WoW blogging step 1: Find a blog host
Last week I opened up a big can o' worms by giving you a mini-guide to starting your own WoW blog. I've conceded to popular demand and decided to give you more detail on what's involved with each step. Today I'm going to talk about what's involved in finding a place to host your blog.
There are about a bajillion places to start your blogging life. Some are easier; some are more customizable. Usually the more customizable they are, the more complex they are to set up and use, and sometimes they are also more expensive. Let's call these two options (1) the Easy Way and (2) the Fancy Way. After the break, I've listed five things to consider when choosing which of these ways you want to go:
Do you want to hit the ground running and start publishing 15 minutes from now?
Are you technically-savvy? (e.g., Do you know HTML?)
Are you a perfectionist?
Is design/look/feel critical to you?
Do you have disposable income to spend on hosting?
If you answered Yes to the last three questions, then you'll probably want to go the Fancy Way. (If so, make sure you also answered Yes to the second question.) So now you've decided whether you want Easy or Fancy, right? Right? If you can't decide, I suggest going the Easy Way first because you can always ramp up to Fancy later.
Let's talk about some of the Easy Way options first. As I've mentioned, Blogger and Wordpress are probably the most popular ways to go. I started out using Blogger years ago but moved to Wordpress within the last year and would recommend either of them. Others that are a little less well known but just as easy to use are Mindsay, Blog.com, Weebly, Xanga, and LiveJournal. If you're the type that needs a comprehensive list of free blog hosts, go to Mashable and click your heart out. Some people in the comments on my last post recommended Tumblr, but in my opinion it's a little too simplistic for starting a WoW blog. Still, if you like it, knock yourself out.
Special considerations for going the Fancy Way
Let me reiterate: I suggest going the Easy Way first, just to see if you even like the idea of blogging. You can always upgrade later. However, if you're stubborn (like I am sometimes), make sure you surf the web and ask your friends for advice on taking this path since it's too complicated to cover here. Popular hosts are TypePad or SquareSpace who will both do the web hosting for you. Wordpress.org is the self-hosted version of Wordpress and offers free software but you will still need to find a web host.
Step 2: Determine your blogging goals
