So You want to blog? Stop. Read this first.

So you want to setup a blog to reach your congregation.  To build relationships and expand to minister to more people.  Before you jump into the world of blogging, let’s take a few minutes to go over some of the basic recommendations as an experienced blogger/web designer/ SEO expert that I can give you.

Pick Your Platform…Use WordPress.org

There are many types of blogging platforms out there.  From the old days of Xanga and Live Journal to Typepad and Blogger.com.  The hot platform today however is WordPress.  Before we move on, let me let you know there is a significant difference in WordPress.com and WordPress.org.

WordPress.com

Wordpress.com is a blogging platform that is already setup for you.  It is a giant network of blogs similar to Blogger.com.  While a blog with WordPress.com isn’t necessarily a bad choice, I would recommend going with WordPress.org.  Why? You’re probably thinking well Michael, I’m just starting out. Don’t I need something simple?  Yes you do.  But.  Using WordPress.com as a platform will prohibit certain expansions of your blog later on.  Bottom line is you can’t fully control all aspects of WordPress.com.  If something happens and WordPress.com goes down or goes out of business, what happens to your content if you didn’t back it up? Now this is not a knock against the fine folks at WordPress.com. They do a wonderful job and in fact, I would recommend trying them out if you want a feel for online blogging.  Just remember you will be limited in future options.

WordPress.org

Wordpress.org is a blogging platform which you install on your own server.  In other words you have full access and control over your platform.  You can install an unlimited amount of themes and plugins as well as do some extensive custom coding (or get some done for you) as you want.  You can also make it as simple as WordPress.com but while keeping the flexibility to very easily expand in the future.

A platform you control

Why is a platform you control fully important?  Well if you are serious about blogging and reaching people for Christ, you want to make sure you can control your content and all aspects of that content.  You want a place that is memorable, unique, and fitting to the culture of your church or your personality.  Other platforms can be prohibitive on this point.  It is also easier to perform SEO (search engine optimization…i.e. ranking high on a Google search) with a platform you control.  Did I mention WordPress does an excellent job of this out of the box?

What now?

So I hope you are glad you now know not to start on a prohibitive platform.  If you do, many of those platforms do allow you to export your data and you can do so fairly easily and painlessly.  However, if you want to start with the correct setup from the beginning.  Return for our course at bloggingforpastors.com when it launches.  We’ll show you for free how to setup your own blog with WordPress in a matter of minutes and we even offer a premium service to install it all for you.  Want to know when we’ll launch? Signup for our email newsletter below.  Make sure you also return later for more posts of getting ready to launch your blog.  You won’t want to miss it!

As usual take this information to change your mindset, change your ministry, and most importantly, change lives!