Set Up Your Own Blog Free
Author: harjeetkaur
I’ve received a lot of email lately from people asking how they can set up their own blogs for family, friends, or business purposes without spending much money or hiring an expensive programmer or web developer.
Well, ask no more because I will now show you exactly how to get your own blog without dipping too far into your own pocket (if at all) and get up and running, even if you don’t have your own website, hosting account, or domain name.
You basically get two choices when it comes to setting up a blog: host it yourself, or use a service that hosts the blog for you.
Each one carries advantages based on your level of skill, experience and how many options you want to add to your blog.
If you choose to host your blog on your own website, then you can pick from a number of different options, including MoveableType.org and WordPress.org.
However, if you don’t want to host it yourself, you can also go to Yahoo.com, put in the term “free blog” and obtain a long list of services that will host a blog for you, either free of charge or for a fee.
Probably the best-known free blog service resides at Blogger.com
Recently purchased by Google; Blogger boasts thousands of blogs on topics ranging from ecommerce to pet manners.
Blogger enables you to set up a functional blog in about 5 minutes and start posting your thoughts, rants, or family facts with the world.
Log on to http://Spaces.MSN.com and find another free option offered by Microsoft’s online service, MSN.
This service makes it a bit easier to share photos than Blogger, which requires a separate software tool called Picasa (also available from Google for free).
MSN’s blogger service also seems to appeal more to individuals sharing their thoughts than to businesses trying to scare up new customers or get their links crawled by search engine spiders (another advantage of publishing a blog).
So if you’re publishing the family blog, this one might offer more of the user-friendly options you need.
The one drawback to using free services always comes back to the age-old saying, “You get what you pay for!”
These free blog services come with virtually zero customer support, so if you can’t figure it out on your own, good luck finding anyone to assist you.
If you don’t mind paying a month, you can get a full-featured weblog at TypePad.com that offers a decent level of customer support.
The blogs available here offer many more features than Blogger or MSN, but also require you to understand a bit more about logging’s more advanced features like “trackback links” and “pinging” blog directories to let them know you’ve updated your blog (so others can come take a look at your new material).
Regardless of whether you choose the free or paid option, using a hosted blogging solution rates best when getting started.
However, once your blog really starts to take off and you find you need more “bells and whistles,” you may want to consider upgrading to a more sophisticated blogging solution.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/online-education-articles/set-up-your-own-blog-free-360771.html
About the Author
www.greateducationonline.com
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-1
I have my yahoo blog, but have also used livejournal and myspace. I prefer my Y360 to the others so I have quit blogging on the others. It is too overwhelming to retype everything into all of them anyway. I have no idea how many people read my blog on a regular basis. I blog for myself, use it as a way to express what I am feeling or what I am doing, going through, etc! If it brings entertainment to someone else then great! So with that my blogging works for me.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-2
First question: Do you want one for free, with relatively limited flexibility, or do you want to buy your own site?
If you want a free one, there are several sites that will give you space; Blogspot (adopted by Google) and WordPress are probably the two biggest, but there are others.
If you want to buy a site, you’ll need both a domain name and a hosting account. You can often get both from the same vendor. (I use DreamHost, but there are hundreds of others.) Cost per year is typically less than $100.
Either way, unless you want to code your own HTML, as I did from 1996 to 2002, you’ll want to look into some blog software. I use WordPress myself, after years with Movable Type. Blogger, as used on Blogspot, is available for this use also. I have friends who use Expression Engine. Cost ranges from zero to nominal.
And once everything is in place, you’ll stare at your edit screen and ask yourself, “What do I do now?” Believe me, you will: after 14,000 posts, I still do that. Do not be discouraged. If you have the urge to write, you will write. You can’t *not* write.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-3
Tutoring, child care, pet sitting, dog walking, web design, information researcher, freelance project coordinator.
There is also a company called West At Home Agent that is legitimate they are an online call center for clients such as direct tv, home shopping network, etc. They pay like 10 cents or more per minute– not a lot of $$$, but it’s legit work at home. I was going to do it until I found out how much they pay for beginners.
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-4
Blogger.com
you can also promote your blog on my site when you get it active
http://promobloglist.blogspot.com/
November 30, -0001
12:00 am #comment-5
You have complete control over your blog and you have to pay for that
June 7, 2006
12:50 am #comment-6
Do you have your own blog? How many readers do you have? Do blogs work?
Do you have your own blog? What is it about? Frankly, how many people in this whole wide world regularly read your blog? Do blogs work or are you giving up bloging?
January 5, 2009
5:39 pm #comment-7
How do you start your own blog?
how do you start your own blog
August 19, 2009
9:26 am #comment-8
How do you start a blog? How do you get your own blog site or page?
Is there a way you can have your own blog site instead of contributing to one already made.. I have no idea how a blog works? How do you pay for it? How do you start one? Please help! It would be much appreciated! Thank you!
February 9, 2010
9:38 am #comment-9
What is better… starting your own blog or going through a site like ehow, hub pages, and associated content?
I was wondering what is more worth your time and what earns more money. Working for one of the above companies, or others, or starting your own blog. Or should do both and link your articles and everything? Thanks. No stupid spam work from home scams either please.
February 19, 2010
7:44 pm #comment-10
What advantages, if any, are there to hosting your own blog versus having a blog hosted on Blogger.com?
In other words, putting, say, WordPress (or ANY blog software) on your own site, versus the simplicity of using Blogger.com that sets it up for you in seconds. I figure I can just put a link on my site or a menu option which launches my blog on Blogger.com. Any thoughts? Thanks for your help!