Blogging software/sites

[TimW]

Howdy

I've been reading up on various blogging sites and software and such....Blogspot, Wordpad, Typepad, etc. I can't imagine that they are all the same, so anyone got any resources or URLs to point to the main differences?

I am looking to start a general blog, one for my current business (military and police gear, but with some politics tossed in since it fits the industry), and another blog kind of connected to what I am doing now, but not directly related...more of a "here's how I did what I am doing now" type of blog where I can also relate advice, etc., for those looking to get into online retailing....that sort of thing.

[jott]

Tim,

I myself am a major fan of Wordpress. I originally began with a blogger account but then imported it over to Wordpress. Entering posts is very easy and if you want to add graphic/visual pictures it is as easy as simply getting a photobucket account and posting pics on there to transfer over.

Also, if you are wanting to direct a lot of traffic to your blog I would recommend buying a domain name such as policegear.com, etc to host your blog. I recently made the move myself. And while not being a professional coder, Wordpress made it easy in the fact that they actually offer a job posting section where you can post jobs or tasks you may need done to your blog.

Hope I dont sound too biased, but WP is deffinatly an option to look into. Best of luck to you.

_______________________________________________

LIFEJOTTER (http://www.lifejotter.org) - The art of lifestyle design, written from an entrepreneur's perspective

[TimW]

Tim,

Also, if you are wanting to direct a lot of traffic to your blog I would recommend buying a domain name such as policegear.com, etc to host your blog.

Interesting and I'll look into WP. I've had an online retail presence since 2002, so I'll have to check to see if I can't somehow host it there, since combining the two is the ultimate goal, with one hopefully feeding the other traffic.

As for the e-comm guide version, I may follow up with that idea....

Thanks again.

[webgal]

Okay, I looked in my host today for blogs. I'm researching this as well. These were the easy 3 second downloads.

b2evolution
Nucleus
WordPress

I loved b2evolution but you have to upload a mod to get captcha for the comments. Not that big of a deal but you'd have to do it right away before the spammers found the blog.

I really liked nucleus and it came with captcha.

Wordpress site wasn't as well organized and I wasn't as nuts about it. But since it's so popular, it's likely to have lots of extras and it might be more search engine friendly.

[Marcie]

I personally found wordpress to be rather glitchy. A lot of my fellow students in the class I am taking felt the same way - but I do think it's considered to be a lot more "scalable" - as with anything, the more features it has the more room there is for bugs. I only have experience with blogger (blogspot) otherwise, which is very user-friendly, but you are limited on some things (mostly design-wise)

HTH!
Marcie

[TimW]

I want to thank you all for your assistance and reviews. Additionally, I'd like to give back to you, via a link given me by the woman who runs the hosting service that hosts my online ecommerce store. Contains a very nice comparison matrix of the various blogging tools and software. This is from 1986, but should give a good starting point.

Enjoy.

http://www.ojr.org/ojr/images/blog_software_comparison.cfm

TimW
Phoenix

[webgal]

I found that chart the other day. It's a bit behind but it helped me segment the important stuff and check on it.

1986? Was there an internet then? Maybe the precursor one with no graphics and just a "gopher". I think you mean 1996? I'm having a grand time poking fun at you TimW, I hope you have a good sense of humor.

Anyway, I'm leaning towards nucleus. I think you're right, Marcie. Wordpress is just not working for me. I like the layout of the nucleus templates and altering them doesn't look too hard.

[ChiTowner]

Wordpress is the way to go! With the huge number of free themes (templates) and plugins which provide a great amount of additional functionality, there's no reason to go for any other software, imho. Especially if your hosting service provides Wordpress installation.

http://lorelle.wordpress.com/
provides a great Wordpress resource, e.g. themes, plugin and blogging in general

http://www.wpdesigner.com/
provides really good looking free themes, plus info on how to modify them

http://weblogtoolscollection.com/
info on the latest releases of free themes and plugins

Also check out for more themes
http://www.blogstheme.com/

I think that TimW's table is either out-of-date or misleading. Pretty much every 'no' in the Wordpress column is present in the software or available in a free plugin, e.g. photo galleries, captchas-like functionality. FYI, Wordpress already comes with Akismet, the spam comment blocker

hope that helps
Debbie E

[TimW]

Oops.

