Noob blogger Needs Asist

November 10, 2007 6:42 PM

Any advice for using Drupal with Blogger? Advice for Drupal in general? I know about the APIs, but I'm not sure if this is right for what I'm doing.

I just want my photo-heavy blog to look cool and original without paying for hosting. I'm a total noob, with no existing blog. I'm hoping to get my tools and knowledge together before I actually go live.

Please help this artistic but noobie blogger get started and kick some butt!

Thanks in advance.

posted by snsranch to computers & internet (13 comments total)

I like Drupal, it's well coded, usable, powerful and has tons of modules. However, it can be too much if you're "only" going to have a blog. It's really more community oriented with all the associated overhead. However, if you like the powerful and complex, Drupal will not let you down.

Wordpress might be more appropriate for someone who's new to web publishing. It's relatively easy to develop for, has a huge community, lots of modules, is easy to admin and looks great. Wordpress.com offers you a hosted Wordpress solution and you get a pretty powerful free account and can purchase additional stuff such as storage, your own domain, etc. A pretty good deal if you don't want to worry about hosting, security, backups, etc.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 7:01 PM on November 10, 2007

Hey Foci, thanks. I was reading about Wordpress, but was worried about the "free" aspect. I'll check it out some more.
posted by snsranch at 7:10 PM on November 10, 2007

Actually, you're right about Wordpress.com having a more limited version of the Wordpress software. For starters, you cannot upload own modules and themes. Sorry, I should have checked my facts.

There are, however, a list of "approved" Wordpress hosts which take out much of the hassle of hosting.
posted by Foci for Analysis at 7:23 PM on November 10, 2007

You might want to check this previous question about WordPress with reference to galleries, since you say your blog is "photo heavy" - WP, as wonderful as it is for all things not-photo-gallery-related, may not be for you.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:53 PM on November 10, 2007

I seem to be missing something. How are you intending to use drupal without paying for hosting, and where does Blogger fit in?
posted by Good Brain at 8:16 PM on November 10, 2007

Good Brain, I can't find the exact app right now, but there is a google API that allows one to use Drupal for Blogger. Still checking that out, and that's partly why I'm hitting AskMe about it.
posted by snsranch at 8:49 PM on November 10, 2007

We use drupal and host at Servage who have one click installs for drupal wordpress and many other systems. you also get an enormous amount of webspace.
posted by quarsan at 2:29 AM on November 11, 2007

This question makes no sense. You want to use blogger because you don't want to pay for hosting. Ok. So what does drupal have to do with this? How is drupal going to help make your blogger blog "look cool"?

The only sensible response is "unask the question" and do some more reading.
posted by kamelhoecker at 10:39 AM on November 11, 2007

eeww, troll. thats real helpful.

i second the wordpress option. wordpress is extremely flexible and there are maaany great plugins that handle all types of image galleries. you could integrate something like gallery2 or coppermine. you could use a plugin like YAPB if you only plan to turn your wordpress blog into a an image gallery. there's moblog support out there too.

the wordpress option isn't a bad one.
posted by Davaal at 10:57 AM on November 11, 2007

I'm with kamelhoecker. This question makes no sense.

1. Drupal is a fine CMS, but it is overkill for a personal blog in most cases. Especially for a noob.

2. There may be a way to get Drupal to interact with Blogger, maybe, but A) you'll still need to host Drupal somewhere non-free, B) it would be way above noob-grade expertise, and C) the nature of that interaction is not clear here.

3. Blogger is a fine, basic blog system. So is Wordpress.com.
posted by adamrice at 12:55 PM on November 11, 2007

I wonder if some of the confusion is that Drupal may support the Blogger API for allowing posting via 3rd party blog editors. There may also be a plugin that allows content posted to a drupal site to be republished to another system via the blogger API. I don't see how either of these would help you do what you say you want to do.
posted by Good Brain at 9:50 AM on November 12, 2007

Ok, I get it. Drupal is overkill if even possible and Wordpress is more up my alley. Thanks folks!
posted by snsranch at 4:15 PM on November 12, 2007

On re-reading, I do have a huge amount of space with my ISP, but want the blogger or whatever address for the sake of eventual traffic. (I'm only guessing that it matters.)

Anyway, thanks everyone!
posted by snsranch at 4:22 PM on November 12, 2007