Blogging 101: Software Platform

You have decided on your topic, your target audience, and the frequency you will post, but what platform should you use to blog and reach the world with your words? Wordpress, Movable Type, Symphony or Textpattern? There are so many options, but which is the right one?

wp.jpg

Personally I use WordPress, and wouldn’t go with any other. Here are a few reasons why you should use WordPress when starting your blog.

Plugins

If you want to do something interesting such as display your blog stats, display recent comments, put up a contact form, or anything else that springs to mind, the WordPress community it littered with thousands of handy plugins that can do simple tasks, up to downright amazing things to enhance your blog.

Theme Library

As the most used blogging system in the world you would expect WordPress to have the most themes available, and your right. There are thousands of free open source themes up for download all over the internet. WordPress is also very easy to develop for - it doesn’t take much more than basic HTML and CSS knowledge to customize a theme to your liking.

User Community

The user community using, and based around WordPress is amazing. If you need help with your install, a simple Google search should give you an answer, if not, there are dozens of online forums full of helpful people to fix your issue.

The user community is constantly helping others, developing new themes and plug-ins, and providing the WordPress developers with many feature requests to improve it’s build - which in the long run works out better for you as WordPress wil be more stable, and more packed with features than any other piece of blogging software.

Things to get after the install

After you install WordPress, I recommend you do a few things. The first thing is enable permalinks so your URL’s look tidier. Instead of ending with something such as “archives/741″ - you will get “2007/01/01/example-post/”.

The second thing you should do it beautify your WordPress back-end, the admin area by installing WP Tiger Administration v3.0 made by Steve Smith of Ordered List.

After you have done all of this, you can move on and get stuck into the next stage which we will cover in the next installment - picking a theme and plug-ins.

Comments

  1. #1

    Josh → maconlyreview.wordpress.com

    I’ve started with Wordpress and I think its a great platform. Blogger just didn’t seem powerful enough for me, and once I get my own domain Wordpress will just get better and better.

  2. #2

    Tucker MacDonald → www.tuckermacdonald.com

    I agree. Wordpress is the best. Many themes, plugins, and lots of support.

  3. #3

    Josh → maconlyreview.wordpress.com

    Glenn, I think I know the answer for this, but is this post talking about hosting a blog with it’s own domain (Wordpress.org content), or a free blog which Wordpress hosts (Wordpress.com content).

  4. #4

    yannic → yannicwalter.de

    I rely on Wordpress, too. It’s highly customizable and developing own themes with template tags and the loop is pretty easy.
    The docs at wordpress.org are enclosing.

  5. #5

    Alex → www.makesitgood.net

    I’ve been using wordpress a couple years now, and other than a few beta level plugins, haven’t had a single problem or annoyance!

    The integration with Gallery2 is nice as well

  6. #6

    Shreedhan → appleication.com

    We use our own custom system over at Appleication. We find it gives you total control as it’s been coded from scratch by Ryan, we know where everything is - rather than having to go through someone elses unfamiliar code.

    Wordpress is definitely a great alternative though!

  7. #7

    diddy

    hi, textpattern does the same features, except is actually flexible.

    symphony is for real bloggers/webzines/portfolios.

    the most used blogging platform is not wordpress. it is myspace.

  8. #8

    Smaran → smarandayal.com

    I love WordPress. Initially I used Blogger, but I quickly realised how limited it was and switched over to WP.

    Glenn, in my opinion, the Tiger Administration is nice and sleek looking, but not as user-friendly as the default interface.

    @ Diddy: I hope you’re joking, because that’s not true. The most used blogging platform is in fact WordPress. There was a study carried out which proved this. The blogging feature in MySpace cannot even be considered a blogging platform.

    Like Josh, I too host my blog on WordPress.com. I was hosting it myself but found it to be too much of a burden. I prefer leaving the hosting to professionals.

  9. #9

    Smaran → smarandayal.com

    I forgot to add that hosting my blog on WordPress.com has major drawbacks. Firstly, I cannot install any plug-ins or edit my theme. I have to choose one of the stock themes, which makes my blog look boring and impersonal. I can edit the CSS file, but only if I pay a hefty price of $15 per year, something that I find obscenely ludicrous.

    I’ve also bought a domain for my blog through WordPress.com. The sad thing is that I am not allowed to have an e-mail address at my domain or even create sub-domains for other sites of mine. It’s a very restricted and closed environment.

    Hopefully, I’ll soon be shifting my blog to a friend’s server (this is if they allow me to transfer my domain) and then I’ll be able to do whatever I like.

  10. #10

    Josh → maconlyreview.wordpress.com

    Oh don’t get me started on Myspace. It may well be the most used blogging platform but Wordpress/Blogger etc. are in a different league. Their users CAN blog, but many choose not to and I don’t think you can say it is the most popular blogging platform. And like many, I can’t stand that website.

