Start a Wordpress Blog on Your Own Site - Part 2: Why Wordpress?
Monday, October 15th, 2007 at 1:33 am
In part one of this five-part series on Wordpress DIY, we took a look at finding web hosting. What I really enjoyed is that readers gave their two cents’ worth at the end. When reading blogs, I often find that some of the most valuable content is found in comments. I’m hoping this trend will continue, so I’m going to keep this brief and then open the floor to you…
When deciding on a blogging platform, there are roughly 3 categories to choose from:
- Online blogging service
If you want to set up a quick and easy blog, this is your solution. The blogging software is already installed and hosted on the service provider’s site, so you don’t have to worry about technicalities. Of course this means there are limits to personalising and extending your blog.
A few examples of free blogging services are MySpace, Blogger.com, LiveJournal, Tumblr, Yahoo! 360°, Windows Live Spaces and Wordpress.com (don’t get confused - Wordpress offers this free an online option as well). See Mashable’s list of free blog hosts for more options.
More sophisticated blogging services such as the popular Typepad, come at a price. - Installing your own blog
This is a little more tricky because it requires you to buy a domain name and hosting package, then install blogging software on the server. Movable Type and Wordpress are two of the more popular examples of such software. If your web host does not offer a “one-click” automated option, installing Wordpress can be fairly complicated, because it requires you to create a MySQL database on the server and tweak some settings. You will need an FTP client to transfer the folders and files from your computer to the server.
Once the blog is installed, it is simple to update and manage. Using a normal internet browser, you log into the control panel from where you are able to write, edit, post and manage all content without having to use an FTP client.
Having said that, the allure of running a Wordpress blog on your own website lies in the complete control it gives you over the design and functionality of your blog. It is no surprise that Wordpress is favoured by many designer- and techie types. To get the most value out of Wordpress, you should be prepared to “pop the hood” and get your hands dirty with some PHP template code and CSS.
If web development is not your bag, Wordpress remains a powerful tool for blogging, but you may fare equally well using one of the services mentioned above. - Code your own blogging CMS
If you have ‘em mad scripting skills, why bother with Wordpress?
These three categories can all be sub-divided into hundreds of others, but this should help you decide whether starting a Wordpress blog on your own site is for you. In the next part, we’re going to discuss installing Wordpress, so if you suffer from the fear of missing out, subscribe to the RSS feed.
So, over to you… Why Wordpress?
Ryan Says:
October 15th, 2007 at 3:26 am
Because it is ridiculously easy to use, easy to customise, comes with heaps of community developed plugins and themes and it runs nice and quick. Basically, a complete noob can handle it no problem at all. Even template customisation is a breeze with WordPress.
The other major reason to use WordPress is that it seems to be the up and coming blogging software. It is rapidly improving and even if it can’t do exactly what you ‘d like it do now, chances are in a years time the development team or the community will have come up with something to suit your needs.
Julia Says:
October 15th, 2007 at 11:42 am
I agree with Ryan! It’s so easy, and you can customize anything you want, as soon as you get the hang of template tags. With widget-ready themes, it’s even easier to change your content without getting near the code. I don’t have any 1337 scripting skillz, I wish I had, so this is the best way to have a blog!
portable webmaster Says:
October 15th, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Hello,
For me i’m using e107 cms, it’s very handy and very easy to use.
You check out here: http://freeportableapps.info/news.php
Please if you have any remark or comment feel free to notice me ;)
redwall_hp Says:
October 15th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
I’m a total Wordpress maniac. I could build my own CMS if I had to, but where’s the sense in that when I could something as great and easy to use as Wordpress?
Matthean Says:
October 16th, 2007 at 12:16 am
I am working on having done all three. I hand coded a site way back in the day. By the time WP was in beta I was looking to switch over. Once 1.0 hit I used WP on my own hosted site. I got away from web development, so I let that site go. I recently got back into it, and went and got a WP blog hosted by them. I am now working on actually learning PHP and MySQL for freelance type work, so a blog/cms type tool is pretty much a no brainer. WP is great, wonderful, the big 800lb. gorilla of blogging, and all that, but in all honesty I use maybe 1/3rd of the stuff I could on it. Can I add, edit, and delete content, have a feed, and have my info secure? Anything else is just gravy for me really.
Blogsolid Says:
October 16th, 2007 at 11:20 am
I’m no programmer, but I managed to figure out how to use template tags pretty quickly. It’s definitely not “rocket science” :)
Hi Matthean. Sounds like you’ve been round the blog. Sorry, lame joke, I know. Interesting that you and redwall prefer using WP over writing your own systems. I guess it makes sense as WP already has all the bells and whistles.
Improve Your Blog and Web Site - Need to Read Posts #6 | The Fatty Talks by Adam Hirsch Says:
October 17th, 2007 at 12:19 am
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BlogBuzz October 20, 2007 » Webmaster-Source Says:
October 20th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
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FAHIEC.com Says:
October 21st, 2007 at 5:09 pm
That really cool!
ForumViaggiare Says:
October 28th, 2007 at 12:24 pm
Also in Italy Wordpress is the bloggers best choise for its power and simplicity.
001Dark Says:
November 26th, 2007 at 11:16 pm
hi i’m from russia :)
u blog cool useful, may post u inf. on my site ?
Blogsolid Says:
November 26th, 2007 at 11:21 pm
Hi 001Dark. I’m glad you find Blogsolid useful. You are welcome to post a link to Blogsolid on your site, but please don’t copy this content :)
Imar
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Blogsolid » Blog Archive » Start a Wordpress Blog on Your Own Site - Part 1: Finding the Right Host Says:
January 24th, 2009 at 11:55 am
[…] Part two of this series. […]