Is WordPress the Best Blogging Platform?

A blogging platform in simple terms can be described as software to create blogs. Popular blogging platforms include WordPress, Blogger, TypePad and Movable Type.

All of the mentioned platforms have their own unique features, but WordPress is my personal favorite and here is why:

1. Simplicity

WordPress as a blogging platform is extremely user friendly. You can install it with a single click in most circumstances. After installing the blog, you’re just about ready to start blogging (provided that you do not want to play with themes, stats etc). When your WordPress blog is installed, you simply need to log in and you’re presented with a simple interface to post whatever you want.

2. Plug-ins

WordPress has a huge supply of plugins that can be downloaded, installed and used for free. The installation of the plugins is very easy as well – upload the plugin to your blog space and simply activate it through the admin section in your WordPress site. My favorite ones are; all in one SEO pack, Google XML Sitemap Generator, Tweetback, YARPP & WordPress Database Backup etc. There is a vast resource of plugins to choose, explore and use available for WordPress.

3. Theme Functionality

There are many themes you can choose from to customize your WordPress blog. Thousands of completely unique themes with various color combinations; one to three columns, graphics and other details are available to suit your needs, the theme of your blog and the taste of your readers.

4. Auto-Ping Functionality

Ping is a utility that forwards data packets to notify or verify a connection. It helps to notify blog tracking tools for updates and changes. Many scripts do offer this feature but free blog hosts usually don’t. So if you mention a particular link on your blog, you would have to ping that website – imagine doing that every time. WordPress with its auto-ping functionality can do it for you and hence saves a lot of time and effort.

5. Trackback

The trackback function is another impressive feature of WordPress. – Communication between two sites becomes easier.

Other blog platforms also have their advantages and disadvantages and so does WordPress. But I believe that its advantages outweigh the disadvantages.