Want to start blogging, which Wordpress version is right for you?

There are many benefits in using Wordpress as your blogging tool and the first benefit is there are three versions of Wordpress you can choose from. Actually four if you included the Enterprise version but that version is not free. For the majority of us bloggers, the first three versions should be fine to use.

The first of the three versions of Wordpress is the hosted version, meaning your blog is located on a subdomain at the Wordpress website. Having a hosted Wordpress blog is very easy to set up. Once you have signed up for an account at the Wordpress website, your blog can be up and running with several useful wordpress features within minutes. You can choose your username, which will become the subdomain name part of  blog address as long as someone else has not taken that username. This version is great for people who are starting out in the blogging word and may want things to be simple while they learn to blog. It's also good if they're not computer savvy and the idea of registering a domain name, fiddling with databases and uploading files is too much for them to handle.

The second version of Wordpress is the self-installed version, meaning you download Wordpress from their website and install it on your own web server under your own domain name. This option is suitable to people who are computer savvy or willing to learn the setup process before they can even write their first blog or article. The great thing about this version is it gives you more flexibility and advantages over the hosted version. For example, you can display Google ads on your blog and get paid by Google if someone click on the ad links whereas on the hosted version, you are not allow to do this. Being more flexible means you can also modify the code to suit your needs. Of course you can still keep your blog as simple as you want to after you have installed it and avoid messing around with the code.

The third version of Wordpress was formally called Wordpress Multi-User or Wordpress MU for short (pronounced em-you).  As its name suggests, Wordpress MU is not designed for an individual blogger but is ideal for organisations or groups that want to host a network of blogs on one server under one domain. Released around ore before 2008, Wordpress MU allows you to install one time but setup tens, hundreds and even thousands of blogs on your own domain. With the release of Wordpress 3.0, Wordpress MU was merged and is no longer a separate project. It is now continuing development as part of the main WordPress branch under the name 'multi-site' or MS.

With three different versions of Wordpress for you to choose from, there's something for everyone when it come to the world of blogging. As the saying goes "Variety is the spice of life". Happy Blogging.