Blogging..........how to go about it?

[ranjan2001]

A dear friend (non techie)who runs an NGO called up asking advise for making a blog so they can reach out people on the web. I myself dont know much about blogging except that i read a lot of them & they are of 2 kinds one that you install on ur own server &the other are free hosted on public servers such as blogspot.com (thee are many)

Which is better out of WordPress /Nucleus/b2evolution?
Which offers maximum customization with templates/widgets/plugins etc?

Is it better to be on a public server such as blogspot/blogger etc or host yourself with your own domain?

The blog software should be secure & have following feature inbuilt or via plugin

Search engine friendly
Tagging ability
pouplar tags to show on page bottom
recent entries
recent comments
pouplarity%
ability to post inline images (there will be lot of images of the NGO work)
social bookmarking
feed subscription

Wordpress is most pouplar but I am not sure if all these features are part of wordpress or they are part of various themes it can use.

Need suggestion to start a blog soon.
Also suggest firefox plugins & other software for blog publishing.
Is it possible that we make 10 pages in advance but the page would publish 1-1 daily in next 10 days, this would be helpful when they are too busy & can prepare in advance.

[victor_rambo]

1. Wordpress does have all the features you require, either inbuilt or via plugins
2. If he is willing to spend some money, go with your own domain and hosting. Reliable hosting is pretty cheap these days. Hosting + Domain can cost about Rs. 600 rs/yr with http://www.whost.in [I got almost 3 sites with them]

Most websites ate hosted in US, but if you want to host at INDIAN datacenter, it could be damn expensive and feature limited as well. As the guyz here in India are not so much aware of their stuff.

[ranjan2001]

Spending on domain & space is not a problem at all.

I need to find widget/plugins & what they do & some good theme & then set up all ready for publishing, will he need to do any further maintenance?

Once I set wordpress for him how hard is it to maintain on daily basis?

[shashank4u]

Wordpress is the best
For publishing you can use the windows live writer
yes you can prepare posts in advance, they will be published in future at the time you want it to.

If you can spend money then use hosting services otherwise blogspot is a way to go but do buy a domain.

[iMav]

Wordpress. A blog starts and ends at that word.

[The Conqueror]

Wordpress is the Best

[ranjan2001]

Ok so on ur advise I installed wordpress now looking for customization.

[The Conqueror]

To install any additional mods/plugins you need to install wordpress on a server,for which you need to buy hosting.And for hosting you would be needing a domain name.
Some plugins can be found here http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/

Paid Solutions:
Try Outpowerhosting - http://outpowerhosting.com They offer the cheapest plans you will find anywhere And are also the one with highest quality. I myself have got Outpowerhosting and so far my website has got 100% uptime since last 5months. (tests conducted with several scripts and site monitoring websites).
Free Solutions:
If you are looking for a temporary solution , you can try - x10hosting.com which will give u 99% uptime ,adfree 300MB space and 10GB bandwidth. also there is 000webhost.com and if u dont need PHP you should get 110mb.com which will give u 5GB Space and 30GB Bandwidth with of course 99% Uptime.

Conclusion:
I Really Recommend that you get a paid host like outpower hosting.However ,The free hosting sites which i mentioned are quite good but they offer 99% uptime wheras a paid host will give u 99.9% uptime.
Its up to you to decide which host to take.I have offered you with all the choices and I hope that I help you in finding a good hosting company.

And I forgot to add that outpowerhosting has Many Many Satisfied ThinkDigit Customers including me .

[iMav]

Depends on what kind of customization you are looking for, I would suggest you spend on some time going through this thread:

All About Wordpress - Themes, Plugins, Tips and Tweaks

The replies in the thread have a lot of information and links on various plugins and customization options. For paid hosting I'd suggest Expertrio.com, I am on it and love being there.

The basic plan - 500MB @ 500/- with 10GB BW. More than sufficient for your requirements I may say.

[ranjan2001]

Hey Conqueror!
thanks buddy for the details, I have installed wordpress on my domain as of now so I can test it & do the customization.

Once ready I will need to buy space & domain for the NGO & will follow ur advice.

Imav thanks for that link, it has most info about what I would need to setup & run a wordpress blog.

[The Conqueror]

Originally Posted by ranjan2001

Hey Conqueror!
thanks buddy for the details, I have installed wordpress on my domain as of now so I can test it & do the customization.

Once ready I will need to buy space & domain for the NGO & will follow ur advice.

Welcome
I recommended you outpowerhosting since it has the cheapest plans and the most reliable uptime.

[ranjan2001]

Dumb question but I cant figure out how to change the default theme?

I uploaded the new theme via ftp to /wp-content/themes/
the new theme shows up on theme page but I don't find any option to switch themes.

Do I need to overwrite the files in /themes/default/ folder?

[The Conqueror]

You just click the theme you want on the Theme Page and it will get switched.

[thewisecrab]

No, there is no need to overwrite.
It should show up in the Themes Tab of your WordPress Admin Page

[ranjan2001]

Originally Posted by The Conqueror

You just click the theme you want on the Theme Page and it will get switched.

Using WP 2.6.1
clicking the theme was opening a layer showing the theme but it was not switching it.
To switch there is a link on that layer on right top corner "activate theme" I was missing that link.

Problem solved.
Thanks

[The Conqueror]

Welcome
Made The decision of the webhost?