Read how WordPress.com, tumblr.com & blogger,com compare and how a self-hosted Wordpress Install stacks up against these free sites. Reviewing 17 Features and their implementation. Researched by Birgit Pauli-Haack Published by Relevanza, Inc.

1. Comparing 4 Most Popular Blog Engines - Which
One Is Right For You?
By Birgit Pauli-Haack
www.relevanza.com |bph@relevanza.com

2. Comparing 4 Most Popular Blog Engines
Which Blog Software is right for me? How do I get started? Who can help me? These are all
valid questions! And there are no easy answers.
Most of the time your decision will depend on a few variables you will need to consider. And,
sometimes, after writing (blogging) for a year or so you may decide your original assumptions
are out of date or have changed.
What does one do then? Start over? Shell out more money to convert your original site?
Our team deals with a variety of different software writing/blogging packages - and we’ve tried
many more. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. The world of Internet communication is
filled with trade-offs.
So let’s get started…
My number one software for about 3 years is WordPress. It lets you start out as a small site, get
up and running fast and keep growing. With the help of the community of this open-source
platform, you are able to grow and increase the features set and sophistication of your web
presence.
In 2012, there are 60 million websites built on top of WordPress. Fifteen percent the new domain
names (URLs) set up last year use WordPress. It’s an easy choice when you have a new business
and need a website: build it on top of WordPress self-hosted.
But what if you have had a website and don’t have the time or funds to convert the site? Using a
subdomain (blog.yourdomain.com) with any of the free services will get you started. When the
time and circumstances are right, you can migrate the whole site into one content management
system.
WordPress.com & WordPress self-hosted (WordPress.org)
Wordpress.com & WordPress self-hosted (WordPress.org) come from the same stable of open-
source developers and migration from one to another is easy when your site matures.
We published last week an info graphic by WPBeginners that illustrated the main differences
between a Wordpress.com and a self-hosted instance of WordPress for your website.
So the two top spots, in our view, are taken by WordPress self-hosted (WordPress.org) and
WordPress.com.
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3. Comparing 4 Most Popular Blog Engines
Blogger/BlogSpot
There are two more free services that have a long history as well as a lot of users. One
is Blogger, the blog engine run by Google, which just recently received a total overhaul and is
now equipped with small business level features, like integration of AdSense and site analytics
as well as some great layouts.
Blogger was, a long time ago, the distant cousin in Google’s software family. It’s one of the
oldest blog engines and has had a large following, especially among individuals and personal
blogs. Only recently with the arrival of Google+ has it experienced a major feature upgrade and
was integrated with other Google services. Various themes are available but, of course, not as
vast as for WordPress.com or Tumblr. Whoever stuck it out on blogspot.com has been rewarded
with an interesting upgrade. For serious businesses, connecting it with a domain should be
obligatory.
Tumblr
The other free Blog service that made it onto this list is
Tumblr which had its greatest year in 2011 when it went from 11 million users to 90 million
users. Tumblr is a blog engine with a restricted set of features but what it lacks in options or
integration it makes up for with social network integration, ease of use, mobile integration for
visitors and contributors and search engine visibility. The themes are mostly customizable with a
few clicks and settings. The range of out-of-the box features allows for a fast set-up and wide
distribution over the social webs. It also has a great array of social features called “like” and
“reblog” to spread the work.
Yes, you can integrate it with your own domain name or subdomain of your existing website.
Our Social Media Bootcamp blog is built on Tumblr and helped us assess the blog engine in a
real life setting that requires rapid updating from various locations.
Compare 17 Individual Features to Find the Right Solutions for You
All four blog engines allow you to update and post via mobile applications, be it from your
smartphone or tablet. That feature is important these days and, for us, is a serious qualifier for
this list.
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4. Comparing 4 Most Popular Blog Engines
Below, you will find a list of features, an overall comparison of the four engines. We have the
three onsite free services stacked up against the Wordpress self-hosted installation.
A comparison table features/ advantages and disadvantages for Blogger, WordPress, Tumblr. If
you see the symbols, (++), next to a feature, it means you shouldn’t start a blog without it, even
if you work with your web developer, who might have a different preference. When you see this
link, (How?), the link will take you to a page that explains how to implement a particular feature
on the blog platform. I didn’t research all features for their ease of implementation but I was
curious about a few and checked them out. Underneath the feature matrix you’ll find brief
explanations for each feature listed.
Compare Features across Blog Engines
Self-Hosted
Feature WP.com Blogger Tumblr
WP (WP.org)
hosting fees
Account Costs free $8 - $35month (or free free
higher)
RSS feed/ yes/ yes yes/yes
yes/ yes (How?) yes/no
Category feeds (++) (How?) (How?)
Own Domain ~10 - $40 per 10 p.year +
$12 - 24/year yes (How?)
(++) year GoogleApps
Y-Integration
Subdomain yes, no mention
$12-24/year n/A of GoDaddy free of
Existing Domain of cost. (How?)
charge
w/ WP.com yes w/ un/pw yes /w google yes/w.tumblr.c
Multi-author
profile from WP instance account om account
w/ WP.com w/ google yes/ w/tumblr
Multi-Blogs no
Profile account account.
Post via email yes
yes yes yes (How?)
(++) (How?)
