A lot of people have trouble deciding what backend to use for their blog, and all the time (alright, occasionally), I have people asking me what to use, and it always boils down to two things: WordPress, and Tumblr. But which one is better?
Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide, but I’m going to help push you in the right direction by providing my view on both systems.
With the experience I’ve got with both WordPress and Tumblr, I’m probably the right guy to be helping you out here. I’ve used both for several websites, and know them like the back of my hand.
Let’s start off with a simple list of pros and cons…
WordPress
Pros:
- Customizability
- Open-source
- Huge modding / themeing community
- Multi-user (with permissions)
Cons:
- Difficult for a new user to understand
- Intimidating dashboard
- Ugly and generic looking out of the box
- Not very streamlined; feels clunky
Tumblr
Pros:
- Very nice design
- Easy to understand, whether you’re a weathered internetter or a noob
- Nice social networking-esque system (similar to Twitter, with follows)
- Easy to skin
- Pleasant default theme
- Different types of posts for images, text, links, etc…
- Post to Twitter feed without any modification
Cons:
- You must use their server (although you can use your own domain name)
- One audio file upload per day
- Not a huge themeing community (although one is present)
All in all, it’s up to personal preference.
The way I see it is, if you need more functionality and more control over what goes on with the website, WordPress is definitely the way to go, without a doubt.
But, if you’re just looking for something that’s easy to hop on and start a post in ten seconds without any distractions and a nice, clean design, and don’t really mind loss of control and awesome plugins, Tumblr is the system for you.
On my personal blog, I use Tumblr. I used to use WordPress, but found that I wasn’t quite utilizing all of the plugins available, which was pretty much the only thing that kept me from switching. Plus, the design of Tumblr was definitely a huge factor in pulling me over… I’m a sucker for eye candy, and that site just looks great.
As far as I can tell, the biggest decider is this: Will your blog be a personal blog, or a content-driven one? If it’s content-driven, you will probably want to get some more authors on there, so WordPress will be the way to go. With Tumblr, however, the blog itself is tied to your Tumblr username, and you cannot allow others to post content, so it’s more of a personal system, and it serves well as just that.
What’s your blog platform of choice? Sound off in the comments, let me know.
9 Comments on "Tumblr vs WordPress: Which is right for you?"
Thanks for your post! I am just now starting the process of getting a blog going. Unfortunately, I’m not skilled in the these areas, so I am doing a lot of reading to see what I can gleam from experts such as yourself. Question – I’ve read that with WordPress, you have to pay a fee if you want to use your own domain name? Could you share what ballpark this is in? Thanks so much!
Ali F: I don’t know; but I host my domain at DreamHost, where it is very easy to install and operate my own instance of the WordPress software. No fees beyond what I already pay for hosting there (which is not much). I bet you can find similar arrangements at other hosting companies.
And thanks to Connor.
Really with both your own hosted wordpress and tumbler, you can get a free subdomain if you use free hosting, also with both you have to pay yearly for a domain if you want one. Either way, the situation with both for domains is pretty much the same. I go with wordpress because of the extent to which you can customize it. I make my own themes and plugins, and its just amazing what you can do with wordpress.
WordPress is the best blogging platform ever. It is much better than Typepad and blogspot..”-
Can you post links to your tumblr sites??
I am currently new to blogging and signed up at tumblr which I like. The initial post for this thread is from last yr, so I don”t know if it has been updated to show that tumblr does allow others to post content. Please check it out to clarify as I am not sure.
i like wordpress. tumblr looks better, but wordpress, like you said, is better for content
howdy, awesome post.
Wow Tumblr better than WordPress. No way!
Heres why:
1. you need 3rd party applications for someone to comment on your blog – tumblr
2. If you have the paid version of wordpress plugins are unlimited with social integration and sharing
3. Widgets are systematic and organized
4. Can create a website feel out of wordpress – good to demonstrate skills, projects, etc, especially if you are a job seeker
5. lots of themes to choose from with a lot of customization
6. Tumblr requires knowledge of CSS and website development, while wordpress makes it easer.
7. Adding widgets and third party apps is a drag in tumblr
click my name to see what wordpress can do