While Wordpress is the most commonly used option for a blogging platform, it is not the only one out there. Here is a list of 5 options including Wordpress, and their features. They also include CMS software that also includes an option to use them as a blog such as Joomla and Tikipedia.
PLEASE NOTE THAT I AM TALKING ABOUT SELF-HOSTED OPTIONS.
Wordpress.org
Wordpress is one of the most popular choices for blogging, and best yet it can also be used as a CMS. Here is a list of the top five features, based on my personal opinion.
- Fairly easy to install and upgrade-You simply have to either upload files using FTP or through Fantastico. I will be explaining how soon in one of my posts.
- Multiple authors’ capability-You can register as many users as you want each with their own authoring or drafting privileges. Great for multi-author websites.
- Comments and comment management- You can choose which posts and pages you want open for comments and which ones to be closed. You can also moderate your comments and delete any that you don’t want showing up on the blog.
- Highly Customizable Appearance- With the vast array of Wordpress themes available you can change the look of your blog the way you want. There are also a lot of resources online for creating your own. If you don’t want to do that then you have the option of hiring a designer/coder to do it for you!
- Spam Protection. Wordpress has its own inbuilt spam protection system that helps keep spam from making it onto your blog. There are also plugins for Wordpress such as Akismet that make it even better!
Nucleus
Nucleus is another option to ponder and here are its five redeeming features.
1. Multiple Authors. Just like with Wordpress, you are able to have multiple users with posting rights. Use for team blogs and corporations.
2. Drafts/Scheduled Posts. This feature is also available in Wordpress, with this you can save a post to finish later, or schedule a post to air at a certain day and time.
3. Commenting system is built in. The commenting system is built-in so your need for comment plugins is low, it also enables you to allow karma ratings on comments.
4. One click Backup and restore. With a simple click of your mouse you will be able to back up your database.
5. IP-Banlist. If there is an incorrigible spammer on your site or other such things, you will be able to block their access by banning their IP.
b2Evolution
B2Evolution has quite a few features that I wish Wordpress could have although most of these things can be done via Wordpress plugins. Now on those features!
1. Contact forms. This software comes with author contact forms so that each author can have their own personal means of getting contacted.
2. Time zone Handling. B2Evolution is able to convert time zones to suit wherever the readers’ country and area is.
3. Integrated Stats. This software enables you to check out your stats without the need to install or use an external program.
4. XHTML Input Validator. If you use code and html in your posts this feature will be handy for making sure your post will validate.
5. Multi-Page Posts. If you are posting a long post, then this will come in handy in breaking it into sections.
Joomla
Joomla is not a readymade blogging platform but is a CMS that can also be used for blogging. It’s a bit difficult to work with especially when you’re completely new to it but it tends to get easier after a while.
1. Banner Manager. Monetizing your blog is simple with the built-in banner ad manager.
2. Polls/Surveys. This feature enables you to grab readers’ opinions!
3. Built-in Email Article and Print. The options to email the article to a friend or to print it are readily available for your readers.
4. Author Submission Module. Enables you to have multiple authors submit their posts to you before posting.
5. User editable look and feel. By moving modules around you can get your site working the way you want it to.
Drupal
Drupal is another CMS system that I have seen being used as a blog.
1. Friendly URLs. Drupal allows you the option to create a search-engine friendly URL as well as a reader-friendly one.
2. Threaded Comments. Drupal enables comments on your site to be threaded in which people can reply to certain comments.
3. Multi-Language. With this feature you would be able to run an International blog!
4. Personalization. Using user-defined preferences this feature comes in handy for displaying your site the way you want it to,
5. Content Syndication. Unlike most CMS platforms, Drupal has the ability to make your posts RSS-ready!
Of course, the only person who can decide which blogging software to use is you! So install a couple of these, give them a whirl and see which one you like!
There are countless other platforms out there and I encourage readers to leave their recommendation.