To understand what features constitute a good platform it is best to revert to our earlier discussion on making the most of the blogosphere as a visitor. We can conclude that the following features can be considered as visitor friendly:
1.
Font Characteristics: Fonts should be large enough so that the visitors do not have to squint to read the content. Font colors for normal text and links should be such as to aloe sufficient contrast with the background.
2. Page Style: Garishly colored pages are put off; not many like to read red text off a bright yellow page. But if the mood of the blogger is happy one, using a gloomy grey would also make it difficult to connect with the reader.
3. Page Layout: The reading experience should not be marred by an obstructive layout. Inserting ads right in the middle of the post text is generally a bad idea, as is the practice of using a very narrow post column leading to lot of scrolling. Having links to important pages at the very bottom of a long page is as good as not having them at all.
4. Page Content: Extraneous content can be blighting. While ads are a conspicuous bloat, there are other less noticeable irritants. A blog can be blogged down by the number of comments posted by the visitors. A page containing two-sentence post followed by 100 comments will time to load, testing the visitor’s patience. Visitors to the site are more interested in what the blogger has to say. SPAM messages that are not promptly weeded out form the comments leave a bad impression. A page containing 10 posts will not only take time to load, but also will increase the time taken to dig down to the interesting post. Having one page per post would preclude this effort. Putting up large images or links to them without offering a preview is also a bad idea. It is better to put a smaller version of the original message on the blog page, with a link to the larger original image.
5. Visitor Ads: Visitors should have easy access to links to book mark the blog, for example to sites like del.icio.us. they should also be given a chance to subscribe to the blogs feeds so that they can remain updated about changes to it. Visitors appreciate the ability to voice their opinion about the blog through the comment box. They should not be made to wade through all the posts in search of a specific entry. Posts need to be tagged/categorized relevant to their content. A search box which saves a lot of effort for the visitor is a must, especially if there are a lot of posts. Easy access to previous posts or preferably a calendar showing the dates in which the blogger has made a post is also recommended.
6. Optionals: A blog is best known by the blogroll it keeps (just as a person is best known by the company he keeps). Linking to other blogs also keeps the visitor exploring the blogosphere. But caution needs to be exercised when it comes to linking to other blogs in the post – in some cases, the habit could lead to a frustrating experience to the reader, if the actual source of the information is one click too far away. So rather than add one more link to an already long chain of blog links, it is better to link to the actual source of information-even if you were led to it through another blog. Besides bookmarking sites, easy posting to community editing sites like Digg.com is also a plus. Offering a link that allows the post to be e-mailed is recommended. An “About me” page offering information about the blogger would offer a face to the content.
From the above we can conclude about the features that a blogging platform should support.
These are:
1. Range of Template options: The template controls the page color, page layout, and font characteristics. The default template need not be everyone’s taste, but having a range of options ensures some level of customization.
2. Ease of template modifications: Bloggers conversant with HTML/CSS should have the freedom to tweak the code of a template to create a unique layout.
3. Ease of layout modification: The position of various items on the page-calendar, search box, comment box, blogroll, etc. – should be easily customizable.
4. Comment regulation: Regulating comments ensures that only those approved by the blogger are displayed, comments should be held in abeyance till the blogger reviews them. Some bloggers may not be keen to have any comments-in such cases disabling comments should be possible.
5. Ease of uploading pictures (at least): it is much easier to describe the fun of a picnic with a picture rather than a page of full of verbosity. Pictures should not be displayed as is on the main page, rather an optimized version which acts as a link to the original image should be included.
6. Tagging/Categorizing Capability, Search Utility: Both will help visitors get visitors get to relevant posts fast.
7. RSS/Atom Feeds: To allow visitors to be updated of changes without visiting the site.
8. Posting Parameters: The numbers of posts to put on a page, allocating a permalink per post, etc. are all the aspects that influence a visitor’s experience.
9. Ability to add external code: The most popular way to make money on the net is to have visitors to a site click on ads. If the platform does not allow to insertion of additional code in the form ads, you won’t be making any money.
It is essential for a net businessperson to be able to classify the visitors. Site tracking scripts need not be inserted in the template code so that visitors’ actions on the site can be observed. This information would be useful to improve the site layout. External code also includes that which makes it possible to post the link to dig.com or del.iciou.us
10. Pinging Blog Trackers: Unless tracing sites are pinged with every new post, they will not turn up in search results.
Needless to say, a professional blogger should invest in learning at least the basics of relevant coding languages or have someone with the required knowledge at his disposal. This would come in handy to make modifications to the template code. While dedicated blog hosts would be willing to extend support, it would sometimes be necessary to make modifications to the platform yourself.
Additionally, in case where the blogger intends to use one of the free platforms with a paid or free Web Host, it is expected of the blogger to upload and configure the platform on the server, besides handling any glitches that occur from time to time. Since most platforms are coded in PHP/Perl and use some form of database like MySQL in the backend to store the site contents, knowledge of how to integrate the modules of the blog to work seamlessly will be critical to its proper functioning.
WRITING BLOGS:
Be on a constant run to improve your writing skills. Form is as important as content. You don’t need to be able to write a gripping thriller but everyone like to read a well written blog. Grammar and punctuation is one thing-which we’ve already mentioned; maintaining a style is one thing-which also we’ve already mentioned; but the bottom-line is, to be famous (which, we’re assuming, is your idealistic ultimate goal), you need to write well.
We can’t teach you how to write well. But when we say “writing well” we are referring to such things as twisting phrases to make them a more interesting; using language to make a dull topic more approachable; making your posts gripping enough to hold your readers’ attention for at least the span of the post; avoiding clinches and clinched phrases; not going into “lyrical digression” – where the writer increases word count and wastes bandwidth by avoiding the central topic and beating round the bush and only then coming back to the point at hand, as we have done with this phrase.
Good writing is an art, nothing less-“it is as much of an art and skill as playing a musical instrument is. There are several resources on the Internet on how to improve your language and writing skills; a good place to start is www.poynter.org. It’s meant specifically for journalists, but you’ll find there more than a couple of tips on good writing.
We did say form is as important as content, but it works the other way round too-content is as important as form! If you do write well, don’t be under the delusion that, that can be your selling point. Not true. No-one these days have the time to read just for pleasure-reading a post of yours should be worth your readers’ while.
A final touch: fonts are important. Choose a font in keeping with your content. Avoid horrible fonts like comic sans in any situation.
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