dick garrison | 28 Jan 2014 3:31 a.m. PST |
Hi guys, I hope you can give me some pointers as I'd like to start a blog so I can share some of the stuff I'm getting up to that is not directly related to "Wargames Supply Dump". So is there anyone out there can help me out with the following
. Who is a good/the best provider to start blogging with (simple and free please)? How easy are they to set up (Computer illiterate here!!)? Can I link it into our WSD website? I'm not on "Twitter"/"Facebook" does this matter? Can I report on stuff I'm doing for WSD games but not stuff I intend to sell, just stuff for me (like sceanics for my for Dick Garrison games etc..or would I be better doing a page on the WSD site to cover this? Can I do a free blog without adverts/pop-ups (I don't want to make money out of the blog just share ideas/pictures)? Do you have to ask companies permision to use photo's of thier figures? Anything else you think I need to know or would be helpful. Thanks in advance for any help I know some of you already run some excellent blogs so all help will be appeciated. Cheers Roger. |
MajorB | 28 Jan 2014 3:37 a.m. PST |
Who is a good/the best provider to start blogging with (simple and free please)? wordpress.com How easy are they to set up (Computer illiterate here!!)? You don't need to be an expert just able to follow instructions Can I link it into our WSD website? It's your blog, you can do what you like with it. I'm not on "Twitter"/"Facebook" does this matter? No. Can I report on stuff I'm doing for WSD games but not stuff I intend to sell, just stuff for me (like scenics for my for Dick Garrison games etc.. or would I be better doing a page on the WSD site to cover this? You can report on what you like, it's up to you. Can I do a free blog without adverts/pop-ups (I don't want to make money out of the blog just share ideas/pictures)? Yes. Wordpress doesn't have adverts. Do you have to ask companies permision to use photos of their figures? Photographic copyright belongs to the person who took the photograph, not the subject of the photograph. |
14th Brooklyn | 28 Jan 2014 4:30 a.m. PST |
I completely agree with the Major. One positive thing about wordpress blogs is the spam detection. Instead of using Captcha (this annoying thing where you have to type in the words and numbers you can not even read at times) it uses a system which analyses the text someone typed. In nearly three years it has detected over 190K spam comments to my blog, without single false negative and only three false positives. I find this is a huge plus on their count, since Captcha is the one thing that really, really s me off when posting to blogs! Cheers, Burkhard link |
dick garrison | 28 Jan 2014 4:45 a.m. PST |
Thanks guys, so can wordpress be done for free?, when we had a look last night it seemed like you had to pay for it (I not being tight fisted here but I really want to see have it goes before I start spending money). I'llhave another look. By the way Burkhard your blog is wonderful!! Cheers Roger. |
freewargamesrules | 28 Jan 2014 4:46 a.m. PST |
I've used blogger for years and that is simple to set up for complete novices too. Have a look at other wargames blogs to see what others are doing. |
cpt shandy | 28 Jan 2014 4:47 a.m. PST |
I second wordpress – when I started my blog, I was afraid of getting frustrated by the interface (I don't like to spend time learning how to interact with programs
), but everything is really easy, even I understood it. |
freewargamesrules | 28 Jan 2014 4:47 a.m. PST |
Roger, With WordPress you pay for premium features. Basic features are free. |
dandandan | 28 Jan 2014 5:39 a.m. PST |
Wordpress is free unless you want premium features. If you want complete control and have your own webspace where your own site is hosted, you could just download the wordpress software from wordpress.org for free and install it on your server. But, yes, go for wordpress, either hosted at wordpress.com or download the self-hosted software. It's tons better than blogger – anyone who says it's not knows nothing about the subject! And if you decide to move from wordpress.com to your own self-hosted version of wordpress in the future, then you can simply export everything to it without messing around. |
Matt Black | 28 Jan 2014 6:23 a.m. PST |
