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So you want to start a blog but have no idea what platform to use? I’m going to share with you that after lots of research surfing the web, trying to pinpoint the best option I decided to give them a try for myself. This is what I found!
Squarespace Vs Bluehost
First, I went ahead and created an account using Squarespace and Bluehost. Originally I started with Bluehost and decided to transfer everything over to Squarespace. I read a lot of articles and just wanted to know what the overall better option was going to be for my blog. A lot of them ended up being a tie pointing out the pros and cons of both. However, when I went ahead and decided to see for myself that wasn’t what I came across. There was only one very clear winner here and I can’t wait to share that with you!
The Pros & Cons
Let’s start by discussing the pros and cons between the two of them and why you may even be asking yourself this question in the first place. There is a lot of information going around between the two sites and I believe it greatly depends on what you are using them for in the first place. But let’s get on with it, shall we?
Squarespace
Okay, so Squarespace is great and it’s definitely the beginner-friendly option but is it really the best option? Squarespace has great beautiful sleek designs making it easy to customize colors, fonts, pages, etc. I had my entire site set up and was overall very happy with it. I had no problem linking payment methods, adding products and blog posts, or tracking page views (at least on the Squarespace app) because I had a hard time connecting Google Analytics as it wasn’t showing any views.
However, I did have an issue securing my site which is kind of a big problem. This means a warning signal “this site is not secure” showed up and scared off anyone who viewed my website. Another problem I had was the price. I started with the $27 plan and a couple of days later decided to upgrade to the business in hopes that my site would be secure. No refund, no credit towards my new plan just over $50 for my one-month subscription.
Now I am not here to bash Squarespace. I think if you are looking for an e-commerce or some kind of website for your store it’s probably a great option. If you are looking for a platform for your blog though, is it really? Once my website was completely set up it left me with that “now what” type of feeling. Like something was missing. This is what led me to throw in the towel and start over – with Bluehost.
Bluehost
Let me tell you about Bluehost! I’m sure everyone can agree that Bluehost is tough. It’s not easy to use by any means and that is by far the biggest turnoff people get when they log on. Trust me, I get it. It’s intimidating, it’s frustrating. I think it took me overall 3 attempts after putting it off for weeks each time until I decided “Okay you know what this is it, we’re doing this!”
Since I had my website already set up with Squarespace I had to go ahead and reverse my domain back to its original settings and recreate my entire website. It took me two whole days to get my new site up and manageable enough to where I felt it was ok to relaunch! I felt the need to be quick so I wouldn’t let it be “down” for too long.
YouTube is going to be your best friend. It helped me create my website and made it much easier for me. Any issue that came up with I was able to resolve rather quickly with a YouTube tutorial. It may be a little bit more time-consuming but it is SO worth it!
The Winner
Hands down, if you are serious about starting a blog then you NEED Bluehost!
These are all the reasons why I chose Bluehost/WordPress as the winner, and why it is an absolute must if you want to succeed as a blogger! With Bluehost, there is no wondering “What’s next?” There is so much to do! This site has lots of guidance – every word, every heading, every post. It tells you what could use improvement, has lots of really great plugins to choose from, and it was easy to link to Google Analytics and get it connected right away!
The overall look and feel of my blog now is SO professional! If you are always second-guessing yourself or just have that “I don’t know what I’m doing” feeling then you NEED to sign up for Bluehost/WordPress!
In case you are a little confused with the term Bluehost/Wordpress. Bluehost is a hosting provider – this is where you are going to create your account, come up with your domain and pay for your site for the entire year! It’s only $1.99 for the basic plan and that’s all you need for your blog!
Once you are in you can connect your site over to WordPress for FREE. This is where you are going to design your site and I recommend searching YouTube videos with any questions you may have because it will help!
Don’t second guess it, just do it! You are going to be so glad you did.
If you have any questions, I am always here to help as well! You got this!