When it comes to choosing a blogging platform, there are many options–to the point of it being overwhelming. The likes of Tumblr, Blogger, and WordPress have made names for themselves as the top blogs of the masses, but that hardly means they are your only options. Instead there are countless, top tier alternatives worth considering. Here are a few of our favorites.
Jux
Jux is a startup launched late this summer that will have the Tumblr and Posterous crews reconsidering their blogging allegiance. Instead of focusing on the trendy infinite scrolling feature that keeps readers pouring over content without stopping, Jux reexamines the art of the immersive Web site via full screen, richly formatted pages. Advocates of real-time information might feel like Jux’s approach is slow compared to other outlets, but it brings beauty to the host of platforms that can feel busy.
Wix
Flash may quickly be becoming the enemy of the Internet, but there’s no denying Wix’s eye-catching, easy-to-make layouts. The site is primarily used for business site solutions, but there’s no rule saying you can’t use the free software for your own blogging purposes.
Penzu
When you think blog, you think sharing. But that’s not always the case, and if you need a space to publish your innermost thoughts without them making their merry way around the Internet, there’s Penzu. Penzu is more diary than blog, but even though it’s for your eyes only the site provides beautiful graphics and fun features to keep you interested in writing. You can use Looking Glass, which sends you emails of old posts so you can reminiscence at your own risk, and remember to add to your journal.
Weebly
Weebly’s another site not specifically focused on blog creation, but works just as well and offers easy tools for those who want rich graphics and layouts without investing a terrible amount of time. Weebly offers in-page effects for your photos and lets you drag and drop elements to a page depending on what type of content you want.
Pixelpost
Tumblr, Posterous, and Instagram have all become popular destinations for posted and reposted photoblogs. Whether you need a space for your own creations or simply resposting your favorite images floating around the Web, Pixelpost is a nice dedicated option. This open source platform requires you to have PHP 4.3 or greater and MySQL 3.23.58 or later, however, so we know this isn’t for everyone–it’s likely a good option for more seasoned and Web-friendly shooters, as well as graphic designers. But if that’s you, then this is a great free option.
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