If you haven’t read part 1 about what a blog is and why setting up a blog might be right for you, then click [here] to read that post first. A link will be available at the bottom of the post to redirect you back to this one.
Okay, so you know what a blog is, you’ve thought about what you want to write your blog about, so the next step is to take the plunge and actually start writing a blog!
I have been blogging for about 2 years now and whilst my original blog may not have survived I have learned a lot about the process of getting started and I used various blogging sites which means I now have some knowledge about which I think are good, which I don’t like and which may be better for you depending on your level of computer literacy.
My first bit of advice is do not worry, there will be a website out there that is right for you, you just need to find it. So, with that in mind let’s have a look at the 4 blogging sites I have used:
1. Tumblr When I first started out I asked a friend who was already an established blogger which website she thought would be best for me to use. She recommended a few but said that Tumblr may be the best to start with as it is the most user friendly. I took her advice and in terms of learning how to blog I think she was absolutely right. This website is very easy to set up and use, everything is in a really easy to find and logical place. You don’t need to have any ‘coding’ knowledge and to some extents it reminds me of Facebook but instead of having pictures and apps and all that, you’re just posting longer statuses with pictures as part of the post. Positives – Really easy to set up and use – definitely one for first timers Negatives – Not used by businesses as it tends to be a platform more for personal blogs, hobbies and interests.
2. Wix Whilst Wix is a website where you can design and build your own website, I have found that it’s recent ‘blog’ feature is brilliant if you are a freelancer, small business or you’re new to the world of websites and blogging for business. I built and manage my own website using Wix and this blog you are reading uses their ‘blog’ feature. Whilst I think this is possibly one of the easiest sites to use to blog it is more geared towards business users and those with a middling range of computer proficiency as you need to have a website on Wix before you can set up a blog. Positives – Keeps your website and blog in one place. You can migrate your current website into Wix easily. Negatives – You need a website hosted by Wix to be able to use their blog feature. Also doesn’t currently work with blog sharing sites such as ‘Bloglovin.com’.
3. Blogger This is probably my favourite blogging website at the moment although I have recently started using it and so I am not as knowledgeable about how it works as I am about the two previous sites. I write a country house blog as I am also a non-fiction writer in that field and so I set up my blogger country house blog to gain an audience for my non-fiction writing.
This website is great if you are happy to use one of their pre-set blog designs. If you want to add your own branding etc. to the blog I can imagine it gets a little more complicated.
Positives – More noticeable than the other websites, can integrate with bloglovin.com and Google Plus. Negatives – Can be difficult to work out how to customise to your own branding or unique tastes. I would recommend this website to people who have either already had a blog set up elsewhere or who have medium to expert knowledge in web customisation.
4. WordPress Now I don’t wish to write negative things about WordPress, but at the time of writing this blog I have to confess that I simply cannot ‘get on with’ WordPress at all. I have tried to use it several times and whilst I know it is the ‘go to’ place for people who want to blog and set up a website, I think at the moment that my knowledge of coding and web design is simply not advanced enough to work with this website. That being said I didn’t want to discount it from this list as it is really popular and for those of you who do have a good knowledge of web design or a high level of computer proficiency I am sure you will find it a good website to use. Positives – Millions of people use WordPress and so it has a large community. If you have a high level of computer literacy or web design you will enjoy setting up a blog on this website. Negatives – Don’t try using this website for your very first blog as it may scare you off!
If you’re still reading by this stage (and I really hope you are) then you should by now be able to identify which of the above websites will suit you best for setting up your blog.
Now all you have to do is click the title of the blog you’ve chosen and it will take you through to the website where you can get started straight away. All of these websites have step by step instructions to setting a blog or website up.
Please note that if you have decided Wix is the site you would like to use, you will have to set up a website first.
A blog post will be coming soon on how to set up your own Wix website. Don't fancy setting it up yourself? No worries - we can do that for you! Check out our Websites page
Similarly, if there is any other topic you would like me to write about please let me know and also share your blogs with me on my Facebook page if you set one up as a result of reading this post, I would be thrilled to read them!
Thanks
Charlotte
Comments