Which is the best free blog?

1. 59

   nanospeckposted 14 years ago

   I would like to start a blog myself.Could anyone tell me which is the best free blog site with good features to start blogging?

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      jalpariposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      wordpress ( self hosted blog) is good if u want to place adsense ads then blogspot will good choice.

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   2. 61

      bigmindposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      If you consider your blog an asset to your business and you should because it will become the central hub for all your content, then you want to own your blog.  A free blog is good for getting your feet wet but it doesn't show much professionalism.  Just my opinion.

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   3. 62

      darksideposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Just so you know, as you might get a bit confused when it comes time to publish, Blogger/Blogspot.com is owned by Google. You go to Blogger.com and register an account. But when it publishes it will be http://yourname.blogspot.com
      
      You can easily integrate Adsense and Amazon.
      
      Wordpress.com is similar to Blogger/Blogspot in that it is a free hosted blog service. However you can not use Adsense on the sites.
      
      On the other hand if you go to Wordpress.org and download the same application as used on Wordpress.com you can install it on your own webspace, and with your own domain name. And you can integrate Adsense into it.
      
      Each have their own benefits. It's up to you to decide which one would best suit your needs. If however you are a prolific writer you could do all three, as any backlinks you get from the three seperate entities will be of greater benefit for your hubs (or other articles) than just backlinking from one site alone.

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2. 71

   Ultimate Hubberposted 14 years ago

   I have some blogs on blogger.com and it looks like a good place to have a free blog.

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      mtsi1098posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I will try this thanks...

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3. 59

   Mark Knowlesposted 14 years ago

   Well, the free blogs certainly have their uses. I recently compiled a list of free blogs, based on how long they have been here, how easy they are to use and whether I thought they would still be here next year.

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4. 69

   Peter Hogganposted 14 years ago

   Thanks for the link Mark, great read.

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5. 0

   Twenty One Daysposted 14 years ago

   WordPress.
   custom everything in one click!
   most powerful blog program, even better than blogspot(google).
   
   http://wordpress.com
   
   
   { example: http://scentofindie.wordpress.com  }

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      Sue Adamsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      After spending three days setting up a free Worpress.com blog I  found out that they don't allow advertising. So no adsense revenue.

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      1. 86

         Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Buy yourself a domain, get some hosting and export your Wordpress.com blog to a Wordpress.org blog.  You can put any advertising you like on that.

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6. 68

   Bill Manningposted 14 years ago

   If you want full control, get a hosting package and domain name and use wordpress. I use wordpress as a full website, using the page function for my web pages.
   
   Then you can use the blog function as your blog and have everything you need. You can have a store, blog, forum, social site and more just by using wordpress.
   
   However there is a learning curve to it.

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      Twenty One Daysposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Bill, have a Q about that.
      I have 2 domains, which i coded myself CSS, PHP, XHTML with everything from Forum, Blog, Registration, etc.
      How do i integrate the WordPress elements into mine, without using their CSS?
      
      I tried to pull their plug-ins but got nowhere fast.
      any rex on sites for it. thanx

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      1. 68

         Bill Manningposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Hmmm, let me see if I understand you. You made your own webpages from scratch. Now you want to integrate a wordpress install into them but using your own CSS you made?
         
         I'm not sure if that is even possible. It's pretty easy to break a WP theme, as we have all seen each time they upgrade the damn thing. I don't do custom coding myself, only tweaking the WP install the way I want.
         
         All I can say is try to tweak the css page that comes with the theme. I think trying to combine a WP install with much more is going to give you lots of problems.
         
         Joomla comes with it's own forum, social site and all that as add-ons. But it's so damn hard to learn I never took the time to study it. Plus WP seems to be more SEO friendly.
         
         Sorry I can't help you out more, good luck.

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      2. 59

         Mark Knowlesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         This is ass backwards and going to be more work than makes sense.
         
         Try it the other way. I use semiologic and that is very, very adaptable. You can even control basic CSS within the WP dashboard. Any major changes you will need to get into the theme or skin.

