Beginner’s Blogging Guide- 2: Choosing Blog Platform

Choosing Platform for blogging like selecting a notebook or Diary. You can write in both cases but they do differ slightly in features. As I said in Beginner’s Blogging guide – 1, I am going to consider whether Blogger or WordPress.com? It all depends upon your requirements, Choose which system you feel most comfortable and what fits your needs or objectives. Well, I will make comparison easier for you by enlisting its features.

Blogger.com (aka Blogspot)

Who’s who: Blogger is a free service created by Pyra Labs in 1999 but was acquired by Google in 2003.

Features:

• Address:  The one you want, provided they have not chosen before. Put the suffix blogspot.com. For example: http://blogsolute.blogspot.com. You can also buy a domain name and address to the blog you’ve created on Blogger.
• Ability to store files: Only images and nothing else.
• Storage limit: 1GB of images (actually, the images are uploaded to Picasa free account, you get when you open an account with a Google service).
• Customizability: On their own in a matter of appearance is very limited. Just offers a few templates. However, there are many non-Blogger sites where you can get a template of your blog will look you seek. And although in some difficulty, you can always create your own. You can find some in Blogger Templates section of Blogsolute.

WordPress.com

Who’s who- WordPress.com is a free service created by the company Automattic Free CMS and uses the same name, which was also developed by them, although with some limitations.

Features:

• Address: The one you want, provided they have not chosen before. Put the suffix wordpress.com. For example: http://blogsolute.wordpress.com. You can also buy a domain name and address to your blog.
• Ability to store files: Yes, but only in pictures (jpg, jpeg, png and gif), documents (pdf, doc, odt) and presentations (ppt).
• Storage limit: 3GB in files of the formats mentioned.
• Customizability: Today, you can choose from 70 themes or templates provided by the system. However, you can not add any own (or other).

What to choose- Blogger or WordPress.com?

What to choose?

My suggestion is that Try both. Not to write in both, but you open an account on both and see for yourself so that you get whole idea about each. Its always better to tr and experience before starting your work.

However, there are some aspects I think is important to highlight each service in order to make the best decision.

• WordPress.com does not allow Javascript: This is one of the programming languages used on the web and means that there are many functions of external sites that you could not use, including putting Adsense contextual ads.
• Customizing a blog on Blogger may require a fairly steep learning curve: Blogger does not have the limits of WordPress.com, but get to change aspects of a template is the closest thing to enter a maze.
• Blogger allows you to use a greater number of widgets: Widgets are those little additions (sometimes up to nearly complete applications) that have been put on the sides of the blog and show you from last posts published to a virtual pet. Blogger, apart from having a good variety of widgets to enable JavaScript can be inserted other external services.
• The customization is very limited WordPess.com: 70 templates are considered sufficient to choose, but it is possible to integrate many third-party services (although the most popular). However, as far as appearance is concerned, many templates can upload an own header image, which will help you differentiate yourself if you choose a popular template.
• WordPress.com keeps expanding its functions: Although these are limited, one must admit that Automattic is more concerned with their services than that of Google’s own. Although Blogger has the ability to use Blogger in draft (a mode in which functions can be tested under development), the truth is that developments takes long to appear.

Conclusion

It’s your decision and, as I said, you can open your account within two to go exploring. If you then want to change you, you do not lose anything by publishing, migrating your posts from one service to another (both have that feature). Now, by offering some type of solution to the dilemma of choosing between the two, I personally raise these questions:

• Want to monetize your site directly? or Make Money from blog? The easiest and where everyone starts is Adsense. Then, use Blogger. But remember that may be easy to make money with a blog but it needs much effort and time. It is not open and count the notes.
• Want to upload your content regardless of the direct monetization? Use WordPress.com. It seems much clearer and less confusing. Though you can not insert contextual advertising, remember that a blog can serve to position in the market and publicize your services

Beginner’s Blogging Guide- 1: What is a Blog?

Many of you may be interested in writing your own blog. Blogging has gained more popularity (especially in India) since when celebrities started creating own blogs. Let it be any reason behind it but many of readers asked me to guide on starting a new blog and so, for all beginners willing tojoin blogosphere, I am writing a series of tutorial “Blogging guide for Beginners“.The objective behind completing this series is to cover technical aspects as mush as possible with the content to serve as a beginning for a newbie for this exciting subject “Blogging”. Let’s get started-

What is a Blog?

A blog is a website which has a so called software that allows publishing content in very simple and quick manner. Typically, its front page (homepage) shows the latest content that has been published. These are usually displayed in reverse chronological order, going from last to first published.