  11. #11

    Alex Suraci → www.mynimalistic.net

    Once I get my site designed and ready I’ll be using mynimalistic, which is my own blogging engine I’ve been working on the past few years. It’s *extremely* lightweight, very themeable, and it’s filled with features and functionality - not to mention some very smooth AJAX. ;)

    There’s not much to see as a regular user, all the nifty AJAX stuff so far only admins can utilize, like in-page editing and deleting, the administration panel, logging in/out, etc.

    I love WordPress like anyone else but I simply find it too bloated. I much prefer to use something lightweight that I know how to work with since I took all that time to create it.

    If you’re wondering, it only takes up 5 folders & 3 files of directory structure, and 5 tables of MySQL. ;)

  12. #12

    tomnook10 → web.mac.com/tomnook10

    Very informative! But what if I want to use wordpress.com’s hosting services? Can I still use the Tiger Admin app?

  13. #13

    Shreedhan → appleication.com

    I’d be happy to test it Alex when it’s done. Sound great.

  14. #14

    Steffan Williams → www.steffanwilliams.co.uk/blog

    I started blogging using WordPress.com about two years ago. I then switched to Blogger, when my friend advised me that it was much better. How wrong he was.

    I’m now back to WordPress, but as student life seems to be a bit cheaper than I would have thought, I decided to buy some hosting and set up my blog with that. I’m glad I did, it’s much better than a free online account.

  15. #15

    Smaran → smarandayal.com

    @ Josh: MySpace sucks, I agree. Facebook is the place to be. :-)

    @ tomnook10: You need to host your own blog to use the Tiger Admin interface.

    @ Alex: Have you considered offering your self-built CMS for download? I for one wouldn’t mind a lighter setup.

  16. #16

    Tucker MacDonald → www.tuckermacdonald.com

    @Alex: I would love to try it as well :)

  17. #17

    DeathAxe → blog.deathaxe.net

    I tried most of the blogging engines, but no one is good as WordPress. I use K2 because it brings more features to WordPress and is more easy to customize.

  18. #18

    Michael → www.themaczone.net

    I’ve been using wordpres for some time now. I found it when I tried a bunch of other blogging platforms trying to find the one that suited my needs. I tried movable type, textpattern, blogger, drupal, b2evolution, nucleus cms and typepad and wordpress just fit perfectly and I’ve used it for several of my blogs, except my personal blog which I keep at Aeonity..

  19. #19

    bobby

    Wordpress for amateurs, Expression Engine for professionals…nuff said

  20. #20

    Arjun Muralidharan → www.cupofchai.net

    Hi Glenn, thanks for the Tiger Admin tip, never saw that before. Great thing. Expression Engine isn’t free so it isn’t worth it IMO unless you need it for some business solution. WP is flexible enough for any use I feel.

  21. #21

    Henry Hayes → vaguelyinteresting.com

    I have been thinking about installing the Tiger Admin on mine. I just did and I love. I started my blog about a week ago and I post about once a day. I found a cool theme that I really like.

  22. #22

    tomnook10 → web.mac.com/tomnook10

    @Smaran
    Thats what I thought. Thanks for the clarification!

  23. #23

    zzap → zzaps.com

    Yah, the Tiger Admin is really nice. I’ve been using it since the days Steve actually made it resemble OS X’s Tiger just a little bit.

    @Everyone who’s talking about it: Wordpress.com really sucks — compared to the other free alternatives that give you MySQL databases for Wordpress and FTP access (so you can actually mod the themes and put on whatever plugins and themes you want). I suggest people actually look around before going straight to Wordpress.com for hosting. You’ll be glad you did.

  24. #24

    Henry → vaguelyinteresting.com

    @zzap: Totally. Buy some good hosting (love Bluehost). You can use it for tons of stuff. Domains are really cheap at GoDaddy. I bought one for my blog.

  25. #25

    Brad → changingitall.com

    I agree, Wordpress is the best for a personal blog of any and all sorts. However, I recently discovered that Drupal is also a robust CMS system. Another great wordpress admin theme is SpotMilk by Sunghwa Park.

  26. #26

    Alex Suraci → www.mynimalistic.net

    Thanks for your interest, guys. I don’t have anything up on my site yet so I made an admin account for you guys to mess around on. Keep in mind that it’s quite buggy, I haven’t worked on it in a long time til tonight. Managed to lower MySQL load and remove an entire MySQL table in the process - down to 4 now. ;)

    http://www.alexsuraci.net/

  27. #27

    Steffan Williams → www.steffanwilliams.co.uk/blog

    @Smaran:
    Totally agree with the MySpace and Facebook stuff. I only joined Facebook because I was forced in to it by some friends and because it was, when I joined, University only. Oh well..

