Getting Started

One of things I have been receiving email about recently is how to start a mom blog. So, I decided to dedicate a few tutorials to mommy blogging in general. I am writing these short tutorials specifically for any mom who may feel a little intimidated and clueless about starting a blog, but still thinks it would be fun to do. The first step is to simply get started.

There are several companies (blog hosts) you can use to start your very own mom blog. Some of the companies are more prominent than others, but there has not been a single blog hosting company I've run across that has totally inept online tools and software. Most are going to offer the same perks, some just have more users and greater online visibility.

The three main players in the blogging world are Blogger (now owned by Google) and Typepad, and Wordpress. Blogger and Wordpress are free and Typepad is very inexpensive. I have blogs with all three companies and I have to say I like Typepad (in the SixApart family) slightly above Blogger. There is a simple ease of use to Typepad that I find appealing. The learning curve is minimal and there are several sidebar amenities you can easily add to your blog to render it more interesting to your readers. In all fairness, Blogger has revamped their blogs and now offers automatic save, which saves your draft as you blog (very helpful indeed), as well as a slew of sidebar options.

Although Blogger, Typepad, and Wordpress virtually rule the blogosphere, there are others you may want to consider such as:

* Blogsome
* Blogeasy
* Easy Journal
* SquareSpace
* Vox