Chart was from May 18, 2006. Guess I combined a few numbers. :)

Besides, what a couple of decades amongst friends? :D


The one thing I see in the WordPress thing, that I can't tell if it's still an issue, is the ability to have more than one blog.


Basically, I need/want 1 blog for my business and another (at least) for my e-commerce guide site. Short of having it installed twice, can WP do that? I know they have a WP Multi-User version, but I don't know that I need THAT kind of scalability. :)

[webgal]

Hey, anyone can be a couple of decades off, Tim. Consider it overlooked. I wish I knew the answer T but I would think there's a way for WP to do multi user. I know html, eCommerce and forum software, but blind on the blog thing. Working on that one.

I've not decided anything yet. I don't have to download it today. Thanks for the links ChiTowner. I'll take a look.

[TimW]

Did you just call me "T"?

Wow. I feel so hip now. Guess I'll have to break out the Grecian formula to cover up my unhipness. ;)

I know jack-all (being polite, but those who understand British English will get that...) about software in general. I run a business. I hire people to do this stuff for me. :)

[webgal]

well I found a comparison between nucleus and wp.

Nucleus vs Wordpress (http://jaros.ezin.cz/item/nucleus-cms-versus-wordpress)

[TimW]

well I found a comparison between nucleus and wp.

Nucleus vs Wordpress (http://jaros.ezin.cz/item/nucleus-cms-versus-wordpress)

Did you find the Czech to Engligh translator, too?

[webgal]

:D

I speak Czech. Don't you?

[TimW]

Nah, it was the one language I skipped in highs school. If he'd done it in Aramaic...


not. :)

[webgal]

Sanskrit is my very favorite.

I am finding some WP templates with two column and the menu on the left. For some reason menu on the right is weird.

The feature I think is a great one in WP is the ping. You can ping the server of several services. You do have to add a captcha mod.

[TimW]

I want to be able to place ads on my ecommerce blog...does WP allow ad networks?

[webgal]

Good Lord I would hope so T. How lazy is that that I did not even type a THREE LETTER NAME? Tim, Tim, Tim. Okay, I made up for it. And I don't need Grecian formula, I have a great hair colorist that has made my hair the color it was 10 years ago without creating a total "out of the bottle" look. That's why I can't travel for more than five weeks. I have to get back to my hair colorist. Maybe she'll go with me?

Hey, I'm hip? Cool. And I just might be older than you are. I'm certainly older than most on this forum. In fact, I think most of the membership still has formula stains on their clothing.

I'm off to make sure that ads can be added to WP. I am an Ad "ho". Can't be blogging without that feature enabled. But then a lot of open source is geared to functionality and lags way behind in the marketing part. It's almost like the advertising part is some after thought. Sorry to all the geeks out there. I love you, I really do. But layout, navigation planning and advertising are not specialties of the programming crowd.

Anybody out there have a Wordpress blog with ads on it?

[TimW]

As for age...I watched Armstrong land on the moon (I was nine...you should be able to do some rudimentary arithmetic), saw Nixon resign, remember the hostages being taken in Iran and reading about the raid on Entebbe. I could go on, but you get my drift. :D

I am not a programmer. Don't want to be. I want easy. Frakkin' coding shouldn't be necessary. If I wanted to be a programmer that's what I would have done. I like to muse, ponder and write about my ponderous musings. Not code.

Coding is of The Devil, of that I am certain.


TimW
Phoenix

:D

[webgal]

TimW. Forgot the w. Geez. And not for one second did I think YOU were a programmer. I was apologizing to those on this forum who are. I work with enough programmers to pretty much spot them right off the bat. by the way, someone fluent in Aramaic should be able to decipher a bit of computer code for gosh sakes.

Okay, when Armstrong landed on the moon, I was 7. And I can't really see your teeny, tiny signature above. I don't have my reading glasses which, of course, have become necessary due to some sort of pull in the atmosphere between the tides and how the stars are lining up. I can assure you is has NOTHING to do with my age.

[TimW]

I was almost 6 when Armstrong took that Giant Leap for Mankind.

TimW
Phoenix

and still without reading glasses ;)

[webgal]

and still without reading glasses ;)

Hey admin, TimW is making girls cry.

I happen to look very SMART when I wear my reading glasses.

[TimW]

I never implied otherwise. I am certain you look very smart, in all contexts, shade, meanings and nuances of the word.

Better?

Tim "the glassesless" W
Phoenix