Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

WriteFreely VS LiveJournal

Compare WriteFreely VS LiveJournal and see what are their differences

WriteFreely logo WriteFreely

Write Freely is free and open source software for starting a minimalist, federated blog — or an entire community.

LiveJournal logo LiveJournal

Online blogging software - free for basic users!
  • WriteFreely Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-13
  • LiveJournal Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-02

WriteFreely features and specs

  • Open Source
    WriteFreely is open source, allowing users to inspect, modify, and contribute to the code. This fosters transparency and community-driven improvements.
  • Privacy-Focused
    The platform places a high emphasis on user privacy, with features that avoid tracking and unnecessary data collection, providing a more secure writing environment.
  • Minimalistic Interface
    WriteFreely offers a clean, distraction-free interface, enabling writers to focus on their content without unnecessary frills.
  • Federated
    WriteFreely supports the ActivityPub protocol, which allows integration with other federated platforms like Mastodon, broadening reach and interaction.
  • Self-Hosting Option
    Users have the option to self-host their WriteFreely instance, providing greater control over their data and customization.

Possible disadvantages of WriteFreely

  • Limited Features
    The focus on minimalism means that WriteFreely lacks some of the more advanced features found in other blogging platforms, such as built-in SEO tools or extensive plugin ecosystems.
  • Technical Skills Required for Self-Hosting
    Self-hosting WriteFreely requires a reasonable level of technical knowledge, which could be a barrier for users without sysadmin skills.
  • Customization Constraints
    The simplicity of the platform can be a downside for users seeking advanced customization options for their blogs’ look and feel.
  • Limited User Support
    Being a smaller, community-driven project, WriteFreely may not offer the extensive customer support that larger, commercial platforms provide.

LiveJournal features and specs

  • Community Building
    LiveJournal fosters a strong sense of community, allowing users to join communities based on shared interests and engage in discussions.
  • Customizability
    Users can highly personalize their journals with a variety of themes, layout options, and custom HTML/CSS, making it possible to create a unique look and feel for their pages.
  • Privacy Options
    LiveJournal offers robust privacy controls, allowing users to make posts public, friends-only, or private, and even create custom friend groups for selective sharing.
  • Long-Form Content
    Unlike other social media platforms that focus on short, quick updates, LiveJournal is structured to support long-form content, which is ideal for detailed blog posts, stories, and essays.
  • Rich History
    Having been around since 1999, LiveJournal has a long-standing history and a wealth of content, providing a unique and nostalgic experience for some users.

Possible disadvantages of LiveJournal

  • Outdated Interface
    The user interface of LiveJournal can feel outdated and less intuitive compared to modern blogging and social media platforms.
  • Declining User Base
    LiveJournal has seen a decline in its user base over the years, which can make community engagement less vibrant compared to newer platforms.
  • Limited Integration
    The platform has limited integration with other social media and modern web services, making it less effective for cross-platform sharing and engagement.
  • Commercialization
    LiveJournal has undergone commercialization, including advertisements and sponsored content, which can detract from the user experience.
  • Censorship Concerns
    Especially since its acquisition by a Russian company, there have been concerns about content censorship and the moderation policies on LiveJournal.

WriteFreely videos

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LiveJournal videos

LiveJournal Review

More videos:

  • Review - What is LiveJournal?
  • Review - EMBARRASSING LIVEJOURNAL POSTS | Akilah Obviously

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to WriteFreely and LiveJournal)
Blogging
45 45%
55% 55
CMS
43 43%
57% 57
Blogging Platform
47 47%
53% 53
Social Networks
51 51%
49% 49

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare WriteFreely and LiveJournal

WriteFreely Reviews

  1. Kristina Ponting
    · home at Homewife ·
    I love this:)

    It is siple to use, the words are the center:)


25+ Medium Alternative Platforms for Publishing Articles
WriteFreely is designed for writing, with little distraction and an easy-to-use interface. It’s free to use and can be edited on any browser, which makes it very versatile.
Source: forgefusion.io

