Current best practices for blogging
I'm getting ready to start posting on my blog that I've neglected for a while.
I'm interested in hearing what are the best practices in terms of the mechanics, not the content of the blog. I've decided to go with Wordpress and use their hosted solution, though if there's a good reason, I can certainly deploy my own version.
Here are some questions, but feel free to expand.
- What widgets do you recommend including in your blog?
- What's a good source for photos and clip art? I'm impressed that so many blogs find good photos to use in their articles.
- Other than twitter, facebook and linkedin, how do you let your network know about a new blog post.
- What tools do you use to post to the various social networks? Cotweet looks pretty good, but I'm sure there are others.
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So I can't use www.wordpress.com because they don't offer many of these modules. So I guess I'll have to self-host this. Which means spending time setting up a server with Apache, PHP, MySql and all the different modules. It's not a huge deal since I have already have a VPS, but I'd rather spend time doing other things. Am I missing something, is there a better way? – Dror 13 years ago
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What modules are you referring to? Not sure what you are looking for, but there are plenty of hosting services out there. We're using GoDaddy. Also, Jason recently launched a new startup, WP Engine, for Wordpress hosting http://wpengine.com I don't know anything about it, or your needs, but I'm sure he'd be happy to give you some info. – Zuly Gonzalez 13 years ago
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I meant to say widgets, not modules. Wordpress.com has very limited widgets. Funny that Jason recently launched wpengine.com. I was just thinking that there's a business opportunity here. – Dror 13 years ago
2 Answers
We use Wordpress for our blog. Wordpress already comes built in with a lot of widgets, like categories, archives, etc. Here are some of the additional plugins we use:
- Akismet: It’s an excellent spam blocker. Hasn’t missed one yet for us.
- All in One SEO Pack: Gives you SEO configuration options.
- Google Analyticator: Gives you the ability to use Google Analytics on your site.
- Google XML Sitemaps: Automatically notifies search engines when content is updated.
- Limit Login Attempts: Protects you from brute force password cracking.
- Secure Wordpress: Fixes a bunch of Wordpress weaknesses.
- Semisecure Login Reimagined: If not using SSL, keeps your password from being transmitted plaintext.
- SexyBookmarks: Allows sharing with just about every social media site imaginable.
- Twitter Tools: Gives you a lot of options to do things with Twitter, including auto-tweeting.
- Wordpress File Monitor: Notifies you of changes to your website.
- Yet Another Related Posts Plugin (YARPP): Does a good job of identifying related posts and puts them in a widget.
For auto-posting to networks: We use Twitter Tools for Twitter, and the NetworkedBlog App on Facebook. For LinkedIn, I use the Wordpress App.
Jason has a post on his blog where he talks about the Wordpress plugins he uses. It’s worth reading. And also check out 8 Free Plugins to Protect Your WordPress Blog from Being Hacked.
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Or just sign up for my new startup (http://bit.ly/WPEngine) and you won't have to worry about speed OR security! (plug!) – Jason 13 years ago
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Haha! Yeah, I've been meaning to look into, I just haven't had the time. – Zuly Gonzalez 13 years ago
I have found that Flickr is a good source for photos. You have to do an advance search for content that is available for commercial use though if you have any intention of monetising your site.
