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You are ready to do it. You are ready to have your voice be heard. You are ready to start your own blog. Good for you – now to decide which blogging platform you should use?

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Blogger, WordPress or TypePad are just a few of the more popular blogging platforms. While there are several different blogging applications that are free, most bloggers find themselves in the world of WordPress. There are many good reasons to choose WordPress over the competition, including open source content management and SEO ability. If you find yourself trying to decide which is right for you, here are some everyday reasons to use WordPress as your blogging platform.

1. Personality Zone – WordPress is all about you. There are hundreds of free themes available to personalize your blog spot and provide an Internet presence that represents who you are as a writer. WordPress themes are flexible and can be customized to your niche audience and product line. Best yet, if you get tired of the skin (theme) you have downloaded for your blog zone, simply change it by downloading a new theme. With a simple click of a button WordPress moves your content to the new theme for you.
2. Plugins! Plugins! Plugins! – Get the idea? Plugins are another way to customize your blog space. Popular plugins include contact forms, site statistics, search engine optimization, and photo resources. WordPress currently offers throngs of free plugins and is adding to their plugin resources daily.
3. Pagination – Back in the early days of blogging, blogs appeared as online diaries with one post following the next and comments intermixed between. With WordPress you can actually create pages to separate your material or to provide additional information. Maybe you have a blog on homemaking, home repair, and recipes. Each of these could be placed onto their own unique page, making it easier for your readers to find the information they are looking for. You can also create additional pages such as ‘Contact Me’, or ‘About Me’ pages. This functionality also makes WordPress the perfect platform for businesses, not just bloggers!
4. Performance – Believe it or not, not every blogger is an expert at web design. Creating your own website or presence can be a daunting task for anyone. WordPress provides easy to use functionality with a built in dashboard to help manage your sight. Also, because of its popularity WordPress has many resources available to their users including online forums, help references, and support teams. Best yet, if you just want to try blogging out for a bit before you invest in your own domain name, WordPress allows you to register your blog on their site for free.
5. Permalinks – When you create your blog, you want the world to be able to connect to that specific blog quickly. Alas, permalinks. For every blog you post, WordPress creates a unique permanent link to that specific blog.
6. Ping Back to Me – What is auto pinging anyway? It is a tool that allows you to notify the search engines that you have posted a new entry. By simply adding the correct plugin and adjusting your settings, WordPress has the ability to ping your blog automatically.
7. Pathways Back – Have you ever commented on another person’s blog? Many times the blog will only post your user information when you leave a comment, but if you use WordPress and you are commenting on another WordPress blog, then WordPress has the ability to automatically provide a link back to your blog for anyone to see. A great and free tool to increase your readership.

This is only a small list of reasons bloggers choose WordPress to host their blog. Ultimately, you need to choose the platform that’s right for your needs. Keep in mind, WordPress prides itself on being one of the most user friendly platforms and is constantly striving to make things better for users.