About a year or so ago, I had some serious financial obligations that left me practically broke. Prior to this time, I had configured the XPS 13 on the Dell website and all that was left was payment, then a slight logistic wait, and the machine would have been shipped to my address. Total time from payment to delivery, of course, being well under three (3) weeks and the total sum payable for the laptop including shipping, an extra battery bank, and a sleeve amounted to a little over $3000.
But, there was a little problem…I was broke at the moment and the trusty HP 6930p Elitebook I owned at that time was old and it was beginning to show: frequent crashes, a speed that a snail was faster than, an operating system that was no longer supported, tabs that crashed if I allowed more than a handful to be open at the same time and a case that was practically falling apart, all thanks to my children and their hyperactive reality.
With the pace of my blogging slowing down and my writing generally suffering, I cursed myself and wondered why I allowed the old HP to reach that point before opting for a replacement. Curse as I did, nothing happened and it didn’t take me time to realize that I needed to think creatively to overcome the challenge I was in. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work.
Initially, I looked at other cheaper Windows options that were less than $1000 and some other options that were around the $500 mark. None appealed to my taste, nor looked enough to handle my needs. I looked over at the Mac camp too but despite the hype about the M1 chip and how badass it was, I wasn’t open to the idea of being locked into a system – which is exactly what Apple does to its teeming users and the MacBooks I saw weren’t exactly cheap with most options starting from $1,000.
Nothing seemed to work or put better, nothing seemed to have been designed to handle my unique situation: a blogger and a freelance writer/author, needing a Windows replacement machine that will do all that the prior Windows laptop was doing if not better and of course, for cheap. And, by ‘cheap’, I was looking at $500 or less.
Then, like a bolt, it hit me. One Sunday evening, I was on Amazon, researching laptops and wondering how best I was going to fix my unique situation. It was then that I came across an ad about Chromebooks. Before then, I had never heard of the word and had no idea what they were or what they could or were meant to do.
However, a photo that looked like a ‘laptop’ accompanied the ad and if memory serves, the word ‘cheap’ or its close acronym ‘affordable’ was prominently featured. Immediately, I clicked on the ad, and in less than 30 seconds, I was asking Google: can you professionally blog with a Chromebook?
There were some answers that populated the SERPs. However, none was written in the manner I was expecting, none was written by a blogger and none satisfactorily answered the professional blogging part.
Frustrated, I turned to the plethora of literature about ChromeOS provided by Google (its developer) and decided to take a leap of faith, especially since one didn’t cost much money. However, I promised myself that should the device I ended up buying serve and be judged fit for purpose, I’ll run an entire article series about the topic, to serve other bloggers who would certainly be in my shoes in the days to come and would certainly appreciate the help.
In the rare event that Google had delivered a false ad (on the initial Amazon discovery) and things turned south, I’d quietly return it, claim a refund and proceed with the search.
Fortunately, a return was as far from me in this case as Neptune is to the sun…and this article right here, published today, fulfills that original promise to self.
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Can You Professionally Blog On A Chromebook?
Yes, you can blog professionally on a Chromebook, without needing the bloatware and often clumsy systems that both Windows and macOS ensure. In fact, the experience is better, faster, smoother, and definitely, more fluid.
However, as with all new systems, there’ll be a learning curve, and depending on how fast a learner you are (and importantly), how often you use a computer, can be anywhere between a week and a few months.
The reason for this is simple and straight to the point: the shortcuts are different (at least, for some). For example, to capitalize a character on a Chromebook, you need to actively hold the shift button before depressing the character in question (unlike the Windows situation where you simply press the ‘CAPS’ key and everything is rendered in the manner you desire thereafter).
The keyboard shortcuts aside, you’ll also need to understand how to work with apps as against traditional programs. The good thing is that, for every program that exists for either Windows or Mac, there’s an equivalent app for it on the Chromebook; your task will just be to find it and download same directly from the Play Store, usually, free of any cost. For instance, I used the Snapseed and Photoshop Express app to edit photos as against the native editing application I previously used with Windows.
To wrap up, there is simply nothing that cannot be done on a Chromebook as far as blogging is concerned. You only need to identify the correct app, download it, and viola you are done in a few minutes doing whatever it is that you intend.
Personally, I have made the switch and speak from a position of authority. I have done it and have completely forgotten that there’s an OS called Windows or macOS for that matter. As a matter of fact, this article you are reading at the moment was typed, designed, and formatted using my personal work machine, the x360 14a HP Chromebook and, while blogging and writing with it, I have had fun better than any other traditional OS or machine I have owned or used in the past!
My Fears About Using A Chromebook For Blogging Initially
Once upon a time, at the height of Aliexpress’ fame, I decided to try out something (pardon my curiosity…most times, I simply cannot help it). I ordered and received what I believed then to a PC (or aptly, a scaled-down version of something close to one, at least).
