Which Blog is Right for You?
May 25th, 2010 // 8:00 am @ Paul D. Van Hoy II
Blogware Platforms
Among professional wedding photographers there are three popular and commonly used blogging platforms: WordPress, Blogger and Typepad. Each platform offers bloggers distinct advantages, so I recommend that you thoroughly research each of them before deciding which one is right for you.
Currently, I use WordPress for my wedding photography blog, but I first began blogging using Blogger since it required very little for initial setup and maintenance. The great thing about Blogger is that you don’t have to purchase a domain name or pay for web hosting since your blog resides on the Blogger servers.
However, this is one of the reasons why I later switched from Blogger to WordPress. Although WordPress requires that you have a domain and web hosting, your database resides on your server. So, in the event that your blog crashes, you can restore any of your lost pages or content directly from your blog’s database. Since Blogger uses its own database to host your blog, you have no way to recover lost content in the unlikely event of a crash.
Having a background in graphic design, I did feel a little restricted creative-wise using Blogger’s platform and, as you will notice, many blogs created with Blogger share a similar/consiistent look to them. This was my second reason for switching to WordPress, which offers an incredibly customizable platform with over a thousand free themes and over seven thousand plugins available to its users.
Important to mention is that WordPress and Blogger are free while Typepad charges a monthly fee between $8.95 and $89.95. Although I have not had experience using Typad’s blogware, there is much criticism surrounding its lack of SEO integration – specifically the structure of their permalinks.
If you choose a WordPress blog, you should know their platform is compatible with many third party theme developers such as:
To locate more third party themes, simply Google ‘WordPress themes for professional photographers’. WordPress theme development for professional photographers is a rapidly evolving enterprise, so spend a few hours researching what’s new on the market. Premium third party themes can range anywhere from $20 to $300 for some of the more custom themes which include setup and hosting.
I think you can tell which side I tend to lean toward, but I’d love to hear back from those of you out there using other blogware Programs.
Who knows… if you’re arguement is strong enough, you just may convince me to convert 
Paul D. Van Hoy II
Category : Blog &Business Advice &General Advice
Sally Strebel
3 months ago
I love it. A techie photographer who’s all about community. Great work!
Paul D. Van Hoy II
3 months ago
Thanks Sally, you’ll have to share your blog with us sometime!