IndiaMART Knowledge Services team aims at making knowledge available to SMEs to enhance their business growth. While we are covering the various 'freely' available solutions and services online, this post looks at blogging as an activity and blogging platforms as a service.
What exactly is blogging?
Blogging essentially is about sharing your thoughts on a subject on a 'weblog'. This Wikipedia article defines the blog well. It all started with websites. Even if we trace a couple of years back, websites were the most popular mode of communicating with your customer 'online'. With web 2.0 ushering in, the monologue has now evolved into a two way communication, with your customer's getting as much a chance to engage with your business and not just be at the receiving end of 'a' communication.
How is a blog of help to me/ my business?
A blog though a platform to express views, is a powerful mode of communication with your customers and not just that. Its a powerful mode of taking your message to the intended target audience. Instead of really maintaining a corporate blog, which has its own positioning. A content driven, high on call-to-action blog which shares insights about the business you are in, which lets your customers know you better and engage with you, which gives people interested in the industry, access to information is the best possible choice to make when making a blog.
How do I create my blog?
Even before we go ahead and do it, we must have the purpose clear in our minds. One of the basic most is, whether the blog you are creating, a personal blog OR an official blog! This defines many aspects, starting from the design of the blog to what content goes in there.
Now to the creation aspect: there are many 'free' blogging platforms available, eg:
What exactly is blogging?
Blogging essentially is about sharing your thoughts on a subject on a 'weblog'. This Wikipedia article defines the blog well. It all started with websites. Even if we trace a couple of years back, websites were the most popular mode of communicating with your customer 'online'. With web 2.0 ushering in, the monologue has now evolved into a two way communication, with your customer's getting as much a chance to engage with your business and not just be at the receiving end of 'a' communication.
How is a blog of help to me/ my business?
A blog though a platform to express views, is a powerful mode of communication with your customers and not just that. Its a powerful mode of taking your message to the intended target audience. Instead of really maintaining a corporate blog, which has its own positioning. A content driven, high on call-to-action blog which shares insights about the business you are in, which lets your customers know you better and engage with you, which gives people interested in the industry, access to information is the best possible choice to make when making a blog.
How do I create my blog?
Even before we go ahead and do it, we must have the purpose clear in our minds. One of the basic most is, whether the blog you are creating, a personal blog OR an official blog! This defines many aspects, starting from the design of the blog to what content goes in there.
Now to the creation aspect: there are many 'free' blogging platforms available, eg:
- Wordpress
- Blogspot
- Blogger
The one platform which has gained most popularity lately is WordPress. A free blogging platform which has gained a global acceptance by the blogging fraternity. Its simple, easy to understand, a powerful content management system, scalable and is updated automatically.
Step-wise process to create your own blog, hosted on your own server
When we say hosted on your own server, we mean, the host where you have hosted your website. And just in case if you have not done any hosting yet, we suggest you choose any good web host (there are many available).
- Once you have chosen the host, register a domain name: eg: www.xyz.com
- Along with the domain also buy a hosting package which you can buy for 1 and more than 1 year.
- Once the domain and hosting is activated, you will get access to a 'Cpanel', which will be provided by the host only
- Login to your Cpanel and it will provide you with an easy (generally a one step) process to install "Wordpress" on your "domain name" which you have hosted: www.xyz.com
- This is the simplest way to install Wordpress. The other way is to use a FTP client like filezilla (a free software which you can install on your desktop). fiezilla helps you configure your hosting on it and upload files. Download the latest version of Wordpress here and upload it to your root directory on the hosting server.
- Once Wordpress has been installed, you will be able to access the back-end content management system as: http://xyz.com/wp-admin
- Login with your User-id and password and you will reach to a screen (as shown in the sreen capture below)
Wordpress Dashboard
Once you are logged inside the WP (Wordpress) CMS (content management system) the first screen if seen all at once can be a little overwhelming, but its another 3-5 minutes and you will get a hang of it.
How to go about it?
Lets take it logically:
- Since its a blog, you need to choose/ design how it appears! Simply look at the screen in front of you and expand the link which says "Appearance" and click on the 'Themes' link. This will take you to a screen which will show you options and also allow you to upload new themes.
Wordpress - Theme Appearance
- Once the theme is existing, you will have your basic blog design in real time ready at www.xyz.com, as whatever changes you make through this CMS, get updated instantly on your domain.
- If you are not really a tech-enabled person, do not try to 'edit' the themes till you are well aware of PhP.
- Once you are done, now comes the real deal! How to write the first blog post?!
- On the home screen, the top drop-down option on the left sidebar will say "Posts". Click the "Add New" link on the same.
- What you see on your screen now is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get editor). Which means, whatever you will write, as it will look here, so it will appear on your blog.
Wordpress - Add new post
- Using the top menu of the editor, you can write your post and embed any kind of content in it. From Videos to Pictures.
- Once the post is done, press publish on the top right corner, in the right side bar, choose the category of the content you have written (you can create your own categories), add tags to the post and you are ready to go LIVE!!
For advanced users if this platform, Plugins and Widgets which are freely available and can add a lot of value to your blog!
Happy blogging. IndiaMART Knowledge Services Team will be happy to feature your blogs as comments to this post! Create a new blog and send it to us! For more help, leave a comment to this post and we will be happy to help!
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