A web log, also known as a "blog" for short, is like an online diary or journal for some, on online multimedia center, article or news announcer and more to others. Basically text-based, blogs are easy to update with posts, and depending upon the type of blog, fairly easy to maintain.
If you choose to set up your own blog with software in your web hosting package, for example, you generally chose a Wordpress blog. Wordpress offers a variety of templates, however, not all templates are compatible with all plug-ins or modules you may want to incorporate into your blog like RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds. So you would either have to learn the skills needed to update your blog as technology and the Internet advance, or you would need to hire help to do this for you so that your blog keeps up with the times.
Blog Content and Features
Regardless of whether or not you hire help with your blog set-up and maintenance, there are many features and benefits for both bloggers and website visitors. For example, many authors can contribute to a blog’s content. So you can set up multiple authors to allow posting access for each one.
Plus you can post multimedia on your blog. Upload digital images, full color graphics, photos and animations, even add audio and video. Helpful for promoting both your business and personal materials, you can share photos as well as presentations that focus on your products, services and any other related information online. Powerful tools for sharing and advertising, blogs are well liked by both search engines and people.
No Experience Necessary
Even if you have no experience operating a static web site, you will find that nearly any type of content can be presented on a blog. Businesses and individuals share stories about trips to in-depth discussions about world politics. And as an added bonus, most blogs even allow website visitors, also known as bloggers, to post their own replies to your blog content or entries, leaving feedback for the blog host to approve or delete as he or she sees fit.
Depending upon the blog tools, other blog features can include:
- Customizable blog templates that can be helpful for creating an attractive display of your content quick and easy.
- The means to incorporate Google™ Ad sense into the blog to generate additional income, helpful for covering your blog hosting fees.
- Additional ways of promotion and SEO (search engine optimization) solutions like adding small banners with interactive links to sidebars.
- A tool for IP banning so that spammers and other troublesome website guests are not able to post unwanted messages to your blogs.
- Subscriber form boxes plus RSS news feeds to enable your blog visitors to return plus inform them automatically of your new blog content.
- And area with blog statistics so that you can review the number of people reading each of your posts.
- Hot keys so that the administrator of your blog can use repeat phrases when posting replies on the blog.
- Automatic email messages when people leave comments and feedback on your blog.
- Survey tools for interaction with your blog guests and help for your future content creation.
- Remote blog capability so you can post directly through your email or a handheld device.
In summary, a blog can be an easy, fast and fun way to establish an online presence with the right blog tools and / or help. With so many awesome features for both blog guests and blog operators to use, it’s no wonder that blogs are so popular today!
