If you plan to start your own blog, then research is going to be your best friend for a while. You have to gather the most relevant pieces of information you can find on the internet in order to choose what’s best for your own situation.
Depending on the nature of your blog and how well you understand technology. Owning a blog has multiple benefits, and one of these benefits is represented by personal growth. You will learn many things about the blogging world, internet tools, quality content, and online marketing, while also pursuing your dream and sharing your opinion. In time, your blog has all chances to become a true user-acquisition channel, without having to invest a lot of resources into this process. By reading this article, you will learn what content management system is suitable for your requirements and how to succeed at blogging in the shortest time possible.
Choosing a niche
It is important to select a niche for your blog because otherwise, you won’t get a stable subscribes/visitors base. Posting random content will be confusing for the people who visit your blog and you won’t be able to select a theme because the blog is too general. You need to find a niche that you would enjoy the most and focus on it. Based on this niche, you should be able to choose the appropriate tools for creating and publishing content, as well as choosing the right themes and the proper goals to achieve through your blog.
Of course, choosing a niche can be difficult, considering that there are so many topics and themes out there that you might enjoy or have knowledge in. You should start researching these topics and find one that is both enjoyable and looked for. Your primary blog topic is going to be the reason why people access your website, so choose carefully. Making a switch of the topic when your blog already gained some popularity can be tricky and dangerous because the fanbase that you already built might not be interested in other subjects other than the ones that you initially posted. Choose an approach, apply it and see how things go afterward.
Comparing the most popular content management systems
You should choose a content management system that you fully understand, that offers you the necessary tools to publish your content and that is compatible with what you want to do in the future. The most popular choices among bloggers are Drupal and WordPress. Here is a short description of each and a comparison that should help you choose between them:
- Drupal
First of all, Drupal is free, which means you don’t have to spend extra on a content management system. You will get great flexibility and customizability, keeping in mind that Drupal offers around 30 000 modules to change and expand the system as you like. It is suitable for blogs, corporate sites, and e-commerce solutions, in case you change your mind on the go. Plus, Drupal is extremely safe – important websites of big corporations, governments or big online stores use this platform. Security vulnerabilities are not an issue when selecting this system, and updates are launched periodically. Another strong reason why one should choose Drupal is that there are over one million members in the community and over 20 000 developers who talk about this system daily and solve problems as they appear.
- WordPress
WordPress is simple to use, has plenty of facilities, is safe in operation and is also trustworthy. Millions of websites worldwide run WordPress and they are vibrantly beautiful and responsive. It is an open-source platform, so you don’t have to spend any money on it and you have access to the code behind it. It is considered by some the platform of the moment and is very intuitive, so you don’t need to know many things about technology to find your way with WordPress. This content management system has a very active community, meaning that you can get support whenever it is required. What’s great about WordPress is the huge offering of templates, that can be changed very easily. Another factor that makes people choose WordPress over other systems is that it features around 20 000 plugins that can help with different features.
The Drupal vs WordPress battle will go on and on, but one thing is sure – you need to choose the one that is appropriate for your own needs and knowledge. They are similar from many points of view, but they are also different, and that makes the choice quite tough to make.
Helping your blog gain popularity
There are a few rules that you can’t ignore if you want your blog to become popular. Once you’ve selected a content management system and you are ready to manage your blog, follow these few rules and you have all chances to reach success very fast:
- Choose interesting topics that people look for
Don’t forget that everything you post on your blog must be somehow related to a topic you are deeply passionate about or that you are very good at. This is the only way you will enjoy the blogging experience while also having a great chance of success.
- Create compelling titles
The titles you choose for your posts should describe the content you post. This way, people will expect what they are going to read on your blog. Long titles that have nothing to do with what you actually described in your posts have to be avoided. There are many tools online that can help you choose the right titles. Check them out whenever you have the chance.
- Use visuals
A lot of text can be boring, so try to include images and visual content on your blog as well. These will attract more visitors and your blog has better chances to become popular. Plus, visuals create more engagement on social media platforms, which means it will help you with marketing.