Thinking of starting a blog / webpage

Hi,

it is just a very early stage of consideration, but I am thinking of starting a blog or simple webpage about knifemaking. I am at the very beginning and I though it could be interesting to share the process (tools, first knives, mistakes, Do's and Dont's, etc). What I am wondering where to turn to when it comes to provider, templates, etc. I am not much of an expert when it comes to making or maintaining such a blog/webpage so I would appreciate a plug&play service that would not require excessive amount of time to setup and run.

My current idea would be to write short Articles, have a simple gallery and some sub-pages with links, etc. Comments should be possible so that questions can be asked. But I guess that is all pretty much standard stuff.

I would appreciate your input & ideas.

I think Wordpress.com satisfies all your needs. And it's free. My blogs run on it .

I'd be quite interested in a blog on knife making for newbies, by the way.

Yeah go with wordpress; it's real easy, low maintenance and free... I say go for it. Wordpress doesn't really cost you anything to get started (both financially and in time) and actually documenting your process can be real helpful. Often writing stuff down makes things 'click' in your head.

Or go overboard and make a big wiki. I'm actually surprised there isn't a KKF wiki yet. So much knowledge here and so often the same questions with the same answers...

Wordpress is indeed probably the best choice to start. I will have a closer look. I will also need to figure out whether I want a blog or a website.

No, no wiki. it may be nice as a static source of some detailed information, but editing one is a real PITA. Plus it looks like ... a wiki.

What's your end goal anyway. Is it just a side-hobby with no commercial intentions whatsoever or do you want to become the next Schanz? It makes a big difference in how you go about it.

Yeah, I hope to avoid this sort of question From the 'doing' point of view I plan to keep the knifemaking as hobby. I do not exclude the option that later I might try to sell a knife here and there, but I definitely do not expect to become a part-time (or full-time) knifemaker. That is just not realistic and not even my intention. For those few knives that may be one day available for sale I will not need some online store-front.

My basic motivation for a blog/site is to share some experience. I will probably also use it later to show some finished knives.

When I started with Wordpress, I even bought a book to learn it. I didn't know there is a difference between Wordpress (the software) and wordpress.com (a site for making free sites that - not co-incidentally - on Wordpress). The book was a bit overkill , but you've got a small initial hurdle to overcome.

With Wordpress the distinction between a blog and a site really blurs (though it is probably geared a bit more towards blogging). The main competitor of Wordpress the software seems to be Joomla, which is a content management system for websites.

Matus, at the risk of blowing smoke your way, I hope you make this happen. It would be a great resource in my opinion. You always seem to offer clear, excellent, sensible advice and don't let your ego get in the way. good luck to you.

makr76 - I indeed did get confused by the software and the site. I made a quick search for some tutorials and one started with downloading the software - got me scratching my head a little

Mrmnms - that is very kind of you to say. I have to admit that I do have to fight my ego daily as every time it gets in the way things go south. It is easier to control when writing a post than 'on the fly' in daily life.

I have to admit that my biggest worry is that I will not be able to find enough time to write some decent posts. The little experience I have with the few longer reviews I wrote here was, that they take a lot of time to put together.

Admittedly I haven't used Joomla in years (so it was an earlier version)...but back then it was inhumane torture. Amnesty-International-complaint-worthy. I'm surprised they didn't find a copy of it in Abu Graib.

If there really isn't any forseeable economic intent, you don't really have to worry about making things flashy, building your brand or crafting your narrative. So I'd just keep it simple and go with Wordpress and make something like mark has, or something more bloggy. Keep all the posts somewhere seperate on your harddrive as text files so you can always transform it into a different format later on.

after dealing with a bunch of overly complicated systems, i would say the best system is the most simple and easy to use... because that means you will use it more. If thats blogger, so be it. If its wordpress, so be it. Dont let the offer of fancy features trick you into something more complicated than it needs to be. Get what you need, not what you want, but wont really use.

I have always played around with designing websites (html, CSS, JavaScript) and have quite a bit of experience with Wordpress (not the Wordpress.com but the actual software- php, mySQL). I don't have any designs to show at the moment unfortunately. But I could definitely help with the technical aspect and help contribute content if you would be interested.

Maybe we could do some kind of a wider kkf collaboration...!

JBroida said:

Dont let the offer of fancy features trick you into something more complicated than it needs to be. Get what you need, not what you want, but wont really use.

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lol just try giving that speech over in shigs anonymous :whistling:

Think the blog is a fantastic idea. Look forward to reading it!

JBroida said:

after dealing with a bunch of overly complicated systems, i would say the best system is the most simple and easy to use... because that means you will use it more. If thats blogger, so be it. If its wordpress, so be it. Dont let the offer of fancy features trick you into something more complicated than it needs to be. Get what you need, not what you want, but wont really use.

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+1 You may also want to take a look at Blogger. I don't know it, the only thing I know is that it's been loosing market share to Wordpress, but no idea why.

I really appreaciate all your answers. Your advices cover much broader spectrum than I was aiming at with my first question what is great, beacause it makes me think of points I would have otherwise not consider, or maybe too late.

Jon - To keep it simple is something I need to be reminded of on regullar basis. I will be looking for simplcity and ease of use (for me AND the reader)

Spoliedbroth - I really appreciate your support offer. I may take you up on that and come with a few dedicated questions once I sort my ideas out a little. The idea of a wider KKF collaboration is actually pretty cool, though it would probably require more effort to run & organise, but I will give it a though. But maybe having 'guest articles' could also work.

