Blog Software

[WarrantyDirect]

Hey everyone,

We want to start a blog. I wanted to know if anyone could provide some suggestions for good software. This will be hosted on a domain specifically for the purpose of the blog. Thanks for your help!

[coc]

I use Wordpress. It's free and the install is the simplest thing going. When you look around at the features it offers as standard, combined with the plug-in architecture and the huge number of plug-ins and themes available for it then it takes some beating. Plus, if you've got a problem there are tons of places where you can find an answer to your problem.

You don't say if you want the blogging software to be hosted on your own domain or not ? If you are looking for something that you aren't hosting yourself then Blogharbor would be my choice.

I started on Blogger and used the option to get the blog FTP'd to my own domain. That worked well to start with, but I found that I very quickly outgrew Blogger. The lack of categories in Blogger finally did it for me.

If you're hosting the software yourself then Wordpress wins every time.

Chris

[WarrantyDirect]

Thanks for your help!

[rustybrick]

I use movabletype, I also have a blogger blog, bloglines blog, and yahoo 360 blog.

Professional blogging, I like MovableType a lot. Simple blogging the others are fine. I am sure WordPress is good for pro blogging as well.

[I, Brian]

I use WordPress, MovableType, and b2evolution.

I personally find that WordPress is the best, with good layout, easy use of categories, SEO friendly, and you can designate your preferred URL formats.

MovableType has promise, but their attitude to spam stinks - you simply cannot allow the trackback function to exist on a MovableType blog, unless you can patrol it 24/7 and remove all the casino and porn links as they are published to your blog.

WordPress has trackback moderation setup by default, so nothing is ever published without your say-so - but MovableType has made absolutely no effort to help combat this problem, leading to immense frustrations among those who use it.

b2evolution is fine to use, but not quite so inherently SEO friendly, and there are a couple of small bugs when dealing with language settings.

Normally you might expect paid software to be better than the free - in this instance, MovableType has a lot of catching up to do on WordPress, even though WordPress is always free.

[5starAffiliatePrograms]

Huge, BIG vote for WordPress. I had a pro WP designer develop my affiliate marketing and SEO blog cuz I wanted a lot of customization and didn't have time or inclination to do it myself. So the code is super clean. Then I did the SEO myself and within a month was #1 on all the engines for affiliate blogs and have now moved up to #4 on Google for SEO blogs.

In addition to writing my own daily blogs, I of course also syndicate other blogs on my site, including this one, which helps provide lots of fresh content and SE traffic.

As others have said, many times you get what you pay for and *free* doesn't usually equal good, but WordPress rocks!

[Randolph]

I agree..wordpress is pretty awesome. The 5 minute install actually took about an hour, but that was my fault for goofing the msSQL db on the webserver.

I couldn't believe how easy it was to upload themes (skins), and creating categories and the ability to create pseudo-static pages, and parent pages makes it easy to create a structure for any time of site.

I'm only a couple days in, but I still have that loving gleam in my eye for wordpress.

[Illah]

I've never used WP but I'm a big Movable Type fan. As for the spam, there are lots of ways to combat that. Granted, most of these methods aren't newbie or non-techie friendly, but for the experienced user setting up a blog on their own server it allows unprecedented control. Because I implemented these features with my new site during launch I've literally not had one single spam link ever, and I'm indexed well enough to rank #1 for many of my target terms. That means that spam-bots should have no problem in finding me, thus my anti-spam controls are working. For a human user, I have no restrictions whatsoever on my comments or trackbacks for recent posts - anyone can post with no passwords or anything.

Everything I used to combat spam with MT can be found here:

http://www.sixapart.com/pronet/comment_spam

--Illah

[I, Brian]

I've never used WP but I'm a big Movable Type fan. As for the spam, there are lots of ways to combat that. Granted, most of these methods aren't newbie or non-techie friendly, but for the experienced user setting up a blog on their own server it allows unprecedented control.

Frankly, I'm disgusted that I have purchased multiple MovableType licenses, but that MovableType will not provide basic anti-spam protection such as trackback moderation, but instead will only refer users to third-party applications that are not supported by MT.

It is also a point of note that not all server configurations will support third-party products such as the MT blacklist, and I consider it pretty appalling that MT - well aware of the problems - still refuse to add simple anti-spam features to their basic product release.

For a free product it would be reprehensible, but for a paid product I find it a very unprofessional attitude.

[Tyler]

For my site I use Moveable Type. I had the basic at first, but the spam got out of control and it was getting tedious delete all of them.

So I decided to put some money down and upgrade. Once figuring out the spam settings, everything has been great. Sure there is a spam every now or then, but for the most part it catches it and blacklists them.

[CaseyC]

Does wordpress allow readers of your blog to reply to them?

[coc]

Yes, in Wordpress people can reply by leaving comments. There are various built-in anti-spam features which you can easily customise, such as adding to list of banned words to prevent people adding casino or porn stuff on your blog. There are also free plugins if you prefer alternative anti-spam solutions to block trackback, pingback, and comment spam.

You also get email confirmation of when someone leaves a comment.

Chris

[CaseyC]

I am very green when it comes to blogs, so forgive me if my questions come off as ignorant. I am looking for the best solution that would allow mulitple people within my organization to post blogs. One concern is that these people are scattered across the country. We really do not need any high tech, professional software I dont think. Would we be better of useing something like Blogger as opposed to downloading/purchasing blog software.

Additionally, how do blogs work with your current site? Is it necessary to set up a different domain for your blogs?

Thanks a lot!

[agreen1125]

I just installed Wordpress and already impressed with it.

Easy to configure, can have multiple users, and best of all easy to organize. Just search wordpress in any SE to land on their site, download the file, install in your site and viola! you can either create a seperate subdomain for it or just a directory...really easy to install

try it.

happy blogging

[madcribz]

After installing wordpress a few times the installation process can get monotonous. If you want to install wordpress onto multiple websites in one step, including presetting your blog settings I recommend www.wordpressbuilder.com

[etechsupport]

Depends upon the feature you like to be added and your preferences. I personally find b2evolution is much feature rich as compare to wordpress, but my view is totally subjective.