Monday, February 21, 2005

Website the Open Source Way - Building a website with the best of the best.
More on website building and open source software. Every bit as good as paid software (if not better) I recommend open source software to everyone.

I installed a new weblog for the company's website. Got tired of using a text editor (MS Notepad) and tables :(.

Now I have Serendipity ( www.serendipity.org ) doing all the work, and its great. Easily one of the best blog software available. Its uses PHP but you don't really need to know PHP to install it, just if you want to modify it. It had great plug-ins which are easy to install, configure and use. The person responsible for this great program is very active and supportive in the users forum. The forum had lots to people willing to help.

My web host EntryHost ( www.entryhost.com) configured their system and installed the program for me, when I inquired if my hosting plan supported Serendipity.....great service.

I did search quite a bit for weblogs (opensource/ad free etc). There are quite a few very good ones. I have listed a few below. I however am extremely happy with Serendipity. Installation was easy to follow. Configuration was easy. User interface could be a tad more intuitive, but easy enough once you clicked on the buttons to see what was what (I hate reading instructions (and I didn't here either) so for the person that does read the instructions it would be super easy).

Serendipity has no ads and no spyware. I can't say enough about it, really very impressive. This type of work is what keeps me in awe ...... and fully supporting the open source community.

Why didn't I use Blogger ... actually in the eary stages I did, and back then blogger just had a generic banner offering their service. Then after a few weeks the banner changed to one offering competing products to those being offered or spoken about in the blog. So I scrapped Blogger. Blogger is easy and convenient for someone who doesn't want to pay for hosting services and registering a domain and avoiding setting up.

LiveJournal seems to offer a similar service to Blogger, and though I have registered with LiveJournal I have never used it, so I don't know if it has a banner or not. I downloaded a few more and I hope one day to try them out, but Serendipity is running so smoothly and offering most all of what I want that I have no real reason. The folks in the forum are so enthusiastic that if you suggest something really useful to all someone will probably codea plug-in for it.

A few of the better ones are listed below. As a general rule if your don't see the software being recently updated (9 months max) then don't bother downloading it, as it usually means that its no longer being worked on (there are exceptions), avoid blog software that include ads if you are setting up a business site or if you the unpredictability of the revenue earner.

posted by Days @ Monday, February 21, 2005   2 comments

2 Comments:

At Thursday, April 07, 2005 12:56:00 am, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hello Dad,

Surfing, and stumbled on to your site. Wow! What a find!

Being computer illiterate, blogging has completely intimidated me. I cancelled plans last month to begin blogging at my new, first website: www.philohr.org

I have no desire to learn code, and less desire to lift the hood to see what's wrong. I turn the key, and the damn thing better run, or into the shop it goes!

But I sense from your post that there is available in the blogosphere help for non-technical people like me. I have another site pending--even more dynamic than Philohr's--on which I definitely want to include a blogging option for site visitors. What can you suggest; I've printed out the 13 pages of your postings, but I'm a sponge sucking up qualified advice.

I want my blogsite to accomplish the following:
1. A custom banner (we're four months into the banner design);
2. Clean and clear posting: No filtering, no pre-qualifying for site visitors to post a comment;
3. Preview-before-posting function for site visitors of their comments;
4. Hide or eliminate all that crap I know nothing about, and could care less: RSS 1 & 2, 'Trackback' etc; I'm looking for a CLEAN, Clear, simple, user-friendly blogsite, for computer dummies like me;
5. Nearly-instantaneous posting by commenters.

Is this doable, Dad?

Please let me know; if nothing else, please point me in the right direction.

Eternally gtateful,
Don Kirk
duoism@sbcglobal.net

 
At Wednesday, April 20, 2005 1:54:00 pm, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Don,

Thanks for the comments. I am afraid that the site that I am aware of that are non technical usually have the banner ads...like blogger.

If you have a hosted site and would like to install your own blog then Serendipity is the best that I have found, both in software and support. Ask nicely and they may even install it for you.

About the only thing you have to be concerned about is if your web host is configured to support Serendipity, and the answer should be yes if they are even half decent. If not ask nicely ...or state that you'll be moving your site to another service if they don't offer support

Be aware that none of the software I have posted here requires anything out of the ordinary. They really just require the basics.

Let me know if this helps or if it's clear as mud. If I can help with the installation of guidance once its installed let me know.

Here is a link to a blog I have setup for my family's business.

http://www.jamhosp.com/serendipity/index.php

Regards

Dad

 

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