I am going to check out Wordpress and Blogger over the next couple of days and try to come up with a more detailed idea what I really want/need (I hear you Jon )

No doubt that whatever you come up with is going to be first class. By the way, am I still first in line for custom orders? How's the puukko going?

nwdel said:

No doubt that whatever you come up with is going to be first class. By the way, am I still first in line for custom orders? How's the puukko going?

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Hey! First 3 blades went for HT and should come back in a few days. 2 of them are puukko-inspired. But custom orders? I am just learning to walk and you want to me to dance ballet

Matus said:

Hey! First 3 blades went for HT and should come back in a few days. 2 of them are puukko-inspired. But custom orders? I am just learning to walk and you want to me to dance ballet

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I have a feeling your dance card is going to fill up pretty quick. Also looking forward to pics and a thorough Matus review of your own knives.

nwdel said:

I have a feeling your dance card is going to fill up pretty quick. Also looking forward to pics and a thorough Matus review of your own knives.

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You guys give me chuckles ... reviewing my own knives

Anyhow - I have checked what is out there are quickly came to realise that it is basically Blogger vs WordPress.org The first is a google service, very simple, but possibly limited in features, space, customisation, etc.. The WP on the other hand is a 'full blown' option, but one needs to take care of all things. I started to read some docu about WP and the more I read the more I got the impression that it goes quite a bit beyond my current knowledge on 'internet stuff'. Also the cost of some decent hosting pass quickly $10 a month and while it is not that much I am not sure it is the right way to go. I do not want to end up having some completely mediocre blog because all I am doing is trying to keep it up and running.

To be completely honest - I would probably prefer most some solution that lies between Blogger and WP.org. I will probably start with Blogger and see hot it goes. I will keep all the stuff I will be posting also locally, and should things go well I would upgrade to WP. I take the notice, that that is apparently not an easy process.

Should you have more feedback or advice I would very much appreciate it.

Just to give you an idea that things are moving forward on the hardware side - here is my first kitchen knife blade in O1 steel just after HT:

Congrats with your first blade, Matus! Nice profile!

Matus said:

Anyhow - I have checked what is out there are quickly came to realise that it is basically Blogger vs WordPress.org The first is a google service, very simple, but possibly limited in features, space, customisation, etc.. The WP on the other hand is a 'full blown' option, but one needs to take care of all things. I started to read some docu about WP and the more I read the more I got the impression that it goes quite a bit beyond my current knowledge on 'internet stuff'. Also the cost of some decent hosting pass quickly $10 a month and while it is not that much I am not sure it is the right way to go. I do not want to end up having some completely mediocre blog because all I am doing is trying to keep it up and running.

To be completely honest - I would probably prefer most some solution that lies between Blogger and WP.org. I will probably start with Blogger and see hot it goes. I will keep all the stuff I will be posting also locally, and should things go well I would upgrade to WP. I take the notice, that that is apparently not an easy process.

Should you have more feedback or advice I would very much appreciate it.

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I'm not sure what you researched exactly, but it still sounds as if you're confusing Wordpress the software and Worpress.com the site.

This is what can make it confusing.

• Wordpress is software for blogging/creating websites
• Wordpress.org is the site that provides the software
• Wordpress.com is a hoster that comes with Wordpress pre-installed and allows you to start a site right away.

If you decide to get the software from Wordpress.org, you still need to find a hoster and this could easily cost you $10/month. And then you have to install the software (and if you're unlucky a database and a webserver as well). And then you have to maintain the software (install updates, etc.).

Wordpress.com takes care of all of this for you. No setup (except for the template you want to use for your site), no maintenance and even no payments: it's free.

Thanks Mark. I indeed meant the Wordpress.org as I wrote it. For some reason the wordpress.com does not seem to get much love from people writing comparison articles on this topic, so what get's compared is Blogger vs Wordpress.com, even though comparison to Wordpress.org would make more sense.

But yes - the Wordpress software is probably overkill for me. As Jon said - keeping it simple is probably the best way to go.

You probably know what you're talking about, but why does a comparison to Wordpress.org make more sense if the Wordpress software is overkill for you? Basically Wordpress.org provides the software and nothing more.

The software itself is very easy to maintain and if you download it and install on your own server (which can be very inexpensive) the large benefit is being able to have quite fine grained control over your website. However it does require some technical knowledge indeed and the only limit really on what you can do with the software is really the width and breadth of that technical knowledge. Does this matter? Not really if you want to host a "personal webpage" (which is like a hobbyist website: you will share the link with your friends, not track visitor statistics on your website, not monetize the website, and you will be happy with that). The more fine grained control might allow you to develop an slightly more attractive and hopefully "unique" website whose traffic you will convert into advertising dollars or maybe even eventually offer some kind of product. Customer acquisition online or even just driving traffic to a website is significantly more expensive and time consuming venture than it used to be. Knives are a good niche though I think...

I don't think either option is a bad one. I think blogger is perhaps the most simple of all blogging providers. It's operated by Google.

Just wanted to let you guys know that I have decided to give it a try with a Blooger as it is simpler to start and, well, free. I figured - should that go nowhere, than I did not miss-invested. Should it take off better that I expected, than I can think of more evolved solutions.

But do not google yourself to death just yet - I am just writing first post and it is not published yet

"Day one. Dear diary. Today I cut a tomato. Edge was toothy thus cut went smoothy. This was a good day."

Jovidah said:

"Day one. Dear diary. Today I cut a tomato. Edge was toothy thus cut went smoothy. This was a good day."

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You got me right there