Publishing system is called CMS (Content Management System) which is a software when installed on the server, allows us to publish content on a website without messing with codes. The CMS for blogs are focused on the function to create and publish content easily and quickly. Examples of these CMS are WordPress and Movable Type. There are also web services that we offer free hosting for our blog, offering the CMS installed (often created by the company itself). This is the case Blogger andWordPress.com. If you are very new in this field, I would recommend signing up on any of the free services.

Regarded as means of communication, I would compare a blog with a magazine: it may be single-minded or cover various topics, is divided into items that can be classified into sections (categories) and has a subscription (RSS) bridging the technology gap, of course.

Why have a blog?

its said that blogging can help you building Contacts-Identity-Memories-Money

• Build Contacts- Connect with others in your business or interest
• Identity- Make your name or brand visible
• Express yourself- Reach out to the public about issues you’re passionate about
• Share your knowledge
• Make money

In beginning, Many people often feel restless due complications of technology behind it. But that is the least of the problems. The main thing is the content on which the blog is to nurture. Yes, appearance is important, design and functionality of it, along with accessories but content is king.

A blog is ideal for anyone who has anything to say or want a space to say whatever he wants. You can serve almost any thing, but it is mainly communication so, do not forget that. Yes, it can serve to make money. You can make you gain reputation and contacts. It can give you much satisfaction (and occasional annoyance) but it may serve simply to tell the world what you think of it. Depending on what your goal, you should follow these or that strategies.

Requirements for having a Blog

• The skills you have to create and maintain a blog depends on the principle of I want to.
• It is not necessary to know programming but help concepts of HTML and CSS (especially for difficult times).
• It is not necessary to spend money.You must have some minimal knowledge of computers (which is always easily extendable with all the information out there on the internet).
• You must have desire to write and to do it correctly: that is to say, that is understand what you say, respecting spelling and grammar.

From here, it all depends on your goals: about views, these views will become minting money, build you a reputation, networking with people who share your interests and so on But there are three points that you should always bear in mind:

1. Dedication: It is more of certainty and not of speed. As said in one of my interview, Be focused and dedicated to what all you do.
2. Patience: This is more important because From day one to the next, you are going to have neither thousands of visits, nor thousands of subscribers.
3. Original Content: Written by you, not copied from elsewhere. Or if you are taking reference or excerpt from elsewhere, always quote the source.

These three are the pillars on which you build a blog with frequent readers.

In next part, we will discuss about choosing a platform for publishing blog. Yes, I will consider only free services. Whether Blogger or WordPress?

Beginner’s Blogging Guide- 3: How to Create Blog

We start from step 1- Go to Blogger.com which is obvious and click on Create Blog.  The next step is create a Google Account. As we saw in the previous post, Blogger is owned by Google. If you have an account at any of the services of this company (Gmail, Picasa, Google Docs, etc.), You already have a Google Account. If so, enter your credentials and move on.

Then you get to choose the name and blog address. These are not necessarily occur, but is highly recommended do so. When choosing the direction, you can follow these tips already mentioned when choosing a domain name. The address you choose will be added with the suffix blogspot.com. Therefore, try not be too long.

Once you’ve written the address, click on the link that says “Check availability” It may happen that address you chose is already taken so keep entering different names till it says “The Blog address is available”

Try provided the address and name of your blog are the same. If you change the former, the latter also changes. It’s not necessary, but gives good results. The people generally remember the name of your blog and associate it with the suffix blogspot.com. Your address and blog name are different, the thing is difficult.

Now, its turn to decide the appearance of your blog. You will be given with some choices default by Blogger system. Choose anyone of them, Don’t worry even if you didnt like it much, you can easily change it later on.

It’s called a template because it uses a file (XML) that defines all the aesthetics of the blog without the contents being affected. The advantage of the templates is that they allow you to change at any time look so easy and simple.

So, you are done with all pre procedures and successfully created your blog and ready to start posting content or write articles. Click “Start Blogging”

This is your post editor, If you want you can write at that moment your first post or leave for another time.

That’s all. From now on, you can access your blog from Blogger.com and entering the username for your Google account (if you created from the panel that I showed before, will be an email address) and password. Needless to say, these data are very important and you should keep or lose your blog.

In next article, we will see the parts of Blog on Blogger.

How do I create a blog that Blogger will host for free?

Before you can create a free blog on Blog*Spot, Blogger's hosting service, you need to have already created an account on blogger.com. Once you've logged into blogger.com, click the Create a Blog link above your list of blogs:

On Step 2, enter a Title and Address (URL). You'll also need to type in the verification word displayed on this page, to confirm that you are a real person and not a computer. When you're done, click continue:

On Step 3, you can choose a template for your blog; this is how it will appear when you publish it. Next, Blogger will create your new blog and reserve your spot on BlogSpot. As soon as you make your first post, your page will appear at the address you chose. You're all ready to blog!