If yer new to blogging and are trying to figyer owt wich platform to use, I fownd a good deskripshun of the pros and cons of Blogger vs. Wordpress.
KLIK HEER to reed a good summayshun of the relative merits of Blogger and Wordpress.
Showing posts with label wordpress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wordpress. Show all posts
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Wordpress blogs and Spam
I've been noticing that some cats are getting some comment spam. Some of those spam comments are from place selling interesting items. It's easy to go in and delete them. It can get frustrating if for some reason your blog is targeted for lots of this comment spam. Blogger helps because you can insert that little comment verification, however human spam can still get through.
There's also been some targeted hate spam going on in comments of various blogs. I'd like to point out a plugin you can get for your wordpress blog that combats all sorts of spam. Wordpress has many spam plugins. I found a blog using spam karma and I found that particular plugin and so I've used it. I have no real complaints except that from time to time spammers will find away around the filters.
However, it saves me most spam. In the logs I have 84 spam comments and about a dozen approved comments since the last time I checked. I believe that's been about 3 days. Spam Karma automatically captures the IP of your spammer as well as an email address and any other information. You can then either blog the email address (although it's probably fake), the keywords they are using (ie viagra), or you can even block the entire IP. Blocking the IP is dangerous because sometimes people are on a group IP address. However, for a really bad spammer that you can't get rid of any other way, it's a good solution. You can always remove the IP when the spammer moves on.
I still get a little spam, but very little. And if I do, spam karma will help me prevent more from that source in the future. It also gives me tools to work with if I have been targeted for any hate spam coming my way. Worst case scenario, I get a lot of hate spam from one IP. I can block it, but I can also report it to my host and they can block that IP from getting to my site and/or report the spammer to THEIR host.
There's also been some targeted hate spam going on in comments of various blogs. I'd like to point out a plugin you can get for your wordpress blog that combats all sorts of spam. Wordpress has many spam plugins. I found a blog using spam karma and I found that particular plugin and so I've used it. I have no real complaints except that from time to time spammers will find away around the filters.
However, it saves me most spam. In the logs I have 84 spam comments and about a dozen approved comments since the last time I checked. I believe that's been about 3 days. Spam Karma automatically captures the IP of your spammer as well as an email address and any other information. You can then either blog the email address (although it's probably fake), the keywords they are using (ie viagra), or you can even block the entire IP. Blocking the IP is dangerous because sometimes people are on a group IP address. However, for a really bad spammer that you can't get rid of any other way, it's a good solution. You can always remove the IP when the spammer moves on.
I still get a little spam, but very little. And if I do, spam karma will help me prevent more from that source in the future. It also gives me tools to work with if I have been targeted for any hate spam coming my way. Worst case scenario, I get a lot of hate spam from one IP. I can block it, but I can also report it to my host and they can block that IP from getting to my site and/or report the spammer to THEIR host.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
[Wordpress] Backup your Blog!
We had a terrible scare yesterday, I accidentally deleted our blogs database :O Worse still we didn't have a recent backup. It has taken 24hrs, and we finally have it recovered after many hours of work.
Don't let this happen to you! Back up your precious blogs regularly!
For Wordpress users there is an easy to use plugin that will save a back up of your database for you and save you all the stress (we actually did have it installed..and forgot about it *blush*). Wordpress Database backup
Download the file, and upload it to your wp-content/plugins directory. You will also need to change the write permission on your wp-content folder. Activate it in your blogs dashboard in the plugin section. Then go to the Manage tab, then Backup. Download the backup to your computer, or have a copy emailed to you.
Perhaps Skeezix can share some info with the Blogger users on how you can backup your blogs too.
Don't let this happen to you! Back up your precious blogs regularly!
For Wordpress users there is an easy to use plugin that will save a back up of your database for you and save you all the stress (we actually did have it installed..and forgot about it *blush*). Wordpress Database backup
Download the file, and upload it to your wp-content/plugins directory. You will also need to change the write permission on your wp-content folder. Activate it in your blogs dashboard in the plugin section. Then go to the Manage tab, then Backup. Download the backup to your computer, or have a copy emailed to you.
Perhaps Skeezix can share some info with the Blogger users on how you can backup your blogs too.
