Should I start my own blog, or use an existing platform?
So I already have a few articles out on dev.to ( https://dev.to/noblica ) , and a few older ones on Medium. I like writing, and other than scratching that itch, I also wanna use it as a tool to showcase my skills.
However, I am a bit torn on if I should continue writing on dev.to, or start my own blog on my own website? I think it could be a good idea, since people that are potentially interested in working with me, can just get all the info they need about me in one place.
However, these blogging platforms are already there, and already have an established user base that I'm reaching with the articles I'm currently writing. So I'm not sure what the right move is? What do you guys think?
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Dušan Perković — DEV Community Profile
Senior Software Engineer with a focus on all things Frontend.
Having some adventures in Go.
Interested in web3.
5 Replies
I'm early in a similar journey. I opted to make my own cause my primary goal was to show potential employers and to develop better writing habits. Having an audience and monetization weren't factors.
I was also of the opinion that when I find articles, it's through searching google. So I wasn't sure how much having an established platform as the domain vs my own really mattered.
I'm now at the point where I'm debating allowing comments and I'm experimenting with things like docusaurus and nextra. I might want to at least swap to something that already has comments, search, read counts, and other features just a config or plugin away since building my own doesn't hold much value and showing how I can integrate a solution still does.
Some inspos: https://kentcdodds.com/ - https://www.joshwcomeau.com/
May I ask why does it matter which? Not being tongue in cheek. Genuine question. Maybe that will help you decide
Thanks everybody for the replies.
I was thinking my posts could get more traction on these established blogging platforms, and could reach more people (and potential employers), than if I set them up on my own.
But what @michaeldrotarsaid makes sense. If I'm looking to showcase my skills through my writing, the audience reach might not matter. Might make more sense to just set my own thing up, so I can have my Resume, Blog and Demo Projects all in one place.
On dev.to you can set "originally published at" url. I post my blog posts on my own site and also post it to dev.to with this link set to my site. This way people can find my stuff on dev.to, but search engines will link to my site.
Oh nice, I didn't know that. Thanks!