Google Gives Blogger A Nice Makeover

The new makeover Google has given to Blogger is great from what I've been able to see so far. I give Google big props for how much the Blogger platform has improved since I started my journey into the Blogosphere a couple of years ago.

When I first started you had very limited choices for your template and there wasn't any stats available for you unless you knew how to add Google Anaylytics manually. That was way beyond my capabilities when I first started using the blogger platform.

I've always been a big fan of Google because they're always looking to improve on their products and 90 percent of them are free to use!


  

e w r e s n o r s t m t e n e o e o . I e e g s r w h e r m s d e I d y y o e e a e f s n I t d u d y d s r r e d e t y s e r u s u w w o d e s . t s y d y s n I t d g e r e s n a g n f e e e s g o e n r s d 0 t f m e e o  

A Must Read For New Bloggers Part 2

There are many different blogging platforms for you to choose from and I will list a couple here and give you my thoughts on them. I have used Wordpress.org and Google's Blogger the most and I like each of them, but they are not the only fish in the sea. Before you start your search for a blogging platform I suggest you write down a list of things you are looking for in a platform and try to find the best match for your needs.

• Wordpress.com- It's free and very easy to use! You could be signed up and have your first post up in under 15 minutes and maybe even sooner than that. They are great to mess around with and get yourself some practice. The only drawback in my opinion is that you are unable to run ads or monetize your blog, but it's free.
• Google's Blogger- Whether you call it Blogger or Blogspot they are the same thing and are owned by Google. It's another very easy blogging platform to get started with, but you must signup for a Google account in order to use it. The Google account will cost you an arm and a leg so be prepared, I'm kidding it's all free and I do recommend you to use it. You not only get a free blog, you are also allowed to put up ads and monetize it! Plus your Google account allows you to have up to 10 different blogs and you are free to monetize them all and you have access to a bunch of other cool Google services like Gmail and Picassa to name a couple.
• Wordpress.org- A self hosted version of Wordpress.com that you have complete control over and can monetize it to your hearts content! There are some other aspects to using this version of Wordpress that you need to take into consideration. You will need to register a domain name and find a host for your site, but don't worry because it doesn't cost that much. My other site BeltwayBoy Sports is a self hosted Wordpress.org blog.

I will be posting links to some really good sites and tutorials for you to use in part 3 of this series.            

What Can Google Do For You

I love Google because they give you a lot of cool services for free. There are certain things they will charge for, but being a new blogger you don't have to worry about any of those just yet. Unless you want to pay them for a domain and hosting, which is a good deal. I would hold off spending any money until you know that you are going to stick with this. Google will give free blogger blogs to get you started, plus you can earn money through ads on your site. If I could do it over again that is the route I would go. It's free to sign up with Google and it's well worth signing up even if you don't use blogger. Gmail is their email application and it is loaded with features, you will never look at email the same way again! My favorite of all things Google is the Google Chrome browser and yes it's free as well. It is easy to use and fast, I love it and everyone I have talked with about Chrome loves it. You are probably reading this and thinking to yourself that I must work or be associated with Google in some way, I'm not. The biggest issue I have with Google is that they need to simplify the adsense installation process, I hate it because for the new guy or gal like myself who have no clue. That is still a problem for me and I may drop the adsense part, there are other options out there. Go and check Google out and see if they have anything you could use to help you along on your journey into the blogosphere, good luck.

What Blogging Platform Will You Use?

After you decide that you are going to give blogging a try, there is one more very important decision you must make. What blogging platform are you going to use? There is a bunch of them to choose from. You have Wordpress.com and .org, I will explain the difference between the two later in this post. Google has Blogger and to be perfectly honest with you, those are the only ones that I have personally used. I like all three of them and each has their pros and cons. They are pretty easy and straight forward when it comes to using them. I started out with a Wordpress.org site. It's Beltwayboysports.com you should check it out sometime. This blog that you are reading is a Blogger site that I got from Google.

Now onto the differences of the Wordpress.com and .org. The differences are .com is free and wordpress will host the site for you, but you don't own the site and can't put ads up if you decide to monetize your blog. I have heard of people losing their blogs because of some type of rules infraction and lost all of their content. Now with a .org blog you control the whole show. You will need to pay for hosting and pick out a domain name like I did with Beltwayboysports.com. I should have went the free route to begin. I knew absolutely nothing and had to figure it out on my own. It really is best to get a handle on how everything works before striking out on your own. It will save you a bunch of headaches, trust me!

Hosting is not all that expensive to get. DO YOUR HOMEWORK when you are searching for a place to host your site. I would recommend my host, but I'm not totally satisfied with their service. I did not do enough homework before I selected them. So I learned a very valuable lesson. I was just so excited to get going and let my guard down for a second and wham. My suggestion is to go and research all the different platforms. Only you will know which one fits your needs. Everyone is going to talk about whatever one they are comfortable working with!

Here is another good resource site that is packed with a ton of great information to help you out as you start your journey into the blogging world. http://2createawebsite.com

Welcome To Basics 2 Blogging

I'm making this site for people who are new to blogging or are thinking of becoming a blogger. I'm no expert and will never claim to be, but I have learned enough to be able to help others who are just starting out. I knew nothing of how a blog worked or anything about the blogosphere when I started out. Where do you go to get information and who can you trust? Should I use Wordpress or Blogger? How do I get people to my site? Can I really make money doing this? How? Those are just some of the questions that I had at the beginning of my journey into blogging. I am glad that I found blogging, I love it and wish I would have started alot sooner than I did! I was one of those people who did tons and tons of planning, trying to make sure of this and that and making no progress. That is something you want to avoid if possible. You must also figure out what you want to get out of blogging. Is this going to be a hobby in your spare time or are you going to try and make some money? That is something each person needs to figure out on their own.