Choosing Blog Software

There are many software options available for blogging. First, you must determine where the blog should live.

Hosted blogs are blogs that, along with the publishing interface, live on the Web server of a blog company. You can also get blog software that you install on your own Web server. There are pros and cons to both.

Hosted blogs are generally faster and easier to set up, so you can start blogging quickly. However, your data lives on a Web server you don't control. If the company's server goes down, so does the access to your blog.

Blogging software you install on your own server is under your control but is usually harder to set up. You often need some pretty advanced technical knowledge to get the software working they way you want it to on your server.

How do you know which to use? That answer, determined by technical and editorial needs, convenience, speed and budget, varies for everyone. Here are the factors:

1. Do you need to start blogging immediately?
2. What features do you have to have?
3. How are your technical skills?
4. Do you already have experience with blog software?
5. How much customization do you need?
6. What are your future plans?
7. Do you need to fit your blog into an existing Web presence?

Technical details differ, but most blogging software works by creating a database that holds your posts, and then displaying those posts in templates. The database is responsible for keeping track of what comments go with what posts and making the search function work. The templates give you a consistent appearance every time you publish a new post. Together, the power of the database and templates means that updates to the design and layout can be implemented without editing hundreds of individual Web pages.

Customizing the blog’s layout, appearance and functions is a big job no matter what blogging software you choose. Most tools include a set of designs you can use if you don't have the ability to code a design of your own. Some also include the ability to add such extras as a list of blogs you read, or photos and audio posts. Look around to find the one that suits your needs and plans best.

Here's a quick — and far from comprehensive — guide to blogging software:

• Blogger (http://www.blogger.com) is a free, hosted blog service that gets you blogging in 10 minutes.
• Typepad (http://www.typepad.com) offers three levels of hosted blog service with lots of add-ins to customize the blog without messing with code.
• Wordpress (www.wordpress.org) is installed on your own server and has an avid community of users.
• Movable Type (www.movabletype.org) is the mother of all blogging software and the choice of serious bloggers.

Many online publishers are using blogging software to run entire news Web sites. Some are even incorporating blog features like comments into traditional news stories. If you are looking for a content management system with the power to run a small, medium or large Web publishing operating and want the bells and whistles that come with blogs, consider:

• Expression Engine (http://www.pmachine.com), a content management system with blog features. [Editor's note: This Web site is run with Expression Engine.]
• Drupal (http://www.drupal.org), an open-source platform that is making waves in the citizen journalism arena.
• Mambo (http://www.mamboserver.com), an open-source content management system with blogging, plus polls, ratings and more.
• Scoop (scoop.kuro5hin.org), a "collaborative media application" that is a lot more than a blogging tool.