Considering a Blog – What Next?
So, you have gone through all the blurb about blogging that you can find on the web, including mine and you have considered that it could be good for you and that you have a lot you could talk about and the time to do it – so what comes next…
The next thing to do is to decide where you want your blog, what packages or piece of software you are going to use and what you are going to call it!
Name your Blog:
If your blog is a business blog you can just use your company name; but you may find that it has already gone – so why not think of an alternative; do try to think of something that is relevant and reasonable though – this is much like choosing your domain name. If you are considering a blog for a successful and long term venture then you need to consider a name that is not going to sound totally ridiculous in say 10years time when you are a little older and wiser/or may have changed your product/service range to something more staid!
Which Software/Platform?
Firstly, you need to understand that this series of articles is a personal view written from my own experiences and potentially will not cover everything.
WordPress: is a free blogging platform, that allows you to create and manage your own blog for free. You are, however prevented from adding some of the plug-ins and from changing the themes from the default ones unless you download to your own webspace and install the self-hosted version – if you do this, you have to update the interface everytime WordPress is updated. Neither can you monetize your blog. The biggest bonus is that WordPress is great for beginners, easy to use and on face value is quick and easy to learn. I have not found anyone yet that uses WordPress that has a bad word to say about it…
Blogger: (a.k.a. e-blogger) is currently owned by Google and is also a free blogging platform. I personally found this blogging software easy initially but then found WordPress and closed by blogger account and moved over.
LiveJournal: I have recently been told that this is another free blogging platform that is super smooth and can also be switched between public and private modes… I have not heard of this one before, neither have I checked it out yet but maybe it is worth having a look at 
Now that was a short brief overview of the software/platforms that I mysefl have had experience of – most will let you create accounts and all you have to do if you do not like them is find the option on the menu that says “close account”, or “delete blog/account” and you will have deleted it.
There is never any harm in trying these things out – the most you will have lost in the short term is time and effort and if you are prepared in start a blog this effectively will be tyhe time and effort you will be investing in your blog in the future – so why not start with the research…
My article this week may seem a little disjointed, but the aim is to get you to go out and try these things for yourself not for me to tell you what you do and I do hope that you will try…
It is also worth having a look at your own hosting packages for your website if they are not the cheaper ones to see if your packages already includes blogging software – some do and some do not, but again it is always worth a check. If you have access to your control panel you can check there, if you have a hosting company you can always raise a support tickets and ask them. Most Hosts undertand that not everybody know whats they are purchasing
That’s all for today folks! More next week…
Sarah
