Comparing Free Blogging Software

With the increased interest in Blogging (web Logging), many web hosting providers now provide an assortment of free usage, open source blogging software packages. Among the most popular of these blogging tools are B2evolution, WordPress and Nucleus. Each of these programs offer similar basic features, so the question arises as to which one is easiest to use and would be appropriate for the requirements of your particular website.

The answer lies in the true purpose of your blog website. If your primary goal is to share your opinions and ideas with the general public, you would want to utilize a different blogging tool than a user who was creating product blogs as a commercial sales effort. A blog for search engine promotion would have entirely different requirements. All of these uses are viable reasons to create a blog, however each requires different features to be successful.

WordPress Blogging Software
Available for free download at: http://wordpress.org/

It is hard to beat WordPress for general personal blogging. WordPress is an open source, state-of-the-art personal publishing platform with a focus on presentation and usability. Everything related to creating and updating your blog is available through an intuitive graphical interface. With WordPress there is no need to compile your work. You simply write your column. You then select the features you want and your blog is instantly created and published to your website.

If you are on vacation, you can schedule your uploads for some date in the future or even email your column to the server! The system allows multiple users with multiple blogs divided into categories and sub-categories. This allows multiple family members or friends to create their own blogs along with yours.

Easy customization and the availability of many "plug-ins" that provide more functionality (add new features as you learn) makes this software a very good choice for most individuals.

B2evolution
Available for free download at: http://b2evolution.net/

B2evolution is another advanced web log tool that features an integrated XHTML validator. It supports recursive subcategories, cross posting and has a really cool integrated "skinning" system.

The "skinning" system allows you to create multiple blogs in separate categories with different appearances for each blog. You simply "change the skin" for the blog to create a totally new look and feel.

The "skinning" feature, combined with the built in multi-user administration management tool, makes the system robust enough for more commercial endeavors, such as product promotion blogs. If you have much to publish with multiple themes, this is the software you are looking for.

Nucleus Blogging Software
Available for free download at: http://nucleuscms.org/

Though Nucleus is an extremely robust blogging tool in its own right, it also contains some powerful features that can provide benefits in promotion of your blog.

Nucleus offers the ability to optimize its URLS, creating simple page addresses that do not have and "&" or "=" characters. This makes the pages search engine (and user) friendly. Another great feature is the ability to show the contents of multiple weblogs on one page. This could allow awebsite owner to manipulate the optimum text / keyword balance on pages for better search engine rankings.

Nucleus also provides RSS and Atom feeds that can be extremely helpful when promoting a website. If part of your blog's function is to work as a search engine marketing and promotion tool, Nucleus is an exceptional software package.

Each of these blogging software packages offer the basic tools that you would need to create a successful blog and all three are PHP - MySQL open source (free to use) packages. You should try to select the software that helps you achieve the long term goal that you have in mind for your website based on the unique extra features offered by each.

Don Beavers lives in Bryan/College Station, Texas and is an enterprise level PHP-MySQL programmer at both the Shopping Elf Shopping Guide and the Datavor Web Directory.

More Resources

Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting

More Blogging/RSS Information:

