Best way to offer blogs to my users
New member here, so sorry if I'm not in the correct area, or if this is a redundant post – I couldn't find anything that quite answered my question...
I'm building a website targeting a niche market, and it occurred to me that it would be cool to offer my visitors the ability to create there own blog, with photo posting, etc. Does anyone have any thoughts on what is the best, most stable script or software package available to add this capability to my site, at a low cost?
Thanks for any help you can offer!
BallyW.
Renegade posted this at 20:34 — 6th June 2006.
He has: 3,022 posts
Joined: Oct 2002
My first thought would be "Why bother?" That may be a little blunt, however, when you really think about it, there are so many sites already out there which offer the same services, what makes your site different? The fact that it's for a niche market? Possibly not.
Is there any special reason why you would want to offer this service apart from the fact that "it would be cool"?
Have a really long hard think about it, if you really think that it is worth investing your time (and money?) in giving your visitors the ability to create their own blog then, by all means go ahead.
BallyWho posted this at 21:10 — 6th June 2006.
They have: 5 posts
Joined: Jun 2006
Hmm, was sort of expecting that kind of response.
The fact is that most ideas have already been done – a person just has to make their effort better, or offer a better look/feel to their site than the competition.
I was hoping for a response to my question, not this kind of disappointing and condescending reply.
Renegade posted this at 21:24 — 6th June 2006.
He has: 3,022 posts
Joined: Oct 2002
Sorry BallyWho if my reply came across as disappointing and condescending - that wasn't my intention.
Although I have not used it myself, I have heard that wordpress is pretty good. May want to google for it and give it a try.
kazimmerman posted this at 21:18 — 6th June 2006.
He has: 698 posts
Joined: Jul 2005
My best advice - search HotScripts. I could probably suggest something if I had some more information about the features you would like and everything, but you were a little vague with your request.
And I don't want to sound "disappointing" OR "condescending" but I agree with Renegade. Most of the time it's just not worth it to offer stuff that seems "cool". Offer something NEW and exciting.
Kurtis
BallyWho posted this at 21:24 — 6th June 2006.
They have: 5 posts
Joined: Jun 2006
Thanks, I have already looked at hotscripts – I was hoping someone here had experience with some of the scripts and could recommend a particular one.
I just want my users to be able to register and create their own blog, and be able to upload photos to their blog. It should be easy to use. Part of why I think this is a valid idea is that my audience may be new to blogging – they're not the usual tech savvy types. So by seeing a friendly looking invitation on my site, it can introduce blogging to a new audience that wouldn't otherwise know how to go about it.
Thanks for any help...
BallyWho posted this at 21:26 — 6th June 2006.
They have: 5 posts
Joined: Jun 2006
Thanks Renegade! I will look into that one!
Renegade posted this at 21:34 — 6th June 2006.
He has: 3,022 posts
Joined: Oct 2002
No problem, just not too sure if Wordpress has useraccounts or not though.
May want to want to have a look at Drupal as well. It has a blog feature and user accounts but it's more a CMS than a blog.
Why not stop by the Introductions area and introduce yourself?
kazimmerman posted this at 22:51 — 6th June 2006.
He has: 698 posts
Joined: Jul 2005
Also, if you are using some sort of forum on your website you may look in to add-ons for your forum. I know that phpBB has add-ons for user blogs and an add-on for a photo gallery. If you don't have a forum but you have a lot of regular visitors, you might look in to getting one of those first.
Kurtis
demonhale posted this at 02:55 — 7th June 2006.
He has: 3,278 posts
Joined: May 2005
Although Im scouring for one like that, I need a more barebones and more like what I defined on my thread... But to help you (since I scoured around) ... Mambo/Joomla has a plugin called Mamblog located here
And also theres Phpizabi although generally a matchmaking software, can be used to function like multiply with plugins for chatboxes etc... located here
I hope anybody else reading here can suggest something for this thread... http://webmaster-forums.net/showthread.php?t=34626&highlight=generate+page
demonhale posted this at 05:51 — 7th June 2006.
He has: 3,278 posts
Joined: May 2005
More Tips:
If you are really interested in using wordpress, you can try and use wordpress Multi User Version located here
If you want support and a much easier install (although you have to pay)...
Try Host-Press for Wordpress plugin located here
BallyWho posted this at 14:32 — 7th June 2006.
They have: 5 posts
Joined: Jun 2006
Thanks for all the great leads. I will have to look at them all and compare the pros and cons!
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