I need advice on where to start a new blog

I've never blogged before and would like to start.

I was kindly pointed in the direction of this group and wondered if anyone could tell me what site they juse for their blog and the good and bad points they have noticed about it.

I am new to all this so want something easy to use but which looks nice. I'm not really expecting to use a lot of photo's in my blog.

I want it to be general but with a point and am thinking of writing about my experiences as a new parent, a mixture of "baby did a cute thing" and a "we bought this pushchair/travel cot/set of bottles/etc and this is what we think of them now we've used them" ratings bit.

Any advice is appreciated. I'm in the UK if this makes any difference.

I use Blogspot myself, and think it's easy to manipulate, but every time I see a blog at Wordpress, I am jealous of the tabbing ability and, more particularly, the three-column format. It's just very clean and easy on the eyes. I have considered moving before, but that seems like a lot of work, so I'll probably stay put at blogspot. Blogger's positives are that it's really great in terms of social networking. Also, it links to your Google account (if you have one). However, I don't think you have as much editing control as you might with other blog sites.

2: you can import your blogger (blogspot) into wordpress. It's very easy. Once you create your wordpress blog, just go down the left hand column and under "tools" click import. I maintain both blogger and wordpress blogs because it's easy to just click the import button to bring it into word press. You have to be signed into blogger at the same time you are signed into wordpress for it to work. It brings in everything including date, title, pictures, and even comments.

I haven't ever used blogger, but I absolutely love wordpress. It's clean, easy to use, easy to customize, and stable - I've heard more than one story with blogger locking people out of their accounts or other problems like that, and I've never heard anything similar on WP. It also tracks your stats for you, and all of the behind-the-scenes architecture is well-organized and solid.

The only real downside I've found with WP is that it doesn't let you use javascript on the free site (wordpress.com), so things like the LT cover widget don't work.

I've tried both blogspot and wordpress. I didn't particularly think that wordpress was user friendly for the new blogger.

I think it is a lot easier to make Wordpress blogs look professional, if you're going to lean towards the ratings/reviews or think the blog will go that way in the future. If it is going to be more 'cute baby' then you might as well go with Blogspot, which I understand is easier.

> 3 - That's so good to know!! Thank you :-) I will set up a blog at Wordpress now, just in case.

I really like Blogger. There are ways to fake tabs or if you get good with html and css, to add them yourself. There are lots of free templates available, too, for Blogger, including 3-column ones. I have a 3-column book blog on Blogger: http://shellysbooks.blogspot.com.

It's very simple to use as is, however, for the new blogger. I have tried Wordpress.com and found it frustrating and limiting. Wordpress.org provides software, but you need to find your own hosting.

You could also try Tumblr at www.tumblr.com

Wordpress is easy to orient yourself...

I would suggest wordpress. I've never used the free version, but I rarely hear complaints about it as opposed to the many and varied I hear about blogger. I've known 2 people who have had their blogger blogs deleted due to spammer attacks and I often hear complaints about templates and widgets. The only thing WP can't do is javascript, like fyrefly said. I also tend to think wordpress blogs look cleaner and more professional. If you're going for cuteness, which you might with a baby, blogger is possibly the way to go since there are tons of adorable free templates available.

This is interesting, because I was about to recommend starting with Blogger. My youngest son (who also blogs) believes, as do I, that it is just much simpler for someone new to the game to learn with. I haven't had nearly as much difficulties with it as littlebookworm describes her friends as having.

Hi jodyreadseverything.

Which blog approach would be best for you depends to some extent on whether you want your own domain, e.g.: my_baby_name.com. If you do, then I think that bluehost is probably the way to go. I've been using them for several things for about a year, and been very satisfied. If you commit to a year in advance, which is relatively cheap, I think they even pay for the domain registration. If you sign up for the month by month, then you pay the domain fee, which is just a few dollars.

Signing with a provider like bluehost has pluses and minuses for users. One advantage is that you can have any kind of site or combination site you want, not just a blog; another is that you can have related blogs or web sites under the same account for no additional fees save for the cost of registering any additional domains - just a few dollars a year. Using this kind of provider, you can download basic WordPress for no additional charge, and you also have the option of using any kind of blog- or site-creation software you want locally and FTP'ing the result to your bluehost site.

If you don't care about the special domain name and don't need some of the extra features mentioned by earlier posters, then you've probably already gone the right way with a basic WordPress blog, which has the dual benefit of being both free and relatively simple.

#12 jillmwo Maybe I just hang around on twitter too much and hear all the bad and none of the good! =)

Sounds like we all agree...its six of one...half dozen of the other....

So, Jodyreadseverything, you're right back where you started! For which we all smilingly apologize.

If you import your blogspot blog into Wordpress, do you maintain separate RSS feeds? I, too, use Blogger, but wish I had started in Wordpress.

No all this debate is good. things have delayed my blogging debut but it's good because I have a lot to think about now, thanks everyone.

I'm a new blogger, but I started out in Blogger and then moved to Wordpress after about a week. I just like their styles better and I love the ability to make taps at the top (really good for the about me and any other information you want on its own page).