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7. 62

   Lady_Eposted 14 years ago

   At the moment, I'd say Wordpress at it has some of the Features of Google Analytics.
   
   You know where traffics from, good breakdown of traffic/statistics, available subscriptions, adding a poll to your blog and other interesting Widgets/features.
   
   Not bad at all.

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8. 0

   Twenty One Daysposted 14 years ago

   Hey Mark.
   
   right, i have a WP site as well.
   but i want to call the includes or plug-ins of WP to a privately hosted domain.
   
   i have made a dozen CSS templates, with php and java includes.)
   
   i am looking for the WP API -if even available- to integrate.
   
   
   Bill,
   yeah, i went the JOOMLA!, Drupal route before. uhg! is right, that's why i went back to building myself.
   Would love to build an CMS with core CSS/PHP. That would be fun!
   right now, have my hands full with a Network Marketing site and my  WeVid application" (creating SMS video tweets)

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   1. 59

      Mark Knowlesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      This makes about as much sense as your "spiritual" convictions.
      
      There are about 7 million plugins for WP, and goodness knows how many versions of WP itself, including an awful lot of specialized themes, skins and plugins that are not widely compatible.
      
      Many of the plugins are not backwards or forwards compatible and often clash with each other if you are using plugins written for different versions or by different people.
      
      You can easily install WP on a privately hosted domain - of course.
      
      I would start with the semiologic setup which is a collection of compatible plugins with a lot of CSS control.
      
      Not even sure why on earth you would want to piss about with wordpress if you have already written a complete website with blog and forum. What exactly do you want from wordpress?
      
      But - you are now saying you have a wordpess install rather than a complete website that you wrote yourself. So you already have WP installed is what you are saying - but now you want to do what?

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         Twenty One Daysposted 14 years agoin reply to this

         Seriously, What the **** are you talking about, mark?
         I have a blog hosted on wordpress.com already.
         
         My two other websites are on a different domain.
         The WP plug-ins are not working and i do not need to 'install' the WP on my domain to make them work. That would mean me putting the WP CMS/CSS Theme into my system. If that's the case I can go back to joomla/drupal and use theirs.
         
         I need it to integrate SQL with the plug-in using MY PHP code for certain video/audio data.
         
         So, do this, don't answer questions you know nothing about and push some flimsy prog ( semiologic ) at me that you used to call yourself a 'professional blogger'. semiologic is just another CSS builder/ CMS for blogging. I don't need that. I need the API's for SQL/PHP integration using an existing CSS theme.
         
         collard greens, ding pick `em up!

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         1. 59

            Mark Knowlesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

            Ah - like I said in the first place - you have it ass backwards, but I am certain that hijacking some one else's Hubpages forum thread is the best place to get technical assistance of this type.
            
            LOLOLO I am really impressed with your technical skills though. Honestly - very, very impressed.

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9. 0

   Twenty One Daysposted 14 years ago

   whatever 'dude'.
   
   backwards isn't the term.
   if i was trying to embed a WP plug-in into my site, then yes.
   but if i wanted to do that, i could use a YouTube or imeem/snocap audio embed.
   
   WP is written in mostly in XML/Java which doesn't play well with php/sql code. So i need the modified codes that do support it.
   Not just for php but also for SQL data storage. Even so, with the WP syntax, i could modify my php to my sql in a snap.

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   1. 59

      Mark Knowlesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      LOL Like I said dude - what you are saying makes about as much sense as your religious mumbo jumbo.
      
      WordPress is written in php. But what do I know?
      
      ciao

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10. 0

    Twenty One Daysposted 14 years ago

    wordpress applications are not written in php.
    plug-ins are apps.
    apps aren't written in php, because php is a hypertext PREprocessor you know, for the hyper test transfer protocol (http).
    
    plug-ins -like sound/video/images- are NOT programmed or created using a pre-processor. dumbsh!te.
    
    most are scripted in C++ or Cocoa/xCode for parsing.
    
    the 'script' to put them in a page can be php, (xml, javascript -
    which MOST CSS systems are build on).
    
