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Blog
Weblogs, commonly referred to as blogs, are a common form of online personal publishing.
Blogs are frequently included on personal or corporate websites to present regular stories, news, or discussions with your site readers. Blog entries are known as posts and are traditionally presented on the website in reverse-chronological order, meaning the most recent post is at the top and older posts are down below. Blog posts are frequently categorized by topics for easy browsing or may simply be listed by publication date.
Blogs can be created using a variety of software and services. Online services, such as Blogger, provide free platforms for creating blogs, and many website creators and content management systems provide blogging functionality which can easily be implemented into a new or existing website. By far the most popular blogging platform, WordPress, offers both an online service and content management system, depending on whether you want to host your own website and how much you wish to customize your blog.
Most blogs are intended to spark dialogue with their readers, and so provide a comment section at the end of each post. Today you can find blogs on nearly every topic from all over the world.
Also See: Blogosphere
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I start a blog?
The first thing you need to do is decide whether you want to use a blogging service or host the blog on your own website. Using an online service such as WordPress.com, you won’t have to worry about updating your software or maintaining your server. All of that is taken care of for you, so you can focus on creating content. On the other hand, you won’t have your own website address, unless you pay for the company’s premium service. With self-hosted blogs, you get to pick your own custom website address, you have the freedom to create both website-specific content and blog-based content, and your blog will be more customizable.
Whichever system you choose, once you have subscribed to your online service or installed the blogging software on your server, you will need to create your site. The easiest way to do this is by choosing from one of the thousands of templates available and customizing it to fit your brand. Once your site looks the way you want it to, type your first post and give it a try.
Can I change posts once they’ve been published?
Absolutely. Posts can be updated, hidden, deleted, archived, and more. If a particular post is not getting as much traffic as you would like, you can add more content, add links to and from your more popular posts, or pull it completely from your site. If the content is outdated, simply go in and update it. Most blogs allow you to list both the creation and last updated date on your post, so your readers can tell that you’re keeping posts current.
Do I need a special “blog” page on my website?
You can place all your posts on a specific blog page of your website, or you can have posts appear directly on your homepage. Most website creation programs now allow you to fully integrate your blog with your site, so you can place the new content wherever you think your readers will most benefit from it.