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Sunday, 12 October 2008

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Blogging with Word Press

By:Matthew C. Keegan

I only entered the blogosphere in late 2005 after realizing that I was missing out on an important part of the whole “online communication” genre. As I had been busy managing forums, web sites, and writing articles, I soon realized that I could firm up my two niches – aviation and article writing – by blogging on these topics regularly. With that in mind, I soon launched a pair of blogs and I am very happy with my decision. I selected Word Press as I believe that they offer one of the best blogging communities out there. Are you a blogger? If not, why not?

My decision to go with Word Press and not with one of the other big blogging entities such as Blogger, had everything to do with my having complete control over the site. Since I host with Powweb, I discovered that my web hosting company offers over thirty different software downloads for its members. Word Press and a few other blogging entities are represented, but I selected Word Press due to the recommendation of a friend.

Within two or three minutes of my download, I had Word Press up and running. In less than thirty minutes, I had the layout I wanted, although I kept the traditional template in place as I knew I wanted to work on my content first and on the design later. Next, I updated the links on my two related sites to reflect a “Blog” tab. In addition, I picked a few places within each site to announce the new blogs and I emailed everyone on my members list to inform them of my entrance into the world of blogs.

If you select Word Press as your blogging platform, you will soon discover that Version 2.0 was recently released. Because I am new to blogging, I haven’t yet updated from my downloaded version, 1.5. I want to first make certain that Word Press has worked out any kinks that may be in the updated version. In addition, not all the plug-ins you can use [there are plenty of them] with 1.5 are compatible with 2.0 just yet. Most are, but some still are not.

Beyond the update issues, I enjoy using the administrative “dashboard” which allows me to create each blog. Because I include pictures with one of my blogs, Jet Movements, I also have to make certain that the HTML I use to put each picture in its place [alignment] is exact. Word Press allows for you to do that.

In addition, I like the fact that Word Press allows administrators to schedule their entries. You can blog today, but schedule your submission to appear online at an appointed time several days away. Since much of my writing inspiration comes in bunches, I often will tackle several days worth of entries at once and spread them out over the coming week. If I want to later change the timing of an entry or squeeze in a separate one, I can do that too.

Word Press is current with today’s web standards and looks much cleaner and professional than some of its competitors. You can change the template over to one that is in the Word Press arsenal or design a template yourself and upload it to your site instead.

Yes, Word Press is designed to be set up through your own web host, but if you do not have a web site, you can get a free account through Web Press and they will host it for you.

Although Word Press is an “open source” community, meaning it is derived from and driven by volunteers, they have an active forum and many helpful links to assist you with building and maintaining your own blog.

Obviously, I am a very satisfied Word Press customer. You can be a satisfied blogger too whether you select Word Press through your web host or host your blog directly with them.

Article Source: http://www.dailynewarticles.com

Copyright 2006 – For additional information regarding Matt Keegan, www.thearticlewriter.com/service.htm”>The Article Writer, please visit his www.thearticlewriter.com/blog.htm”>blog for wit, quips, and freelance writing tips.