10e20 Blog

This post is second in a four-part series on “Blogging for Business: Everybody Benefits.” Today’s blog post covers “Part 2: How do I start?”

Yesterday, we covered the pros of business blogging. This lesson will guide you through the various blog options available to you. Some of these options are easier than others, and I will walk through them and will rate them in terms of cost (on a scale of $ to $$$$, where the bigger dollar signs mean increased costs) and ease of use (on a scale from 1-5, where 1 is the easiest and 5 is the most difficult).

The interesting thing about blogs is that you can either host them on your own domain (e.g. www.domain.com/blog), or you can have them hosted at the blogging company’s website (e.g. yourdomain.blogspot.com). Each of these options has its pros and cons. I will walk through these options with you as well.

There are four well-known blogging applications, each with different features and options. These four options, WordPress, Blogger, TypePad, and MovableType, will be discussed in this section.

• WordPress

WordPress is by far the most well-known blog application among bloggers. There are two ways to set up a WordPress blog. You can set up your blog through WordPress.COM, which will give you an online presence without paying hosting costs or for a new domain. Your blog will be located at http://yourblogname.wordpress.com, rather than on a domain that you own and control. However, this hosted solution is not as comprehensive as the alternative (to be discussed later). You can write posts and use one of 48 predefined open-source themes. This is practical if you are not looking for a “company” design. If you are looking for a company design, you will have to purchase an upgrade ($15). You will also want to invest in a designer who understands the blog design elements to integrate your company theme into the blog. Overall, this is a relatively easy and cost-effective solution if you want something simple and do not mind using an open-source theme application. (My personal blog uses one of the open-source themes that are available.) If you want a basic blog setup, this is 1-very easy to use. If you are looking for a site-design, this is $$-a budget option.

The other WordPress alternative is located on Wordpress.ORG, which contains the entire open-source application. This script includes plugins and allows you to change the site design at no additional cost to WordPress. However, you will be responsible for both purchasing a domain (if you do not have one and do not want to put it on www.yourdomain.com/blog) and hosting fees. You will also need to locate the right host, as WordPress requires a server that supports PHP and MySQL. This WordPress solution is far superior to the online-hosted solution because it gives you complete control over your blog — and you can specify unlimited authors. It also enables you to integrate ads and other features into your blog if you desire, because you can control the design elements. The functionality of WordPress is overwhelming for a beginner, but once you are acclimated with the application, it is 3-moderately easy to use and a joy to work with. Because you will be paying for a domain and hosting costs (and likely design costs as well), it is $$$-a little more expensive than the former option, but in my opinion, it’s well worth it.

• Blogger

Blogger is the Google-owned blog software. When you host your blog on Blogger, your blog will be located at http://yourname.blogspot.com. Blogger, like WordPress.com, is free because you are using Google’s software for it. Unlike Wordpress.com hosted domains, Blogger allows you control over your site design and you can customize it to your liking. You can develop your blog on 31 pre-defined themes but have a lot of control on the display of your blog. Because Blogger is associated with Google, you can also sign up for Adsense so that you can earn some money on your blog as well. Blogger is easy to use, easy to set up, and once your design is in place, it is 1-very easy to use. If you are looking to have it designed, it may be $$-slightly costly to develop a template that fits your needs, but if you are using their pre-defined templates, it is $-free.

• TypePad

TypePad is probably the lesser used of these four options because it is not free despite the fact that your blog URL will also be hosted elsewhere, e.g. http://yourdomain.typepad.com. The cheapest option is $4.95/month which gives you one full-featured blog. The next step up costs $8.95/month and allows you to publish photos, maintain three blogs, and have a customized design. You have even greater design control and unlimited blogs with the highest plan ($14.95/month). The solution itself is cumbersome to use, especially for beginner users, but you will have a lot of control over your blog and a lot of menus to navigate and understand.  TypePad also supports TypeLists (different list items, be them your favorite books, CDs, or just a bunch of links) and widgets — and you can integrate other code into your blog as well.  If you want the lowest level, it is 4-somewhat difficult to use due to its comprehensive feature set but $$-is somewhat costly due to the monthly fees.

• MovableType

Back in 2002, when I started blogging, MovableType was really the blog application to use. However, the gears have shifted to Blogger and Wordpress for a number of reasons. MovableType was free, but it is no longer free for business users (and support costs are extra, whereas the open-source and free applications don’t require paid supporT). The personal version is free, but you’ll likely run into issues that you will need support for (it’s not as easy as WordPress or Blogger to set up), and in order to avoid headaches, you’ll likely be suckered into buying that support contract. Commercial, education, and non-profit company licenses are even more expensive — you have to contact the company for pricing depending on how many authors you want (education pricing ranges from $39.95 to $299.95, whereas nonprofit pricing varies from $49.95 to $149.95). Truthfully, information about using MovableType is just not as widely available as it is for WordPress and Blogger. Plus, while TypePad is the hosted solution for MovableType and seems more affordable, the MovableType application doesn’t come with a domain nor does it come with hosting. While I used to use MovableType exclusively for my blogs, I switched over to WordPress for these reasons, and I see many of my fellow bloggers doing the same. It is 5-not an easy solution to work with and is $$$$-the costliest of the available solutions, especially because you’re still paying for hosting and a domain name as well as the license itself.

Since I did not mention it in any of the above options, while you could use the “free” options if it suits you, you could also buy a domain name and have it redirect to your blogspot.com, typepad.com, or wordpress.com page. This is a viable option in case one of the aformentioned hosted solutions works for you but you don’t want to pay hosting. Bear in mind, though, that that domain is only an entry point and since your domain is redirected, you can’t navigate to www.yourdomain.com/post. It will still be posted on yourdomain.blogspot.com/post. Still, it is easier to give a prospective client information that your blog is hosted at www.yourdomain.com rather than have to have them memorize the entire URL at http://yourdomain.wordpress.com.

Blogging is fun but you need to know what you want in order to find the best blog application for you. If you want a custom domain name, you’re going to have to be concerned about the costs it entails. If you want a custom solution that you have complete control over, you will need to pay for design changes and likely a hosted solution as well. Hopefully the information above will give you an idea of what solutions are available — and you can make the right choice based on your desires.