Get the word out, with Blogger. Share your life, your product or your ideas for free with this blog service. Blogger has given the world a voice and offers endless template configurations.
Blogger launched in 1999, was bought by Google in 2002 and is one of the most popular free blog services. Since they are owned by Google, they make it easy to sign up for adsense and they automatically submit your blog to the Google blog directory so your blog is available to millions.
We liked Blogger because it is easy to use, yet is flexible enough for advanced users who want to build their own templates. The only drawback to Blogger is that you have to add your own traffic tracking devices if your want to monitor your visitors.
Blog Design Tools:
Access opensource blogs, import blog templates or just use a simple pre–built template with Blogger. Unlike many free blog services Blogger lets you change the HTML code in your templates to customize your blog. Additionally, since Blogger is so preferred there are countless free opensource templates available from other sites, so your template choices are endless.
It is easy to insert images, but there are only a few preset sizes; but, you can change image size with your photo editor and import any size you want. Unlike some sites, Blogger lets you import images from a URL or from a file.
The text box is easy to use and has an HTML mode; it also has a preview and a spell check. You can insert images as well as links and they have a block quote tool and a choice of fonts.
We really liked Blogger’s design options, but for those that are nervous about editing HTML, it may take a bit of practice to figure out how to add links, edit background colors, change borders and so on. But Blogger is free, so if you want to dabble in HTML, this is a good place to start.
Promotion/ Tracking Tools:
The best promotional aspect of Blogger is the fact that it is owned by Google, which means your blog gets automatically submitted to Google’s blog directory. However, Blogger offers few tracking options, in order to get visitor counts or something more than comments you have to add a widget or some kind of third part application that tracks traffic for you.
Ease of Use:
Blogger is simple and easy to use. Posting is straightforward enough for beginners, yet experienced users can manipulate the template’s HTML code to personalize their blog if they want.
Technical Help/Support:
Blogger offers more documentation than most free blog services; they have FAQs, tutorials, user forums and a searchable knowledgebase. In addition, since Blogger is so popular you can also find all kinds of advice online from third party sources.
Summary:
Blogger is a great blog tool. It offers opensource blogs and automatically submits your blog to one of the best directories available, Google blog directory. It is perfect for casual and semi–professional bloggers. Nevertheless, if you want built–in tracking options try TypePad for less than five bucks a month.
