How to Select the Perfect Host for Your Blog

Nothing is worse than going to your blog, ready to make a new post, only to be faced with slow load times or worse, a server that has gone offline. There are hosted options, such as Blogger.com or WordPress.com, but they do not allow much control over any desired customization. A self hosted blog requires a good hosting provider that can withstand the demands that a popular, well designed blog will come with.

Some Things To Consider Before Choosing A Web Host:

The first step is to pick the content management system (CMS) you are most comfortable with. The most popular are WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. After this, picking an internet service provider (ISP) to host the site comes down to a handful of questions.

Does the host have the capacity to handle the script that powers the CMS? 
Not all hosts will be able to handle the scripting language of the three most popular content management systems. The coding language used by these systems is PHP. Some hosts will not support the version of PHP used by these systems. Make sure the hosting provider is up to date with the required version of PHP.

Can you get database support for your blog? 
The database of each CMS uses a MySQL database to store the content, information on registered users as well as the design of the blog etc.

Occasionally, there will be problems with the database becoming corrupted, or one database may not be sufficient for the requirements of the blog. Ensuring that the ISP responsible for hosting the site can support you in resolving these issues is extremely important.

How much storage space can each hosting account provide? 
When blogs start out, they are small and require very little storage. As blogs grow larger, they take more memory and can require an upgrade to larger servers with more storage before you are ready.

What you pay is not always what you will get when it comes to storage. Some hosts provide fast servers with large amounts of storage for very low cost. Doing some shopping can reveal some incredible bargains.

Can the internet provider withstand the demands that large amounts of traffic will put on the server? 
As each visitor lands on the site and navigates from page to page, the server is called to load the content each time.

Some servers place a limit on the number of requests and the amount of bandwidth this requires. Just like storage limits, some hosts will provide plenty of bandwidths at a very affordable cost.

What sort of install options does the host have for scripts and features? 
This is especially important when it comes to installing the CMS for your blog. Many have a one click install option to load WordPress or another CMS onto a domain.

Some prefer other ways to install a CMS, but many do not want the trouble of uploading a CMS through other, often more complicated, ways.

Beyond the Basics
There are other concerns beyond the technical points made above. Things to consider would be contact options and the reputation of the business. Just because they offer a number of features at a low cost on their sales pages does not mean that they will provide the value you are looking for.

If you consider each of these points, you will find a great host for your blog that lets you focus on creating content and building a community.

 The Blog Advisor Recommends HostGator Hosting!

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5 Blogging Tips For Beginners

Owning a blog is a great idea, especially when you have a story to tell. Blogging has become fun and through it people like you and me have the ability to express what we believe, the things we have done that bought us success, discuss or failures and give successful ideas to people from different walks of life. I have found blogging the best tool and technique, or perhaps a reputable platform I can let the world know what I think and believe.

However, many people think that starting a blog is one hell of a task, but nothing could be further from the truth. Stating my own blog was indeed the simplest way to join the internet community. With a computer and a stable internet connection, all you need to do is follow some simple steps and you will be good to go.

Define your goals goals
Every person needs to know what they want to get the best results in the long run. My goal had to do with the main reason why I was starting the blog. For you, it could be for promoting your business, welcoming friends to join you on social media, helping people with self-improvement information or a forum for you to share your ideas with the rest of the world, or you could be blogging just for fun. Having established your goal, design your blog and market it robustly.

Understand your audience
When you understand your audience better, then you will absolutely know their taste of content. If your audience is teenagers, the design and content of the blog must be directed towards teenagers.

Be consistent 
Always keep in mind that your blog is a brand, and so represents a specific message. Readers treasure consistency.

Constantly update your blog
Always have something new for your readers. I have come to understand that the reason why visitors do not go to some sites is due to the presence of the Methuselah content. If your content is also boring, you may end up having very little visitors to your blog.

Your blog should be inviting to readers
You could request visitors to your blog to leave comments, which you reply to later. This shows the readers that you actually value them and keeps the conversation between you and your readers going. You also take this opportunity to invite your readers to come back for more lively debates.

Creating and sustaining a blog, contrary to what people think, is not difficult. You just need to identify the field you love most and about which you can write most confidently. Being original and writing quality content is a sure way to keep your readers intact. You should desist from copying and pasting contents to your blog.
 

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Are You Ready to Start a Blog? Here’s How to Tell

Everyone seems to be blogging these days. Most blogs get a few new visitors each week, while some have become so popular that their authors are now celebrities. The real question is whether you’re ready to start a blog.

Blogging started as a way to share your innermost thoughts with the online world. Over time, it’s evolved into a way to market your business, brand yourself and create a thriving online community. This has made blogging more of a profession than a hobby, which means that you need to be ready to maintain a blog before starting one.

Why Would I Want a Blog?
If you’re thinking about starting a blog, you probably have a reason for doing so. In fact, many good things can come from a blog, including:

Better Marketing: Numerous articles emphasize the importance of blogging in marketing your business online, but like other marketing strategies, it requires a clear goal and plan for moving forward.

Communication: Blogs are a way to share your thoughts about everything from cool new products to the upcoming election, and these can open up great discussions with friends and strangers alike.

