Tech Review

Picking blog software is like picking a wife. You can switch later, but it'll cost you half- as in: Some of your posts, comments, hit and referrer logs, formatting, etc. probably won't make the switch, and that's if you can find a converter. It's a potential disaster and a headache at least.

When I started blogging in late 2006, Bluehost, my service provider, had three blog platforms that I could install through Fantastico: Nucleus, Wordpress, and B2evolution. I tried all three before settling on B2evolution. My selection process: At the time, I thought my blog would be a collaborative effort between my friends and me. Although it didn't turn out that way, I still liked the idea of having completely distinct blogs under one domain (I implemented the idea anyways). Wordpress was, by far, the most popular, but it didn't have the ability to maintain multiple blogs.

One could have multiple blogs on Nucleus, but it was bare-bones. I had to insert code just to have a calendar on the sidebar.

That left B2evolution. You might think that blogging software about a million times more popular would be at least twice as good as its competition. You'd be wrong. I'm one of a small but enthusiastic group of bloggers who uses B2evolution. In addition to the multiple blogs, B2evolution has kept up with my needs. I've included Amazon items in my posts, let people rate them, and looked at comprehensive stats in the "backoffice."

Having a minority blog software isn't always a bed of roses, however- less-popular software means less options. Let's take my social bookmarking hack that will let you Digg or Reddit this post (please). If somebody hadn't taken the time to make it, I would have a huge hole in my blog. Same with my in-post music-playing ability. B2evolution is far behind in "skins" or templates and I've never had a rich text editor, although my B2 buddies are on the job.

I was very lucky then that when I needed to upgrade my blog from the aging 1.85 to the very superior 2.4, Ed stepped in and helped me out. Since the upgrade last month, Asymmetric has gotten more search hits because Google bots now read the main posts ahead of the sidebar. In addition, I can now use one skin instead of nine (one for each blog) and some other neat stuff.

Anyways, try out B2evolution before making a decision. As long as people are dedicated to its success, B2evolution will continue to improve.

This out-dated chart compares blog software.