What is the best blogging platform?
If you've asked this question in any forum before, then there should be at least one person who'll say that the best platform is WordPress.
WordPress is more than just a blogging platform. It is a comprehensive Content Management System or CMS that comes with all the tools you need to build any site, from E-commerce stores to professional business websites.
WordPress is so reliable that 19 percent of the Internet uses WordPress, with 60 million users and counting. It is the number one choice for serious bloggers who’s planning to monetise their work.
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If you’re still not convinced, then here are the four best reasons why WordPress is the best platform for starting your blog:
Easy to Use
WordPress may not be as easy as blogging-for-dummies services like Tumblr, Blogger.com, and Hubpages. However, these sites do not even come close to the flexibility and firepower of a full-fledged CMS. Besides, WordPress is still easy enough for beginners and the non-tech savvy to build professional and fully-functional websites without any web development knowledge.
After registering and hosting your domain, installing WordPress is incredibly easy. Due to its popularity, most web hosts already include an automated installation tool for WordPress. This should be easy to find since some tools are labelled straightforwardly (e.g. Install WordPress, WordPress Installation Tool). You can then access the WordPress dashboard, where all the magic starts.
The WordPress dashboard can be found by adding "wp-admin" to your domain address. After logging in with the required credentials, you can immediately get started with choosing a theme, planning the navigation, and building your content. You also have complete access to all the plugins in the WordPress library. And this is another reason WordPress shines as the best CMS overall.
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Lots of Plugins
If a website is a house, then plugins are like appliances. They add functionality and perform a useful role in the household. For those with little to no coding experience, this means you only need to avail the right plugin to add the functionality you desire.
WordPress has a vast library of plugins for all kinds of purposes. Creating image sliders, building forms, improving site security, evaluating onsite SEO; there is a good chance that WordPress has something for your specific needs.
Apart from the plugin directory that can be accessed through the WordPress dashboard, you can also find great plugins from third-party providers. However, most of the best plugins see to it that their software is integrated into the dashboard, so you usually don't have to look far.
To help you find the best plugin for your WordPress blog, you can refer to open-source plugin review sites like Tidy Repo.
They cover a broad range of plugins, from backup tools to user profile builders. You can also take advantage of their classified plugin reviews to aid your search. Remember that to achieve the best blog possible; you need to weigh your options very carefully when it comes to plugins.
Although you’re free to use as many plugins as you like, remember that using the wrong plugins will take a toll on your site’s performance. Apart from unreliable and outdated plugins, there are also plugins that may cause conflicts and other performance issues when used with others. This can be a problem for bigger websites that require a lot of functionality. To avoid this, you can rely on Tidy Repo’s “Find a Plugin” service to identify the right plugins for your site’s specific needs.
Lots of Design Choices
Regardless if you have web development experience or not, you can quickly build beautiful and compelling websites with WordPress – thanks to its huge selection of themes and layout options. Most of them are directly accessible through the built-in theme directory and can be applied to your site with a few clicks. You no longer need to download a theme to use it.
For bloggers, there are countless free themes you can use that suit your particular niche and style. It doesn't matter if you are in fashion, travel, food, or digital marketing. There will always be a WordPress theme that can put your blog in the best light. Additionally, themes can be further personalised by going to Appearance Customize from the dashboard. Each theme comes with their settings that can be adjusted to customise the layout, menus, logos, and other basic visual elements.
However, finding the best theme can prove to be a challenge despite the availability of a live preview while choosing. Keep in mind that in addition to suiting your personal style, your blog should also have an efficient layout that is optimised for reader experience. You can borrow inspiration from other successful blogs by using WordPress Theme Search to identify the theme and plugins being used. Just remember that it only works with other WordPress sites.
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Amazing Support
Perhaps one of the biggest benefits of WordPress is the incredible level of support you can get from the community. You can simply Google all your WordPress-related questions and find a few articles that offer step-by-step solutions. Furthermore, there are countless tutorial videos available on YouTube to help refine your site-building skills, from setting up technical plugins to modifying the CSS file.
The best place to start for beginners would be the learning resources available on WordPress’ Codex section. You can also participate in the forums to learn directly from the community or obtain feedback for your blog. After all, it is the community itself that made it possible for anyone to build great blogs, as long as they have the will to learn and get their hands dirty.
Conclusion
WordPress may not be perfect, but it is simply exceptional for any person who's looking to build a great blog. There are hardly any downsides to WordPress; it is easy to learn, free to use, and is powerful enough for building just about any site you need. And since it is very easy to get a site up and to run, bloggers can focus more of their time on writing great content, which is what actually matters in a WordPress blog.