Visibility: A store might use a neon sign to let people know they’re open. Your blog is your way of introducing yourself or your business to the online world.

Am I Ready to Blog?
The great thing about blogging is that you don’t need any special skills or qualifications to start one. The downside is that it takes a lot to make it successful, so make sure you’re able to do it.

Thought and Planning
Before starting your blog, know what you want it to be about. Do you want to be a fashion maven who covers the hottest styles from London? Do you want to offer advice on home repair? Are you a newshound with your own ideas about the events of the day? Make that the focus of your blog and build everything else around it.

Time and Effort
The most successful bloggers know that a blog can’t be a hobby that you write in your free time. You need to make time for it. Plan what you’re going to write about and then develop enough content to update your blog once a week. That’s how potential readers will find your blog and, more importantly, continue coming back to it.

A Unique Perspective
Maybe everything that can be written has already been written, but not everything is written the same way. For example, there are lots of blogs about Cadillacs, but one that covers the history of the car has different content than one that collects stories from past and current owners. Find your favorite topic and find a unique way to discuss it.

Blogs are fun to read and write, but the latter takes more than just a few minutes. If you want to start a blog, be ready to give it the time and attention it needs to succeed.

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Which Blogging Platform is Best Blogger or WordPress

Choosing the right blogging platform to use on your blog can be the most important decision you will make before creating your blog. Choosing the right blogging platform can make blogging an easier task to accomplish, but choosing the wrong blogging platform can make the task of blogging a difficult and exhausting experience.

In fact the program that you use to blog with is an essential part of the blogging experience, it is well worth putting in the extra effort to find a platform that provides you with a user friendly interface and allows you to make your blog look professional and very unique. Choosing the perfect blogging platform isn’t always the easiest job to do, but with a little bit of researching it can be done quite effectively.

Determining what your top priorities are whether it be ease of use or customization. The Most popular blogging platforms that are used most often today are Blogger and WordPress.

Lets compare the Pros and Cons of using Blogger and Wordpress blogging platforms.

Blogger.com
http://www.blogger.com

Blogger is probably the most well-known running blogging service on the web, please correct me if I’m incorrect, It was established by United states business owner Evan Williams who also happens to be the designer of Twitter. Perhaps surprisingly enough Evan Williams also developed the phrase ‘blogger’. Blogger also generally known as BlogSpot is now owned and operated by The search engine giant "Google" and has been since 2003 and is used by an incredible number of blog owners of all stages from around the world.

Google`s Blogger platform has an incredibly simple to use foundation which is why it draws many customers. Beginners are attracted to blogger because it’s relatively simple to create, add articles to and profit with AdSense and Amazon associates.

Users are able to use their own website address and change the look of their blog to how they want it to look.

However unfortunately even with the new latest up-dates and upgrades created to the blogger dashboard panel, it still does not have the resources and functions that WordPress has to provide. Ok so here is a explanation of the pros and cons of using blogger as a start-up platform for your site. 

 PROS: 

It’s Free

It’s simple to create and use

Available in 50 languages

You can buy or transfer your own custom domain to your blogger blog for free

You get You get built in visitor statistics

It’s simple to profit with AdSense, Infolinks and Amazon Associates

Blogger is owned and operated by Google

You can somewhat personalize with built in blogger themes

 CONS: 

Restricted top quality themes

Although you can, it’s not that simple to personalize styles unless you are acquainted with HTML and CSS

Leaving comments function is a bit of a let down at times

Spam filter has no modifying features

Expandability limited without use of plugins

Some people find it difficult to view a BlogSpot blog as an established and professional blog

BlogSpot blogs have well known protection concerns, online thieves still love hacking into Blogger blogs.

WordPress.com
http://www.wordpress.com

WordPress was established by internet social media entrepreneur Matt Mullenweg in 2003. WordPress.com alone is home to around 360,000 blog owners.

WordPress.com has become highly preferred because of both its complexity and ease of use, and continues to be one of the most highly effective no cost organized running blog platforms on the web.

 PROS: 

It’s almost free

Amazing and eye-catching dashboard that is simple to get around around

Simple to use, no programming understanding required…

Available in 120 languages

Theme editor available (paid service)

Built in visitor statistics

Options for SEO

Accessible anywhere

Buy your own domain or transfer (paid upgrade)

Strong spam filtering and comment moderating process

 CONS: 
Too many paid for options/upgrades required

No third party programs permitted, that implies no AdSense, Infolinks or Chitika…

Design and style editing is not free

WordPress use their own WordAds program which you can use to monetize your site, if your site qualified that is…

Blogger provides 1GB of picture web host area offered through Picasa web albums while WordPress customers can get up to 3GB plus more on upgrade.

So which blogging foundation should you use use, Blogger or WordPress? It’s a challenging one as I see both systems are excellent in their own areas. I would actually be more equipped to use WordPress.com even though there are additional costs and limitations with monetizing your blog. I’d select WordPress because it provides more alternatives for expandability, but the choice is really up to the blogger themselves to choose what blogging platform suites his or her needs best. 

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