If you're a blogger, you're probably wondering which one to use. note and WordPress are both popular and have a reputation for ease of use.
However, because they are both so popular, it should be difficult to decide which one to use.
So, in this article, I will explain WordPress and NOTE in comparison. If you are just starting out, please refer to this article.
What is note?
note is a platform for content creators that was launched in 2014.
With note, you can easily start a blog by registering for free. There is no need to install or configure anything. As a result, note is gaining more and more users in Japan every year. Recently, various celebrities have also been using note.
As of 2022, this platform is only well known in Japan. In other countries, a similar platform called Medium is popular.
Next, let's talk about WordPress.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a well-known CMS (Content Management System) for creating, editing, and publishing content on the Internet.
With WordPress, you can set up a blog or website without any technical knowledge. By the way, our blog is also made with WordPress.
- Can be used in various ways (applicability)
- Easy to use
These are two of the features of WordPress. First, WordPress allows you to set up different types of sites and blogs (e.g. e-commerce sites, blogs, membership sites, directory sites, affiliate sites, corporate sites, etc.).
You can customize the design and functionality of the site as much as you want.
WordPress is very easy to install and set up, even for beginners. It is also very easy to manage.
This is why WordPress is used all over the world because it can do a lot and is easy to use.W3TechsAccording to the report, 43%'s site on the Internet is currently built on WordPress.
Advantages of note
First, let me explain the benefits of NOTE.
free
note is free. It costs nothing to register and use.
And to add to that, despite being free, note has all the basic features for blogging.
This makes it an ideal platform for beginners who want to start blogging easily.
Easy-to-use editing screen
The editing screen of note is simple and easy to use. There is nothing superfluous in the editing screen. This allows you to concentrate on writing your blog.
The editing screen of WordPress has many more settings than NOTE. While this is convenient, it may be a little difficult to use for a blogging beginner.
This is why NOTE is perfect for people who want to use a simple screen when writing a blog.
Easily sell paid articles.
With note, you can sell your blog posts for a fee. Moreover, you don't need to make any complicated settings. All you have to do is choose whether you want to publish your articles for free or for a fee.
If someone pays to read an article that you have sold for a fee, you will receive money. 10% of the sales of paid articles will be commissioned to you.
In other words, if you sell a paid article for 10,000 yen and someone buys it, you will receive 9,000 yen.
The commissions are not that high either. Therefore, it is easy for bloggers who want to earn money by selling the articles they write. To be honest, it's probably easier to make money selling paid articles on note than putting Google Adsense on your blog.
Active communication
In May 2020, note had more than 63 million monthly active users. The number of members is also increasing, and the number of note users will continue to grow.
Therefore, if you write an article in note, someone will read it. If you continue to diligently update one article every day, you will almost certainly get likes on your note articles.
Even my notes get an average of 90 "likes". In addition, I'm happy to say that I currently have 1000 followers.
Even when I write articles at such a low frequency, all kinds of people read my articles and send me comments and likes. It's a lot of fun to use.
Access will come from the beginning.
Since note has a large number of users, it is easy to get access if you write an article. However, it is difficult to get access to articles on niche topics...
But even if it's just a general diary, a certain number of people will read it.
If you write an article in WordPress, you need to run your blog for more than a few months to get access to it; if you start a WordPress blog on the third day, you will get zero access.
The advantage of note is that it is a platform that has always attracted users, so it is easy to get access to it when you write an article.
No need to set up SEO.
Furthermore, there are no complicated SEO settings in note. Therefore, if you are not familiar with SEO, you will definitely find note easy to use.
WordPress has the advantage of being able to set up a solid SEO strategy, but on the other hand, if you don't want to do anything difficult like SEO, note is definitely easier to use than WordPress.
I have explained the advantages of note so far, but now I will explain the disadvantages of note.
Disadvantages of note
The disadvantages of note are as follows
Low (no) customizability
The appeal of note is its "ease of use. It is free to use, and the user interface is simple. There are no complicated settings to install. Thus, it is a platform that anyone can easily use.
On the other hand, it is not customizable. For example, if you want to set up a full-fledged membership site, note is not functional enough. Also, you can set up a blog, but it is not suitable for creating a website. For example, if you want to set up a full-fledged membership site, note is not functional enough.
Therefore, while note is a great way to start a personal blog, it is not suitable for other uses.
Your account could be deleted or suspended.
To date, I haven't heard (much) about anyone's account being deleted or suspended from note.
If you are just a blogger, there is no conceivable risk of your account being frozen.
However, those who sell paid NOTES are also at risk of being frozen or deleted.
The search results also show that "note account freeze" and "note ban" are also appearing here and there.
It seems that most of the users are selling paid notes, and there are some who say they have had their sales confiscated by note.
