Blogging platform exploration
Recently, I was stuck with the need of making and maintaining a blog. It is not the first time I make and try to update one. 6 years ago I tried to maintain a wordpress blog.
At first it was really good. I made the design and updated it constantly gaining at least 50 views a day (not bad for a starter I guess, of course compared to Zuck’s “facemash” one night record it is nothing).
Now with this new necessity that I have. I looked for hosting options that could be easily used and maintained, Wordpress compatibility and one click install was really necessary for me at first. I wasn’t worried so much about the price because I was looking for free trials of the different hosting services out there.
DreamHost
I tried DreamHost one click install Wordpress blogging platform.DreamHost is a very good and friendly hosting service that offers a 2 week free trial and. It lets you register a domain and install Wordpress very easily with one click (you need a credit card to start the free trial). After you installed workspace you just need to set some things up and customize your blog and you are good to go. Currently it is US $98 for the full year hosting and domain registration included. When the free trial is about to finish, you receive an email alert so that you can cancel the service (you will still need to pay for the domain you previously registered: US $9 for the year).
Squarespace
Then I tried Squarespace, a blogging platform that gives you a 2 week free trial like DreamHost. The thing that I liked the most about Squarespace is that it is very easy to customize your blog and that it has a free domain registration included with the monthly payment plan (US $8 per month. US $96 per year).
Conclusion and alternative taken
In spite of the difference of 2 dolars. DreamHost (being a hosting platform) lets you customize your webpage very deeply compared to Squarespace. So i found that i toyed more with the DreamHost platform ratter than with Squarespace’s. When my trial came to an end, I noticed that i still needed to pay for the domain (in this case my very own geekmoves.com). In a sudden and very different path I decided that I would pay for the domain registration and I would use my new acquired domain with a free to use tumblr account and get used to blog and update my blogging knowledge. When I’m ready to look for advanced hosting and blogging platforms I surely will look to DreamHost’s way again.
