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Basic Steps to Post on a Wordpress Blog

I thought I would post some more indepth directions on posting to a Wordpress Blog. Once you learn the steps and do it a couple of times it is really pretty easy. I am going to be approaching posting from the perspective of using the Blog Software’s own built in text editor.

Step 1: Login

You have to be logged into the Blog in order to write a post.  You can click on either: Site Admin (top of the page) or Login towards the bottom of the right column:

Step 2: Enter Username/Password

Just enter your Username and Password that I sent to you.

Step 3: Click on “Write”

You next need to click on “Write” at the top of the page.

Step 4: Write Your Post

Write your Post/text and include any pictures that you want. You will automatically be in the “Write Post” section after clicking on “Write” in step 3 above.

Step 5: Select a Category

Selecting a Category is important for website visitors to be able to find your post in the future. You can select as many (or few) as you want.  The category can be selected from “Category” on the right side of your screen (click on the + symbol to open or expand it):

Step 6: “Publish”

When you are done writing your post, just click on the “Publish” button and the post will be automatically added to the Blog. Thats it… your done!

Good luck with your Blogging!

Matthew

Make Your Blogging Easier!

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?

1. It is much quicker to update your blogs, especially if you have more than one blog.
2. They often have MANY more features than the built in editors.
3. 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.
4. Most external editors work with many different brands of blogging software.
5. 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:

1. 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.
2. 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!

How to Pick Blogging Software

How do you go about picking one of the many different blogging software packages currently offered?

I just recently began experimenting with several different blog software packages. I looked at: blogger.com, typepad, B2evolution, Wordpress, and a couple of others. If you just want to have a blog online without having to pay, www.blogger.com is nice. It offers several different options. It also offers the ability to move it to your own server in the future it you decide to. The drawback of doing so though is you may lose a lot of your regular traffic.

I recommend that you purchase your own domain name (only costs about $8.00 or so). Having your own web host and domain name means that you have many more options available to your (and many more features and plugins to choose from!). I don’t get any kickbacks… but I recommend purchasing your domain name through Godaddy. Godaddy offers a good price and the ability to “point” the domain to any web host you choose. In fact, they offer free hosting if you can’t afford a web host (though it comes with an ad at the top of the finished web page… ).

My Two Favorite Stand-alone (Server Installed) Blogger Packages:

After looking at several that were difficult to install or that cost extra money, I found two that I liked a lot: B2evolution and Wordpress.

Both have extra plugins that can be installed to increase the functionality of the software. Wordpress though has a much larger community of users, site template designs, and plugins. The one feature that B2evolution has that Wordpress doesn’t have is the ability to have several blogs on one template (Wordpress now has “Wordpress Mu 1.0″ but each blog is separate and not on the same template).

Wordpress seems to be a little more user friendly on the “backend” where new posts are added. There are also many, many more free templates, and plugins to choose from than with B2evolution. In the end, after playing with both for many hours, I have standardized my sites on Wordpress (now version 2.05). Wordpress offers the ability to make as many extra static “Pages” as you desire. If you look at the top navigation menu for WCZone.com you will see the pages (tabs). You could really design an entire website using Wordpress if you wanted to.

Which Template Should I Use?

Find a good template is easy (well, given enough time… there are more than 600 different designs at the wordpress.org website.. all with demo’s to choose from). I was torn about which to use… but after trying out dozens, settled on one called “K2.” “K2” might look a little plain at first. I like the horizontal page tabs though. It is also very easy to add your own site logo/banner to the top of the page. The thing that really drew me to K2 though was all the extra built in functionality: rolling archives, live search, and a really nice “side column” functionality. You are able to customize allmost all aspects of the template without having to use Dreamweaver or another webdesign package. Desiding on what should appear in the side column is as easy as “drag and drop.” Names, etc. can all be customized in just a few minutes… without having to look at the code! The installation of Wordpress only takes about 5 minutes. I can install and customize (If I already have the logs/banner done) the site in about 25 minutes.

Permalinks: Wordpress does an excellent job of using permanent, search engine friendly links (very easy to customize).

Conclusion:

My first recommendation would be Wordpress. My second recommendation would be B2evolution.

What is your favorite blog software and why?