Help me GMOB (get my own blog)
July 26, 2018 12:38 PM Subscribe
I would like to have a blog about my garden/gardening adventures/failures/gardening education etc. But what platform is best for my needs?
So I would like to do something productive with my downtime, and since I have a vegetable/herb garden, I suppose the done thing is to blog about it.
But I have some questions about platforms. I had a tumblr for years and left because the toxicity had become entirely not worth it. However admittedly when it comes to images, tumblr is one of the best platforms. I suppose another way to phrase this question is: please oh god please don’t make me go back to tumblr.
I’ve started just throwing pictures from my garden up on an imgur- largely so I can link images here to metafiter during the Saturday metas, but I’m finding that I’m leaving blog level descriptions to each image. Do I get a wordpress? What about that platform that replaced LJ? What blogging platform is free, relatively easy to use and format, easy to put images to, and would let me moderate comments so that the horror show of tumblr doesn’t just replicate in a new format? Do I use one platform and get a separate image hosting account to host the pictures? What am I not thinking of? I suppose if a paid platform was absolutely perfect and not too expensive I might be willing to pay- but it would have to be perfect. Please advise!
Also any advice from personal experience blogging on whatever platform would also be nice, thank you!
So I would like to do something productive with my downtime, and since I have a vegetable/herb garden, I suppose the done thing is to blog about it.
But I have some questions about platforms. I had a tumblr for years and left because the toxicity had become entirely not worth it. However admittedly when it comes to images, tumblr is one of the best platforms. I suppose another way to phrase this question is: please oh god please don’t make me go back to tumblr.
I’ve started just throwing pictures from my garden up on an imgur- largely so I can link images here to metafiter during the Saturday metas, but I’m finding that I’m leaving blog level descriptions to each image. Do I get a wordpress? What about that platform that replaced LJ? What blogging platform is free, relatively easy to use and format, easy to put images to, and would let me moderate comments so that the horror show of tumblr doesn’t just replicate in a new format? Do I use one platform and get a separate image hosting account to host the pictures? What am I not thinking of? I suppose if a paid platform was absolutely perfect and not too expensive I might be willing to pay- but it would have to be perfect. Please advise!
Also any advice from personal experience blogging on whatever platform would also be nice, thank you!
Wordpress.com or any webhost that offers Wordpress as a one-click install. I used to use Dreamhost for this (for nearly 20 years) but they can’t seem to keep my themes from getting malware so I moved to 1and1 and have remained pestilence free.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:24 PM on July 26, 2018
posted by Lyn Never at 1:24 PM on July 26, 2018
Squarespace is very good. After over a decade with Wordpress, I switched over to Squarespace and love it. It is simple and clean, easy to use, and looks more polished than WP, and I had some issues with WP that they didn't resolve for me.
If you want a free platform that is similar to a blog, but you are not looking for anything fancy (pages, categories), perhaps Ello.co might be an option.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 2:16 PM on July 26, 2018
If you want a free platform that is similar to a blog, but you are not looking for anything fancy (pages, categories), perhaps Ello.co might be an option.
posted by Alexandra Kitty at 2:16 PM on July 26, 2018
Thirding Wordpress for your blog, especially the one-click install through your webhost company.
posted by Jade Dragon at 2:35 PM on July 26, 2018
posted by Jade Dragon at 2:35 PM on July 26, 2018
I use a directnic.com hosted wordpress site. it works great and they do all the updates and backups automatically. I have my domains registered there too.
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:36 PM on July 26, 2018
posted by Dr. Twist at 2:36 PM on July 26, 2018
Response by poster: So do I just get a blog through Wordpress for free and then if it blows up get a domain then? Because I’m not sure if I want to spend money up front for something that might get abandoned down the road...
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 3:37 PM on July 26, 2018
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 3:37 PM on July 26, 2018
Domain names are about $10/year, so there's really no downside if you can afford $10; if you've got a name in mind, register that domain. However, the technical aspects of tying a domain to a Wordpress blog have a bit of a curve; make sure the level of Wordpress you sign up for and if you're doing your own hosting that the hosting supports it.
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:59 PM on July 26, 2018
posted by AzraelBrown at 6:59 PM on July 26, 2018
I've been trying out Squarespace and have liked it so far. I used to use Blogger and Wordpress, but I found them both a little clunky. This site has a fairly good breakdown of the pros, cons, and costs of different blogging platforms. They declared Wordpress the winner, but the site IS WPbeginner.com, so I might dig a little deeper than their recommendation and see if any of the other ones strike your fancy.
posted by helloimjennsco at 6:31 AM on July 27, 2018
posted by helloimjennsco at 6:31 AM on July 27, 2018
I switched to Blot recently and I love it. It's got Disqus integration. And it's got most of the advantages of nerdy static blogging applications but it's way, way easier to manage posts and images and themes. I absolutely love it.
posted by Happy Dave at 8:47 AM on July 27, 2018
posted by Happy Dave at 8:47 AM on July 27, 2018
Quote: I suppose if a paid platform was absolutely perfect and not too expensive I might be willing to pay- but it would have to be perfect.
I started blogging about 6 years ago, and if you are serious about it (and wanting it to be really good or even 'absolutely perfect') I would do the following:
Reserve a domain name that reflects your topic or your brand (you could even use your name if you want to build a brand around that). As others have said, not expensive, something like $12/year. I use gandi.net, there are many to choose from.
Find a decent web host (independent of the domain name preferably so you have maximum control), with the aforementioned 'one-click Wordpress installs'. There are many to choose from, I use A Small Orange.
And here comes the fun part: shop around for Wordpress themes. Many are free and very flexible (a 'freemium' model where you can pay $20 - $60 to unlock features and get superior support) or cost money out the gate. A popular marketplace is Theme Forest.
Find what you like, I found blogging an enormously enriching experience, and highly recommend it if you are inclined to write and share and engage.
posted by scooterdog at 1:41 PM on July 27, 2018
I started blogging about 6 years ago, and if you are serious about it (and wanting it to be really good or even 'absolutely perfect') I would do the following:
Reserve a domain name that reflects your topic or your brand (you could even use your name if you want to build a brand around that). As others have said, not expensive, something like $12/year. I use gandi.net, there are many to choose from.
Find a decent web host (independent of the domain name preferably so you have maximum control), with the aforementioned 'one-click Wordpress installs'. There are many to choose from, I use A Small Orange.
And here comes the fun part: shop around for Wordpress themes. Many are free and very flexible (a 'freemium' model where you can pay $20 - $60 to unlock features and get superior support) or cost money out the gate. A popular marketplace is Theme Forest.
Find what you like, I found blogging an enormously enriching experience, and highly recommend it if you are inclined to write and share and engage.
posted by scooterdog at 1:41 PM on July 27, 2018
Response by poster: So I got my blog and put it up on projects here. thanks for the help everyone!
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 12:23 PM on August 26, 2018
posted by Homo neanderthalensis at 12:23 PM on August 26, 2018
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by humboldt32 at 1:00 PM on July 26, 2018 [3 favorites]