Friday, January 12, 2007
Monday, January 8, 2007
[Wordpress]Finding and Installing Themes
One of the great things about using your own installation of Wordpress is how much you can easily customise it. There are 1000's of free themes available for download to give your blog an instant new look. (Uploading new themes is not available to those using wordpress.com)
A great places to start is the Wordpress theme viewer, over 1100 themes that you can browse, try out and download.
Once you have found and downloaded your chosen theme to your computer and unzipped it, you will need to upload it to your blog. Using you FTP program, find your wp -content folder, then the Theme folder. Here is where you want to upload the entire theme folder (which will usually be the same name as that of your theme)
Once uploaded, you will need to activate your newly uploaded theme. In your Wordpress Dashboard go to the presentation tab. Here you will find a list of the themes you have available for use. Simply click the screen shot of the theme you want, and your done. You can now admire your spiffy new blog :)
A great places to start is the Wordpress theme viewer, over 1100 themes that you can browse, try out and download.
Once you have found and downloaded your chosen theme to your computer and unzipped it, you will need to upload it to your blog. Using you FTP program, find your wp -content folder, then the Theme folder. Here is where you want to upload the entire theme folder (which will usually be the same name as that of your theme)
Once uploaded, you will need to activate your newly uploaded theme. In your Wordpress Dashboard go to the presentation tab. Here you will find a list of the themes you have available for use. Simply click the screen shot of the theme you want, and your done. You can now admire your spiffy new blog :)
Chey takes on Blogger Vs. Wordpress
Blogger is a great free blog program. Lots of other cats use it. If you have a blogger account, you have no problem commenting on other people's blogs (usually). If you don't happen to have a blogger (now google) account, sometimes you just can't comment.
However, sometimes blogger just gets too frustrating. You have a few choices.
You can get a free blog somewhere else, like at wordpress.com. There are a number of other services that offer free blogs as well. Yahoo has a blog service. Several photo places have services that are geared towards photo blogging. If you surf around online you'll find a number of smaller places offering free blogs as well.
You can also buy your own domain name and get your own blog. Blogger now allows you to do this, but the most popular free blogging platform that can be installed on your own domain is wordpress. We used b2evolution for awhile and played with typepad but much prefer the ease with which wordpress can personalized. If there's something you want to have your blog do, chances are someone has written a plugin to make wordpress do it. You just need to find it and install it.
If you want to look over the features of wordpress, you can do so at wordpress.org. Notice this is a different address than their free blog host, which is wordpress.com. Hosting with wordpress for free limits what you can do with their platform. If you really want to get the features that wordpress offers, it's worth it to buy your own domain name and find some low cost hosting and install wordpress yourself. Doing this does require some understanding of uploading files and possibly even some html knowledge, so it's not as user friendly and quick to set up as blogger. However, if you are willing to take the plunge, you'll never be tied to dread pirate blogger again.
In summary:
However, sometimes blogger just gets too frustrating. You have a few choices.
You can get a free blog somewhere else, like at wordpress.com. There are a number of other services that offer free blogs as well. Yahoo has a blog service. Several photo places have services that are geared towards photo blogging. If you surf around online you'll find a number of smaller places offering free blogs as well.
You can also buy your own domain name and get your own blog. Blogger now allows you to do this, but the most popular free blogging platform that can be installed on your own domain is wordpress. We used b2evolution for awhile and played with typepad but much prefer the ease with which wordpress can personalized. If there's something you want to have your blog do, chances are someone has written a plugin to make wordpress do it. You just need to find it and install it.
If you want to look over the features of wordpress, you can do so at wordpress.org. Notice this is a different address than their free blog host, which is wordpress.com. Hosting with wordpress for free limits what you can do with their platform. If you really want to get the features that wordpress offers, it's worth it to buy your own domain name and find some low cost hosting and install wordpress yourself. Doing this does require some understanding of uploading files and possibly even some html knowledge, so it's not as user friendly and quick to set up as blogger. However, if you are willing to take the plunge, you'll never be tied to dread pirate blogger again.
In summary:
- Blogger offers FREE hosting. You don't have to know anything to get started blogging. You'll have a blogger account so you can comment on anyone's site.
- Wordpress on the wordpress site offers FREE hosting. You don't have to know anything to get started but it is limited on personalization.
- Wordpress on your own site has costs involved in purchasing a domain name and hosting. It requires that you know a little something about website maintance or are willing to learn. However, it is relatively trouble free and allows you to personalize your site as much as you like.
Friday, January 5, 2007
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