Luckily for you, sites like Blogger.com have made it easy to set-up and make posts on a blog. In this newsletter, we will go over everything from signing up for a blog on Blogger.com to choosing a template (look) to finally making a first post.

What is Blogger.com?

Simply put, Blogger.com is a site that hosts blogs for free. This makes it even easier for you to have a blog because there is no need to set up a web site and host the blog yourself. All you have to do on Blogger.com, once you’ve signed up, is login to your blog, write a blog post and click submit. It‘s that simple.

What will my web address be on Blogger.com?

Your web address will be http://yourname.blogspot.com. One thing that people dislike about Blogger and other free blog sites is that they don’t have as great of a freedom in choosing a name. You are limited to choosing only what is available. So if you’re looking for http://yankeesfan.blogspot.com, you probably won’t be able to find that.

Signing up for a blog on Blogger

The first thing you’ll do is go to blogger.com. Next, you’ll scroll down the page and click on the button labeled “Create Your Blog Now”.

You will then be taken to a page where you will enter an email address (used to log into your blog), a password, and a word verification. You’ll also have to check “I Accept Terms of Service”. Click continue.

Next, you will be taken to a page where you will choose the blog title, blog address, and another word verification (which is done to prevent auto-signups). When you type in your blog address, you can click a link that says “check availability”. This will tell you whether or not the desired name is available. If the first name you wish to have is not available, keep typing in different variations of the name until you find one that is available.

After you have put in all the information, click “Continue”.

Choosing a Template

After you click “Continue”, you’ll be asked to choose a template. The template can be changed at any time after you sign-up for the blog, so you don’t have to choose an “official” template now.

If you scroll down, you’ll see a variety of different templates.

Click on the one that you like best and then click “Continue”.

Your First Blog Post

After you’ve chosen a template, you’ll see that your blog has been created and that there is a button to “Start Posting”. Click that button.

You’ll be taken to a page that is similar to the posting page at a message board. There is a “Title” field, where you can put in the title of this particular blog posting. Then there is a bigger field, which is the body of your post. Type all you want in this “Body” field, as there is no limit.

Note that there are options above the field to bold, italicize, underline or spell check the text. There is also the option of changing the size and color of the text, plus the ability to add bullet points, numbered lists and even pictures. For now, you’ll just do a simple “Welcome” post.

In the “Title” field, type “Welcome!” In the “Body” field, type your message. You could start with a simple introduction, talking about yourself and the purpose of the blog. When you’re done typing the message, click the “Publish” button. It is worth noting that you can choose to save the post as a draft, if you want to go back and later finish the post.

After you’ve clicked “Publish”, you’ll see that your blog has been published successfully. Click the “View Blog” link to view the results of your work. You’ll now see your post.

Logging into Blogger after the first post

You’ll go to Blogger.com and click on the “Old Blogger” link at the top right of the page. Type in the email address and password that you signed up with. You’ll be taken to the “Dashboard” of your blog. If you want to enter a new post on your blog, click “New Post”. Then follow the instructions mentioned in the previous section. Or if you want to edit the template, add/edit elements to your page, you’ll click “Settings” and then “Template”.

That’s all there is to it. Blogs, whether they are hosted at blogger.com or another free blog site, are incredibly useful and fun.

Blogger makes setting up and running a blog very easy for those who have never done it before. So what are you waiting for? Sign-up for a free blog at Blogger.com today and enjoy posting!