When I took delivery, I discovered that the PC was in fact, a practically useless version of Windows called ‘CE’. It mimicked the Andriod OS but was useless either as a smartphone or a PC. The battery was exceptionally poor, the build quality was one of the very worst I have seen in recent times, and the display was just about 9 inches (though, to be frank, I knew about this bit prior to the purchase but the other failures made even the little good left in the unit appear bad)!
The very device ended up annoying me and I had to give it out without making any meaningful use of it after some wasted weeks I expended trying.
When I ordered the present Chromebook on Amazon, that bad experience with the Windows CE sold to me from Aliexpress reared its ugly head up in my mind. I simply had to close my eyes, shut my mind and give it a try, damning the consequences! But, I knew deep down that if it turned out like the Windows CE experience, I’d be screwed.
Completely.
The instant case was different, however, to my luck. To my credit too, I had researched better this time around and certainly, was prepared for what was to come, intelligently.
My Experience Using A Chromebook Exclusively For Blogging
The few days after taking delivery of the Chromebook were hard, without a doubt.
I needed to unlearn most of the Windows shortcuts and commands I had mastered and ultimately, learn new (Chrome) ones. For instance, I understood that to get CAPS, I needed to actively hold the ‘shift’ button before attempting to depress any key that I wanted to render in upper case. This was because the Chromebook has no dedicated CAPS LOCK key.
That was not all: with an absence of the Function (‘F’) keys, I also needed to find a way around functions that were reliant on those special keys and somehow, find a way to go about them.
Admittedly, this wasn’t easy, especially for someone who had used Windows all his life. However, barely a week after, I slowly began to adapt to the new reality and before the month was over, I completely forgot if I ever even used a Windows-powered laptop; only the abandoned EliteBook, gathering cobwebs in the store now reminds me of my past romance with this OS sort.
However, a few weeks after I transitioned fully into my Chromebook reality, my wife needed to get a new PC and the task she needed it for clearly spelled that it MUST be a Windows OS as the programs she needed to run were all exclusive to Windows.
Reluctantly, I purchased an HP Pavilion Laptop 14-dv0145nia (2X4Z4EA) Core i5 for her, running Windows 10. However, I hated the limitations of the Home Edition and wanted the Pro which was sadly not available on the model from the factory. Luckily, I had the option of buying the upgrade software separately and moving her to the ‘professional league’. And, I wasted no time doing this.
Things only got ‘better’ from there: I had the option to further upgrade the system to the newly released Windows 11 (then) and I instantly did, with no further cost implications. Immediately that was done, I saw with start clarity that Windows 11 was released not to even compete with ChromeOS, but simply to mimick its simplicity and app-first reality. I also noticed that it was considerably lighter and faster than Windows 10 by leagues.
However, after playing around with the new Windows 11, I still stand by my initial statements and as a matter of fact, only use the Windows machine once in a while when I need to help her with something on it; nothing more.
All my blogging, writing and photo editing is done 100% on my Chromebook!
What Chromebook Is Best For Bloggers?
When I was shopping for a Chromebook as a blogger, I asked this very question and fervently sought answers. Unfortunately, what I got then, as answers published online, were unsatisfactory and ended up making me want more. However, that didn’t stop me. If anything, it spurred me on to look for the answers I believed I needed, and now, here are we; I finally cracked the code and now use what I consider the best Chromebook for bloggers and writers, hands-down!
What is this Chromebook?
It is the HP x360 14a – a Chromebook capable of serving in tablet, tent, and clamshell mode, depending on what you want to do with it or what you want from it at the material time.
It also comes standard in a 14-inch display, which is perfect for work, movies, and any other thing you may want to use the device for. Further, the keyboard is standard size and very comfortable; you can type on it all day without feeling any iota of fatigue if that is your style. Add an insane battery life that easily does a whole workday with enough juice to stream a full movie and still tackle some things before needing a wall socket and the picture begins to certainly paint itself.
If you’ll love the complete details that make this unit the best for you as a blogger, consider the highly related article, The Best Chromebook For Blogging And Bloggers where I did extensive justice to the topic.
Wrap Up
Blogging on a Chromebook isn’t only possible; it is fun and you can do it professionally while having the confidence to throw away your traditional Windows or Mac PC right into the thrash!
Sweet as this is or might sound, however, there’s a slight learning curve that though quite insignificant, might slow down your work till you figure them all out or at least, the options you need on a frequent basis.
This learning curve will take anywhere from a few days to a month, max, assuming you use the Chromebook at least for an hour daily.
That is not all; there is no blogging or writing task that a conventional PC is capable of handling that a Chromebook won’t do better or at the very least, provide a comparable app for the task.
If you’re ready to make the switch, I highly recommend the HP x360 14a Chromebook. It is all you’ll ever need.
Good luck.