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Been thinking of starting a history related blog but have no idea where to start. Is it possible to get a free one without pop-ups or with the ability to title it what I want and design how it looks? Or is a good quality blog site one I'm going to have to pay for? Also, do I need to learn code to insert links and photos? Or is this pretty simple? Will some blog sites allow the user to copy a Word document, links pictures and all?
I would go here to start out where you can do it for free:https://en.wordpress.com/signup/I use WordPress but on my own domains. At the link above, you get a free site hosted on the WP site. Just follow the instructions and let us know if you run into problems. I don't believe they have any popup ads with that service, and you can choose from many different themes. I know in the past there was a plugin for Word where you could automatically upload a Word document into a blog, so you don't even have to copy and paste it in. There is also some service where you can type an email and send it to a certain address, which automatically posts it to the blog for you. It's pretty easy to publish.
Yeah, I would start with Wodpress. They are pretty good and pretty simple to use. I have mine hosted on my own domain and it costs me $10 a month. Mine is a WP installation too, just a standalone. You don't have to learn code but learning simple coding makes it easier, it also lets you do things that the basic installation does not support. It is not as hard as it seems at first glance. Good luck!
Also, with WordPress, you can add other people to your administrator list. If you need help, you can always have one of us check out the back end to help you out.
Yes, you have all sorts of controls. You can restrict who can leave comments. I would set up a blog first and test it out with dummy posts to your heart's content to get a feel for things. Then, set it up so it is to your liking. There is a small learning curve involved, so don't expect everything to be clear at first, but once you play around with it you will get a grasp of it. I have been moving several of my web sites over to WordPress even though I don't use them as proper "blogs" (e.g. the glasses site have in the footer below). The WordPress software is simply an easy way of organizing web pages, and the way it automatically updates is fantastic.I think that if you really like blogging, you can always switch to your own domain name (this will probably give you more control over your blog). The thing that I have found with blogging is that it's hard to continually come up with new ideas and stay at it for the long run, especially when it seems like no one is reading. I am curious about what your blog subject will be.
I'm probably going to name it Ken's History of Western Civilization or something like that. (taking suggestions).It's going to be, so far in my mind, mainly history with an emphasis on Greek, Ancient Military, Church, and British history or to review books I've read. Maybe some political/current events ramblings as well...mostly direct attacks on the Left. My first test post will probably be about the Flat Earth Myth. I'm hoping to be ambitious enough to write good length essays instead of just short comments on things.
The great thing about WordPress is you can make it do anything. Even if you have limited web design knowledge it runs full featured right out of the box. Get someone enterprising enough and you can make it look not even like a WordPress site.The other great benefit is what has already been stated. You have a very intuitive backend and it makes administering the site a breeze. Adding stuff is easy, no coding necessary (unless again you wanna get fancy)...I no longer hand desgn sites... strictly use WordPress and build up around it. No reason to reinvent the wheel...Look forward to reading what you put on your site.
Oh yeah… too many options there… you can go with a standalone gallery like NextGen or you use Picasa and then install a plugin that will add shadowbox features and more… The solutions are endless and there is a HUGE community of developers which is another reason WordPress is so awesome…
OK, so I have to join one of those online photo galleries to do this? Is it still possible to insert photos in the text? Like say I want to write something about Charles II and want to insert his picture, do I have to store or link to the picture at an external source? Does the free WordPress give you storage? What if I do a Word document with a few pictures in it, will I be able to copy/paste it to my blog?
No, you can upload images directly to your blog. You get 3 gigs with your free WP blog. I say just jump right in and try it out, or peruse the site below which will probably help you out. If you want, I will even sign up for you and add you on as an admin (you can delete my admin account later on) if you're not sure what you're getting into. http://en.support.wordpress.com/create-content/
Thanks for your help, I'll probably need it. I'll check this out more over the weekend and see what it looks like.
Ski,Don't forget you have an editor account at MHUS you can log in there and look around to see what the back end of a WP blog looks like. If you don't remember your login and PW let me know and I will email it to you. It is not like you can really mess anything up that I can't fix.Phid, I have not run into the problem of running out of ideas yet. I actually have a backlog of finished posts and then a bunch of drafts that I work on as the muse strikes me. Then again, I have tried to settle down to a pretty predictable posting schedule too. I no longer feel the need to post every day anymore. I am also now running at right around 3-4,000 visitors a month, which is plenty for me.
