If you have spent any time searching for blogging publication platforms you have probably noticed that there are quite a few to chose from. Some of the more notable blogging platforms include WordPress (self-hosted version), Blogger, Bloglines, Text Pattern, Moveable Type, Serendipity, Life Type, and Flat Press.



All of these blog platforms are versatile and easy to use. However, WordPress is far and away the best choice for setting up your blog because of it's astonishing versatility, astounding functionality, and incredible revenue generating potential for the help www.bloggers-guide-to-profit.com. Even if you are not the least bit interested in making money but simply want to get the word out about whatever it is you are interested in, WordPress is still far and away the best blogging platform.

Many bloggers and would be bloggers don't use WordPress because they feel it is 1) too difficult to set up and 2) too expensive to operate. Both of these reasons are common misconceptions and totally untrue.

1.Too difficult to set up - WordPress can indeed be a little difficult to set up if you have never FTP'ed before and know zero about scripts and coding. However, the difficulty you will have in setting up WordPress depends largely on who you host with. With godaddy.com, for example, you can set up a killer WordPress blog in less than 3 minutes just by pushing a few buttons.

2.Too Expensive To Operate - While WordPress is a free program, it does indeed cost money to setup and maintain as opposed to most of the other blogging platforms. But the cost of setting up and maintaining a WordPress blog is very small. Again, if you use godaddy.com, you can purchase a '.info' domain for an annual fee of $1.15 and get quality hosting for less than $5 a month. In addition, you can have 25 blogs per hosting account. At $5 a month for hosting, you can have 25 WordPress blogs for a mere $0.20 cents per month.

So in reality, WordPress is both very easy to setup and very inexpensive to own and operate if you choose the right host. If you are interested in blogging because you want to make money from your blog (and you can easily make a small fortune from blogging) then a WordPress blog is a must and no self-respecting Internet Marketer will tell you any different.

Here are a few other reasons why Wordpress is the best blogging platform:

1.You own your content - When you use other blogging platforms that are not self hosted your content does not really belong to you. This means that your blog can be pulled offline at any time and without any reason whatsoever.

2.Widgets - These are add on programs that can easily add a massive array of functionality to your blog. Most widgets are free and very easy install. Some widgets can even automate your blog content which means you never have to write a word

3.Easily convertible to a website - If need be, you can actually install WordPress and set it up as a website rather than a blog. This is a very nice feature, especially if you know next to nothing about web design or HTML code. Depending on the themes you chose to use you can actually create a very nice looking and super easy to update website with just WordPress. If you want to install WordPress and use it as a website, log into your control panel and click on "Reading" under the Settings tab. Simple select "A Static Page" and your blog will become a website!

How blogs can hurt:

1. One small step. Negative posts can be fatal.

Blogging can open you up for many legal, liability and employment questions, problems or crises. Last year, Jim C. came to me after he had posted a rather nasty post on his Top Ten Worst Retailers in the World blog for the helpwww.feed-reader-links.com. His company did business with two of those retailers and as nosy or highly sensitive corporate personnel found out about his lambaste it caused a rift at the company. According to Jim, "This year for other reasons I was let go. It was not the economy. I crossed the line."

2. Pictures tell a thousand stories.

Larry seemed to pipe up at work a lot about things that bothered him. So he decided to publish a seemingly anonymous blog. As a techy he posted hundreds of comments on political ideas, people he thought should be impeached and railed against what he considered bad taste and fashion. He did this anonymously under a lot of different names. But when he decided to take pictures at the year end Christmas party and publish captions that offended nearly everyone, he was, well, suspended without pay forever (fired).