    @Henry:
    I wish I had bought my domains from GoDaddy.. especially now I’m so in to Diggnation - discount codes are great.

  28. #28

    Steffan Williams → www.steffanwilliams.co.uk/blog

    Had to comment because I completely forgot..

    @Alex Suraci:
    I love the minimalist and simple look to that site, Alex. Obviously it’s not finished (hehe), but it looks cool.

  29. #29

    Teddy → www.truebastardteddy.com/blog

    I like the design of WP Tiger Admin but I just can’t stick with it. It’s uploaded in my plugin folder but not activated. There is sometimes a slight lag before the WP Tiger Admin skin comes over top the original WP admin page and that kind of bothers me.

  30. #30

    Smaran → smarandayal.com

    @zzap: You’re completely right. WordPress.com is for real n00bs, those who can’t even set up WordPress on their own servers. If you haven’t tried it yet, trust me, it’s easy! As I said earlier, WordPress.com is too restrictive.

    @ Alex: Good job with the CMS, it’s pretty cool. Mynimalistic.

    @ Steffan: Same with me. But I joined after they opened it up to the public since my university wasn’t recognised, being in India and all. :-(

    @ Teddy: I noticed that too, it bothers me as well.

  31. #31

    Paul Stamatiou → paulstamatiou.com

    Even “archives/741″ is a permalink. A WP site w/o permalinks would have urls like “/index.php?p=102″.

    reference: http://paulstamatiou.com/2006/04/03/the-importance-of-permalinks/

  32. #32

    tomnook10 → web.mac.com/tomnook10

    Who is a good, reputable host that has Wordpress support, annd is cheap?

  33. #33

    DeathAxe → blog.deathaxe.net

    tomnook10: DreamHost is the best relatively cheap host that I know.

  34. #34

    DeathAxe → blog.deathaxe.net

    Smaran: If you don’t have money to spend on hosting, wordpress.com is a great place to host your blog. Sure, it’s restrictive but heh, it’s free :P

  35. #35

    Michael → www.themaczone.net

    I use Dreamhost and I have three wordpress blogs on the server. It’s pretty cheap and they give you a ton of space and bandwidth. Plus you can get coupon codes and get $97 off the first year so you end up getting a year of hosting for around $30.

  36. #36

    TBT’s Blog » Blog Archive » Activate These WordPress Plugins → www.truebastardteddy.com/blog/2007/01/03/activate-these-wordpress-plugins

    [...] Glenn Wolsey started an interesting series for his blog titled “Blogging 101″. He gives good general advice on the basic necessities of starting a blog including the right software platform. While I agree that WordPress is in fact the best blogging software out there for the same reasons that Glenn describes, I don’t think WP Tiger Administration 3.0 is the first plugin you should install. In fact, I wouldn’t really recommend it at all. Though the design of WP Tiger Admin is great and improves the look of the default WP admin page, there are some tiny nuisances about it that keeps the plugin unactivated for me. Whether it’s the tiny lag before the WP Tiger Admin skin comes over top the normal WP admin page or the fact that I’m perfectly content with the original WP admin theme, I just don’t think the plugin is all that worthwhile for a blog. So here are three plugins that I think would be more useful, if not necessary for a starting blog powered by WordPress. [...]

  37. #37

    DeathAxe → blog.deathaxe.net

    Just to tell that I just registered a web hosting plan with Dream Host. 22.40$ for a year, ton of space and bandwidth plus an excellent support.

  38. #38

    Henry → vaguelyinteresting.com

    A just put on K2 and am trying to make my own style. Anyway, I’m brand new to it and I was wondering if anyone could answer my amazingly stupid question. I have seen on many blogs running K2 a highlighted box with a headline. The best example I could find was here http://gigi.blogsport.de/k2-styles/ . How can I do this on my blog?

  39. #39

    Taylor → www.taylorsblog.com

    I used Wordpress on my first choice. I never really looked into anything else.

  40. #40

    Glenn Wolsey → www.glennwolsey.com

    For those looking for a host, I wouldn’t look further than Media Temples Grid-Servers.

  41. #41

    Smaran → smarandayal.com

    Glenn, your site is on Media Temple’s Grid-Servers and your blog’s database is down pretty often. Yannic and some other readers have noticed this too. Even though we get a discount at Media Temple being 9rules members and all, I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone. I say check out Dreamhost, they’re popular among A-List bloggers as well.

  42. #42

    Tucker MacDonald → www.tuckermacdonald.com

    I use 1and1. Really good features and storage for a very small price. Also, you can rely on their servers. Mine sites have never gone down.

