyone's default choice. But should it be?

### The Good
- Free to use
- Easy to use
- Adsense,  Google+ built in

### The Bad
- Hard to customize
- Lack of themes
- Page size limit of 1MB
- **Site at the mercy of Google**

Personally, i think that Blogspot is a decent option for a personal blog where you share your day to day life with your readers. These type of blogs don't rely on fancy themes nor do they rely on search engine traffic - it's all about your relationship with your readers. The best part about blogspot is that it is really cheap. Just slap on your $8 domain and you're good to go. No need to worry about hosting as it's all taken care off by Google.

The ease of using blogspot comes with drawbacks though. For a business blog with evergreen content, the fact that you can't silo your site hurts your SEO capabilities. The biggest drawback of using blogspot however, is the fact that you don't 'own' your site or content. Google can pull the plug on your site at any minute and you're **always at their mercy**. 

## Wordpress
![wordpress.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmbxhrVdKj84TD4gULpegwKCmEXooGN4U7AevDA1Aayzfq/wordpress.png)

### The Good
- You own your site
- Tons of attractive themes
- Plugins for just about anything... from SEO to collecting emails  

### The Bad
- Takes time to familiarize all the different settings and options
- Site maintenance and structure takes longer
- Expensive!!!

Wordpress gives you flexibility, powerful tools, and complete ownership of your site... at a price. Even with the cheapest hosting, you're looking at about $100 a year to host your blog. If you don't intend for it to be a money maker, it's probably not worth spending 10x the money you would on blogspot. 

On the other hand, if you're a business, owning your site is a must! Can you imagine logging on to your shop's site one day and finding that it has been deleted? With Wordpress, it's unlikely that will happen. The only exception is if you do something criminal against your web-hosting company's terms of service.

## Tumblr
![Tumblr-Logo.png](https://steemitimages.com/DQmYuvsPKsvTfBv81kRK9PsSqg7CFNeg3NbP8qXCzGHFyYr/Tumblr-Logo.png)

Tumblr is the new kid on the block and while i've had some success, i've also been terribly frustrated by it. The good thing about Tumblr is that like Steemit, it comes with an in-built audience who will see your post if they're interested in your topic or tag. So if you're posting memes, fashion, model pictures and things of the like that are image-intensive, Tumblr could be a really good option. I managed to get more than a thousand people visiting each of my posts within two months on my meme site. As an added bonus, hosting on Tumblr is free and you can connect your own domain with no additional charge. 

The BIG BIG downside of Tumblr, however, is that the moderators go on banning sprees and you never really know what sets them off. My meme site was unceremoniously deleted one day and despite all my appeals, "the decision is final". No nudity or any offensive pictures at all. It's not just me, though. There are many people complaining about it, with one popular blogger even [losing five years of her work](https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/tumblr-erases-popular-blogger-copyright-infringement-blogging-fea)!

Tumblr can be a great promotional tool but using it as your main site is living life on the edge.