As you can see, there is always a risk that your account will be deleted, suspended, or restricted.
This is because note is not a platform run by you, but by note Inc.
In other words, as long as you are using someone else's platform, you can't complain if your account is deleted depending on the operator of the platform.
The point is not whether the note side does or does not, but that it "can".
The same can be said for social networking sites.
Basic SEO settings (you can't add your own meta settings)
In note, you cannot use in-depth SEO settings. For example, you cannot use it to create meta descriptions. Also, you can't set up SEO settings like you can in WordPress.
For example, Google Analytics, which is essential for blog access analysis, is not available for free.note pro (paid)The monthly fee for note pro is 50,000 yen / month. The monthly fee for note pro is 50,000 yen / month, and I won't say whether it's expensive or cheap, but at least it's not for individuals.
The simplicity of note is its selling point. However, it lacks marketing features, so for business use, WordPress is the way to go.
Only a basic design.
Also, NOTE has a limited number of templates. Even if you want to write a blog, you can only choose the basic design. Therefore, there is a limit to how much you can differentiate yourself with your blog design (although you can differentiate yourself with your profile picture, header, and eye catching image).
For those who want to create a more personalized look, a NOTE with only a basic design may not be satisfactory.
Affiliates are not allowed (amazon associates are allowed).
You may only post Amazon Associates links on note. You are not allowed to post any other affiliate links. In fact, if you post affiliate codes for A8 or other sites, the links will not work.
While there is no "no affiliates allowed" policy, as long as non-Amazon Associates links don't work, you can effectively say that only Amazon Associates are allowed.
Therefore, for people who want to earn advertising revenue from their blogs or affiliate earnings, NOTE is not an option. (Amazon Associates itself has a very low unit price, so it is not suitable for monetization).
This system is not good or bad, it's just the way it is. note's rules are absolute. You have no choice but to follow them when using the system.
Advantages of WordPress
Next, I will explain the benefits of WordPress.
cheap
WordPress is actually very cheap. This makes it a great way to run a website or blog.
For example, it costs less than 1,000 yen per month to run this site.
It is true that note is free. However, if you want to use your own domain name or use your own logo, you have to pay for note pro. It costs 50,000 yen per month.
There are other platforms such as Wix and SquareSpace, but again, the free version is quite limited. If you want to charge for it, it tends to be much cheaper to use WordPress.
I can manage it myself.
WordPress is easy to manage by yourself. You can easily control it from the dashboard, write posts, and manage comments.
And no one but you can break into it without permission. In other words, you can set up a site or blog that only you can control.
Customizable.
WordPress can be customized freely. You are free to create the site you want. One of them is that WordPress has its own theme. By changing this theme, you can change the design of your site in seconds.
WordPress comes with a wide range of free themes. Therefore, you can choose any theme you like from the many available and change it.
In addition, you can change all the other details in WordPress, such as text color, font, and background color of the site. No knowledge is required for customization. It is easy to operate.
You can create anything from membership sites to e-commerce sites.
WordPress can be used for more than just blogging. It can be used to set up a variety of websites and blogs.
Anyone can create various types of sites such as membership sites, e-commerce sites (mail order), corporate sites, personal blogs, crowdfunding sites, evaluation sites, bulletin boards, etc.
For example, our blog is not "just a blog" either. It is a multi-language blog that supports not only Japanese but also English and German. By setting up such a multilingual blog, you can attract access from outside Japan.
It is possible to increase revenue by increasing the number of customers from outside Japan.
It is also easy to make your blog multilingual. With WordPress, you can set up a website for just about any purpose.
There's no need to outsource your site creation, because you can do it yourself in a snap with WordPress.
Incidentally, the U.S. White House website is also built on WordPress.
Easy to incorporate SEO settings
WordPress SEO is so highly regarded that people say, "Just use WordPress and you're done with SEO.
Matt Cutts has also acknowledged the SEO benefits of WordPress (from WordCamp San Francisco 2009). Matt Cutts is the former head of Google's anti-spam team and is one of the top experts when it comes to Google search engine SEO.
In addition, there are many plugins for WordPress that can help you improve your search rankings. In the case of this site, I would say
- ShortPixel-Lighten the weight of images on your site.
- Rank Math - Basic SEO Settings
- WP-Optimize - Speed up your entire site
By adding these plugins, you can increase the SEO effectiveness of your entire site, and with WordPress, you can use free plugins to improve your SEO without the need for an expert.
Therefore, if you want to set up a website or blog to attract customers, WordPress is the best choice.
Disadvantages of WordPress
Finally, I will explain the disadvantages of WordPress.
Paid (server and domain fees)
It costs money to run a blog on WordPress.
There are many advantages to using WordPress as your blogging platform, but the downside is that it's not free.
