Build Your Blog!

Want to have your own blog?
In this material you will learn step by step how to make a blog.

I will present you 3 solutions for building a blog:
1. using Blogger.com
2. using WordPress
3. using Joomla

1. Using Blogger.com (www.blogger.com)

Blogger.com was launched in August 1999 by Evan Williams and Meg Hourihan (Pyra Labs) and purchased by Google in February 2003.
Blogger.com is one of the most popular solutions for blogging.

To use Blogger.com you must make an account on the site. This is easy, simply fill a short online form with your email address, name, username and password.

You will get access to dashboard, the place from where you create blogs and manage them. Click create a new blog and choose a blog title (must be unique) and a blog address. I suggest putting your keywords in the blog title and address.

After that just choose a template that you like and you have your blog.

Blogger strengths:
• Is free
• Open source
• Easy to use
• Don’ t need a domain name or a web host
Blogger weakness is that you can loose the information from your blog. So keep every post on your hard disk.

Example of blogs build with Blogger: http://affiliatesecretsrevealed.blogspot.com, a blog about affiliate marketing and http://funnygiftideas.blogspot.com a blog about funny gifts.

2. Using WordPress (www.wordpress.org)

WordPress is publishing software with a focus on easy of use, speed and a great user experience.
WordPress is a powerful personal publishing platform, and it comes with a great set of features designed to make your experience as a publisher on the Internet as easy, pleasant and appealing as possible.

For using WordPress you must have a domain name and hosting.
To find a good web hosting service visit www.web-hosting-advisor.info.
If your hosting service has the cpanel application installing WordPress is very easy: just go to cpanel, Fantastico, WordPress, and click install. Just follow the info on the screen.

If you don’t have cpanel don’t worry, download the install kit from http://wordpress.org/download. You can find WordPress online manual on http://codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page.
Read the manual and follow the instruction, installation is simple.

WordPress strengths:
• Is free
• Easy to use
• Powerful
Weakness WordPress demands minimal computer knowledge.

Example of blogs build with WordPres: www.plasmatelevisionadvice.info a blog about plasma television advice, tips, shopping guide and www.gadgets-club.com a blog for gadget fans.

3. Using Joomla (www.joomla.org)

Joomla is a free, open source portal solution.
With Joomla you can build a portal and a blog.
Joomla is recommended for a person who wants more than a blog.

You must have a domain name and hosting to be able to install Joomla.
Installing Joomla is very easy: just download the install kit from http://forge.joomla.org/sf/frs/do/viewRelease/projects.joomla/frs.joomla_1_0.1_0_12, upload it on your server and click install.
Follow the on screen instructions you and will do fine.

Joomla strengths:
• Is free
• Open source
• Easy to install
• Builds an entire website, not just a blog
Weakness of Joomla in the complexity. It may take a while to learn how to use it.

Example of blogs build with Joomla: http://www.giftideasblog.net a blog that presents cool gift ideas and http://www.killdeal.info/content/blogsection a blog about hot offers and kill deals.

Now it is up to you to choose the solution that fits you best.