If you want to start blogging, and have decided you want a conventional blog rather than using something like Tumblr, which is part way between full blogging and Twitter style microblogging, then you have probably noticed that the two big players, at least when it comes to free platforms, are Google Blogger and WordPress.  So, how do you decide which one is right for you?

When it comes to the most important things, i.e. will they host your blog, and can you, if you prefer to, move your blog to your own domain either now or at a later date, both platforms tick all the boxes.  You can either have your blog hosted on Google’s “Blogspot” domain or “WordPress”, and it will be portable to your own domain if you have one.

Aesthetically, both offer plenty of preloaded themes, however WordPress tends to be the choice of people who want unlimited freedom when it comes to design.  If you want to go all out with custom branding, then this is certainly easier to do on WordPress, though possible on Blogger, so if you already have a corporate theme you want to apply or are very particular about the design elements, WordPress may have the edge for you.  That said, if you simply want a minimalist looking blog to post your writing on, Blogger is a lot easier to configure from a design perspective, perhaps exactly because it is more limited.

The WordPress platform seems to handle multiple accounts on a blog better than Blogger, so if you want your blog to be a team effort and you want to give some of your team admin rights and moderation rights and others not, this is another mark in WordPress’s favour.  Blogger will let you have multiple authors but it is much less modular in how rights can be granted, and there isn’t the same sort of workflow in place for reviewing draft posts if you want to have an editing process.  Again, this does actually make Blogger less complicated and easier to use if you are a novice or just want a blog only you will write on.

If all of this suggests that Blogger has a more amateurish feel than WordPress that is probably a fairly accurate summation, however Blogger blogs can look just as professional to the reader and are by far easier to set up and manage, purely because there is less to do.  Some of the most popular blogs in the world have been hosted on Blogspot, so if you are more comfortable with its simple interface then go with it – nobody is going to judge.  Blogger also has the added benefit of its integration with Google+, and if Google+ really does turn out to be the next big thing this really could work in your favour.

Which you choose is up to you – both offer portability, multiple users, customisation and apps, just to different extents, and both have communities you can leverage to get yourself more traffic.  Take a tour of both and decide which interface you like best, but a simple rule of thumb is, for nth degree customisation and micro management, go for WordPress.  For simplicity and accessibility, take the Google option.