Auto-post FB/Twitter FB/Twitter no Twitter
Mobile Version Yes/via
Yes yes yes
(++) plugin & theme
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5. Comparing 4 Most Popular Blog Engines
Self-Hosted
Feature WP.com Blogger Tumblr
WP (WP.org)
no/yes via
Export/Move customized
yes yes no
content import/export
scripts
no, you will see
yes on any
Adsense/Adserve other people’s Google yes, via
network, with
r integration advertising with your Adsense account customized Theme.
selection of theme
content
Social Features
yes no yes yes
on site
Share yes, plugins
yes yes, yes
Buttons(++) available
Spam Filter for Via plugin
Yes Auto-system yes
Comment (++) (Akismet)
Allow 3rd Party yes, via yes, w/ Theme
no no
comment system plugin
yes, Blogger
yes, WP from yes, other from Blogger
Import blog blogs only.
Tumblr (How?) WP (How?)
(How?)
Post via Mobile
Apps yes/yes/yes/ yes/yes/yes/ yes/yes/nomore
3rd party apps
iOs/Android/others (How?) (How?) ..
(++)
What do the features listed entail and why they are important?
Account Costs
The costs mentioned here are the initial set-up fees. Depending on your level of comfort with
configuring your own account settings and the settings of your blog, you still might need to hire
a professional for the initial set-up. The costs referred to here are only the initial costs to have an
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6. Comparing 4 Most Popular Blog Engines
account and start a blog. Some of the other features mentioned in this comparison chart will
incur additional charges.
RSS Feeds
Are essential and needed to reach widest possible spread of your posts around the internet. Either
your integration service set-up will use them or your readers will use them. Around this blog and
on Above the Noise we have a whole series of RSS related posts. On your blog you will need to
have categories in smaller groups to help your readers find relevant content. (++)
As a business owner, you need to make sure that all your online activities support your brand and
market your domain. Even if you use one of the free systems, you should invest in your own
domain and connect it to your blog on WordPress, Blogger and Tumblr. (++)
Multi-Author
A Blog becomes much richer if you include others from your staff and or associates as authors
on your blog. The burden of coming up with new content can be spread around and for your
readers the experience is so much richer when they can hear multiple sides of an issues or
different ways for problem solution or just different opinions. All blog software allows for multi-
author set-up. All you need is an account, either on the service or on your self-hosted WP, for
example.
Multiple Blogs
Most people won’t have a need for multiple blogs. It’s hard enough to fill one blog with good,
relevant and engaging content. But, sometimes as a business owner in a niche market it might be
useful to team up with strategic partners and create a multi-topic blog and be great resources to
each other’s customers. It also is helpful when you are part of a networking group with a decent
online presence that you can guest post on the networks site, i.e., also on the same system.
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7. Comparing 4 Most Popular Blog Engines
Post via Email
Sometimes it’s just easier to think about writing an e-mail than posting to the web where you
have to login, get accustomed to a new interface, when technology distracts from the thought you
want to jot down. WordPress programmers recognized this very early on and built in a way to
post to our blog via e-mail. (++)
Auto-Post
In order to make posting to social media less of a chore after you posted to your blog, you might
be able to add your twitter account and your Facebook account to the settings page and authorize
your site to post as you to the social networks.
Mobile Version
By the end of 2012, it’s estimated over 50% of mobile subscribers will have smartphones, it’s
imperative that your website/blog is recognizes when a mobile device is used to access your site
and presents a different view of the site, optimized for mobile viewing. (++)
Export/Move Content
The big advantage of using free and low cost services is the feature set includes provisions to
pack-up and leave when you find a more viable system or when you reach the point that you
move on. In our 10 year experience as web consultants, the biggest hurdle to successfully
moving on is the difficulty clients have in untangling content from the stronghold of hosting
services or web developers. Setting up initially on WordPress.com and, later, moving to
WordPress/self-hosted (WP.org) is definitely the easiest transition path. The export from the
Tumblr, or Blogger will have its challenges.
Adsense/Adserver Integration
At first it might not be all that interesting for small business to have ads on their website. But it
might prove beneficial if you participate in affiliate marketing or for a publishing company that
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8. Comparing 4 Most Popular Blog Engines
decides to monetize parts of the site.
Social Features
As a user on the networks of Wordpress.com, Tumblr.com and Blogger.com you can follow
other users, like their posts and re-blog their posts with a few easy steps. You will not be able to
recreate easily this kind of on-site connectivity with a stand-alone self-hosted wordpress site or
other content management systems.
Share Buttons
A row of icons on the bottom of each article that allows for on-click sharing on the most popular
social networks like Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn and also some of the lesser known
ones like StumbleUpon, Reddit or Delicious. (++)
Spam Filter for Comments
Your blog won’t be able to survive long without enabled comment spam filter. This can be
accomplished with a built-in feature or by allowing a third-party service to monitor your
comment section or prevent spam from being posted. (++)
Allow third-party comment system
For a richer comment administration, you can consider using an external service for your site.
Disqus.com, Livefyre, IntenseDebate are the most popular systems, and provide their own
community of people engaging on different kind of sites.
Import Content
It’s the opposite side of moving between the worlds. One part is the export of existing content
and then you need the new software to have mechanism to import your content from another
system.
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9. Comparing 4 Most Popular Blog Engines
Post via Mobile Apps
Your site might benefit from real-time posting while you are on the road or at an event. Mobile
apps on the smartphone or tablet platforms will make it possible to post photographs right from
your camera to your website/blog.
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