Not All Platforms Are Right for a Team Blog
There are many
blogging applications available to create your blog, but they're not all equal when it comes to creating a
team blog.
That's because some blogging applications and content management
systems (CMS) offer built-in tools and features that make it incredibly
easy to allow multiple writers to contribute posts using their own names
and individual login credentials. The best team blog platforms also
allow an editor to review posts before publishing and manage the entire
blog as seamlessly as possible. Following are several of the best
blogging applications and content management systems for team blogs.
The self-hosted version of
WordPress
available at WordPress.org is one of the best options for a team blog.
WordPress is a blogging application, but WordPress.org offers a variety
of built in features such as tiered user access roles as well as third
party WordPress plugins that can add even more capabilities. For
example, there are free plugins that enable contributors to co-author
posts, for special author bios, for creating and managing editorial
calendars, and much more. A huge variety of themes makes customization
incredibly easy. It's very possible for you to create and manage your
own team blog using WordPress.org without hiring a designer or developer
to help you. Pick up a
book about WordPress if you need extra help along the way.
MovableType
is another great option for a team blog, but it's not free. However,
MovableType does make it easy to not only create and manage a team blog
but also to create and manage an entire network of team blogs. It's
important to note that the installation process for MovableType is not
as easy as WordPress.org. Furthermore, changing and customizing the
design of a MovableType blog is more challenging than it is for a
WordPress blog. If you're uncomfortable with technology, then
WordPress.org is probably a better choice for your team blog.
Drupal
is a powerful content management system that is completely free for you
to download and use. You can create a team blog with Drupal, but
blogging is
just one aspect
of Drupal. You can also create a website and integrate a forum, social
networking site, e-commerce site, an intranet, and more. Drupal has a
bigger learning curve than WordPress.org and MovableType. For example,
when you install Drupal, what you'll see is very bare bones and basic.
Separate modules offer everything else. If you're very serious about
creating a team blog as part of a larger business or personal strategy
of publishing content and building communities online, then Drupal is
definitely worth learning. Drupal has a reputation of being able to do
anything.
Joomla is another content management system that is free for you to use. It's commonly thought of as the "
middle of the road"
between WordPress.org and Drupal, meaning it offers more features than
WordPress but fewer than Drupal. Also, Joomla is harder to learn than
WordPress.org but easier than Drupal. With Joomla, you can create blogs,
forums, calendars, polls, and more. It's great for managing large
amounts of content and the user interface is very friendly. However,
Joomla doesn't offer the same level of extras (called
extensions)
that WordPress plugins or Drupal modules provide. If your team blog is
going to provide a lot of posts with little need for extra features
beyond the core features of Joomla, than this CMS could work for you.
