Knowing how to blog on WordPress has gotten more important than ever. WordPress has laid claim as the best blogging platform on the Internet. And now it is taking over as a platform for e-commerce and membership sites.
USA Today gave WordPress a thumbs up, “Wordpress creator Matt Mullenweg is many a bloggers best friend…” .
There are two different WordPress formats.
WordPress.com has in house hosting. In other words you do not need to get a separate host. This makes it very easy to set up. But also has it restrictions
WordPress.org is open source blogging software that is freely available to anyone to download. This requires setting up your own hosting account. Which allows you to do just about anything you want.
Lanna Wuthenow of “My Internet Stuff” gives the easiest explanation I could find.
See the difference for your self.
This site is self hosted using WordPress.org. Lorell.WordPress.com uses the WordPress in house hosting.
The benefits of using WordPress.com
- It’s free, no need to buy hosting.
- It is easy to set up. You can be up and rolling in 5 minutes.
- Plenty of themes to choose from.
- You do not have to worry about anything: security, setup, backups.
The downside of using WordPress.com
- You can not put up a custom theme.
- You can not change any of the coding.
The benefits of using WordPress.org.
- You can up load any theme you want.
- You can change the code in the back end.
- You can add plugins, which give your even more functions.
The downside to WordPress.org
- You need more technical skill to set up and run.
- You will need a hosting account, which could cost you an average of $8.00 a month.
Which WordPress format is best for you?
Simply ask you self “What is the purpose of my blog?” If you plan to make money from your blog, you will be better off in choosing WordPress.org. Find yourself a good host and a theme you like.
If you are not tech savvy and feel a little overwhelmed in setting up your own, I highly recommend; NewbiesLearnWP.com. Everything you need to know about your WordPress site is here.
Because WordPress.org is open source, there are a lot of people that can help out. Karen Blundel is smart and a patient teacher. Get stuck and need extra help she is perfect.
If you plan to blog for fun and do not plan to monetize you blog, WordPress.com is for you. You will find over 70 themes to choose form. It is easy and you will have plenty of support. In fact I would use WordPress.com over Blogger wanted a free format that was for fun.
To sum it up.
“People might start with LiveJournal or Blogger, but if they get serious, they’ll graduate to WordPress. We try to cater to the more powerful users,” says Mullenweg, 25. -USA Today , January 28, 2009
If you have not checked out NewbiesLearnWP.com, do so. You will get some reality on how easy this all is.
To your success!
Sheila
P.S. Next we will be looking a using Wordpress for more than blogging.
P.P.S. Follow the easy blog set up on NewbiesLearnWp.com and you will soon be blogging on WordPress. Try it out, its Free.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve used various blogging platforms over the years, and Wordpress is, of course, the one I ended up with permanently. I did a poll recently on my site and still found a large percentage of my visitors used alternative platforms. When will they see the light?! I’m assuming many of these visitors haven’t even tried wordpress yet!
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I started with Typepad, but after 7 months moved to Wordpress.org because I wanted to host my own site for the SEO rankings.
I also found that Wordpress allows me more options in the long run and the other two blogging formats.
I’m using my site as a static site as well as a blogging site. The theme I chose allowed me to have this look.
I too went to Wordcamp Utah in Sept. I loved it…. sitting there with all those Wordpress Geeks (mostly young me half my age.) I nearly had a cardiac arrest when Matt Mullenweg stood up to speak… so young. Where are all these new brains coming from?
I learned to appreciate all that Wordpress has to offer.
Yeah Wordpress! You’re the best.
Kathy
Insightful Nana
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