LiveJournal Reviews

25+ Medium Alternative Platforms for Publishing Articles
LiveJournal allows users to share their life stories, give advice, and exchange ideas with each other. The platform differs from Medium where writers usually create long-form content based on their hobbies and expertise. LiveJournal provides opportunities for people to learn about others’ lives, whether it’s through simple exchanges or more in-depth sharing of experiences.
Source: forgefusion.io

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, WriteFreely should be more popular than LiveJournal. It has been mentiond 35 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

WriteFreely mentions (35)

  • The Home Server Journey - 6: Your New Blogging Career
    When looking for something more dynamic, I initially though about using Plume, since it's easy to integrate with some applications I plan to deploy later, but unfortunately it's not well maintained anymore. As Ghost or Wordpress seem overkill, I ended up opting for the conveniences of WriteFreely: it lets me create and edit posts in-place, with Markdown support and no need to upload new files. However, that comes... - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Why I'm leaving Medium: AI policy
    From the top of my head: https://ghost.org/ https://writefreely.org/. - Source: Hacker News / 7 months ago
  • One of the greatest user interface disasters in history
    Mastodon is a microblogging service, so not meant for large bodies of text. This is why the text entry box is small, the columns are somewhat narrow (especially in deck mode) etc. Platforms like https://writefreely.org/ , which are designed to be for blogging and long-form writing, are the place to write this. Write Freely federates so one can follow accounts and interact with posts via Mastodon etc. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Which platform for occasional blog posts?
    An alternative to Plume is WriteFreely, which is a pretty clean & simple experience. Just don't expect to much regarding customization. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • ActivityPub server that can run on Docker with external db?
    And since you've mentioned you want to write a blog, take a look at WriteFreely: https://writefreely.org/. Source: almost 2 years ago
View more

LiveJournal mentions (8)

  • I thought I'd give y'all an update.
    Awww, thanks! This means a lot to me! I, too, have an anxious mind and still, to this day I have to step back and ask myself why am I stressing about something when my focus needs to be on this other situation? The other thing I do that might help is I journal. I use livejournal.com but if you are artistic, you might like a handwritten journal. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Finally done the show!
    Desperate for more content, I listened to the 'Clear Eyes, Full Hearts' podcasts and they are okay but I find Stacey whatserface an incredibly annoying presenter. There's an absolute shedload of FNL fanfiction out there too, if you're into that kind of thing, ranging from light romantic fluff to heart-wrenching emotional observations about the characters' feelings to downright crack. I even started writing some... Source: about 2 years ago
  • livejournal password leak SOS
    Hi, I have no experience with this and I am hoping someone can help me. Remember the livejournal.com password dump? My 20 year old livejournal is now visible and has my full name. Of course I don't have the password or the email I used in 2004. Is there anyone who is willing and able to help me get the password for it so I can delete it? Source: about 2 years ago
  • Apparently Bing can control the suggestions if you just ask. (unless they're in a bad mood)
    It works fine. I can get it to read livejournal.com entries. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Buy pbn links cheap
    PBN, or blog network seo, is one of the 'expensive' gray SEO strategies, thus creating or receiving the service for a low price is impossible, or at best only PHP and zonk. PBN links can be formed on any platform, even free ones like Blogspot and WordPress.com, but the ones that are preferred and well-known for their benefits are still self-hosted paying ones. The blog networks seo is a collection of domains that... Source: almost 3 years ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing WriteFreely and LiveJournal, you can also consider the following products

Ghost - Ghost is a fully open source, adaptable platform for building and running a modern online publication. We power blogs, magazines and journalists from Zappos to Sky News.

Blogger - Publish your passions, your way. Create a unique and beautiful blog. It’s easy and free.

Tumblr - A feature rich and free blog hosting platform offering professional and fully customizable templates, bookmarklets, photos, mobile apps, and social network integration.

Medium - Welcome to Medium, a place to read, write, and interact with the stories that matter most to you.

Posthaven - Posthaven is the safe place for all your posts forever

TypePad - TypePad is the premier blogging service for professionals and small businesses.