Hi Roger, I don't think it makes much difference either way but it seems a lot of wargame bloggers (as far as I can tell) use Blogger. If you look at Burkhard's (great & entertaining) blog the majority of his links on his Blogroll have a blogspot address rather than a wordpress address. I only choose Blogger because it was what the excellent 'Tarleton's Quarter' blog used. And if I can set one up and maintain it, it has to be easy. Good luck with your efforts either way. Regards, Matt ubique-matt.blogspot.co.uk |
kreoseus2 | 28 Jan 2014 6:38 a.m. PST |
I use blogger, my friend uses wordpress. Both are free and would seem to suit your needs. I found blogger very easy to use. Phil. |
Caesar | 28 Jan 2014 8:13 a.m. PST |
I was using 6sided, which was Wordpress but he offered loads of premium features for free. When he shut down I migrated to Wordpress but found features I was using for free now needed to be paid for. I was spoiled! Since I am not interested in paying (it's something I just occasionally post to), I switched to Blogger. |
14th Brooklyn | 28 Jan 2014 11:36 a.m. PST |
Dick, As others have said, Wordpress is free as long as you do not want too many premium features. And even that varies depending on the them you use. I use one with fairly few premium features included and the only thing I feel is missing is the custom header (which is why I may change the theme this year). But there are lots of free themes that allow for custom headers for example. The one thing I was really worried about was the space for hosted images. Face it, we wargamers post lots of those. But after nearly three years and 222 posts I am barely at 10% of the limit. So nothing really to worry about. Oh one more thing I like (not sure if this is your gusto) but they have real good apps for mobile devices. I do a lot of editing and replaying to posts on both my iPad and iPhone and it works out fine. I even went so far and wrote this years New Years post on Waterloo Bridge (with a photo taken on spot) while waiting for the Fireworks. Cheers, Burkhard P.S.: Thanks for the nice comments about the blog. I am no IT professional by far and if I could do it
Anyone can! |
TMPWargamerabbit | 28 Jan 2014 1:40 p.m. PST |
Been with Wordpress since 2011. No issues and my blog has stood the time test. I have just written, blogged and posted photos to exceed the basic free 3 Gigs free limit late last year. To expand to 13 (10 plus the free 3) Gigs just cost me $20 USD per year. Blogging forward I say with Wordpress. They have a menu of priced options but I just now use the extra storage option for now. WR link |
Bunkermeister | 28 Jan 2014 3:25 p.m. PST |
I have been on Blogger for over 5 years and posted 10,000+ photos on my Bunker Talk blog. I pay $5 USD a year because I went over the storage limit for photos, but it took about 3 years to get there. The $5 USD per year should keep me going about 10 more years. It is pretty simple, there have been a few glitches over the years but they seem to get fixed within a couple days. Mike Bunkermeister Creek Bunker Talk blog |
Meiczyslaw | 28 Jan 2014 9:08 p.m. PST |
I can also put in a good word for the WordPress software. I don't use their website, because I need too many web addresses. Instead, I'm on Dreamhost, and get e-mail hosting and other services beyond the blogging. My site: purplefuzzymonster.com Dreamhost: dreamhost.com |
Matt Black | 29 Jan 2014 2:57 a.m. PST |
Hi Terrement, When you create a new post, a 'Post settings' options should appear on the right hand side of the page. Under this will be a 'Labels' tag. Click on this and a dialogue box will appear. Type in your own appropriate labels i.e. WWII, Romans etc. (individual labels always need to followed by a comma otherwise it won't work properly) then click 'Done'. The next time you create a new post these labels will automatically appear as options under the original 'Labels' dialogue box. You can simply add new labels as you go along using the method above. Hope this helps and, more importantly, makes sense. If you have any more queries feel free to ask. Regards, Matt ubique-matt.blogspot.co.uk |
dick garrison | 29 Jan 2014 9:42 a.m. PST |
Wow thanks guys, I (and more importantly my better half) with wade through all this and take a look at all your suggestions. Once I get one up and running I'll let you know through the TP, thnks again. Cheers Roger |
WaltOHara | 10 Feb 2014 10:47 a.m. PST |
I'll weigh in as an enthusiastic fan of Wordpress.com. I love the level of administration it gives me. Also, the security is very good. And totally easy to use. AND FREE! Walt |