What to Look For in a Blog Service

Blogging can be a highly personal endeavor, so you will want to look for a blog site that suites your needs. Some blog tools are tied into personal pages whereas others are integrated with social networking.

On the other hand, other blog services are intended for professional use and include the ability to customize templates, monitor visitors and track referrers.

So when looking for a blog service, pick one that offers you the kind of exposure you want and complements your level of expertise.

Below are the criteria TopTenREVIEWS used to evaluate Blog Services:

Blog Design Tools

• The top blog sites offer an assortment of templates and tools to customize blog entries, including the capability to add photos and sidebar links. Services ought to offer tools for experienced coders as well as non–coders, such as the ability to compose posts in code or through a text editor.

Promotion/ Tracking Tools

• A number of sites host their own blog site with a directory, other blogging services facilitate blog design and submit your blog to several directories. A few also offer tools to help you track visitors, referrers and comments.

Ease of Use

• Frequently blogs are composed and posted by those that do not code, so it is necessary that the service be simple enough for all levels of expertise.

Technical Help/Support

• Since many blogging sites are free, technical support is principally limited to online documentation like FAQs and a searchable knowledge-base. However, the best sites also post tutorials and a weblog that covers help topics.