  43. #43

    Josh → maconlyreview.wordpress.com

    Does anybody use Verev, owned by Michael? I’ve heard good things about them too and it’s where I might go when I put my blog up on a server

  44. #44

    Michael → www.themaczone.net

    Looks like verev has some pretty good low-end (starter) plans for someone who is going to set up their first hosting account or just wants a blog and doesn’t need a lot of space or bandwidth. 2 bucks a month isn’t bad but at some point you may to want to upgrade, need more space and may even move to a different host altogether, which is what I have done three times before I arrived at dreamhost. They recently increased storage space and bandwidth and it increases by the month. It’s likely more than you’ll ever need and like most hosts they have a simple one-click install of wordpress. I created a promo code (glennwolsey) for $97 off 1 year of hosting or a waived setup fee if you prefer monthly. You can also use this link: http://www.dreamhost.com/r.cgi?183717

  45. #45

    Henry → vaguelyinteresting.com

    I use BlueHost and they have never quit on me. For $7 a month, you get 20gb of hosting. They have fantastico, which saves a lot of time when building a blog.

  46. #46

    DeathAxe → blog.deathaxe.net

    I looked to verev but the 22 bucks plan from DreamHost is by far more interesting. The only thing I hate about DreamHost, it’s the admin panel.

  47. #47

    Steffan Williams → www.steffanwilliams.co.uk/blog

    With all the talk of different hosts, I was just wondering, when my hosting plan comes to its end I’m hoping to switch to a different host - how would one back up all of their Wordpress posts, comments and suchlike?

    I don’t have anything such as extra databases or custom stuff, just a simple Wordpress install that I’d be rather upset at if I lost.

    Cheers everyone.

  48. #48

    Steffan Williams → www.steffanwilliams.co.uk/blog

    I was just looking at the Media Temple website - the hosting really does look expensive! Am I just adding it up wrong, or is it really damn expensive for what it’s offering?

    I can’t even remember the name of my host but I only pay £50 for two years (about $100, I guess) and it really isn’t all that bad, for what I need. For just £10 extra, I get “unlimited” web space, too.

    I’m sure if I had more visitors than I do at the moment, however, my blog would crash and burn. That’s why I’m wondering about the Media Temple pricing.

  49. #49

    Taylor → www.taylorsblog.com

    @ Steffan:

    I do believe (someone correct me if I am wrong) that Wordpress has a feature in it that allows you to transfer Posts, Comments, etc. over to another Wordpress, even other things such as blogger. So my suggestion would be to get your new hosting a little before your current hosting ends (get Verev) and then transfer them.

  50. #50

    Steffan Williams → www.steffanwilliams.co.uk/blog

    @ Taylor:

    You are right, however I get an error whenever I click ‘WP Export’. Maybe I should be using the plugin that comes with it by default.. some form of backup.

    “WordPress MySQL database backup” in fact.

  51. #51

    Taylro → www.taylorsblog.com

    @ Steffan:

    Yeah. I do believe that would work. Not positive though.

  52. #52

    Are You New to Blogging? | Fighting to Stay Awake → thefightspot.com/2007/03/are-you-new-to-blogging

    [...] 101 - I, II, III, IV, [...]

  53. #53

    Der Korsti → korsti.uttx.net/blog/blogging/2007-04-30/eigenes-blog-aber-wie

    Eigenes Blog – aber wie?…

    Ich treibe mich ja schon einige Zeit in der Blog-Szene rum, blogge allerdings erst seit kurzem. Doch wie hab ich eigentlich angefangen? Auf welche Quellen stützt kann man sich stützen, wo gibt es hilfreiche Tipps und was sollte man auf jeden …

  54. #54

    Teddy Hwang » Blog Archive » Activate These WordPress Plugins → www.teddyhwang.com/blog/2007/01/03/activate-these-wordpress-plugins

    [...] He gives good general advice on the basic necessities of starting a blog including the right software platform. While I agree that WordPress is in fact the best blogging software out there for the same reasons [...]

  55. #55

    vedaClailla → pedrodido.0catch.com

    Hi, hello, privet
    extracapsularsurgery

  56. #56

    vikyi → equisetum.cn/allpills

    This is a great tutorial thanks!a

  57. #57

    mitesh → mitesh.webng.com

    I too agree. Wordpress is simply the best. Wordpress is always my first choice.

  58. #58

    glory → best10pills.com/buyonline

    I just wanted to say WOW!t

  59. #59

    reinluup@mail.ee → internett.freesite.org/free-lesbian-sample-movie-clip/free-lesbian-sample-movie-clip.html

    free lesbian sample movie clip e

  60. #60

    Reondipanna → www.dasofte.com

    Nice site keep it up!

    ————————————–
    http://www.dasofte.com

  61. #61

    Eigenes Blog - aber wie? » Der Korsti bloggt → korsti.de/blog/2007-04-30/eigenes-blog-aber-wie

    [...] Guide) Artikel „Wie starte ich ein Blog und mache es bekannt?“ und Glenn Wolseys Reihe „Blogging 101“ [...]

Your Comment