A great way to showcase your scrapbooking to friends and family is to create a free scrapbooking blog at Blogger.com (Blogspot.com). You can create a blog and your friends and family will be able to read all about your activities and get to see some of your scrapbooking in the process. Blogging is easy with the powerful software provided absolutely free by Blogger.com. Start building your blog today and you will be pleased you took on this creative project. 
What is a Blog?
A blog which is short for weblog is an online diary where you can regularly post commentaries, tell stories, describe events and happenings using text, pictures and video. This site is an example of a blog. My object is to inform and share knowledge about scrapbooking to anyone who visits. Your blog may be specifically for invited guests only or open it to the whole world. It's up to you.
Some of the Main Features of Blogger.com
Simple user-friendly interface
No restrictions on bandwidth
Unlimited video storage using YouTube
Photo storage using Picasa Web Album (1 GB)
Support for Mobile blogging
Powerful blogging platform
User advertising banners and Google Adsense allowed
How Do I Get an Account at Blogger.com?
Anyone can sign up at Blogger.com. If you already have a Google account (eg gmail email address) you will find the process of signing up to Blogger.com very easy since Google owns the Blogger platform. The advantage of using your existing Google account is that you can gain instant access to other Google Services such as Picasa Web Albums and Google Reader. If you don't have a Google Account it is easy to apply for one during the sign up process to Blogger.com.
Once you have a Google account you are ready to sign on at Blogger.com. Simply direct your browser to Blogger.com and click on the "Create an Account" button.
Setting Up an Account at Blogger.com
Setting up your blog is a 3 step process: creating an account, naming your blog and choosing a template. You will be prompted for a name which you will use to sign all of your blog posts. As you will see your email address becomes your account name. Once you have created an account you will be free to create as many blogs as you wish using the one account.
Naming your blog requires some thought. Choose a name that is short, memorable and is associated with your blog theme. Long names are difficult to remember and are therefore best avoided. If possible use a keyword or phrase for your blog in the blog title.
The next choice you will be asked to make is to select a template. This can be changed at a later date so don't worry if you are uncertain about your choice at this stage. Choose the template that most closely resembles the look and feel of the site you wish to create. There are a few scrapbooking templates available free on the internet like the one I am using so don't worry too much about the look at this stage. On this site I blog about scrapbooking templates as they are released so check back here often for updates.
Configuring Blogger.com Settings
Basic Settings
Before launching into your first post you will need to set up a few blog settings. From the "Settings" tab click on the "Basic" link and enter the blog title you wish to use and a short description of your site on the page which appears. Make sure you select no to the questions let search engines find your blog and list your blog in blogger if you want your blog to be private. Save these settings by clicking on the button at the bottom of the page.
Formatting
Under the "Formatting" link you will need to adjust the date format and time for your blog according to your geographical location. Don't forget to save these changes.
Commenting
In the "Comments" section you can control how people can comment on your blog. If you want your blog to be private then set comments to members only otherwise set to Anyone. Set the Moderate Comments option to always if you are allowing your blog to be viewed by everyone otherwise you will receive unwelcome spam.
Permissions
You can choose to keep your blog private, invite readers to visit your blog or open your blog up to anyone and everyone.
Once these basic settings are configured you will be in a position to start making posts to your blog. Use the preview button often to help you confirm your changes are successful.
For more information on customising your blog refer to Blog Know How Print this Post as PDF
2 comments:
Finally some instructions I can understand. Thanks for making it easy for me to get blogging. I can't wait!
Thanks for such an informative article and the extensive explanation, it's been very useful.Thanks for such an informative article and the extensive explanation, it's been very useful.
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