192 - WordPress V other blogging platforms

Debate with Nathan Wrigley and David Waumsley

Setting up the Debate

Who do you think will win this on a podcast for WordPress users?!?!

Last time Nathan had to argue the case for the side that would most likely end up being defeated, so this time David will take the side of the alternatives to WordPress, and, to a large degree argue for things that he does not believen in!

We might have two arguments here. The functionality of WordPress over other blogging platforms. Then, the suitability of platforms depending on the aims of content producers.

We may all have different ideas about what a web log is. Digital marketers who probably have the most to say on the topic rarely pick one option only.

So here are the main point that we try to debate this time around...

WordPress - Nathan

• Option to own your blog
• Flexible - you can do anything with it with thousands of plugin and themes
• Gutenberg is making default options better all the time
• Ability to paste from Google Docs and Word
• You can make money from blogging with WordPress (other platforms may have some options, but with WordPress you can run ads, affiliate schemes, get sponsorship and even sell it)
• You can’t get suspended - well not likely anyway!
• You're not working to make others rich
• The roadmap for WordPress is fantastic at present
• You can control the type of engagement (delete comments / block commenters etc.)
• Can’t beat WordPress SEO options 
• Can’t use Google analytics with Medium (only their own stats)

Others - David

• If you only want to write, WordPress is cumbersome (even wordpress.com)
• Medium has a distraction free editor (Gutenberg copied) and is simple to use and set up - I think not so many changes there like you find entering the world of WordPress
• Nice typography, easy to add Unsplash images from a search
• Medium comes with and audience (60 million readers) and has social build it
• You can make money from Medium's partnership scheme
• Blogger.com lets you earn with Google adsense
• What about microblogging - putting effort into the social networks instead Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin (some professions just live of that), even forums or being a guest blogger
• Which WP blogger relies solely on their own WordPress - most share the content to different platforms, rarely is it one v's the other but which out of the many options should you focus on?
• I question the need for the ownership WordPress blogging gives - for example YouTube rather than my blog gave me some kind of audience - probably the same with the podcast networks for this
• Wix looks nice and is free (with adverts) and you can import your WordPress posts to it now and it does the redirections for you  (can make money with it too - did I say that already!)

Final thoughts

Who remembers Expression Engine, Tumbler, MySpace, Drupal, Moveable Type and many more? You never know, in a few years we might be saying the same thing about WordPress, although I really hope not!

Some articles worth looking at:

The Best Blogging Platforms and Blog Sites for 2020 - “Want to jump straight to the answer? The best blogging platform for most people is definitely Wix.” 

FreeCodeCamp Moves Off of Medium after being Pressured to Put Articles Behind Paywalls

The long, complicated, and extremely frustrating history of Medium, 2012–present

“Media is broken,” so Medium’s launching a $5/month member program that offers small upgrades

Importing Blog Posts from WordPress to the New Wix Blog