Blogging Software

Blogging Software (also called Weblog Software or Blogware) is software designed to simplify the creation and maintenance of Blogs. As specialized content management systems, weblog applications support the authoring, editing, and publishing of blog posts and comments, with special functions for image management, web syndication, and moderation of posts and comments.

Features

Post and comment management

All weblog software supports authoring, editing, and publishing of entries in the following format.

• Title, the main title, or headline, of the post.
• Body, main content of the post.
• Permalink, the URL of the full, individual article.
• Post Date, date and time the post was published.
• Blog entries can optionally include the following:
• Comments – Comments allow readers to discuss blog entries, correcting errors or otherwise expressing their opinions on the post or the post's subject.
• Categories (or tags) – indexes to subjects discussed by the entry
• Trackback and or pingback – links to other sites that refer to the entry

Other Features

• Most weblog applications also have various linking and web syndication features. Web syndication is usually offered in the form of RSS or Atom. This allows other software (such as feed aggregators) to maintain a current summary of the blog's content. Some services and organizations also offer extended features to aid communication, such as the wiki capabilities in Socialtext and Traction TeamPage.
• Most weblog applications support English and many other languages. The user selects a language during installation.
• Post moderation requires users to register before commenting, or requires individual posts or comments to be approved by a moderator or administrator before they appear in the blog. Weblog applications use various user account systems that allow readers to post comments to a particular blog. For instance, users with Blogger accounts may comment on any Blogger blog. Other weblog applications allow users to post content or comments only to blogs where they have an account.
• The posting API varies among different weblog applications. The typical interface is a form to be filled out online, with a varying number of fields. Applications such as Movable Type offer a greater number of form fields and choices than applications such as Blogger. Some applications also have plugins for Firefox that integrate into the browser's menus so that right clicking on selected text on any given web page brings up a small window that allows the user to post directly to their blog.
• Most types of blogware support adding thumbnail images within blog posts. Photo blogging is a separate genre of blogging that deals primarily with images.