New and Easy way To Build Blogs

It's easier to create a website than it used to
be. In general, website-creation programs are much simpler to use
- and you also have the option of signing up with an online web
host with easy-to-use page creation tools.

But, the advent of the blog is the biggest change.

"Blog" is short for 'web log'. Blogs started off as a way for
people to create an online diary. Bloggers would simply log on,
tap out a paragraph or two giving their thoughts on life and the
universe (and everything in between); click 'publish' and that
was that. Their words were live on the Internet for anyone to
see. The big appeal of a blog was that it was interactive:
readers were welcome to add a comment on any post, with a link
back to their own blog or website.

Gradually, bloggers started to want more. They wanted easy ways
to upload photos, and extra pages on the site - just like a
'real' website. They wanted a range of themes, to better express
their personality or business.

Programmers everywhere came to the party, particularly with
WordPress, a well-known open source. Now, if you want a
website/blog, it's possible to:

* Sign up with a web host with CPanel for a low monthly fee

* Install WordPress with just a few clicks of the mouse, using
Fantastico on your website's CPanel

* Either use one of the pre-installed themes, or browse the
various themes available at WordPress (and on many other sites)
to choose one that suits your personality or business

* Upload the theme you want to the wp_content folder, using a
simple FTP program (such as WS_FTP or Cute FTP)

* Start posting your articles or comments

* Add extra pages to your site (if you want to)

Now that you can add separate pages to blogs - just as you can
with a standard website - many people are turning to them as
their preferred way of building a website. By using various
plugins, it's possible to do pretty well anything you want.


=== What Are "Plugins"? ===

Plugins are extra features available for your blog to make your
life easier. You can get plugins, for example, that will:

- help you block spam

- make it easy to upload and sort your photos

- ping the search engines so they know when you've added new
content

- insert Adsense blocks so you can earn money from your blog

There are quite a number of plugins available now - take some
time to find out what they will do.


=== Help With Using Wordpress ===

While Wordpress is not the only blog software available, it is an
excellent choice because (a) it's free; (b) it's relatively easy
to use; (c) it's open-source, and therefore has a lot of people
working on it constantly to make it better, and (d) there are
quite a few 'how to' sites on the Internet showing you how to
make the most of your Wordpress blog.

One of them is Guido Stiehle ("The Jungle Marketer") who offers
an excellent free tutorial (with video tutorials) that will show
you, step by step, how to set up and use your blog. You can find
other providers by simply typing 'how to use Wordpress' into a
search engine.

Spend an hour or two browsing, and you'll see why a blog is a
very viable option for establishing your presence on the
Internet.
William McRand Author: Freelance Writer specializing in Internet marketing, Self help, Blogging, and online income. If you found his articles helpful, read his Blog which is loaded with more useful content on this, and related topics.
http://mcrandweightlose.blogspot.com/