In this article I'm going to give you a pretty simple formula for picking the right blogging software to run your blog.
If you are interested in making MONEY, (rather than blogging about personal matters or simply writing for the fun of it) the choice actually gets infinitely easier..
:-) So continue reading as I point out the simple questions you need to ask of yourself, BEFORE you choose wrong and regret it.
Read on..
:-) What is Your Coding Skill Level? Most blog platforms require VERY little code skill.
(thankfully for me!) But, some do require a little bit of tweaking if you really want to amp up your blog in both appearance and performance.
If you know absolutely nothing, and don't care to start to learn, I'd recommend you pick a complete hosted solution that offers word processing like experiences(Blogger, Typepad, Squarespace and similar)...
without the need for ever getting your hands dirty under the hood.
Do You Want to Build a Business..
..
or a Blog? If you have aspirations for making money, or building a business, I recommend you go with Wordpress.
It's free, open source, totally extensible, and can operate as a fully functioning CMS for REAL business.
(and many well known companies DO use Wordpress for theirs) It's also HOSTED on YOUR server, which I believe is hugely important for ANYONE who has real aspirations beyond toying around with sharing their favorite recipes, or pre-season football predictions, online...
:-) Remember, most of the hosted solutions are simply giving you a sub-domain off of their own URL, which may be fine to start, but is NOT where you want to be once your blog hits the big time.
You become essentially a bit stuck - yes you CAN move to your own server, but it's a pain in the rear end, and you'll end up having problems to boot..
..
so if you PLAN on blogging to the bank, the best tip is to START smart and set it up right!