Posted by Matt - November 11, 2006 on 12:13 am | In Blogging Software |
Many of you reading this may have your own blogs. Most of you have found that the built in (the included) editor of most blog software systems lacks a lot of the basic abilities that you find in very basic word processors. Some of the “big names” such as word press don’t even give you the ability to change the color of your fonts, and other functionality.
I looked at several different add-on products that have the potential of making your blogging life easier. You have the option of choosing between editors that take the place of the built in editor within your blogging software and the other option (my preference!) of using an “external” editor (an external editor works sort of like opening a wordprocessor on your computer - instead of saving to your harddrive, you just post it by hitting a button to your blog.
Why do I prefer an external editor?
- It is much quicker to update your blogs, especially if you have more than one blog.
- They often have MANY more features than the built in editors.
- You can type draft posts and save them to your computer until you are ready to post them online. This could be useful for instance if you are traveling - you don’t have to be online to write the post.
- Most external editors work with many different brands of blogging software.
- Extra “functionality” through free plugin’s. Some external editors such as Microsoft’s free “Live Writer” have dozens of free plugin’s to expand their functionality.
Drawbacks of External Editors:
- The end user may find it more difficult to learn. I have found that it is often easier to show new users how to post new posts by using the simple built in editor. As the user develops more confidence and understanding they can then be shown how to use an external editor.
- If you have more than one editor, you don’t have to install the software on everyone’s computer who might be submitting content/posts.
My Favorite “built-in” editor:
While there are many free eternal editors, there are not very many easy to use and install internal editors. One that I have tried and that has a great deal of functionality is: Wysiwygpro. It currently costs about $39.99, but includes the ability to design tables, and is very professional. If you do a lot of blogging, and do not want to use an external editor, give Wysiwygpro a try.
Which External Editor Do I Choose?
I download, installed, and tried using many different external editors. My final four are: Microsoft Live Writer, Zoundry Blog Writer, W.Bloggar, and BlogJet.
I listed them in order of preference:
- Microsoft Live Writer is free and by far the widest variety of plug-ins available. The ability to add a drop shadow to pictures without having to open a photo editing program is great! Another plug-in I like is the “map” feature: Adding a “live” map is really easy. The layout and ease of use of Live Writer make it easy to recommend to both new and advanced blogger’s.
- Zoundry Blog Writer is also free. It seems to be especially focused on “standards” and allows for using accessible text rather than fixed sized text. For those with a little more experience with word processing programs or blogging, I really like this one.
- W.Bloggar is recommended by some (and is free). The draw back for many will be the lack of a “WYSIWYG” interface (I.E. you are in code view while entering your text… which some won’t like because you see all the html code). I would recommend either of the first two before this one.
- BlogJet has some interesting features. It is the only paid external editor that made my top 4. BlogJet is currently in version 1.6, but the website is offering a free upgrade to version 2 which should be out in a month or so. While it lacks some functionality now, the upcoming version 2 looks pretty neat. I’m not sure if it will offer enough functionality to make it worth buying when there is good free editors available. If I think so after trying out the new version 2 after its released I’ll let you know.
Which ever external editor you choose, using a external editor will make your blogging easier and more efficient.
Do you have a comment or question about blogging add-ons? Which editor is your favorite? Tell me!
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