Free Resources for Bloggers
Seems the whole world is blogging when you consider the number of blogs there are online. Type in 'blog' to Google and you will get over 8 Billion (yes 'billion') results! That's more than one for every person on the planet. So, chances are, if you are reading this, you have a blog, possibly several (not surprising really as the whole of the world's population isn't online and not everyone blogs so most bloggers must logically have more than one blog).
How's it working out? Do you regard yourself as a successful blogger; do your blogs receive thousands of hits, hundreds of comments and do you make tons of cash from ads on your blogs? Chances are, unless you are a professional blogger (someone who blogs for a living, and yes there are some fortunate souls who are in that position) that you will regard your blogging with mixed feelings.
One thing I have learnt after several years at this is that blogging, if its to be successful (and how we measure success is something 'll look at in another post) requires commitment, of both time and creativity. Not of all us can be great writers, designers, theme developers, Search Engine Optimisation experts all rolled into one. You need to be a good writer (or have good writers on board) to be a successful blogger, but you don't need to be an expert at the others (though it certainly helps).
However, you don't want to be paying out large sums of money to make up for your lack of expertise in the other departments. Instead, you need to find cheap or even free resources for your blog. So lets look at where you might find these.
Online resources for your blog
Let's assume you are a decent writer and focus on the other areas where you might be looking for help and resources:
1. Web hosting - to be a blogger you need to have a website, somewhere to physically host your blog so the world can find it. Now, you can, if you like, pay for your own hosting package and install blogging software on it. Most bloggers however, start out with either Wordpress.com or Blogger.com (Blogspot.com), as these are free.
Both of these have their advantages and disadvantages. Wordpress.com is somewhat easier to use. It's dashboard is cleaner, less cluttered and somewhat less confusing than Blogger.com's. However, Blogger.com has more options and it's easier to add almost anything you want to your blog, especially ads. Wordpress.com doesn't really like ads on your free account. If your aim is to make money from ads on your blog then go with Blogger.com or self-host Wordpress on your own hosting account. That way you get the option to install plugins and run ads.
If you do go with paid hosting (which can be cheap at @£20 per year) you should choose a package that has Fantastico or Softaculous installed. That way you can easily install and uninstall various blogging software (including Wordpress but not Blogger) on your site. Check out the links for more info on this.
2. Themes (sometimes called 'templates' or 'skins') - apart from needing somewhere to physically host your blog, you need to think about its look. Now it's possible to code the whole thing in html and if you were a geek several years ago you probably did. Now everyone uses a combination of php and Xhtml (even Wordpress.com and Blogger.com). This way you can split the content from the design (layout) of your blog, making it much easier to change the look of your site with a few clicks. So, you will need to think about which theme (template or skin) you use and where you will get them from.
Most blogging platforms come with free ones that you can choose from and switch between at will. Usually you will have a wide variety of styles and these days they look frankly brilliant most of them. Once upon a time you would need to be a coding geek to achieve what today can be done with just a few clicks.
To find more choices you can search Google and you will find lots of free themes for the platform you are using. However, bear in mind that if you went with the free option at Wordpress.com, you won't be able to install any themes other than what they offer (around 100). Blogger.com offers a theme editor and you can cut and paste the code for thousands of free templates on the web. If you self-host Wordpress then you can add any theme you wish, free or paid for.
So, where to obtain these free themes, templates and skins? Well, a great place to start for Wordpress themes is http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/. They have 1,339 free themes available at the moment. For Blogger try http://btemplates.com/. They have an excellent selection of themes, over 3,000 at the moment.
3. Graphics and images - every site needs graphics and images to spice up the pages and break up the text. There are several ways to get these and some themes come with not only their own graphic sets (for icons etc) but also images such as royalty free images. You can also search on Google but I find that a laborious method. For additional graphics and images I recommend http://www.obsidiandawn.com/. This is a great source of excellent graphics and images, as well as Photoshop brushes and the like. As long as you stick to their T&C you will have access to some of the best graphics and images on the web.
4. Plugins and widgets - these enhance the functionality of your blog in innumerable ways. Using them you can add great contact forms, maps, calendars, news feeds, twitter feeds, Facebook feeds... the list is endless. Most are free though sometimes its worth paying for advanced features or support. Check out Wordpress.com and Blogger.com for their own selection initially but also take a look at http://yoast.com/wordpress/ for Wordpress plugins and http://widgetsforfree.blogspot.com/ for Blogger widgets.
That should get you started. I hope to cover how to measure the success of your blog and how to make it more successful in a future intel.
A keen photographer who has worked as a freelance photographer in the past for "Professional Nurse" journal and other clients. Many years experience of using cameras (both film and digital) in several formats, of developing my own negatives and printing my own images. Works exclusively with digital and computer graphics software.
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Contributor's Note
I have several blogs, some of which have been going years, some more successful than others. I am not a developer, nor am I a php & xhtml geek. I have learnt bits over the years, enough to get me by and understand how the whole thing works but generally I stand on the shoulders of giants, all in the cause of saving time.
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