Favorite Blogging Platform

[diplox]

Personally, I'm fairly biased towards Wordpress. Not only is it fairly customizable out of the box, but there's a lot of both freely and commercially available themes, and similarly both free and commercial plugins. With a lot of other platforms, I either have no option of installing plugins(like with SaaS blogging services like Tumblr, Blogger, etc...) or the number and quality of plugins just doesn't come up to the same level as Wordpress.

For example I personally use plugins that autogenerate XML sitemaps, a plugin that lets me do split testing, Datafeedr to embed an affiliate based store, and so on.

So which blogging software do you use, and why? What features does it offer that you consider 'must-have?'

[Don Quixote]

I use Wordpress almost exclusively. Like you said, it has a lot of plugins and a lot of choice in each type of plugin. So with Wordpress I have a lot of choice. This is good but also bad at the same time. This means that I spend a lot of time playing with the plugins to see which one suits me best.

Lately I have been trying out Drupal. It also has a lot of plugins which are called modules in Drupal. One main difference between Wordpress and Drupal is that the development of modules is more organized in Drupal. There is a general attititude of 'why develop something alone when it can be done together'. This is a good thing for users because, with more co-developers, the working life of the modules is extended beyond the working life of an individual developer.

[diplox]

As you say, one of the biggest problems I have with wordpress is that one of my favorite plugins will simply stop being updated because the developer loses interest or drops off the map. I've actually had to update some plugins myself to the latest versions because in fact the developer stopped supporting them.

As for drupal, it seems really popular in e-commerce, and there seems to be a fairly large number of e-commerce plugins available for it, but not having used it as extensively as Wordpress, i can't say for sure. How would you say the e-commerce support in Drupal fairs in comparison to Wordpress?

[Don Quixote]

I am not able to give a proper comparison of the ecommerce capabilities of Wordpress vs Drupal for the simple reason that I have not tried either fully in that particular aspect. My main work is in writing. However, there is a way to find out for yourself, first-hand. Just go to DrupalGardens and get a free Drupal site. Yes, it's free with no strings attached.

[Benjamin Fordyce]

I've only ever used WordPress for all the websites I've made over the years, I did a search once and it turned up that most people were suggesting WordPress. I installed it and loved how easy to use it was and how much it can be modified.

[SimplySidy]

Wordpress - definitely, it is the most widely used CMS software - just because of - wide range of options to choose from. There is a plugin for almost everything that you might want a site to do and that makes the Wordpress so loved. Also, the codes are simpler, and well organized.

[bauss]

If I'm running only a blog, wordpress does the job, and that'd be my first choice. But if I'm running a forum and a blog, then I'd go with IPB and the IP Blog addon.

[thexyz]

If you want a basic blog, I like blogger. I got my wordpress theme converted to blogger for $170 at http://www.themedorks.com and now don't pay any hosting fees.

[limcid]

I've used Blogger for many years with no problems. But, for future sites, I will be using Wordpress. I worked as an editor on a Wordpress-based site and really enjoyed how much easier it was to get things done.

[xHysteria]

I've tried both Blogspot and wordpress. My opinion is go ahead with wordpress, they've got plugins and themes where as there aren't many options for blogspot.
I have had my time with these two and I know which is a better pick for me.