Related Articles

Blogs: The Hidden Ace Up Your Sleeve
If it wasn't for my blog, I wouldn't make any online sales at all.It's true that I have a "regular" website, my so-called "main website," which I first set up to sell my goods, in this case, men's and women's health products.
The Key To Marketing With Blogs
I've spent months answering questions from marketers about blogs and blogging and how they fit into the marketing mix. Still, 99% don't understand the power of blogging.
Top 6 Reasons for Having a RSS Feed - Come and Explore the Possibilities!
Getting traffic to your website can be hard. No one just randomly types in "makelotsofmoneyonlinequicklyandfromhome.
How to Use RSS for Free Targeted Website Traffic
RSS (real simple syndication) is the new rage in communication. Why? Because people are beginning to see the traffic and communication potential of using RSS to boost their business.
RSS Feeds Can Increase Your Sales
RSS feeds are reshaping how we access information online. In the past, when you wanted to know when your favorite information site had some new information on it, you had to go visit the website, wait for it to load, get distracted, etc.
Internet Communication
Email, Instant Messaging, Blogs, RSS, Forums and Listservs: What's Next?How do we keep Internet communication simple? Let's start by taking a look at the different methods used to communicate on the web. It is important to understand the nuances and benefits of the different forms.
Business Blogs and Their Benefits
Blog is a medium for self-expression on web. Blogs are in the form of few paragraph entries.
Should Affiliates Really Use Blogging and Pinging To Get Indexed?
There seems to be a huge craze lately with everyone trying to blog and ping to get their websites indexed into the search engines. Although this can be a great tool, all marketers should first understand exactly what they're getting themselves into before starting.
5 New Internet Marketing Opportunities Through RSS
When it comes to new internet marketing opportunities for your business, RSS just might be the answer you were looking for. Here are just some of the new opportunities it can provide you with ?1.
Blogs: A Fool Proof Way to Attract Visitors
Blogs might seem like an old hat at this time as by now really everyone has one him- and herself. But exactly this fact is what makes them such a valuable promotion tool even for long existing websites (that are no blog and don't have one yet): The wide and large userbase.
Increase Traffic to Your Blog from Search Engines - The Top 5 Tips
Your favorite thing about having a blog may soon be this - they naturally attract search engine traffic.Blogs already have optimized site architecture.
Promoting Your Business Using Blogs
Internet marketing using blogs has quickly gained a lot of popularity as a wonderful way to promote your business.There are many ways that blogging can help in the promotion of your business.
Just Tag It!
Tags - Revolutionary or Just Folly?Just another trend or something else?Trends happen overnight! Some catch on fast and explode very quickly into our every day use.Most of these trends you can ignore as silly follyor at the most fine amusement.
Boost your Search Engine Rankings with an RSS Feed
I'm here to teach you about how RSS Feeds can boost traffic for your website. You may have heard of it, but I guarantee you are not harnessing the full power of the tool.
Blogging Can Improve Your Search Engine Ranking
Search engines are after one thing - providing their users with the most relevant and up to date information to match the search term that was used. Search engine results are no good to users when the information doesn't relate to the search term.
Reachout Throughout - RSS
RSS has been around for more than a decade but until recently "Rss Technology" started penetrating its roots deep inside the soil of the so-called E-world.Using this standard, web publishers provide updates, such as the latest news headlines, special announcements, press releases or weblog postings through their RSS contentReally Simple Syndication (RSS) is a lightweight XML vocabulary for describing metadata about web sites, ideal for news syndication.
Use RSS Feeds to Improve Search Engine Optimization and Ranking
RSS is rapidly becoming a "must have" for a proper search engine optimization. But what exactly is RSS?RSS or Rich Site Syndication (or Really Simple Syndication, depending on who you ask) is a file format similar to XML, and is used by publishers to make their content available to others in a format that can be universally understood.
Blogging - Whats It All About
A blog usually is a web page that contains brief, discrete hunks of information called posts. These posts are arranged in reverse-chronological order (the most recent come first) and each is uniquely identified by an anchor tag which is marked with a permanent link that can be referred to by others who wish to link to it.
Blogging for Personal Benefits
While there is a lot of debate about blogs replacing emails in the future, I would rather look at blogs in a different perspective. The purpose of all technology is to make life easier for the user.
Why Would You Use Blogs Instead of a Web Site For Your Online Business?
Why would you use Blogs instead of a web site for your online business?What's wrong with using a web site for conducting your online business? How can Blogs help and why should I need one anyway?Combining a website and a Blog however offer a number of superior advantages in terms of traffic generation, marketing and efficiency which a stand-alone website cannot do.(a) Automatic push-button publishing.