    As for WP in PHP, it is written using php -which connects to the WP database where the CSS elements can/might be stored.

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11. 59

    Mark Knowlesposted 14 years ago

    Dear me.  Sorry I spoke. So - WP is written in php, but none of the plugins are - that is interesting.
    
    Thanks for enlightening me.
    
    Good luck.
    
    ciao

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       Twenty One Daysposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       Deleted
       1. 59

          Mark Knowlesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          Quite right I don't know coding. I am a professional blogger and never touch the stuff.Sorry I tried to help.
          
          Perhaps if you went to a professional coder?

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12. 59

    solef80 treadmillposted 14 years ago

    Blogger blog will be the best option. Wordpress won't be good if you want to go for affiliate marketing because they don't allow affiliate links.

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       Twenty One Daysposted 14 years agoin reply to this

       true, google/blogger is better.
       
       unless you can get someone to build a blog site for you.
       that way you can customize the affiliate system (mini-sites, etc.)

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       1. 68

          Bill Manningposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          If you really want to go with a free one, then yes blogger is the best. But I don't know why people don't spend a lousy 20 bucks a month and get their own hosting.
          
          For that you get total control of everything. You can put anything you want in your blog/site, add whatever you want, do whatever you want. You can tweak the whole site for the best SEO, host your pictures, the list is endless.
          
          If you really want to make good money, your own hosted blog and/or site is the only way to go.

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             Twenty One Daysposted 14 years agoin reply to this

             more than likely, Bill, they aren't sure how-to build the blog.
             so sites like blogger/wordpress w/ readt-made templates are handy, i guess.
             
             i am an old school programmer, so i like having fun with it.

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          2. 86

             Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             I do know a few people who are doing well with a blogger blog.
             
             However,the recent demise of today.com should be a warning to everyone who considers using a free blogging site.
             
             They sold the site and the new owner wiped everyone's blogs.  Just like that. Every single one gone.

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13. 56

    climberjamesposted 13 years ago

    Wordpress = Better
    Bloger = Easier

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14. 60

    Csjun89posted 13 years ago

    Try Wordpress, but there are limits on the ways you can monetize it, unless you get your own hosting!

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15. 60

    fdoleacposted 13 years ago

    Wordpress is highly SEO compliant out of the box if that matters to you.

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16. 70

    McConnell Groupposted 13 years ago

    I would say for customization I would use WP there are a lot of themes and plug ins that allow you to differentiate yourself.
    
    Blogger is more simplified but has less customizations the one advantage i would say that blogger has over WP is that if you were to post a link in your post, the blogger link would carry more page-rank off the bat where the WP blog wouldn't. Now this is based on using your own hosted wordpress.org blog and not the wordpress.com blog.
    
    Hope this adds some value to the discussion,
    
    Shawn

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17. 93

    habeeposted 13 years ago

    Thanks for that info, Marisa!

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    1. 86

       Marisa Wrightposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       It should send a chill through all of us, Habee.  If you're going to invest a lot of time and effort into someone else's site, you need to be aware of what can happen!
       
       Today.com was a bit of a special case, because its domain name is so desirable - and the new owner wanted the name, not the content.
       
       But sites can still run out of money.   I'm astonished Helium is still running, for instance, as it has a substantial debt. I thought it might go under in the GFC.

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       1. 93

          habeeposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          I still visit Helium occasionally to check out the Marketplace. They usually have only a handful of titles, but some of them do pay well, so I sell some there sometimes.

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18. 0

    khmohsinposted 13 years ago

    there are so many free blogging sites are available now. but wordpress.com and blogger.com are really a good option to start with.

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19. 0

    askpowersposted 13 years ago

    I think blogger.com is best for initializing blogging.

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20. 55

    bhaskar_cposted 13 years ago

    You have lots of blogging sites but you need to choose .. as per now blogger and wordpress are good..

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21. 61

    winstoncaiposted 13 years ago

    how about prlog.org
    bankblog.pl
    
    and so on,
    
    as we put many many free ads there.

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