How to Blog?

WordPress

Before you start one (and WordPress is a great place to create one), figure out exactly what you want it to do – is it mainly for pics? Is it mainly for text? Will there be subcategories, or just one category? Determining these things will help you choose what template to use when you create it.

Thanks Jeremy.

Doug, those are good questions.
Right now I am thinking a mix of pictures and narrative, something really simple. I don't think I will need subcategories, but that's just because I am in the clueless stage now.
I will take a look at WordPress and check out some other people's blogs to get an idea.
Thanks.

I agree, WordPress is good software to use. You can run it on just about any platform, including portable devices. However, if you intend to do any major text crunching, you may want to think about a more capable platform than a tablet thingy.

Where the blog is hosted is another matter. If you are beginning at this, you may want to have the blog at some shared site that is free. Later on, you may want to have it on your own dedicated domain. That costs some bucks, but it also gives you some dependability and flexibility. It is a real pain if your free host suddenly decides to go belly-up.

Besides, if you have your own blog on your own domain, then you have maximum flexibility should you decide to open up online shopping for knitwear. It's just an idea. Or, you could sell t-shirts with your own mountain lion photos emblazoned on the front. Think of the possibilities!

–B.G.–

Kat,

WordPress is pretty flexible. You can make it look like a typical website, even though it is blog software.

You can get free "Plug-ins" and "Widgets" to enhance your site. If you go to my site and click on the Gallery tab, there are a couple of different Gallery Plug-ins I used to build them. I really haven't spent much time working with the galleries as I don't have a lot of free time. How the galleries work/look on a computer is often a lot different on a mobile device.

I can add content to my blog with an iPhone or iPad, but it is painful. A regular computer works much better.

Best thing is to look at a lot of blogs and you will figure out want will work best for you.

Wordpress is free (to start anyway) and pretty easy to use. If you can drive a word processor or write on a forum, the blog is easy.

From there, it's like hiking— start walking, one step at a time. :)

Thanks Bob, Nick and Dale. Right now all I have is an ipad ….but I just started looking at WordPress. Having a simple blog seems like a nice way to share particularly with my family in Europe that I only see every two or three years.