Why I Chose WordPress and Bearblog?
As soon as I began to look into blogging platforms, I was immediately overwhelmed with the sheer number of choices: Squarespace, Wix, Medium, Substack, and many others – the list went on and on, and I knew I was entering a rabbit hole for sure! Before jumping into the sea, I took a step back to consider what exactly I was looking to do with my blog like what my niche(s) would be, how much I would be able to post, and what features would be the most important to me.
A Little Backstory
I have so much I want to share, from past travel adventures to tips I have picked up along the way, and everyday lifestyle experiences here in Canada, especially gear towards Toronto. I have always wanted to document these stories somehow because I genuinely believe in the "sharing is caring" mindset. No gatekeeping here.
My vision was clear: create a personal blog focused on lifestyle and travel content. I knew building an audience would take time (like a really long time), especially in such popular and broad niches. So my priorities became:
- Creating quality content consistently
- Keeping upfront costs low
- Finding something easy to use
- Having as much customization freedom as possible
This is both a passion project and an experiment to see if blogging is something I can stick with. For my main blog? A little over 6 months in and hopefully going strong!
Eventually, I wanted a second blog for miscellaneous posts that didn't quite fit the main blog's vibe, and with that hence this blog you're reading now. I wanted a space where I didn't need to post consistently or stress about SEO and marketing. Just a low-pressure, low-cost place to write whenever inspiration struck and if you found it, congrats. If not, that is also okay. That is the beauty behind this blog.
A Quick Note for Portfolio Bloggers
If you're blogging to build a portfolio for recruiters or for potential clients, here's what I've learned: they probably don't care which platform you use. What matters is showing them sample contents or links that demonstrate your writing style (and other skills like analytics and SEO if you're eyeing marketing roles). It's similar to UX designers or photographers showcasing their work, which the platform matters less than the quality and consistency of what you create.
That's why I would say and you may disagree me (and that is totally ok): choose whatever platform works for you and just keep going if you are going towards that route. Stay consistent, treat it like a hobby you love, and you won't burn out thinking of it as "work". If you don't like the platform later? You can always switch.
Exploring the Options
Medium and SubStack: The Almost-Winners
I initially considered Medium and SubStack for my main blog platform. Both have passionate writing communities and built-in audiences, which is appealing. However, here's what held me back:
- Medium has an established readership, but competing for attention among so many writers felt daunting. Plus, the design customisation is pretty limited.
- SubStack impressed me with its integrated email newsletter feature that keeping subscribers updated is a huge plus. The one-time domain fee is nice too. However, the customisation was still limited, and it felt more like a hybrid of blog + newsletter + social media than a traditional blog. Great for some people, but not quite what I needed.
My Main Blog: Why WordPress Won
For my main blog, I wanted a platform where I could have some type of ownership and customization freedom while still being user-friendly. Just a friendly reminder that there are two type of Wordpress: One with (dot)com and another with (dot)org. I also considered Squarespace (thanks to all those YouTube sponsorships/ads videos I have watched), Wix, Weebly, Google Blogger, and WordPress. Basic babbling: Squarespace's expensive for just starting out, but easy to design, while Wix is very affordable, but not what I want in term of selling things in the future. Google Blogger seems not as popular today or at least have not been updated for a while compared to WordPress, and it seems hard to switch platform in the long run from a no coding background.
After several months of research, I chose WordPress. Yes, there was a learning curve and plenty of trial and error, but it was absolutely worth it. I learned actual some website-building skills in the process, and the platform can grow and evolve with me over time. Not perfect, but it is there. Making it a more “professional” hobby.
My Second Blog: Why BearBlog Fits Perfectly
For this second blog, I kept coming back to SubStack. However, I already had my main blog on WordPress, and I couldn't quite figure out how to balance two blogs effectively. Integrating them seemed complicated. I would probably end up copy-pasting content, worrying about duplicate posts, and creating unnecessary hassle. In this case that I would not want to overwhelm myself with so many things incorporated into 1 platform and stressing out.
More importantly, Substack would create this invisible pressure to post regularly to "keep up expectations" for subscribers or readers. That wasn't the vibe I wanted for this space. I already do that with my main blog. At the same time, I want some type of a community where readers and writers can share their thoughts and stories in one simple platform.
In addition, for this second blog, it needed to align with a different philosophy: post whenever I feel like it, no pressure, no perfection, with a bit more of grammar errors here and there, and in a very simple blogging platform. Just life updates and random thoughts, hence the name Jen's Lazy Days (if you haven't noticed). Not picture-perfect. Just real.
Bearblog fit this vision perfectly. It's a bit different from WordPress, so there was a small learning curve, but that's okay. It's never too late to learn something new.
Thanks for reading this post. Hope you enjoyed getting a peek into my decision-making process!