It costs about 1,000 yen per month for server and domain fees to maintain and manage a WordPress blog. If you are not willing to pay, then you need to look for another platform.
No access at first.
A site launched with WordPress will not receive any traffic at first.
The reason for this is that your newly launched site is not recognized by anyone. It takes two or three months for the site to actually be recognized and start getting traffic.
This is a big disadvantage if you are looking for immediate results in your marketing.
In the case of note, it is easy to get access from the beginning. This is because note has a lot of users, and your post will be easily seen by them.
As you can see, when WordPress is first launched, it is an isolated island surrounded by an ocean. However, after a few months or a year of operation, the site will have the ability to attract customers.
In the medium to long term, WordPress has tremendous power to attract customers.
Who should use note?
The characteristics of people for whom note is recommended are as follows.
Personal Diary
First of all, if you just want to write your own diary, note is the way to go. There is no need to use WordPress.
note is free to use. It doesn't cost you anything. You don't have to pay a monthly fee to write your personal journal.
In addition, since there are many users, your diary is likely to be read, and even if it is difficult to keep a diary by yourself, it will continue when there are readers.
If you want to write a diary, NOTE is the best option for you.
Non-commercial use
If you don't want to set up a blog to do business or use a blog as one of your content marketing initiatives, you can use NOTE.
Although note does not prohibit commercial use, there are many features that are lacking for marketing use. These include detailed traffic analysis (available in note pro), SEO settings, branding (available in note pro), and templates.
It is also true that some people have said that they have sold paid NOTE and had their sales confiscated.
Incidentally, it seems that sellers of "so-called information products" have had their accounts frozen and sales proceeds confiscated. You can read more about this at note's CXO, Mr. Fukatsu.Articlefor more information.
As you can see, people who are selling profitable know-how are trapped in NOTE. Any other content should sell fine on NOTE.
However, the rules of the platform, such as what is out, what genres are banned and when, are completely decided by NOTE.
In other words, if you don't do business, I recommend using NOTE. If you want to do business, use soil that you can manage yourself (e.g. WordPress).
People for whom WordPress is recommended
The following are characteristics of people for whom WordPress is a good choice.
Corporate Site
WordPress is a great option for companies that want to send out a lot of information while enhancing their branding.
Since you can manage and update your site in-house, there is no need to pay expensive maintenance fees to a website production company.
It is very easy to use, and with WordPress, you can even complete a corporate website in less than 24 hours.
WordPress also comes with a wealth of features. These features allow you to change the design of your site and add useful tools for marketing.
If you want to run a corporate website for your company, WordPress is the best choice.
I want to create an e-commerce site or a membership site.
With WordPress, you can create any type of website you want.
You can easily create EC sites and membership sites at no additional cost. Therefore, there is no need to pay a production company 300,000 yen to create a site. There is no need to pay expensive maintenance fees.
You can also create evaluation sites such as Food Log and C to C sales sites such as Mercari.
You don't even need expertise in site design to create these sites.
With WordPress, you can create sites that you cannot create with note. And it's easy.
affiliate
WordPress has a complete set of features for blogging. One of them is "Gutenberg".
Gurtenberg is an editing feature in WordPress. It allows you to write blogs with intuitive controls.
For this reason, I also recommend WordPress to affiliates who want to write blog posts without stress.
There are also many plugins and themes that increase affiliate earnings. For example, on another blog I run (English version), I have embedded the following display in my posts.
By displaying such "my rating & score" in a product review article, you can tell the good and bad parts of the product at once.
This kind of feature that increases the appeal of an affiliate can be easily implemented using WordPress.
For full-scale commercial use.
The advantage of WordPress is that you can own your own site. Your site won't suddenly be deleted or frozen.
As I explained above, note is operated by note Inc. You can't complain if your articles are hidden, or if your account is deleted or suspended, because you are borrowing the platform of note.
Even if you don't intentionally write a sensitive article, it is the platform that decides if the article is sensitive or not. It's up to the platform to decide where it's NG and where it gets caught.
In light of this, running your site on WordPress is a risk reduction.
Conclusion
In this article, I compared note and WordPress in terms of their advantages and disadvantages. Note, which is free to use, is very attractive for beginner bloggers. If you want to write a diary, note is enough.
WordPress, on the other hand, is recommended for people who want to create a full-fledged website or monetize their blogs. note has only basic functions, so it is not as good as WordPress, which has more expandable functions. Even if you have to pay for it, you can set up several sites with WordPress for 10,000 yen a year, so it is not expensive if you think about it comprehensively.
On this site, we share practical insights on website and blog management in addition to what we have explained in this article. We post information on "content marketing" that is useful for entrepreneurs and business owners, so if you are interested, please check out our other articles.
I'll see you soon.
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